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40yr old wanting to get into biking

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biker7
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PostPosted: 01:28 - 25 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't pay too much notice to the nay sayers. Just get on with learning to ride and passing your test - if you really want to ride a big bike, it will just fall into place. I disagree with a point made above that choosing a bike is something to do when you have passed. I sometimes wonder if sensible bikers have any soul at all......buy mags, get brochures, join bike specific forums, walk by parked up bikes and visit showrooms to get really excited while you are still learning to ride. The nitty gritty will sit nicely with your dreams; both are important to get you through. Take the 'safety brigade' with a pinch of salt - most bikers find a bit of risk taking adds to the excitement. Yes we all need to know how to ride defensively but if that becomes the sole purpose, stick with cars. Be prepared to relish freedom - real bikers know what that means! If you want to know if you are cut out for biking, look at an up market new bike in a showroom. If your heart races a bit....that will probably say a lot. The three ingredients for a great biking life are:
1.Passion
2.Skill
3.Experience
If you have got 1. move on to 2. Your licence can be got relatively quickly. 3. can't be rushed but is what makes adequate riding, become special. If you feel the need to stay with a 125cc, fine but you are mature and should be fairly road savvy if you drive. Bikes 600cc and over are much more exciting and maybe less suitable for youngsters. The first time you ride a big bike and get that phwoooaaar moment, you will know what I mean!
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 02:09 - 25 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just get big bike license as quickly as possible. A 600cc bike is safer than any 125. More stable, better brakes, better power and easy power delivery. Just easier to ride.

I rode my daughters 125 to take it for it's MOT and it was utterly frightening. Underpowered, got buffetted by wind and lorry wash. Horrible. I couldn't wait to get back on my Goldwing.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 11:16 - 25 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

biker7 wrote:
The first time you ride a big bike and get that phwoooaaar moment, you will know what I mean!

That, plus it's also easier to ride them slowly too.

No, really, it is. Having bags of torquepowers on hand means that there isn't the same imperative to maximise momentum, cane them everywhere, and ride at the limit of their performance.

Straight up, I ride my 250 faster and less carefully than my GS, because that's how it begs to be ridden.
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M.C
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PostPosted: 18:24 - 25 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
there isn't the same imperative to maximise momentum, cane them everywhere, and ride at the limit of their performance.

Isn't that more fun? Smile
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 21:57 - 25 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

M.C wrote:
Rogerborg wrote:
there isn't the same imperative to maximise momentum, cane them everywhere, and ride at the limit of their performance.

Isn't that more fun? Smile

No.

https://i.imgur.com/d1DhrFl.gif?1

No, it isn't.

https://i.imgur.com/d1DhrFl.gif?1
____________________
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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F1.ash
Renault 5 Driver



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PostPosted: 16:15 - 02 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the success of these courses depend on the individual to a large degree. With no previous riding experience but 30 years as a car driver I did a 5 day DAS a month or so after my CBT and had no issues and none since.

It's probably not going to suit everyone but that's down to the individual and the school I guess.
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Aceslock
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PostPosted: 09:44 - 03 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

vp1977uk wrote:
Am just gonna do my CBT spring next year then take to from there.


This is the worse thing you can do......... Get your CBT completed yesterday! If you wait until spring to complete your CBT you will be wasting the good weather months worrying about passing MOD 1 & 2, when you could have already done it and out enjoying the road on your own.........
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 11:06 - 03 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aceslock wrote:
This is the worse thing you can do

To go with a boy... or two?

Fair point though. Tick tock, don't wait for the spring rush.
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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
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AshWebster
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PostPosted: 11:22 - 03 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

get all your shit passed in winter! two benefits:

1. You learn to ride in the worst conditions, so when it comes to riding faster in easy conditions, seems like a breeze! I passed in January, was hammering it down, foggy. Now when i come to riding in Summer round the lakes the roads feel like glue.

2. You have all summer to gain experience and enjoy it! If you fail once or twice in the summer youll end up putting pressure on yourself and miss half of the good months. If you fail in Jan theres always Feb! etc..
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Aceslock
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PostPosted: 11:58 - 03 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
Aceslock wrote:
This is the worse thing you can do

To go with a boy... or two?


Is this some kind of riddle?
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M.C
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PostPosted: 21:38 - 03 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd have to disagree on that point. It's too cold IMO to spend a day on the bike. I passed in March and we had an early morning ride to the test centre. I was ok but the guy I was with was suffering a bit. I've seen learners doing the same in the middle of winter and felt sorry for them.
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Wilkie2
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PostPosted: 01:25 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aceslock wrote:


Is this some kind of riddle?



Might be an age thing 😉

(Sad to say I got it 😭 )
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Aceslock
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PostPosted: 09:47 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wilkie2 wrote:
Aceslock wrote:


Is this some kind of riddle?



Might be an age thing 😉

(Sad to say I got it 😭 )


What sort of age thing? I'm 43 Embarassed

Or have i lead a sheltered life Very Happy Very Happy
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
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PostPosted: 11:24 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fwiw I did like my vanvan - slow even for a 125. This was just before the rules changed - you could get your full license on a 125 iirc, i.e. do your mod 1 and 2 on it and then ride anything, providing your were over 24. Someone correct me on this. If I'm right, it was 4-5 years ago.

Anyway, that's what I planned to do. Got CBT in August and planned to sneak in before the law changed the following January.

In the event I wasn't quick enough and the window of opportunity closed. I think it was May/June of the following year before I actually got the full monty.

This raised the question of whether I'd have been better off not bothering with the 125 at all. I still don't really know the answer to that. However it did definitely mean I shone like a diamond in the proverbial rough when my "class" was doing the DAS.

I appreciate it's ego shit, but still - the psychological edge you get from being comparatively accomplished whilst everyone else struggles like fuck is hard to repress. I suppose it could make you cocky and then create a situation where your confidence outstrips your competence. However if you've got even a bit of self-awareness you can be alert to this pitfall and catch yourself before you come a cropper.

As for that vanvan, I did wonder the other day if I regretted selling it - but on balance it wouldn't ever get much use and they don't like standing. Better off going to the next n00b where it can do the job it was designed for.
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Enduro Numpty
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PostPosted: 15:28 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm lucky enough to have got my licence in the days before CBT, and all the other obstacles that have to be navigated these days to get a full "ride anything" bike licence. Was this a good thing? The answer is, I don't know. Many of my generation got badly hurt or much worse through lack of training and too much bike too soon. I was lucky in that I made it through my early years on bikes relatively unscathed.

It's hard to compare a 17 year old boy in the seventies with a 40 something adult these days. You will have the benefit of maturity (though at 56 I'm apparently not up to speed on that yet Laughing ), you'll likely have a lot of experience in cars so you're probably in a much more favourable position than I was for getting through the learning process. I could ride an unrestricted 250 on a provisional licence that would do close to 100mph. A fast car in those days would do maybe 110 but the majority were much slower. The speed differential is much greater these days - average family car will do maybe 120 while a learner legal bike is, I imagine, much less capable in terms of speed than what I could ride as a learner. There's also so much more traffic on the roads these days.

I don't even know what all the hurdles are for getting the full licence but I think that in your position I'd be looking to get it done and out of the way. I wouldn't however be looking to jump on a big bike too soon - like anything in life there's little substitute for experience and the only way to get it is to do the miles. That said, the thought of riding a 125 in traffic these days horrifies me and the sooner you get off them the better from a safety point of view.
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Enduro Numpty
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PostPosted: 15:29 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm lucky enough to have got my licence in the days before CBT, and all the other obstacles that have to be navigated these days to get a full "ride anything" bike licence. Was this a good thing? The answer is, I don't know. Many of my generation got badly hurt or much worse through lack of training and too much bike too soon. I was lucky in that I made it through my early years on bikes relatively unscathed.

It's hard to compare a 17 year old boy in the seventies with a 40 something adult these days. You will have the benefit of maturity (though at 56 I'm apparently not up to speed on that yet Laughing ), you'll likely have a lot of experience in cars so you're probably in a much more favourable position than I was for getting through the learning process. I could ride an unrestricted 250 on a provisional licence that would do close to 100mph. A fast car in those days would do maybe 110 but the majority were much slower. The speed differential is much greater these days - average family car will do maybe 120 while a learner legal bike is, I imagine, much less capable in terms of speed than what I could ride as a learner. There's also so much more traffic on the roads these days.

I don't even know what all the hurdles are for getting the full licence but I think that in your position I'd be looking to get it done and out of the way. I wouldn't however be looking to jump on a big bike too soon - like anything in life there's little substitute for experience and the only way to get it is to do the miles. That said, the thought of riding a 125 in traffic these days horrifies me and the sooner you get off them the better from a safety point of view.
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Teflon-Mike
tl;dr



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PostPosted: 15:41 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote:
- you could get your full license on a 125 iirc, i.e. do your mod 1 and 2 on it and then ride anything, providing your were over 24. Someone correct me on this. If I'm right, it was 4-5 years ago.


Pre 3DL rules of 2013;
a) Full A with >33bhp for 2 years 'restriction' awarded for M/C Theory/Haz + Mod 1 +Mod 2.
Restriction automatically lapsed and granted unrestricted 'A' entitlement, after 2 years.
b) DAS grated over 21's right to test for Full 'A' without 2 year 33bhp restriction, if they passed on a bike over 400cc.
exact same licence as testing on a 125, just no wait to ride unrestricted power, and a chunk load more money to find for a course.
A 17 yr old could take tests on a 125, and have unrestricted A, two years ahead of being eligible to test under DAS rules.
c) A1 was awarded if you tested on a bike under 120cc or beneath minimum 60mph top speed.
Few bothered with it; tests cost the same. Some did ride older cheaper A1 spec bikes though, on L's, as cheaper to buy and insure, and either perpetually L-Plated on successive CBT's, or dragged it out until old enough to 'waste' savings of cheaper L-Plater, doing a DAS course!

Until 1935, you obtained a driving licence just by paying a fee and applying for one! The the car driving test was introduced, but AFAIK there was no motorcycle test, at all. Tests were suspended during WWII, and I believe that the motorcycle test was introduced ether when the car test was re-convened, or shortly after in the early '50's.. but there was no strict requirement to test, for a bike; you could ride any cc as long as you displayed L-Plates, and didn't carry a pillion, intl circa 1961, when the 250 learner limit that lasted until 1983 came in.

Under 250 Learner Laws, you could ride any motorcycle up to 250cc on L-Plates, no pillion, at age 16, until the 1973 moped laws when a moped licence was offered as concession to 16 year-olds when they rationalized the age eligibility for ether car or bike licence to 17.

The high-performance 250 of the late 60's & early 70's, begat the cult of perpetual L-Platers, with 250 machines starting to offer twin cylinder engines, and power and performance levels that could rival that of many much larger 'big-bikes' of less than a decade earlier, which were seldom much over 650cc, ad more comonly 350 or 500's and as frequently single's not twins, and usually not screaming two-strokes!

In response to this mockery of the bike licence, the 1983 learner laws imposed a 125cc learner limit on engine capacity, as well as 12.5bhp power limit. A 'Part-1' test 'similar' to CBT was introduced at the same time, along with a 2 year validity of a provisional M/C entitlement. If you didn't pass a test, ten M/C provisional entitlement was suspended for one year, and you had to re-apply for anther licence to get to re-instated

Curiously converting a provisional to a full licence by taking 'any' category of licence test from a road-roller or lawn-mower, lifted the 2 year 'life' restriction of m/c provisional etitlement, IF you had asked for provisional M/C entitlement when you applied for first provisional.

The Part-One test, was a state secret! They didn't tell you needed one until your 2-years were almost up and you tried to book a Mod 2 test! Then you found out that Part 1's were conducted by schools, not the driving examiners... and the 'real' test was trying to track one down!

It was superseded circa 1990 by the CBT which was required to 'validate' provisional entitlement.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 16:04 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Teflon-Mike wrote:
Until 1935, you obtained a driving licence just by paying a fee and applying for one!

Who loaned you the money?
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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
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Teflon-Mike
tl;dr



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PostPosted: 17:31 - 04 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
Teflon-Mike wrote:
Until 1935, you obtained a driving licence just by paying a fee and applying for one!

Who loaned you the money?

In 1935, I don't even think my GRANDAD was even old enough to have a driving licence!
In fact, though I'm not sure; Vale Onslow was allegedly caught about that time driving his Dad's van, and local Bobby asked to see driving licence he didn't have, so at 13 went and did the test, causing consternation with the desk-sergeant, who couldn't find anything in the rules that said he was too young, he just had to prove he could drive... which they assumed he couldn't being too short to see over the steering wheel....
Apparently he had a thick cushion and had screwed 3" blocks to the pedals....
Is that how you did it? Whistle
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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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pikey666
Borekit Bruiser



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PostPosted: 00:28 - 05 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shocked

Tef strikes back!!!

waiting for Episode three, Revenge of the Borg.

Shocked
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Wilkie2
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PostPosted: 02:49 - 05 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aceslock wrote:


What sort of age thing? I'm 43 Embarassed

Or have i lead a sheltered life Very Happy Very Happy



I'm 45 and I suppose having an older sister who watched the Grease video over and over messed me up Shocked , its lyrics from one of the songs Laughing
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struan80
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PostPosted: 03:32 - 05 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

biker7 wrote:
No one has really told you how great biking is! Fly past cars in a city jam. Wind in your face, seat of your pants thrill on the open road - better than cars by a long way for not a lot of dosh. Bike fits into a small space at home. Mates think you are are hero. Women swoon! Go to a bike shop and sit on them all and tell me you are not excited. I rode small bikes for years, passing my test at 21...ok nothing I rode was really exciting. Then I retired at 60 and got the big bike bug. Now pushing 70 I ride one of the fastest and love it. If you spend your last days regretting not doing things in life.....being a biker will be near the top of the list. Go for it mate, anyway you feel comfortable. Pick the bike you want to end up on as your dream machine, as the driving force and everything else will click into place, even if it takes a month or two. They say only bikers know why dogs like to ride with their head out of the car window. Even a 600cc motorcycle can accelerate as fast as a Ferrari. Even a modest V-Strom will do 0-60 in less than 4 seconds (I've had two and they are brilliant all rounders)

New Year's Resolution for you mate - I will be a full blown biker by Spring '18.
Let us know how you get on!

Dance!

Nice description.
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Aceslock
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PostPosted: 10:37 - 05 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wilkie2 wrote:
Aceslock wrote:


What sort of age thing? I'm 43 Embarassed

Or have i lead a sheltered life Very Happy Very Happy



I'm 45 and I suppose having an older sister who watched the Grease video over and over messed me up Shocked , its lyrics from one of the songs Laughing


Thank You! I wasn't a fan if i'm honest Laughing I know her name was Sandy and that's about it!
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Bozzy.
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PostPosted: 09:11 - 06 Jan 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

pikey666 wrote:
Shocked

Tef strikes back!!!

waiting for Episode three, Revenge of the Borg.

Shocked


I think Rog would doff his hat to Tef for that response. It was quite a funny!
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