Making the switch from four wheel to two

[SuperFurrySam]

Hi all, this is my first post here - I'm Sam and I'm from South Wales.

I'm 21 and have 3 years no claims driving on the roads, however I've just about had enough of cars or at least the money it costs to keep them on the roads and now with the death of my Skoda I'm looking to make the switch from four wheels to two.

I'm completely new to all of this, I haven't even been on a bike as a pillion before let alone been in control of one.

I've booked myself in to do a CBT course this Saturday - and hopefully my Dad's mate will quickly go through the basics with me on his bike sometime prior to that so I have a little experience first.


I was just wondering what my options were on completion of the CBT, would having a full car license, and being 21 make any difference or do I have to start on a 125cc bike anyway?

(For instance, would it be possible to have this restricted: https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280340741476#ht_500wt_1182)


I'm asking this simply as I'm on quite a budget, and 125cc bikes seem to be quite expensive new, and hold their value well. I haven't seen any CG125's or CBR125's under a grand and that's all I can afford to spend on getting started.

This has lead me to seriously consider the Chinese Honda knock offs, such as the SkyJet RR7 125. (£934 delivered in a crate)

https://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3496/71ad12.jpg



Fortunately my mate is a mechanic and a keen biker, he's worked on the SkyJets before and thinks that as long as they're well maintained and looked after they're a great bike for the money.

I looked at one in Bridgend a few days ago, it sold for £600 after doing 5000 miles - they only cost £800- £900 brand new so that's not much of a loss at all.


He's said to order one in a crate, have it sent to his garage and we'd build it there - ensuring it's put together well with plenty of loctite to stop the bolts rattling out etc. He also said it might be worth considering spending a bit extra and putting some good Bridgestone tyres on there as the stock ones are crap.


As I'm on a tight budget, I've priced up some of the other gear I'll need on eBay - helmets jackets etc.

Helmet:
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220384453588#ht_1775wt_1165

Only £29.99 I know, but it has the ACU gold approval and they're selling them for £55 in Tesco's so I'd imagine this will be a good enough helmet to get started with.

Jacket:
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=360148521873#ht_1780wt_1165

At £34.98 another fairly cheap solution, but I'm hoping it will do the job.
My mate said I can have his leather jacket as well mind, which is a proper padded and armoured biker jacket.

Gloves:
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220404790124#ht_2762wt_1165

That's all I've got so far - I don't think I'd need to look at buying any particular footwear for a small bike like this would I?

I mean, my work boots are leather with good ankle support and steel toe caps so I'm thinking they'd probably be more than adequate.


As for insurance, after getting a couple quotes online I'm guessing I'd be looking at between £300-£400 for my first year 3rd party fire and theft. Obviously with a new bike I won't have to worry about MOT's, road tax is only £15 and I could expect to get between 80 and 100 miles to the gallon.

After the initial cost of buying everything, my weekly savings compared to owning a car would see all the money recovered in just a few months.

I've been spending £30 on petrol, £800 a year on insurance, £120 on road tax - then I've had to keep my car well maintained with new starter motors and alternators each costing over £100.

Now seems like a good time for me to make the switch.

Just to let you know, that I do intend on using the bike for commuting all year round. Would expect to cover 200 miles a week, mainly just getting to and from work/college.


So yeah, thanks for reading - if you've any comments or guidance for me it'd be very much appreciated. Like I said, this is completely new territory for me so it'd be nice to know whether or not I've made the right choices so far.

[Villers]

Hi and welcome! Theres a sticky guide at the top of the forum that will answer all of your licence based questions. The main thing to remember is that the CBT lets you loose on a maximum of 125cc's and no more than a nominal BHP figure (think its about 14.6 or so). Check the guide for the rest its a good read

As for the helmet, the ACU sticker doesnt really mean much. If you are going to get it off ebay and they sell them in tesco's make sure you get down to tesco first and try it on. It HAS to be a good fit, some peoples heads dont fit certain helmets unfortunately. Me personally I have a good Shoei shaped head, but not a good shape for the Arais.

The Bandit 400 could be restricted to 33bhp nicely (if it even makes that much from stock I have no idea, I would guess it does though).

There isn't a lot of favour round here for the chinese copies Im afraid. There has been a lot of bad experiences (some good though) so all I could say on that topic is if you trust your mate to keep you right with it then thats your decision. I would have thought you could pick up a CG125 for less than a grand however.

As for your protective equipment it shouldnt really matter that you are on a small bike, the road still hurts the same. There are fors and against for steel toe caps on the road so Id suggest doing a search on those.

The main thing about the swap from 4 wheels to 2 is that you are actually going to start enjoying your commute, its great fun and you will be loving being on the bike. The CBT is a laugh too and once you get out on the road you'll be wondering why you didnt do it years ago!

Good luck with everything!
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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[SuperFurrySam]

Thanks Villers, I did have a read through the sticky threads at the top - but wasn't sure if I'd be able to ride a bigger bike with a restrictor. I know now that after completing a CBT I'll have to start on a 125cc bike, with no exceptions.

No problem though, probably better to start off on a smaller and lighter bike anyway. At the very least it will help me cut down my weekly petrol bills.


With the Chinese bikes I've done a fair bit of reading on the web and whilst there are some horror stories - I'm hoping that as long as I take extra good care of it and let my mate keep an eye on it over the first few months it might be alright. Of course as he's assembling it for me too, he'll make sure it's done properly.



They seem to have made a few revisions to this years model, having two headlights instead of the one and they've re-positioned the mirrors etc. Hopefully the newer bikes will be more reliable than the old 2006/7 models which tend to receive the heaviest criticisms.


That said, if I could find a nice little Honda CG for similar or less money I wouldn't hesitate in picking that up instead. Haven't seen any about in the past couple weeks though - I've been looking on ebay, gumtree and the freeads etc with no luck.



I'll be sensible with whatever bike I pick up though, I'm not buying one to thrash about - I just can't handle getting the bus to work now that my car is off the road!

[deanoet]

Have a look on Bike Trader for CGs
Plenty under a grand on there

Pick wisely and you can sell it in a year or so for little to no loss.



Firstly get the CBT done. U may not like bikes, some people dont. You dont want to end up with all the kit and then not liking it


A CG125 is really cheap to run. But its max speed is arpund 60mph. Round town they are great, but if you use bigger roads for a long distance then they can get a bit tedious.
£15 road tax
£10 will take you about 300 miles

Remember on a CBT you cant use motorways or take pillions.


You could do your CBT and then DAS and then get a 250cc bike

As cheap as a CG125, but will hold motorway speeds easily enough.


First thing though, get the CBT done. If you dont like it you dont want to own a bike and kit.
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CBT Passed 18th July 2007 : Previous Bikes> CG125 : Current Bike> Hornet 600 : PASSED DAS 30th Oct 2007
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[jack_zxr400]

those chinese bikes really arnt worth it

it'll give you more agro than an older japanese bike

go for a decent cg under a grand and you cant go wrong
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Previous Bike: ZXR 400
Current Bike: R6
Test Date: 8/8/2008-PASSED

[bacon]

your 21 so do a DAS dude, forget buying a 125 imo, the cash the bike will lose you may as well skip it, unless you invest in something like a cg

Das is a course that is taken on a 500cc bike (or something around 50bhp), mine was on a suzuki gs500, usually runs a few days (cbt instructor can give you indication on how many days he thinks you will need), with the test on the final day, though that may vary a bit now with the 2 part test.

Passing a DAS will give you a full unrestricted licence allowing you on any bike you choose without the need for restrictors etc etc

Like you I never touched a motorcycle in my entire life before my cbt, did that, loved it, passed my theory (its seperate from the car one so you will need to book the motorcycle one) then did my DAS which was 3 1/2 days and passed that too

so from complete noob to full licence (but still a noob!) in about 3 1/2 weeks or something

[AJI]

I'll echo what the others are saying and suggest a Honda CG rather than looking for a brand new Chinese bike. The Chinese ones are improving all the time but are currently still a little iffy and in the meantime something like the CG will be cheaper to buy (even if it is used) and likely take more punishment without breaking.

Plenty on ebay too at under a grand.
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TARMAC - Automotive blog *UPDATED 26/3/09 - Abandoned fuel stations to go electric? ~ Buy my eBay stuff!
You're gonna go far, kid

[dextersaurus]

Just adding to what has already been said.

Im 17 and bought a CG125, they are decent enough and i can get the speedo to 70 indicated, but because they aren't accurate, it does about 60ish.

If you look hard enough, you will be able to find a cheap one.

I bought a 1999 model for £440 delivered and 25000 on the clock which is pretty much nothing to a CG.

But to be honest if i was older i would skip the 125 stage and go for the DAS.

But still you are better doing the CBT so you can decide if you like it or not.

Good luck and hope you get into it

Cheers

Dunc

[SuperFurrySam]

Thanks for all the tips guys.

As I've been banging onto him about bikes all week my mechanic mate decided to get himself back on two wheels. (his 3 bikes are currently off the road)

He pulled up on my drive a couple hours ago with a 750cc Honda he'd picked up from Merthyr this morning.

I had my first go on a bike ever, as a pillion obviously - still great fun.

I asked him to take it easy, as I had no idea what it'd be like - and he did for a minute but then he opened up on the throttle a bit taking us just short of 100mph. I was completely oblivious to this until I got back home and he told me, I knew we were accelerating pretty quickly but I had no idea we were going that fast!


There are a few nice looking CG's on eBay and other websites - but unfortunately they are 100's of miles away from me. I'll ask the guy at Autec Wales when I do my CBT there on Saturday if he knows anyone locally selling cheap learner legal bikes - I'm sure he'd be the right guy to ask in this area.

As for doing DAS - I have thought about it but I think I'd probably be better off getting a bit of experience on a smaller bike first.

I worked out that commuting on a bike instead of in a car is going to save me £30 or more every week.

I save £25 a week anyway, plus that £30 I'll be saving £55 every week (as long as I'm good and don't splash out on anything!)

In a years time I could have £2500 or more to play around with, so maybe then I'll consider doing my DAS and buying a nicer bigger bike. For now the cheap commuting appeals a lot though, and obviously it'll be good to get a bit of experience as a motorcyclist on a smaller lighter bike first.

I'm sure it'll hurt a lot less when it lands on me at least!

(Not that I intend on falling off, my mate promises me it will happen. Though he said I would probably bump my car in the first year driving too. 3 years and 45,000 miles later and I've not had a single accident - it'd be nice to keep that clean sheet for a while...)


Thanks for the input though, I'll let you know how I get on with my CBT on Saturday.

[Villers]

[deanoet]

[SuperFurrySam]

Apparently the new Honda CBF 125 can achieve that kind of petrol economy! (136mpg)

I might be see if I can borrow a bit of money off a relative and stretch to one of those actually. I think you can get them new for around £1800 and I've seen some sell 2nd hand (with less than 1k on the clock) for £1400.

Then I can feel safe in knowing it's a Honda - it won't fall apart and it'll hold it's value well.

[deanoet]

Dont buy new unless you can afford to lose some money when you sell it

You will be lucky to get 1k (trade in) for one of the CBFs after just a few months of owning one

Nice bikes though.


If you want a cheap bike then an older bike cant be beaten really

If you want a more moden looking bike as opposed to the CG, have a look at the Yamaha YBR125

Buying new is never a good idea unless you are planning on keeping it a long time. In which case the warrenty and no MOT for a few years will help off set the cost
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CBT Passed 18th July 2007 : Previous Bikes> CG125 : Current Bike> Hornet 600 : PASSED DAS 30th Oct 2007
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[The Disapproving Brit]

Echoing the known brand sentiments. If you're on a budget, I'd look for something about 5-6 years old at least - that way, when you come to sell, you're pretty much gonna get your money back.

Mines a Kymco which is relatively unknown over here, but they're a big company with a solid history and they do actually have a UK presence which is a bonus. Also, I got really lucky with my timing and picked it up for £450. As for economy, I filled mine up last week and it had used a touch over £12 for about 450km - 125s are about the best you can get in terms of economical commuting transport.

Also, remember that after your CBT, you're on L plates even with a full car license.
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Current Bikes: 1983 Honda VF400FD / 2003 Honda VT750 Shadow
Bike Test Passed 18/03/09, Car Test Passed 14/05/13

[Jayd]

Hello there,

Just a note for the chinese copies, I have an Easy Rider JH125Trailblazer, which is a rip of 1970's Honda XL, and other than normal wear and tear for a 12 year old bike, such as a new tyre, C&S, etc. I've only had to change the flasher relay as it was in a bit of a vulnerable position, being stuck on the frame. Been belting, obviously it shows a bit of rust, but some Hammerite on the exhaust, a cover over it now and again, and only once charging the battery because it didn't move for 5 months whilst it was uninsured, it's been belting. Passed two MOTs since I got it, no problems whatsoever In fact, I'd even say it would be a better bike than the RG125F I had, now THAT was a shed

[metalangel]

[dextersaurus]

[lnewland]

Hey mate, i did the change from 4 wheels to 2. i sat my CBT last september. it was the first time i have ever sat on a motorbike and i wasnt the most confident. Having completed my cbt i made the decision to sit the restricted test thinking to myself i dont need a big bike as its only for the short commute to work and i wasnt interested in doing the sunday blast thing. So in March i sat my A2 course which i passed and i purchased my CB500. Must say i found it a big differecne riding a bigger bike. In my opinion it felt far more stable and i was far more confident on it. now just 7 weeks down the line, more confidence and finding the out what fun a bike is and now wanting to do the sunday blast thing im wishing i had done DAS.

although my cb is only costing me £48 for a years tax and £80 a year tpft insurance which is alot lot cheaper then a car
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Cg125 stolen and returned trashed
Cb500
Yamaha R6

[Kal]

Chinese is a gamble and usually the poor fucker spending money on them loses.

I am 6'4, and sadly betwen 12 and 14 stone - never had a problem on my CG.

https://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/Kal_hybrid/Bike/cg125/000_0060.jpg
____________________
Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[Jayd]

I don't think you do too badly as long as you don't spend stupid money on it in the first place. Paid £300+ about £50 for delivery for mine, with 12 months MOT and tax on it. Not gonna lose much really, I spent about £10 on a relay, £30 on a tyre because the old was cracked with age, and the rest has gone on fuel...

[Kal]

Yeah, but your the exception that proves the rule.

My first CG125 was 8 years old and cost me £400. Most of the money spent on it in the time I had it were related to specific vandalisation or thefts attempts. Not to mention being bounced fdown the road a few times...
____________________
Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[Jayd]

I've no doubt you are right fella. As long as you're careful, you'll pick a good 'un up for the right money.

I bought a 125 2t for a second bike, through another well known forum. Paid £950 for it, plus delivery, because I was a bit giddy at the thought of having one, it was an RG. The bloke bought it up, I gave him the cash, he drove off, I went to take it for a spin, it died at the top of the street. Couldn't work it out. A dealer came out, picked it up in the van, two days later, got it back. Powervalve on wrong way round to cause the problem. Also died when you jumped on the brakes heavy, drunk fuel (60 miles to a tank on one occasion!), had leaks and all sorts.

As I said, the moral of the story is take your time, check them over, and do your best to get a good 'un

[SuperFurrySam]

[dextersaurus]

[honda_arry]