New biker at 48 advice please!

[2old2ride]

Hi. My CBT is booked for April 14th. I'm a 48 year old guy with very little riding experience. Soaking up YouTube videos at the moment. Loving the look of the BMW F750gs as my first bike. Getting a Nivala jacket and pilot gloves. Very excited to start this new (midlife!) chapter in my life... going through cancer treatment so want something to be excited about. Looking forward to chatting with you and hearing advice etc. Many thanks. JC

[BRUN]

Im sure you will enjoy it, im 38 and did my CBT last year after being pestered to do it by my wife, one thing i will say, is dont let the car park bit put you off, id got half way through mine and thought, im shit at this, im not enjoying it, oh well at least ive tried it, its not for me

had a bit of a lunch break, then out onto the road, really nervous and not confident, within a few mins i had a big grin on my face, its much easier on the road with some proper space around you and going through the gears

ive still not done my mod1 as its been cancelled twice with the lockdowns, and having to fit lessons in around work but i bought a 125 to use in between and its really helped me learn and my confidence on the bike, when were back to normal i dont think id have been on the bigger bike since late October, so watch this space lol

id never ridden a bike before doing my CBT so was completely new to me in every way, never been around bikes as a kid etc

all the best with the cancer treatment

[arry]

Welcome in

On the bike front - it's nice to dream and all that but don't get too caught up just yet in making decisions on your future, before you've had the benefit of any seat time.

Bike choice will depend - largely - on what you want a motorcycle for; and then after that a whole heap of likes / dislikes. For example, you want a bike for mid range touring and the occasional weekend blast. Therefore, you've settled on Adventure style. You then move to whether you want a twin or a 4 cylinder, as they both deliver power differently and have hugely different characteristics. You'd look at what sort of tank range you want, as this can make the difference between filling up once a day or twice a week if you're using the bike for work, for example. You'd look at seat height, total weight, whether it's shaft or chain driven, whether it's an upright position or crouched over as such, whether you've got a full fairing or you're a bit more wanting the wind in your mangina. That sort of thing.

All of those decisions come after you've got some seat time. Don't ignore your learnings from the bikes you'll ride on your way to getting a licence, and don't ignore the ability to go test ride some bikes you might not have considered.

All the best

[Keithy]

Wot arry ^^^ said.

I passed last year at 54 and also wanted a BMW 750, until I took my test on one.

By all means dream, but see how you get on with some middleweight bikes whilst doing Mod1 and Mod2, you may suddenly find you want a sports bike, or a classic, or anything really!

[steve the grease]

Welcome to the world of bikes. I'm older than you, by a long way, but I've also had cancer and come out of it to the otherside, changed to some extent , but hey , nothing comes for free.
Motorcycling/ bikes whatever, is a broad church whatever bike you ride, old, new, imaculate or shagged. Enjoy what you buy, but what you have isn't the most important thing, for me at least. It's the experience, the mental release and ability to drift off into the actual ride, whether it's pottering along one of the old coaching routes at sixty, or whatever you enjoy.
Everybody gets stiff or tired after a while so we like to stop for a brew here and there and chat with other riders, the social aspect something that we can't do at the moment, but I'm looking forward to it again when we can.

Take it easy for a few thousand miles, on a bike we become invisible and if there is a car at a junction or turning right, just assume they havent seen you, and ride appropriately.
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All the above is my personal opinion, you can see my lips move, but I'm talking out of my arse.
I've been riding, and fixing , bikes for 50 years, in that time the more I learn, the less I am absolutely sure of.....

[jeffyjeff]

Think about a smaller, lighter bike to learn and hone your riding skills on. Something you can manhandle as you learn and develop the muscle memory to brake, clutch, and row through the gears without thinking. A 500 lb bike is a lot to push around, let alone pick up after a drop. A 250-300cc bike is light enough with performance you can grow into before you advance to a middle - heavyweight bike, some 250's can hit 100 mph when pushed. Just a thought...
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History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men - BOC

[pepperami]

Welcome
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[Weisse Schlange]

No one is ever too old to try anything.

Be prepared to be depressed as fuck that you never became a biker in your teens.
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Hing Oan

[spongefinger]

Hi,

I did my CBT at 49 two years ago but due to various issues I didn't get a bike and didn't get around to booking my das until march last year....then we all know what happened and now it's not far off 2 years since I did my CBT and I've still not passed my mod 1 !

Anyway as you can tell I'm pretty inexperienced but from what I've learned I would say get a cheap little 125 as soon as you pass your CBT and get some miles under your belt on as many different road types as possible ( town, country lanes, fast a roads) and really get that confidence up and some experience under your belt. On my bike lessons although I was not terrible on the road riding parts my instructor told me my " lack of seat time" was evident. Once you feel the time I right go for your full licence.

And good luck !

[spongefinger]

[GettinBetter]

[baritone]

Well done you.

I got my CBT at 49, DAS at 50 and am 52 now. Turns out motorbikes are wonderful. Who knew?

Thinking about bikes and riding bikes has consumed much of my brain power over the past 3 years, especially so the past year. I've been lucky to be able to do volunteer couriering of oximeters for months so have been busy (less so now) on two wheels.

Keep that Beemer in mind, just know that you may well change your mind once you've done the course on an MT07 or whatever.

You may find that you need a certain amount of courage to get going with road riding. Maybe starting late as many of us have means that you have a certain humility from the off - probably no bad thing either. Did the Enhanced Rider Scheme a year ago, which was a good thing to do.

I've owned 3 "big" bikes already. They're rather moreish. As it turns out.

All the best with your treatment.

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

i started early/mid 40s about 10 years ago, for no good reason - I was bored and realised I lived in a part of the country with great roads. My first choice would've been a decently exciting, moderately fast car - but that felt like a lot of money.

I did a cbt (which I found difficult) and bought a vanvan and a bit later cb125td. I put a few thousand on both over 12-18 months - rode them in town and on single track lanes mostly. I wanted to be riding all the time. I was shit slow but improved, and picked up basic maintenance etc.

After about 18 months I put in for full license, and got to grips w/ the school's cbf600. It was no problem after the 125 and I could do all the mod 1 stuff (practiced cones, u-turn, stops on 125 regularly), and the mod 2 test routes were fine because I pretty much knew them anyway. I passed mod 1 first go but took two for mod 2.

first bike was a '97 cb500 that was alright, then for some reason i got a w650, which was...alright. Then i got a crm250 for green laning and that was interesting. A few years later i bought my zx9r c2 which i think is a really good bike - bonded very well with that one.

biking is way better than it should be - not sure what makes it so great but it certainly is
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[arry]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[J30NNN]

I was a similar age to you (42 when I started). I realised that I had missing out for years by not learning to ride.

My plan was to miss the 125 "stage" but I bought one (partly as it does help to get as much time as possible on the road). I did over 3000 miles on the 125 (Yamaha YZF 125r) - most weekends would consist of a 100 mile ride. Things like gear changes become second nature and you get a chance to ride when you want to and practice all of your skills in prep for your MOD1. The little bike was great for building confidence and I actually made a profit when it was time to sell. If you buy a Japanese 125, you should not really loose any money. Fuel economy on them is also phenominal!

Like you, I wanted a BMW as a "big bike" but ended up with a Triumph! Go and sit on a few bikes before you buy your big bike. Weight for me was a factor as a beginner and I wanted something that I could "flat foot". Dropped my 125 once - they are heavy to lift and a 600 is obviously much heavier. Also think about pushing it on driveway and in and out of shed/garage etc...Good luck and enjoy learning!