New Rider - Looking for advice

[MattyNI]

Hey guys, I am new to the forums here and today I had a free motorcycle lesson with the GetOn program. I thought it would be a good way to get used to a bike before I do my CBT.

I am 25 and never been on a bike before today, I have ridden*(sorry was late last night) a scooter. my plan was to do the CBT then do my Test and get a 250cc which I would use for 2 years, As I have to keep the bike for a minimum of two years is the reason I would prefer to get a 250cc than a 125 with L plates.

What do you guys think would be the best route to take ? is it still possible for me to do the A2 exam if I have done done the A1 or do I have to do the direct access as I am 25 and have been driving a car for 5-6 years. And driving instructor quoted me £20 an hour on a 125 and £40 an hour for a 600 he never mentioned anything about the A2 I only realised this when I got home and looked it up online, any advice would be great guys as I am still very new to all of this ?

Thanks,
Matty

[PaulS]

You can test on any capacity bike at 25, so you could take Mod1 and Mod2 on anything from a 125 to the 3rd (largest) range that qualifies you to ride any bike in the future.

You can try and 'upgrade' any time but must pass both modules on the larger capacity bike.

Might as well pass on the big bike and get tests out of the way forever, that's what I plan to do.
____________________
CBT: 16 Feb 2012.
Theory: 2 Sep 2013 - failed the *#!@ Hazard Perception!!
2012 Yamaha YBR 125 (5 Apr 2012).

[PaulS]

...oh and 'driving' bikes does not seem to be a popular term on this forum, apparently one has to 'ride' bikes
____________________
CBT: 16 Feb 2012.
Theory: 2 Sep 2013 - failed the *#!@ Hazard Perception!!
2012 Yamaha YBR 125 (5 Apr 2012).

[PaulS]

...also why only a 250 for 2 years, tests allowing you can have a middleweight (or litre sportsbike) and whatnot...maybe you have an eye on economy or a commuter bike?
____________________
CBT: 16 Feb 2012.
Theory: 2 Sep 2013 - failed the *#!@ Hazard Perception!!
2012 Yamaha YBR 125 (5 Apr 2012).

[Teflon-Mike]

I want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do I start?

How do I get a Licence?

The Motorcycle Test, Licence Categories & Age Restrictions

Bit of further reading for you. But....

125's, Are they worth it? (TIME ON A TIDDLER IS RARELY WASTED!)

If you do CBT you can ride a 125 on L's. Tiddling is a good start. They are very useful little bikes and the best of them are as fast as anything is legally allowed to go on the UK roads, and can do pretty much most of what most people ever want a bike to do, all be it with a little bit of struggling at times, and the more mundane 250's there are, are not much more capable, especially as most of them are very old and tired commuters.

For you, at 25, there may not seem to be a lot of point in doing an A1 125 only licence; BUT if you want to spend some time on a lightweight, it can be a good cost effective way to a full licence.

If you got your own 125, then you are on the road, on L's, and able to practice for tests as well as get about. And if you do any lessons you dont have to pay extra for bike hire.

You need to do the Theory/Hazard Perception test regardless; after CBT, of course, whatever you may go for.... but after that, you can put in for the practical tests, which self booked are just £15 for Mod 1 round the cones, and £75 for Mod 2 on road round the houses.

No expensive courses to fund; you can book and do, and if you don't get it right, examiner will tell you what to practice for next time. Go away, burn some petrol, suss what they want you to do, do it over.

Obviousely it wont give you a licence to ride anything more than a 125, but will get you a licence; means you never have to repeat the CBT nor do you have to re-do the Theory Test.

So, stepping up to do the higher grade licences, all you have to do is get a feel for the bigger bike and repeat the two practical tests, round the cones and round the houses.

If you have done it once on a lightweight; you know the ropes, know what'll be asked of you and shouldn't have to worry about nerves; you've done it once and passed. Your just doing over on something bigger.

For which you'll probably have to do a course, to put a bike under you to get used to... but with full 125 only licence in your pocket, you wont be a complete newby, and you ought need less expensive training to get up to scratch, while you should have a lot more confidence of first time pass.

So, tiddling and doing a BIT of time... need not be forever.... 3-6 months I reckon is about right. Much less and you're rushing stuff, much more and you just aren't getting your act together and putting off.... gives you a good stepping stone in preparation for bigger bikes.

So, next question; if you do a course which one? A2 or DAS?

Well, the A2 licence limits you to bikes up to 45bhp. And for the most part the bike you would use to do either an A2 course or a DAS course will be the same sort of thing, if not the exact same bike with different restrictors on it! And its the SAME course, and the SAME tests.

So, practically, doing A2 if you are old enough to do DAS, is merely spending as much money and effort to only do half the job... and having to do the whole plot over if you ever want to step up to the Full unrestricted A group licence.....

BUT here and now, I would look at a little tiddling... and if you only want a 250? well fair enough... why do you 'Have' to keep a bike a full two years?

125's cost a lot for what they are, but they also sell for a lot for what they are. Buy one, use it, do your tiddler time for half a year, do a DAS course then flog it on and get a 250.... there's lots of ways to spin the perms to your advantage, if you explore them.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[SteveZZR]

[uploader]

[-Matt-]

https://i44.tinypic.com/opbew0.jpg

Id just go on and do the full test and skip getting a 250 considering your age personally. Could look at some nice mid level bikes

[SteveZZR]

[-Matt-]

Never understood 250s anyway really its such a tiny jump from a 125 if youre looking for more 'bike' might as well take a bit more of a leap and get something with more gut

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[Rogerborg]

[MattyNI]

[Teflon-Mike]

I am allowed to ride a motorcyle by the entitlement of my DRIVING licence.... and these folk call me the pedant!

Drive... herd, command or otherwise compell something to move.
Ride.... to be conveyed by something

I can 'Drive' a horse out to paddock without sitting on its back.
I can 'Ride' on a merry-go-round without being in command of the damn thing.

If you want to get REALLY pedantic, we ought to say that you DRIVE the motorcycle you are RIDING on.....

Meanwhile..... CBR250 or 250 Ninja? And you are worried about the pennies and loosing money swapping and changing?

Err... no! Just... NO!

Been mentioned the 250 class is acutely unpopular; you have over priced contemprary commuter machines 'in a fancy frock' like the Ninja 250 or CBR, or you are trawling through the bargain basement at basement at aged commuter hacks that have spent at least twenty years unloved, botched to oblivion by owners who dont love them and only like thier 'cheapness' hence dont spent money looking after them if a bit of gaffer tape will do, or hammering a link out of the chain will stave off buying a new one a few more months.

125's... hold thier value because they can be ridden by just about any-one. So you buy one, you chop it in after a few months, you wont loose THAT much money from it.

Buy a more popular, more conventional commuter, something like a CB500, and you will get a heck of a site more bike for your money than buying a fancy-dress 250 commuter, or bodged to oblivion old hack.

And again; if its not right for you or you fancy a change; it is much more likely to sell, easily and for sensible money, than a 250; fancy dress contemprary machine; wont get much attension, too many people will look past it for the money you'd want or need back from it for bigger machines with more real 'go'. Hacks? Well, you ruin them into the ground and chuck them away, if you are sensible!

Now... that 'advice' offered; I ran the numbers on the CBR250 just before Christmas. They had a good zero % finance deal on the thing at the time, while my O/H had recently passed the old A>25Kw tests, and was on a restricted licence, and just got a new job, for which, smarter, more reliable, transport might have been useful.

0%APR finance, damped the 'negative equity' trap. Buy bike on HP, and you agree to pay the full purchase price plus all years interest, regardless of paying the deal off early; so for many months of HP term you are often not buying any of the bike, but paying off interest; during which time bike's value is depreciating, and you owe more on it than it's worth. But it's still there....

Running the numbers; then, for Snowie, it worked out at something like £50 a week 'all in'; with the HP Installements, insurance, servicing and a bit of petrol to get to and from work. Given inconvenient bus route, it JUST about beat a bus-pass, and gave her wheels for personal miles for petrol money.

BUT, it only 'paid for itself' kept the full term of the HP agreement, when, the £3,500 bike in the dealers, has saved you that much in Bus-Fares, and the last few installements of £150 effectively buy you the second hand bike you end up with, worth about a grand.

For most of that HP term, it is a bit of a mills-stone, owing more on the bike than its worth.

And I learned that the hard way when I was at Uni, and broke couldn't afford a decent second hand bike, so bought a new 125 on tick... which got stolen after 15 weeks.....

I had paid £99 'down' and four installements of £80 a month. Bike had been £1500 in the show-room, but Total Credit Charges over two years meant I was paying £1800 after I wangled a bit of discount off the list.

Insurance Co, were going to pay the Credit Co the full settlement for theft, the bikes second hand value, aprox £1100... less my excess of £100... a grand. I''d paid, £420 off the outstanding finance... leaving me with NO bike, and a bill, to be settled forthwith from the Finance Co of almost £400

Luckily it was recovered, so I didn't have to settle the finance; I fixed it and kept it the full term... but BIT of a shock, how easy I could have ended up with a big bill and no bike!

It can be made to work, but as last post, you can run the perms many ways to your advantage.

But I would seriousely reccomend, keeping your options open, and not committing to a long-term 'plan' when, at the beginning of your biking carreer, so much is 'uncertain' and unknown, and pennies are something to be watched carefully.

Second Hand, Dealer Supplied Yamaha YBR125.... wont be a bargain, but, on a dealer finance package, perhaps £1900, all in, is half the 'risk' to bear, and if you do have to cash in, less than half the possible 'cost' to find to chop it in.

Cheap to buy, cheap to run; NO course fees if you don't want them; keeps things bite sized.

Big chunk of cash to find to Do a DAS course, for which you have little at the end but a bit of paper in your pocket...... and to STILL not really know if biking IS something for you, or something you can do all year round, day in day out.

Take it one step at a time....

Mantra: Dont Rush - Rushing is fast way to get hurt on a bike

Don't just apply to riding them!
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[uploader]

[Efes123]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[waffles]

[MattyNI]

[mailee]

At your age you may as well do the full DAS and get the licence. once you have it you can ride whatever size of bike you want from a million cc down to a 125cc the world is your oyster.

[Teflon-Mike]