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Which bike should I look at getting?
Yamaha SR125
35%
 35%  [ 5 ]
Supermoto
42%
 42%  [ 6 ]
Sport Bike
21%
 21%  [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 14

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MattE
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Joined: 11 Aug 2017
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PostPosted: 13:48 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: New Bike Reply with quote

Hi guys I am looking to get a 125cc for my 17th birthday but I have been given many opinions on which bike I should get. I am only 16 at the moment and will turn 17 as of March 2018. I have ridden a Yamaha SR125 and found it a very comfortable bike but a lot of people are telling me I should try and get a supermoto or sport bike rather than a cruiser. Has anyone got any ideas on what I should do?
I know this is a very long time in advance to be looking for bikes and I am still trying to keep my options open.

Many Thanks Matt
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arry
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PostPosted: 13:57 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

What are you going to do with it? Commute? Just have fun?

Where are you based? If you've any pikeys anywhere near then a supermoto would be a very bad idea.
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groovylee
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PostPosted: 14:05 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

get whatever you want [/thread]
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Andy_Pagin
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PostPosted: 14:07 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Avoid 125 fake-cruisers. Slow, heavy with loads of chrome eager to turn to rust.
125 supersport = bog standard 125 commuter with extra plastic and a big price tag.
Personally from the choice given I'd go supermoto, but in reality a YBR125 is a better bet.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 14:15 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Re: New Bike Reply with quote

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.
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Andy_Pagin
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PostPosted: 14:28 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

As Roger said, look into insurance, could be a real shocker and a game-changer.
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M.C
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PostPosted: 15:04 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

SR's are slow, even by 125 standards. I really don't understand all the love for them.
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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 15:23 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Used and mechanically sound local 125 4 stroke.

Book real bike test

Enjoy life.

125s are a waste of time if you have the option of riding bigger bikes so make that a priority.
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el_oso
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PostPosted: 15:32 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

MSX125 a.k.a grom.

Don't need to worry about physical security as you can just pick it up and bring it inside and keep it in your room/college class. /joke

Also think the insurance is cheap (strangely) for a 125.

As a first bike you'll probably get it wrong, or crash it, or drop it. So I'd be most concerned about something that will hold it's value well and be cheap for spare parts. Things like plastic fairing are expensive.

I had an XR125 as a first bike. I sold it for more than what I bought it for, and was kept locked and blocked in by my car on the front drive, in a fairly non-pikey area. We had many chav's but they were mostly rich parents chavs.

Start saving now. Get a paper round/part time job. Motorised vehicles are expensive, especially for a youngster.
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MattE
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PostPosted: 16:33 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

arry wrote:
What are you going to do with it? Commute? Just have fun?

Where are you based? If you've any pikeys anywhere near then a supermoto would be a very bad idea.


I live in a decent enough area and don't have too many pikeys around but the main idea is to commute to and from school, work and also have a bit of fun on group rides.
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MattE
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PostPosted: 16:39 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I quite like the YBR125 customs as they have the look of a cruiser but the same mechanics of the normal YBR. I am still open to any suggestions though and I have sorted gear and CBT I just have to find a bike I like and check insurance.
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Ste
Not Work Safe



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PostPosted: 16:57 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get some insurance quotes before deciding what bike you want. Wink

You want a two stroke 125 for maximum fun. Mr. Green
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 17:04 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

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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PostPosted: 17:23 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get a Yamaha XT125. Do some green laning.
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Johnnythefox
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PostPosted: 20:14 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Re: New Bike Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
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.



I'm taking that as an admission that whilst lengthy, Teflon-Mike is actually correct.
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 20:53 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

MattRides wrote:
I quite like the YBR125 customs as they have the look of a cruiser but the same mechanics of the normal YBR. I am still open to any suggestions though and I have sorted gear and CBT I just have to find a bike I like and check insurance.


The Custom is slower than the standard YBR, not by much but every MPH counts when you don't have many of them.

Bottom line, get a good example of what you want and can afford. If you pick a popular model, spares will be plentiful and there'll be enough videos on Youtube to learn servicing and spannering.
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 21:00 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

el_oso wrote:
As a first bike you'll probably get it wrong, or crash it, or drop it.


I had to wait until I got my 900 before I crashed, so don't feel you have to with your first Smile
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5
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M.C
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PostPosted: 21:33 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

el_oso wrote:
MSX125 a.k.a grom.

Don't need to worry about physical security as you can just pick it up and bring it inside and keep it in your room/college class. /joke

Also think the insurance is cheap (strangely) for a 125.

As a first bike you'll probably get it wrong, or crash it, or drop it. So I'd be most concerned about something that will hold it's value well and be cheap for spare parts. Things like plastic fairing are expensive.

I had an XR125 as a first bike. I sold it for more than what I bought it for, and was kept locked and blocked in by my car on the front drive, in a fairly non-pikey area. We had many chav's but they were mostly rich parents chavs.

Start saving now. Get a paper round/part time job. Motorised vehicles are expensive, especially for a youngster.

I was surprised how expensive an MSX was (to insure) when I looked at getting one. Also it's only 9bhp, and the YBR's 10bhp I believe. Every pony counts Smile (CGs and XRs are 11.4 iirc).

SR125 has a top speed listed of 55mph Confused Technically they weren't quick enough to get your licence on in the old days (but people did).
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stevo as b4
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PostPosted: 21:46 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

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! Wink

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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PostPosted: 22:33 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I see it as a two year plan for youngsters. Buy a 4-stroke 125, find out how slow it is. Buy a 2-stroke for year two, if you can afford/find one which hasn't been locked up in some old blokes shed. By the time its gone bang hopefully you'll be ready for A2.
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Tamsin
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PostPosted: 22:36 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get a £500 cg125 and rag it. Great fun to ride and tough as old boots. Fantastic first bike, teaches you much!
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biker7
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PostPosted: 22:57 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

You were obviously attracted to the cruiser - maybe you fancy Harleys; there's no problem going down that route. Custom and sports bike riders don't often understand each other. I've owned all types of bikes including HD's, adventure and sports models. What you fancy is what you should get. Cruisers are nice and low, making slow manoeuvres a doddle. If you pass through the phase, you can always explore different genres, later. Cruisers tend to have more torque than top end - not so fast but pull off fairly quick. Check out the Keeway, looks awesome. The Sinnis Heist is a hoot. Yam for reliability. Some older Suzuki Marauders are cool. Still what do I know, I'm a sports bike freak who doesn't sneer at cruisers or supermoto for that matter! All bikes are great but go with your instinct is my advice.

PS. Spokes are a pain to clean!
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Last edited by biker7 on 23:27 - 11 Aug 2017; edited 1 time in total
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Ste
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PostPosted: 23:16 - 11 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

biker7 wrote:
maybe you fancy Harleys

Assless chaps etc. Shocked
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Teflon-Mike
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PostPosted: 05:08 - 12 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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GSTEEL32
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Joined: 24 Feb 2010
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PostPosted: 08:37 - 12 Aug 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

He'll be 19 years old by the time he's read all that .......
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The last post was made 6 years, 231 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
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