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Which bike should I look at getting? |
Yamaha SR125 |
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35% |
[ 5 ] |
Supermoto |
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42% |
[ 6 ] |
Sport Bike |
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21% |
[ 3 ] |
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Total Votes : 14 |
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MattE |
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MattE Borekit Bruiser
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arry |
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arry Super Spammer
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groovylee |
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groovylee World Chat Champion
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Andy_Pagin World Chat Champion
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 14:15 - 11 Aug 2017 Post subject: Re: New Bike |
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MattRides wrote: | Has anyone got any ideas on what I should do? |
Ask again once you've done your CBT, bought a set of riding gear, decent physical security, and budgeted for insurance.
Enjoy the 3,000 word screed from Teflon-Mike saying much the same thing, with MORE SHOUTINGE. ____________________ 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 |
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Andy_Pagin |
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Andy_Pagin World Chat Champion
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M.C |
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B5234FT |
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B5234FT Brolly Dolly
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el_oso |
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el_oso World Chat Champion
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MattE |
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MattE Borekit Bruiser
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MattE |
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MattE Borekit Bruiser
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
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Posted: 16:57 - 11 Aug 2017 Post subject: |
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Get some insurance quotes before deciding what bike you want.
You want a two stroke 125 for maximum fun. |
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
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Posted: 17:04 - 11 Aug 2017 Post subject: |
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YBR Custom is a pretty good shout, actually. Pay careful attention to the condition of the exhaust though - they run expensive. ____________________ 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 |
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recman |
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recman World Chat Champion
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Johnnythefox |
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The Shaggy D.A. |
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stevo as b4 |
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stevo as b4 World Chat Champion
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Posted: 21:46 - 11 Aug 2017 Post subject: |
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Any 125 is infinatly better than no 125 especially at your age.
Points to consider are budget, budget, and what your going to realistically use it for?
If it's an all weather daily commuter, a good 125 scooter is at least as good as any other bike.
Im going to give you the benefit of the doubt here, and say you're going to get hooked on bikes in.a massively dependant way (most don't), and your going to save up a decent budget and buy all the proper gear and shit, and that you'll want to prove your a proper and decent rider by passing an A1 test too.
If so and will be on the chosen bike for 2years, you'll want a decent one, and one that you will look after and be happy with.
I'd happily commute on anything that runs, a scooter would be fine for me, but I'd quite like a pose tool and something a bit pornographic too, (if I had a good chance of keeping it safe&secure). That's the biggest IF in biking though as you might well find out yourself.
Anyway seeing as we're all about great advice and considered suggestions, here's what I'm currently spunking silly over in 125 terms. Its a very girly bike as you can see, but don't let that put you off, as it's extremely learner legal too!
https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com%2Ft51.2885-15%2Fe35%2F12976522_1564697193827898_1634744369_n.jpg%3Fig_cache_key%3DMTI0MDU5OTk2ODQ0NjA2MTIyOQ%253D%253D.2&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pictaram.com%2Fmedia%2F1240599968446061229_2904851445&docid=0SDtvKy5dOzlyM&tbnid=g4soZ2UrF5_YWM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjTp6CGhtDVAhWLbFAKHSZtAJsQMwg2KAAwAA..i&w=631&h=631&bih=512&biw=360&q=tm%20smr%20125%202016&ved=0ahUKEwjTp6CGhtDVAhWLbFAKHSZtAJsQMwg2KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8[img] |
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M.C |
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Tamsin |
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Tamsin World Chat Champion
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biker7 |
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biker7 Crazy Courier
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
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Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 05:08 - 12 Aug 2017 Post subject: |
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How much money you got?
How much money might you have saved up by the time you turn 17?
The 'bike' is actually the very last thng you need worry about.
I assume you are still at school; so very FIRST, top of the list job, s to get yourself down the post-office and get the forms to apply for a first provisional licence, and get a set of passport photo's fro the booth whist you are there to go with them. You will have to get the photo's 'endorsed' by some-one on the list on the applicaton form who knows you; Doctors usually charge these days, school teachers are free, and for onc can do something useful for you... so get the forms, get the photos and get a teacher to sign them.. there's your first fiver out the budget spent.... you will also need a chqu/postal order to the value of the licence application, ISTR that's around £30 or so these days, so check and put that to one side ready to send with forms.... yu want it back before your 17th birthday, don't leave it until the Christmas post-clog!
NEXT, provisional licence isn't worth anything until validated by CBT... that is Compulsary Basic Training... it is not a test, it does not gve you a licence, it is you first lesson in the very very very BASICS...and while i 'allows' you to wobble about n the road on L's for a couple of years, that's not the best of plans. There Is a proper 'full' 125 licence its called A1, and its all you can go for on a bike at 17-19 these days... many will say ts 'pointless'.. but its not. Sure it wont let you ride a bigger or more powerful bike than you may on L-s, but for aprox £121.50 at last check, to do sull suite of Theory, Mod 1 cones and Mod 2 road tests, you get your first 'Full' licence and the clock started on the 2 year New-Driver-Act 'probation' when for half points they can revoke your licence rather than just ban you for a bit. You MAY as well get that out the way whilst on a 125 you don't stand such chance of getting GATSO'd.... so big boon; after that, ability to ditch the dreaded L-Plates and the risk of two-points per for any that's missing, damaged or not legal size, is quite a useful thing for your money, certainly cheaper than a fine or two! Also its THE number one thing to make the bike look 'better'.. believe me, nothing looks 'cool' with a L-ooser plate on it! You then have the option to carry pillions, which can be useful, and fun if they are of the squidgy veriety.. using motorways? Is also permitted, if you wish, once you have ditched the L's.. A-N-D even more querulously meritable... your licence will be recognized accross Europe... you could go on a forreign touring jolly if you wished.... Small benefts, B-U-T benefits none the less, making the A1 far from pointless; A-N-D.. what the heck, its only £120 odd quid, cost of a repeat CBT course to wally about for a couple of years 'prtending' to be a learner, never actually learning much.. want to step up to bigger and better later, it's all grist to the mill, and tests you will have done once, and passed just have to be repeated on a bigger bike, so all good and 'cheap' practice for that; and if/when you go for a higher licence, you will turn up an already qualified and experienced rider, you shouldn't need as much expensive DAS training on the bigger bikes to pass; SO all good stuff, ALL well worth the doing, and THAT should be 'THE PLAN' from the off... NOT to wobble about an nqualified hazard on L's for a couple of years until 19, and you can do A2, and then put off a bit more cos cost to do DAS for the full A at 24.. that s a plan to NOT do, ot a plan to GET DONE.... Oh-Kay?
So plan your A1.... as sad, self booked on your own 125, it only costs £125 or so, as much as a repeat CBT, you get all them benefts mentioned, and never have to repeat the first lesson. Meanwhile, IF you cant pass the test... take the hint, you is doing stuff 'wrong'!! And dong stuff 'wrong' on a motorbike tends to end in hurt, believe me! Motorcycles don't suffer fools lightly.... do seem to attract plenty.... and they either get a bit less foolish quickly.. or pay the price in pain and wallet denting repairs! BEST avoided... and a real bike test to check you are doing more stuff right than you are wrong, is a good way about that...... and it IS cheap to self book A1. All that is expected of you is to show some basic machine control on Mod 1, and street Savvy on Mod 2, doing for half hour what you probably plan to do every day, get from one side of town t'other without getting killed, maimed or fined! If you can do it getting to and from tech, you can do it for a chap in a DSA bib! Absoltely NO good reason not to go for it.
Oh-Kay, back to top... How much money you got? Licence is thick end of £50; CBT to validate t, usually around £125, the full suite of A1 tests about the same, SO far you need to have banked around £300... and that's just on the licence shit.
Onto more bikey related stuff! Crash Hat... hold your horses! You have budgeted for a CBT course, that's a given. Shop around and ask more pertinant questions, cheapest isn't always best value. The course s nominally one day, but it's a long day, and many do NOT complete the course in that day and have to come back for further training. Check the small print and terms for 'further training' sessions. THEN ask what they provide by way of riding apparel, and what their requirements are vis shoes and jacket and 'stuff'. Most wont let you get on a bike in trainers, or anything that looks like 'em... shcool wll 'probably' have crash-hats, gloves and boots to borrow... but if you are a awkwards shape or size, no bet they will fit or be comfy, and you will have to be in them all day; oft advised to buy your own hat and gloves and 'sensble' footwear before you turn up, and I would add to that a comfy set of water-proofs.... they are often the cheapest bit of kit you get and the most useful, in my experience!
You can 'tog up' with the scantest of riding gear, for possibly as little as £100; which would cover a £30, crash hat, £20 gloves, £20 waterproofs, £30 'work' or 'army' boots off the market, and leave a bit of change for bus-fare or maybe a pair of ordinary street jeans or anorak if needed... that's the basics covered, from there, you can spend as much as you like, B-U-T I advice you save that spend until after CBT, when you will have had the 'talk' on choosing gear and had some saddle time to better know whats what. For early-learning leisure rides that will probably do to be getting on with, but if you plan on venturing futher afield or in less Clement weather or when you reckon you are test ready, tackling the daily commute... you will probably want better and more, and gear doesn't last for-ever.. so keep some aside for that, probably another £150-£250 or so... and remember Christmas comes first... so factor in what you can from that....
What we up to? Best part of £500, and we haven't started to get close to nitty gritty yet! There's a bit of elasticity in there, but still!
INSURANCE is usually the biggest kick n the arse, and more so to teen-learners, who under 18 CANNOT tick the box for the 'monthly installments'... you are not paying the insurance a month at a time, you are paying for a years policy premium, and a bank loan to pay for that, which you 'repay' monthly.... so, you probably need to talk carefully with Mum or Dad to buy a policy for you on credit... and hint I wouldn't do it for MY kids, to be left footing the bill if they crash or have bik nicked and stop paying, or have MY no-claims history dented by a claim made against sprog...... so likely you will have to fnd the cash upfront for the insurance, and THAT is likely to be a big kicker.
Typical premiums for a 17 year old on almost ANYTHING are unlikely to be under £500, more likely in the order of £750-£1000, possibly even more.
Tick the box to include 'commuting' cover, and if you plan on using the thing to and from shool/tech, you will have to premium s likely to be even higher, possibly by as much as 30%.
SO, before we begin looking for bikes; so far you will likely need at least £1000, more likely £1500 to be in a position to go looking for ANYTHING....
Like I said... how much money you got?
125cc learner legals lead hard lives in the hands of know little learners, who seldom know well how either to ride them, or look after them, and usually with more enthusiasm than good sense, thrash'em, trash'em and crash'em.... what you might get for £500 is probably not worth having, and will likely cost you more than its ever worth in repairs and bus fares whilst you ponder repairs.... £750 and you stand chance of findng useful learner-legal, probably old Jap or tired Chink... again, likely to cost in running repairs or maintenance, and it wont be the shiniest thing o the shelf from the off.... £1000 is really the entry price range to start looking at stuff that stands chance of being useful, but even that wont be particularly pretty.. particularly if you avoid the posier sportier bikes like super-pikey-magets.. be they over chromed chruserettes, over bodies spurts-bike wanabees, or super-retards, or dirt-bikes..... regulation 'borng' commuters will be the ones that best stand chance of offering less trashed and trashed every day reliability as well as more insurance friendly premiums.. and NOW to find something reasonably tidy and useful, you will be pushing the £1500 mark for a five ish year old Yamaha YBR, whch is the accountant's favourite... and for good reason.... the numbers just 'work', its not the cheapest, its not the flashiest, BUT it just does the ob, 'easily' and when you are done, stands some chance of being flogged on, and all in proving best value for the money you put in...
THAT though takes you up into a £3000 budget... AND you still need to factor in fuel and routine maintenance, and the inevitable repairs when a bulb blows, a tyre wears out or you DO smash a mirror fumbling the thing on the drive.....
In two years time, use it to get to ad fro tech every-day, and you will 'maybe' get back £800 in resale of the bike.... after spending another £1000 on the second years insurance and however much on fuel, oil-changes, and other repairs along the way....
That's around £1500 a year 'JUST' to have the bike available to use... school/tech year is what, 33 weeks? At what, £15 a week bus-pass IF you aren't eligible for a free one? You 'may' save about half the cost of the insurance on us-fares if you have to pay'em; other wise this is ALL going to be out of your own pocket, it will NOT be 'paid for' what you save not catching the bus.... and so much of it, unlike the bus ticket has to be paid in full, upfront...
Its a HECK of a lot of money, to find whatever 'bike' you happen to like the look of; and an awful lot of it, 'at risk' should the bike get nicked, should you crash it, should you seize the thing up.... a lot of which is doing what? Massaging your ego, to not be a bus-wanker... whilst the girls pull silly faces out the back window, mocking your helmet hair and acne and mitchelin man sumo-suit when your water-poofs billow up in the wind, eging you on to try a wheelie and see if you crash for the crown..... only YOU will think it's 'cool' to be on the bike, not the bus.... and even that will come into question, in the cold and the wet ad the dark...
Believe me, it ISN'T all open road 'freedom' like they suggest n the adverts!
IF you are prepared for all that.... and you have the money... what the heck... biking IS a joy... must be I have been dong it forty frigging years and STILL find the fun... B-U-T it is seldom the 'sensble' thing to do, and it is NEVER the 'cheap' thing to do......
Which brings us back YET again... to how much money you got?
Bike s literally the last thing o the list you need worry about; every-body is looking for the 'bargain' and there are few about. £1500 'ish' is what it takes to get a half decent 'anything', and that 'anything' really doesn't make much odds, as long as its YBR-ish.. unless you like spending more money, and delude yourself that enough folk actually pay enough attention to be bothered that the bike isn't quite so stylish! Even without L-Plates, the helmet hair and acne will remain.....
Get past all that, and get to a place you can go bike shopping? Hugh!?!? First you need the cash i your hand. Second you need to be able to get to where bikes are for sale; thy aren't ten a penny on every street corner! And whatever is in the buyer's guides means squat, its whats on sale that matters! No point setting your heart on a bike no-one has for sale! Even if you DO luck in, and something 'sensible' happens to be available, and happens to be in budget... little bikes lead hard lives... STUFF what the buyers guides may or may-not say, STUFF how 'cool' you, even LESS your mates think anything looks... CONDITION IS ALL!
And that is the nuts and bolts bits, not the bits that can be made to look half decent with a bit of spit and polish! You need to have a bit of spanner savvy, and a fair idea what to look for, like whether the chain is shot, like whether the engine has had ts oil changed, and exhausts not butchered with misguided notions' removing the flange gasket or drilling holes in the silencer 'de-restrict' it!
THERE, then, when you have a provisional and validated licence in your pocket; you have a hat, gloves and riding outfit, and the cash n your pocket to buy what you are looking at.... WHAT you are looking at, whether its an old SR or a newr YBR or a pimped up Chinky 'crossa' or an over-chromed cruiser, makes little to bog all odds.. IS that bike 'sound' is it going to fall to bits in a week? Can you afford the insurance on t? Can you actually ride it? DO you stand a chance of getting that A1 licence o the damn thing? THAT is what matters....
What bike? Here and now? Just doesn't, IF it ever does very much.
Worry about all the other shit you need to pull together to ride ANY bike, and the perennial we all still worry about.... how to pay for it! ...
Three Gand... etch that figure in your head... its a lot of money... folk may fool themselves they can do it on the cheap or spread the costs... and 'dont count' what they have to pay on repairs or where the fantastic savings they found get eroded.. one way or another Murphey's Law says you pay, and that, ball-park is what it costs, one way or another.... so do you have the cash to get in the game?
THAT is the first and foremost and constant question thereafter... NOT 'What bike'.. which is significantly immaterial....
And ponder, I have mentioned the A1 'full-licence' and merits of planning to go for it... remember its barely £125 to do... in the grand scheme of stuff here that s peanuts; so don't dismiss it! THAT is the important thing here, not what bike, and you COULD be starying right now, with Theory/Hazard practice/mocks on-line.... same as starting with teh forms for a provisional and getting teachers to counter sign pass-port photo's when you get back to school.. all long before your 17th and even longer before the 'what-bike' question matters, IF it ever does. ____________________ 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?' |
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GSTEEL32 |
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GSTEEL32 Traffic Copper
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 6 years, 256 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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