Its my birthday.. again!

[wodge]

Hi everyone

Happy Birthday to me, for my 46th birthday i am buying myself a CBT. I am a complete newbie to bikes but having had a full car licence for 27 years i'm going to give it a go.
If its a good experience, i'll get a 125, get some hours under me and go for the full licence. If i dont like it, i hope it will make me a better driver and be more bike aware. Its a no lose investment..

As a hobby, which is all it will be, i dont do commuting, i will have a budget of about a thousand to get me up to a full licence.
so,
130 for the cbt
180 for kit
150 for insurance/tax
leaving just 500 or so for the wheels

is this realistic or acheivable??


Wodge
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nolidge iz pouwur.
Yamaha RXS100 RS100

[writernick]

Yes that's definitely achievable. The only kit you need new is a helmet, pick up a jacket, gloves and boots 2nd hand on ebay.
You can pick up an old Japanese bike with big mileage and a dozen years or so for around the 500 mark and it should still be reliable.

I think you have made a good choice - you will zoom through the CBT and soon be a biking nut.

[Rogerborg]

Yup, that's a sound plan. The CBT is indeed great fun just by itself, and it's best not to plan or invest too much until you've done it. If you're not in a hurry then the 125 route is fine, although be aware that things get easier on a bigger bike.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[wodge]

Thanks for the advice guys..

My thinking is AFTER the CBT the next step would be to buy a NEW helmet and gloves, used jacket and boots.

I will then be ready to buy a bike. I'm not scared of tinkering being a classic car owner so will prob go the decade old route, not worrying too much about the exact make or model, more comfort and condition. I'm not a dedicated follower of fashion, or Honda/Suzuki/Yamaha/Etc..

Spring to early summer is usually the most expensive time to buy a leisure vehicle, is this true of bikes aswell?

Wodge

[SQL]

£500 squid for a bike is pushing it for a working one tbh.

[-LG-]

Be careful, my budget for my gear was similar. I ended up spending £750!
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Snow rider wrote: I'm far to annoying to be near for long periods of time

[P.]

How you can spend £750 on gear is beyond me, a working usable helmet is around £60, jacket and trousers < £100 on gaybay and boots can be found for £30 at Lidl. Gloves are pennies online.

But yeah, £500 for a bike is quite a challenge. I just sold an 11 plate Keeway Speed 125 for just under £400 so deals can be had. Where abouts are you based? Map doesn't say you are that far, if I find a cheapy, then could be easy for you to grab it

[FireStorm-X]

Hi there

CBT check around for prices, mine was only £100 last year.

Kit New Helmet and ebay for the rest to start with, you can always buy better later. But basics are helmet and gloves, then jacket and boots.

Insurance and tax, get your insurance on monthly and tax is only £17 for a 125.

As for bikes there are bargains to be had
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Lexmoto Street 125 (sold) - Kawasaki ZR7S

[wodge]

750 quid... lol, I like the Lidl special offer option...

In this area, CBT is 100 plus kit/bike hire of 30, ok I could get a bike/kit first, but I don't know if its for me yet, so i'm going the rental route first..

I'm in West Sussex Paddy, and thanks for the offer, i'm in no hurry. Its one step at a time..
The 1000 limit isn't a fixed value, its what I estimated from a bit of looking around. Plus I can easily justify that much to to mrs wodge

Again, thanks for the great advise guys.. Its what joining forum's is all about

Wodge

[Nandonian]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Sounds like a plan dude. Not sure I fully agree w/ rogerborg that bigger bikes are easier to ride though. I can literally steer my CB125TD-E with the cheeks of my arse - tip it into bends no probs, plus there's no need to trail the back break *and* futz with the clutch on slow stuff.

As for gear budget, this was mine post-CBT last August:

lid - £40
gloves - £14
boots - £0 (disused wellies from the shed)
jacket - £0 (old leather jacket - of the 'box' style - w/ another coat over the top, plus one or two more base layers than usual)

Has proved adequate so far.

As for the bike budget - man, half a k is not going to buy much at all. And yes demand does seem to have gone up in the last few weeks. I mean, let's say you find a bike - but to do so you've had to cast the net quite wide because locally the pickings have been way slim. So - you find a decent example, and pull the trigger. Only problem is it's half way across the country. Well, you could just hop on the train and ride back. Or maybe you're a bit nervous of such a long trip on a diddy little minnow. So you organise for a courier to deliver. Might cost as much as £200. That's nearly half your budget. I dunno. I don't envy you the task of getting something half decent for £500.
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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

[pinkyfloyd]

Sod the CBT. Book yourself into a free get on taster session.

https://www.geton.co.uk/

That'll give you around 30 minutes riding time and you'll know in the first 5 whether you like it or not. Then go straight for DAS with your budget. Get the full license and then buy yourself a cheap bike to fart around on.


As Roger said, bigger bikes are easier to ride and they do feel a lot more stable.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[Slacker24seve...]

[wodge]

Pinky... Already booked a free lesson ( and have tickets for roger waters in sept ). I intend to ask the instructor's opinion on my best cause of action

I do realize that 125's are a similar price as 250+'s but at the moment i'm still thinking going at my own speed. If of course the instructor tells me I am in fact a motorcycle god (haha) my mind might be changed and I could go direct access. 27 years on the road may have some help there...

As for bigger bikes, I have found out that to the untrained eye the size of a bike these days gives little indication of the engine or power. Do you mean a physically larger bike or a more powerful one?

Wodge = Roger, my name

Wodge
____________________
nolidge iz pouwur.
Yamaha RXS100 RS100

[syl]

Just pay your £5-600 and do the direct access course instead. Why piss about on a 125 if you don't have to?
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Current bike: Kawasaki Z750S

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[wodge]

[dansidi]

one more thing:

look out for deals on CBT

sites such as Wowcher and Groupon often have 50% off CBT voucher codes.

for example:

https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/london-special/rightgear-motorcycle-training/19663638?nlp=&CID=UK_CRM_1_0_0_91&a=1652

Good luck and happy birthday!!!
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current bike to first bike: SV650s K3, YBR125, Vespa GT125, Vespa ET4-125, Suzuki CS-50 (!!)
Mod 1 passed 02-11-2012
Mod 2 passed 05-12-2-12

[sidewinder]

Hi welcome to bcf and happy birthday
First thing is to do your cbt have a full day on a bike and see if you like it (you will)..My instructor was excellent as soon as i got my cbt .He asked do you fancy a go on the 500 around the yard.I did i was hooked big bikes were pussy cats. i booked my das there and then.. but take the learning process at a pace your happy with and you will enjoy it more.Best of luck and have fun

[wodge]

UPDATE..

Sod getting a 125.. The first words to pass my lips after taking my helmet off at the end of the CBT was "god, those things are gutless" referring to the Cg125..
That was a month ago. I have since passed my Theory test and got kitted out with some good second hand gear..

Direct Access here we come. (but not for a couple of months)

spend so far..
s/h Fabric F Thomas Jacket
s/h Fabric/leather trousers
New armor for both of above
New (almost) Alpinestars gloves
s/h leather boots
Boot polish
Total cost 100..

Training..
A couple of hours extra training and CBT course
Theory exam and training DVD
Total cost 230

So far 330 quid, so will spend the rest on training for DAS and worry about a second hand bike with a few cc more next year..
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nolidge iz pouwur.
Yamaha RXS100 RS100

[iMark]

[mentalboy]

One of the advantages of going DAS means that when you look for a set of wheels you not only have far greater choice but can often pick up decent condition larger ( engined!) machines for less than a scabby beat up 125
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Make mine a Corona.

[wodge]

[MC]

[bren_9311]

Sound like a great plan, until you get hooked on motorcycling and want a bigger bike the post a mod 1-2 passed thread what to buy now?
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My opinion is neither copyrighted nor trademarked. If you like, I'll trade for one of yours.
Currently bikeless.
Ps4- bren_9311