Worth it?

[ArunJ]

Hey Guys, I'm 16 and wondering whether it is worth going out and buying either a derbi GPR 50 or a reiju rs2, because i'm 17 in october and could just get a bigger bike. is it worth it?

Cheers, Arun

[pdg]

That depends on how long the next 8 months are going to feel to you while sitting on buses / scrounging lifts off parents / pedalling a pushbike.....

It also depends where you are as to how 'safe' you will get told it's going to be.

I had a 50, it was fine - in that it was more freedom than any other transport available to me at the time.

If you want one, get one (second hand) - don't fuck around with it.

When you are done, sell it for pretty much what you paid for it and get a 125 for a while.
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Any and all advice given should not be followed - if you have to ask it means you don't know so get a man in to do it for you.

[Pigeon]

Had a 50cc bike at 16. At the time, as PDG says, it's freedom and brilliant (while also being crap and slow).

Looking back on it, it was more dangerous than being on a 125.
Travelling along the A3 at 30mph as lorries barrel past at 50-70mph was.....focusing.

If you do buy, unlikely to keep for long, so buying new can leave you significantly out of pocket. As already mentioned.

[ArunJ]

Alright, cheers for that, clears some stuff up for me. might get one pretty soon as i need transport, and to be honest i don't want to ride a bus for 8 months.

[wr6133]

In your shoes, I'd get the cheapest ped you can find that has an MOT past October and runs. All 50's are crap unless you derestrict and bore kit them, so just buy a cheap 50 until you can have a decent 125 at 17.

[pdg]

[Teflon-Mike]

Research 'Insurance'..... as a ball-park idea, for anything with an engine, my 16 year old daughter is looking at £500 a year upwards; anything more newish, sporty-ish, trendy-ish, than a Honda C50, step-thru and that price starts ramping..... add 'and commuting' on the policy so you can go to school or college on the thing, or declare more than an intended 3000 miles a year, it goes up even more sharply.

That's over £10 a week, JUST to have the 'ped parked outside available to use; sure they might use bog all petrol, and the tax may only be £15 a year, but all in, that insurance premium will pay for a LOT of bus-rides, if you really don't like walking or pedalling, and if the bus breaks down or some-one steals it? NOT your problem, really! Can be BIG problems if your ped breaks or gets nicked.

Same is true to a large degree of a 125 at 17 years old; might go faster and further, and offer reasonably 'useful' personal transport; BUT, it still costs a not insignificant amount of money, and if you qualify for subsidised 'Student' transport, to get to and from school/college, its a VERY expensive way to try looking cool...

....which is hard when you are 16... and are starting from behind regardless, with bad dress sense and acne, without adding Helmet hair and L-Plates!... same money could buy you a lot of the trendy cloths your mum wont when she can get the same at M&S or down the market without the label, and a weekly hair-cut to look 'cool' ON the bus, where, without cold hands in thick padded gloves, you are actually in touching distance of those you'd like to look 'cool' to.... and you don't have to keep your eyes on the road, or your hands on the bars, either .. as long as they go no-where ear MY 16 year old daughter....

Otherwise, its an awful lot of money to spend on a 'toy', compared to I don't know, X-Box games, beer, birds or blow!

If you have the money, and you think you'll get the 'value' from it, in the amount of 'fun' you'll get, compared to buses, game consoles or white-lighting down the park... go for it.. its YOUR money, and we don't know what YOU find 'most' fun... so WE cant say....

But back to those Insurance quotes... it might only be 8-moths util your 17th.. but generally insurance policies are sold for a whole year.... and if you envisage stepping up to a 125 before that policy lapses, you might not be able to 'swap' the policy to the bigger bike; or if you can, it 'll be at an additional cost over the difference i 'premium' price for the dfferent bike; while if you cancel, you may not get any money back for unused weeks of insurance, if you paid upfront; Or if you got some-one over 18 to pay for it, you might have to keep paying for it on the 'monthly'; due to 'cancellation' and 'administration' charges that can be quite putative..

So don't just go by the 'advertised' prices on a quote comparison site....Check CAREFULLY the T&C's and small print and 'other charges', or it could end up costing you a lot more than you expect, or you could end up 'stuck' on the 50 the full year, regardless of when your birthday happens.
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[Rogerborg]

That... was actually quite helpful.

One factor to bear in mind is that you can actually go and get yourself an AM category on your license using a ped. You can then bin the L plates and it starts the clock ticking on your 2 year "new driver" probationary period during which you lose your license if you rack up just 6 points.
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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

[pdg]

[CBFcarl]

If I could do it all again, I would get a 50cc at 16, a 125 at 17 and do the tests at 18 or 19. But I'm not. I had a 50cc when I was 19 and 20 and loved it. Sold it due to pressures from women, and then, aged 32 I got a 125. I want to do my full tests, but my wages tend to go on all the stuff that being a proper grown up has, with rent, bills and food taking up the lions share. Do what you can to get the tests done whilst you can.

Biking is ace. I honestly wish I knew this when I was younger. Enjoy it, whatever you do.
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[stevo as b4]

I'd like to not have to need a 50cc for one year or less if I could manage with cycles, walking and taxi/public transport.

I'm not typical though as I'm over 35 now and am using bus's and trains more than I ever did since my college days.

I kind of see the point's made by people saying buy whichever bike you want to have as an non essential toy though. All my vehicles are non essential toys these days.

Does seem a bit pointless to be buying a 50cc if your likely to want a 125cc in months not years. Then again if a 50cc moped is all you ever need transport wise, then it's cheaper than running a 125cc.

My advice for a 125cc would be if it's a needed daily workhorse then get a cheap but sensible and basic 125cc that's solid and tidy. Then look after it really well especially if it's your only way of A-B.

If you don't need a bike or car on a daily basis to earn your living, then get something you really want not need, as a 2nd form of transport when the conditions suit, and you want to use it.

[struan80]

Bugger the bus, get a bike, any bike!

Edit. Just be careful

[Ribenapigeon]

Anything better than the bus, plus its all experience.

[Teflon-Mike]

[ArunJ]

Been talking to the folks, not allowed a 50 right now, or even a 125 when I become 17, which isn't what I really wanted to hear, considering my dad used to ride a fireblade. thought he'd atleast take it into consideration..

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Is your dad a copper? They all have Fireblades, too.

Electric bicycle it is, then.
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[Rogerborg]

Is he a copper? [UPDATE - DAMMIT ]

Well, their roof, their rules. I wouldn't be comfortable with it either, biking's a bloody stupid way to get around.

Maybe come back to it at 17, suggest getting your A1 license and doing advanced training straight away rather than dicking around on L plates.
____________________
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

[talkToTheHat]

The elephant in the room is why did your dad stop riding? Lose his bottle? pressure from your mother to get rid of the monsterous donor cycle? To put food on the table? All of these I have seen amongst friends and family.

Admittedly the friend whose wife banned him rode like a twat and wrote several cars off whilst somehow not dying and I wouldn't let him ride my mighty steed. I get much hostility from his wife if we are observed talking bikes, or worse, his kids show interest bikes.

Parents are horrendous creatures, especially the ones that know everything nefarious a teenager can get up to because they have done it or wished they had, and thus everything that looks fun is banned. Personally I think a lot less damage can be done with a bike and I'd rather teenagers raced each other back from MacDonald's on peds and scooters than in vehicles with 4 of their mates at the mercy of their testosterone rush.

Of course its worth it. I was ten years slow in gettinga road bike and a 125 was still awesome.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Rogerborg]

[andyscooter]

[ArunJ]

I'm paying for everything to do with a car when I get one, with the exception of lessons. And I am not really sure why my dad gave up riding, I think it was a bit of my mum and him, but Ive grown up around motorcycles and now that I want one im not allowed. I respect my fathers desicion and everything, I just don't agree with it....

[Accuhaler]

You are your own person. Your parents can't make this decision for you.

Go out do your CBT and get the bike you want. They will be pissed at you for awhile, but you are showing alot more back to them.

[Teflon-Mike]

[Ste]

[Jewlio Iglesias]