Start up cost.

[veeeffarr]

As you all probably know now, I'm getting a bike sometime soon, I'll probably be getting a loan for it. How much do you think I'll need consider I need all of these things:

- Leathers/Gloves (About 600)
- Helmet (About 150-200)
- CBT (100 ?)
- Insurance (About 800 I think)
- Bike (Preferably a NSR/Mito - 2000 max)
- HPI Check (30 ?)
- Locks/Chains (80)
- General Maintainance Tools etc
- Anything else I've left out that you guys can think of.
(Total there is 3700 max)

I was thinking about £5000 should cover it all, is that too high or low?

Thanks for the advice.

[Minky_monkey]

[TheShaggyDA]

Boots, unless you were including them in with the leathers. Waterproof gear? Tankbag/throwovers? Scottoiler? And depending on the state of the bike you go for, tax, MOT, service? Engine bar/fairing protector thingies? Tyres? Chain & sprocket? Alarm/immobiliser? New screen?

A 5 grand loan would cover all these, however stick any surplus to one side so that when you do think of any extras, the cash is there ready for it, rather than kicking yourself for blowing it on women and beer
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Current: CB500 Previous: CB100N, CB250RS, XJ900F, GT550, GPZ750R/1000RX, AJS M16, R100RT, Enfield Bullet

[i:6e3bfc7581]But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman...[/i:6e3bfc7581]

[Minky_monkey]

What about a service, if it's a used bike it might be worth while.

[veeeffarr]

Yeah I forgot about boots, want Sidi Vertebrae 2's as I'm quite fond of my ability to walk, and decent gloves are a must because I work on computers and I dont really fancy wrecking my career if I stack my bike

Yeah I will definately keep money to one side, I was also thinking of doing a restricted DAS and getting a restricted 400 instead of getting a 125 and having to buy another bike

[Ste]

CBT easily for £100.
Leathers you can get good enough quality ones from £300 and gloves from about £50.
Helmet from about £100
Boots from about £80-100
Lock and chain happily for about £50-75
General tools you buy as and when needed, you don't need to go and get a full garage of tools before you get a bike or even when you get a bike. Basic Allen keys, screw drivers and socket set are good enough for most things.
All of these are things which you will use again and again, they are the initial cost but you'll benefit and continue to use them as long as you want to.

Bike is really as much or as little as you want to spend. You can quite happily pick up a 125cc bike from about £500 that will be fun and learn just as much on. Or you can spend £3000 if you want to, it's up to you really. Insurance you should be able to get TPO from about £600 I expect, and can pay more depending on if you want to get TPFT or if you want to go fully comp. Servicing again you can spend as little or as much as you want or feel the need to. Most stuff can be done yourself and is not needed until the bike needs the work doing to it. Most stuff like oil changes, brake pads, oil and air filters, chain fitting and adjustment, spark plug changing can all be done yourself, or if you want to you could pay your local garage £40+VAT per hour to do it.

The very minimum you need to get is a CBT, a helmet, a bike and insurance. Everything else is down to your personal choices. Not saying or suggesting you shouldn't get leathers, gloves boots, locks etc but you don't have to.

£5000 will get you on the roads very easily with plenty of change. Say £100 for CBT, £500 for kit including helmet, £1000 for bike £700 for insurance we're now talking £2,300. Then say £80 for locks, £30 for the HPI check when you buy the bike and you're on the roads quite happily. Is worth allowing money for general running of the bike as it will be wanting tyres, brake pads, spark plugs, and general other bits and bobs so say allow about £200 for the basic needs to keep it running, but again you can spend more if you want to.

Hope this is of some help.

[Nath]

Don't Trading Standards do hpi checks for free? Ok, so it's only £30, but still...


£5000 seems a huge amount of money. I'm looking to get started for half of that. Does anyone know how much difference getting a full license will make to insurance costs? I'm going for a full(33bhp restricted) license. The training school i'm going to use charges £450, which is for everything. Not the cheapest i've seen, but is local to me, seemed a nice guy, and have been recommended.

I think getting a full license is worth the money if you know you're going to stick with it.

[Ste]

£450 does seem like quite a lot. Test fee is £48, theory test is £20.50 so that's £381.50 for their training, which is easily 8 hours which is about the amount you'd get on a DAS course. Does sound like it is a bit too expensive for what you're actually getting. And I'm sure that it's not for everything, as if you fail the test and need to do another one do they pay for that and any extra training needed?

Full license will bring your insurance down, best bet to get an idea of how much it will bring it down is to use some online quote places like www.clickquote.com and get quotes for your 125 bike with a CBT and then with a 33bhp license.

It's worth the money if not just because you can ride bigger bikes, use motorways and take pillions.

[TheShaggyDA]

[veeeffarr]

Yeah I wanted to do that as well.

Re: Insurance, should I get TPFT or TPO? I was going to get TPFT but if I'm really careful I should be able to get away with TPO shouldnt it?

It'll probably come with an excess as well so if I get a cheap bike I might even end up paying its worth if I claim anyway

[NickD]

As far as riding kit is concerned, you could do a lot worse than to get yourself along to the BMF 'tail ender' show, 18th and 19th of Sept, at the East of England showground in Peterborough. Easy to get to from where you are, and bargains galore. For a day's committed shopping you will save yourself a fortune, on boots, lid, leathers, gloves, etc. Everything from buget kit to top notch gear, end of line stuff, summer kit going cheap ('cos people start buying winter kit from now on, and dealers don't want it all sitting there all winter), etc. Look hard enough and you'll be able to kit youself out from head to toe in good quality gear, and come in well under budget. Best to go on the Saturday for the best bargains, but if you can only make the Sunday you'll still get it sorted. Last year I picked up a Roof diversion for 60 quid under list, and a pair of alpinestars SMX boots for 30 quid.
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I was only doing what it said on my licence officer....
Tear along the dotted line!

[Nath]

Well, i believe that price is for either an intense course, or for normal lessons.

The intense course is 4 full days, plus whatever can be fitted in on the 5th day before the test. Whether you get a 5th days training depends on whether you get a morning or afternoon test.

The normal lessons are as many lessons as it takes untill you're ready to take the test.


This seems pretty fair to me, as the £95 for the cbt is taken off of that £450 when you book in the training/test. That doesn't include the theory test, but this seems fair enough to me. I phoned up one other place, and the guy seemed to think i wanted the "A1 Light" course. I said that this wasn't true, and that i wanted to get the full license(that would be restricted to 33bp), but he said that's what the A1 Light was. He was confused one way or the other - If he doesn't know what he's talking about, and wasn't very friendly either, then i'm not sure that i would want to train with him/them :/

[Ste]

Only get TPO if you can afford to replace the bike, or will be able to get by without the bike. Being careful with it doesn't stop it being stolen, Korn had his bike stolen after he had a crash and was taken to hospital with a broken ankle and the police just left his bike at the side of the road! Legally not the polices fault at all so can't get a penny from them, so being careful doesn't always mean it'll not get nicked. Like Lauras bike, was parked up in a quiet residental road which is quite a safe area and it got nicked on Saturday night.

It is worth looking into how much the excess is compared to the value of the bike, but always worth getting a TPFT and TPO quote as sometimes the TPFT quote works out cheaper, and just because you have TPFT doesn't mean you have to claim if it gets nicked.

Have had TPFT and managed to get away with none of my bikes being nicked and doubt they'd get nicked as generally I am careful where I park it and don't live in a high crime area, but will continue with TPFT on bikes as if it got nicked I'd be very stuck and can't afford to replace it.

[Rory]

As far as tools go, I got a set from B&Q for £20 that's fine for most jobs. I'm supplementing it as I need to with specific tools, e.g. a proper allen key set, large socket wrench and bits (for the rear wheel nut), etc. If you've got a mate who will lend you his or help you with maintenance, even better.
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My Old CBR400RR | Bike Oil FAQ | Petrol FAQ

[malb]

URGH! I just started here is what I've spent so far

CBT £100

Hyosung Comet 125 £2450

The price of the bike included a lid but I added £40 for a better one

Insurance + Brake down cover £367

I don't have any clothing as of yet. I'm borrowing a mate's old waterproofs till I get my own

£2957 so far....DAMN!
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<-- I'm taller than Charley Boorman look

[Rory]

Also, a stout pair of Army boots will do you until you get a "proper" pair. They're made of thick leather, and they cover your ankle, which are your major requirements. Keep an eye out for second hand trousers and jackets, as unless they've been sent down the road in grand style, they'll probably be find. A good, new lid is must of course. So is a decent pair of gloves, but don't be seduced by flashy designs and big names! Get something that will protect and is a good fit, otherwise you'll spend ages fiddling with them and you still won't be happy with them. I've got a pair of Apinestars GP Plus gloves, as new, which I'm not using because they don't quite fit my hands correctly. Cost me £100 too. Arse.
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My Old CBR400RR | Bike Oil FAQ | Petrol FAQ

[dainesefreak]

Have a look at https://www.hein-gericke.com/hg-shop/eurobike/eb_frameset.php for gear you will get some decent kit a lot cheaper than the £600 you're thinking of. Or get along to the Peterborough show as NKD suggested.

I would only spend that much on leathers if you had the money to spare or are a poseur like me.