New Biker From Kent

[Billy.]

Hello,

I've been driving for around 4 years now and have recently acquired a 2009 Skyteam st50-3sm from a friend. My commute to work costs me around £300 a month in my civic thus the incentive to get a bike.

I'm fairly mechanically minded when it comes to cars, and have 5-6 years experience as a cycle mechanic but have never touched a motor bike in my life! Any help would be appreciated, so far my jobs list is as follows:

Charge/Replace the battery,
New Spark plug
Drain the fuel from the fuel tank/carb
Valve clearances
MOT

If anyone can provide some info/advice that would be great! Oh, I got the bike for free aswell which was nice - but I knew I'd have to get my hands dirty. And damn is it HEAVY!

[Polarbear]

Got for free? Nice one.

I don't know much about that make of bike but it's Chinese (makes sign of cross)

Be ready for a fast learning curve.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Billy.]

Yep buddy needed spacein his garage, he has an SV650 - also a member on here "lexism"

Yes it is Chinese - thanks for the vote of confidence haha!

Going to have a browse through the "workshop" section to see if there's any useful how to's to help me on my jobs list

[MC]

Howdy,

bikes are normally simpler than cars, so easier to work on. Most jobs you can do yourself with a basic socket set and Haynes manual.

You got the bike for the right price I wouldn't put lots of money into it, but if it just needs tinkering then use it as a learning experience then buy something decent
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[Pigeon]

50cc 4-stroke that weighs 115kg (nearer 120kg with fuel + oil)...

Honda Civic does about 33mpg. Assuming avereage petrol price of £1.28/ltr

(((£300 / price per ltr) / 4.55 to get gallons) * average mpg of 33)

(((300/1.28)/4.55)*33)

Near as damnit 1,700 miles per month. On a 50cc


If you have only been driving for 4 years, that means you don't qualify for riding a 50cc bike without doing a CBT.

If you have to do a CBT, get a 125. By all means get the 50 running, but sell it and get another Chinese 125 for £1k from Sinnis Motorcycles. Or get a 6 year old Honda / Yamaha.

Each to their own of course.

[waffles]

Where abouts in Kent are you? Join up to the SE forum and if you need any help I am sure someone nearby will give you a hand Or at least point you in the direction of someone who knows.
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[c_dug]

[Billy.]

Wow didn't expect this much help and advice!

Maybe I should've explained this better. So currently my commute to work (2hour round trip) costs me £300 a month (including evening and weekend driving) in my civic.

However at the end of the month I'm moving to 10-15 minutes from my place of work (about 5-10 miles-ish), the civic is far from economical (but extremely fun!) and on short journeys it's not economical either 😔 so when my buddy offered me this bike for free I snapped it up. I've been driving since I was 18 and don't fancy going back to buses - I enjoy the freedom of the road.

And thanks to the guy who worked out my mileage 👍 I don't know much about bikes but I sure as hell don't fancy doing 16-1700miles a month on a 50cc! Hopefully my intentions for the bike are clearer now 😊

So I'm doing my CBT in the next fortnight, the bike was free so I thought it would be a good place to start getting used to riding a geared bike on the road. I don't plan on putting a lot of money into this, from what I gathered reading online (and there is very little about these bikes) is that they are cheap and cheerful Chinese toys.

After a few months use and being confident on a bike I plan on going up to a 125cc. I saw a nice thread here pointing out some great examples of 125cc bikes - I'll look there first for some ideas!

And will head over to the SE section now and make myself known. 😊

Thanks for the advise guys and the warm welcome 👍
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Sky team st50