Sell the Car & buy a BIKE??

[Mountain_Man86]

UPDATE

Just been to both BMW and Honda dealers... Was unbelievably impressed with the sales guy at Honda.

Having chatted my 'wants' through with him, he suggested a used Africa Twin as a great bike for me, especially because of my height and build. I'm seriously tempted!!

[arry]

[Mountain_Man86]

[CorriganJ]

Buy a bike. If you have been dreaming about it for a while, just do it. Go out and by a Honda Varadero 125. It's the biggest 125cc you can get size wise, as simiar as you can get to a BMW GS on a CBT, and it has a nicer engine than most other 125s. Pop down to your bike centre, do you're CBT and you're away. Sorted. Done. Ride that for a few months and see if bikes are something you like. If so, do your test and get a GS. With Covid, doign tests will be a struggle for a while so... just do the CBT and buy the Varadero. Now or never.

On the type of bike - I like an "adventure" bike, though I call them dad bikes. They are big, comfy, luxury machines for people over 30. Nothing adventurous about them. People who actually do adventures and go offroad usually take a DRZ400. Thats the "machine of choice". But, for motorway miles, a GS would be fine. Also look at the Triumph Tiger. Much nicer bike in my opinion, doesn't come with the BMW price tag, or the BMW stigma (which I see you have already encountered). I personally want a XTZ 750. Classic rally bike from the 90s. Amazing machines and the best looking dad bike you can buy in my opinion, but, as an older bike it might not be reliable enough for you. People daily drive them here in Spain all the time clocking up insane mileage so if maintained well they can do the job. But, some people want a new bike and are happy to pay $30k for one... more power to you.

Thing about bikes though is they aren't easy. I've been in Spain living it up and its great. Riding all weather. But mostly sunshine. Came back to England and a few days ago got caught out riding in a storm. It was actually fantastic. My little dirt bike has a terrible headlight so I couldn't see where the road went more than 10 metres ahead. It was cold, wet, slippery, blowing a gale, buffeting me all over the place, I had offroad tyres, and was on unfamililar country roads. Twats behind me with their lights on full beam so I couldn't use my mirrors at all. It was an experience. As a relatively new rider I was pushing myself near to my limits for 2 hours straight. I got home drenched, freezing, numb feet (oh yeah I was wearing trainers because my motorbike gear is still in Spain) but grinning. Had a great time. But. That was after a nice chill day out with friends and all I had to do when i got in was sit down and relax. If that was my commute to work... I would have been drained the whole day just from the stress / energy of riding that hard that long. (The alternative to riding hard would be pooteling along at 20mph on national speed limit roads "because its wet" turning a 2 hour drive into a 4 hour drive and holding up traffic, encouraging silly overtakes, if I don't just straight up get read ended... No thank you. I will push a bit harder).

So... I'm not convinced all weather riding in England is that smart, I guess is what I'm saying. Doable. Yes. But not easy. You have to like the madness of it all. If you drive a Volvo...

Well. Buy the bike now or you will never know and live a life of regret.
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1991 RD04

[Mountain_Man86]

[winz]

I can't believe I'm the first to say this, but..

...Buy a fireblade or GTFO.

I'm a dad and over 30 and I've not been tempted by a GS. I did own a K1200, so have dipped my toe into BMW motorcycles (I own an F11 and had an E91), so guess I do like BMWs. But the GS just seemed so large. A friend of mine owned one and he could hustle that thing (and he's about 5ft tall, so watching him hop onto it was quite amusing), using it as his commuter from the Cotswolds to central Bristol.

Good work on going to check out different marquees though, certainly worth passing your test, test riding some bikes and decide that way.

You'll go through a journey after you pass your test. I bought a CB600F as a first bike as I enjoyed learning on the 600 nakeds at the bike school. Owned it a few months and wanted something larger and faster.

Then after buying a CBR1100XX which ticked a load of boxes (and owned the longest) I bought a Fireblade as a second bike for some hooning and blasting round the Mendips and Wales. After selling the Blackbird I needed a larger sports tourer again for a trip to France, so I bought the BMW.

It'll depend what you want to get out of riding. For me a bike was always a toy. I had a car and work for myself so I don't need a vehicle to commute.
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Current Bikes: BMW K1200S
Previous: Honda CBR929RR, Honda CBR1100XX, Honda CB600F

[Mountain_Man86]

Minor update to this thread... I took and passed my CBT yesterday!

Covid has delayed everything of course, so I expect to have my full license sometime late summer. In the meantime, i'm going to get myself a 125 and practice practice practice.

I really enjoyed the CBT and getting out on the road so i'm excited for the next few phases.

[pepperami]

[to v or not to v]

congratulations

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[bacon]

Personal opinion, no, do not swap straight away.

But definitely get a bike, for your first year try to avoid using the car, even when you really want to, i.e when it's raining, icey, cold as f*ck etc, and you will get some real experience of what it is like to only own a bike and you will become a better rider.
Get decent all weather gear though it will make all the difference between enjoying your riding and misery.

But if you think you defo only want a bike, by all means flog the car, you can always buy another if you feel it is the wrong decision.

[Mountain_Man86]

Thanks for the support everyone!

I placed an order this morning for a new Honda CB125F. Pick it up in a week's time, can't wait!

[to v or not to v]

[bacon]

34 years old, new 125cc....fail...


Without meaning to sound rude, a 125cc is a dead end route for a 34yr old, do a DAS and get onto a full size bike, you'll have far more training under your belt after be safer on the road as a result. You can spend whatever you wasted on that 125 on a proper bike then....

[Mountain_Man86]

[UncleFester]

Pretty sure you'll get offered for the bike what the remaining finance is worth. That's what i did with my YBR125. Sure it cost me a bit but i got something new to learn on that hadn't been screwed up by someone else prior to me.

Like you, the cost wasn't an issue - it's a cheap bike relatively speaking. Gives you the chance to learn how to use the gears if nothing else and you'll REALLY appreciate the bigger bike when you get to it.
____________________
Module 1 and 2 passed - October 2014. Happy owner of a 2017 Z1000SX, ex owner of a YBR125 / CB500 / VFR800.

[Mountain_Man86]