New rider, weird question

[Mafioso]

[Mafioso]

[Teflon-Mike]

Risks vs Reward.. weigh them up carefully.

The risks of riding a motorbike, on average, accross all riders, means that you are something like 3x more likely to crash than some-one in a car. Now start multiplying them risks.

Risk of an accident in typical commuter traffic is something like 8x more likely....

Carry on doing the maths....

Risk that a NOVICE rider, as in one that hasn;t got 3 years of riding experience under thier belt yet, is something in the order of 10x more likely to have an accident than some-one who has got that experience...

But ugh-oh.... lets do another sum.... a LEARNER rider, with out that experience, but also without even a qualification, and likely the scantest of CBT training, and the inc still wet on thier DL196.... is EVEN MORE likely to have an accident... something like 5x more likely or so.

NOW... factor in the risks of not just commuting, not just trying to commute on L-Plates, not just on L-Plates, but in peak commuter traffic?!?!? The very fact that you aint dead yet, IS rather indicative of just how errant we are when we try and apraise risks, and actually how 'low' the base line risks actually are.... BUT... however low they may be? You are ramping them ENORMOUSLY!

Typical driver, in a life-time of motoring, by car, travels aproximately half a million miles. They are 'expected' to have between three and five 'prangs'.. mostly in thier early-years, around 3-5, on the roa, perhaps 8-10 in thier entire driving career. Thay's about, one 'accident' every 50,ooo miles or so.

On a motorcycle... on average... the typical biker will cover probably no more than 50,ooo miles. This is limited because most bikers dont ride regularly or continiousely for thier entire riding career. They are much more likely to use a bike for only perhaps a year or two, before they can afford a car or are convinced they need one to carry kids and stuff. Of those who persist or return to bikes, it is predominantly used as a part-time leisure vehicle, and many dont even clock four figure mileages between annual MOT's. The 'average' motorcycle miles is only aprox 3,ooo miles a year, compared to 4x that for a car, significantly limiting the rider's exposure to risk.

So many bikers riding purely for leisure, on Sunny Sundays and the like, limit thier risk exposure even more, not just not clocking the miles, but the miles they do clock, tend to be on rural roads, in the summmer, in good day-light, away from 'peak' rush-hour commuter conditions.

As learner... on CBT and L's, on a motorbike, YOU, are starting out, with the HUGEST risk loading against you could could possibly heap up... and rather than trying to do anything to lessen those risks, ytou seem deturmined or blithely to be trying to heap them up a bit more, adding 'Filtering' to the menu!!

NOW... have a slap on the cjops and WAKE UP!

Go get a licence!!!!!

You 'say' you plan top anyway..... well, IF you are up to hacking the daily commute, you are up to passing tests. Self booked for A1-125 licence, they cost something like £120.... so rather than trying to dodge them and making excuss for why YOU dont think they are worth it... go take them and PROVE, either that you can, and you are right, or that you are wrong, and REALLY this plan, probably isn't the 'best'.... your call.

TRAINING!!!

You 'plan' to do DAS anyway. So WHAT tghe fuck are you fucking around at you fuck-wit!!!!! (have I given enough fuicks yet?)

For gawds sake! You 'Plan' to get the liucence, via DAS, via a school, via training! So WHY the frigg aren't you? Its NOT saving you any time, its NOT saving you any money, and it sure as fuck isn';t saving you any 'Risk;!!!!!

GO DO!!!!

You say you have bo mates to ride with, and want to go ride with others... well, on training you are PAYING some-one to watch you wobble.... Its EXACTLY what you 'say' you want!

A-N-D you get to LEARN something from it, and hopefully get a licence out of it, WHICH, should get you at least out of the shark ionfecsted shallows you 'think' you are safe paddling in with a 125, on L's.... AND gets you some riding experience, and gets you some foilk who should know the score to be riding with, and who WILL give you not just places to go, but reason to go there!!!!

This plan, as you have now, is NOT a plan to get a motorbike licence... its a plan to piss around NOT getting a motorbike licence, 'hoping' to lean by the school of hrd knocks, which come hard on a motorbike... to in 'some' way build your experience... so err.. what? You dont have to feel like a school-kid doing what teacher tells you?

GO GET THE LESSONS!!!!

You intend to pay for them at some point, why wait? You are NOT learning very much by trial and error going it alone on a 125... you are JUST putting yourself in danger... and a LOT of it, and a lot more than I suspect you ever imagined...

You are alreeady riding in the crap weather! WHY do you need wait until it improved to get lessons!?!?!

Here and now, whilst the majority of dreamers with big ideas about motorbikes think like that, the bike schools are going broke for lack of business; leave it until March or April, when the sun might peer oyut from behind a cloud and a few bike migh be pulled out the garage on a Sunsay to make a racket in the street and peak people's interest, the school apointment books are likely tol go from empty to over flowing in a matter of weeks, and where, now,. this time of year you can probably not just get a course tomorrow, but they will likely offer you a 'winter discount' to crack out the credit card... in a couple of months you will bve paying full price, and being told to wait until they have a slot!

JUST go do it... NOW!

You are NOT 'Practicing' you are 'Procrastinating' and in that procrastination ramping risks trying to do stuff well above your pay-grade!

It answers the opening question "Where to go" and the follow on "Want some-one to ride with!" and all the others, like how do I ride and survive, and how do I get a licence to get a bigger bike....

It IS the answer to all you say you want, and the ONLY thing, and the only person holding you back IS YOU, looking for excuses to carry on pigging about in the baby pool, playing at it, rather than get the fuck on and actually DO it....

SO... you go do a course... and worst case... you go do course, and you dont get licence, you need more training..... boo-sob.... you are nbo wors off than you are now, BUT at LEAST you will have had some-one that knows what they are talking about, watch you wobble, and tell you what you are doing wrong so ytou can put it right, which they will probably also tell you how to do, rather than leaving you 'only' to find out by falling off, and put it right by guess work.... In teh frigging rish hour?!?!?!?!?

GO DO SOME LESSONS!!!!

Its the answer to ALL you say you are asking for, and its only YOU frinding excuses to not do them that's keeping you in THE highest risk, lowest reward place you can be, not going anywhere and just getting more frustrated by what you cant do, rather than what you can....

Worst case.... you dont get a licence... you are STILL better off for it than you are now, knoiwing WHY, best case? In a week, you COULD have a full-licence and ditch the L's and possibly be looking for a bigger bike.... but you dont know, and you would rather make excuses than go find out.

GO TO FUCKING SCHOOL!
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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?'

[thx1138]

https://www.trf.org.uk/beginners/

https://trail.trf.org.uk/2018/09/24/young-riders/

[Bhud]

Just get lessons... I was in a car, behind a 125, yesterday. Ridden by someone who seemed to ONLY ride in people's blind spots (on two-lane carriageways), often just grabbing the brake and stopping an inch or two behind the bumper of a car in front. He wasn't riding like a prick, but his style of riding scared the shit out of me. He was all over the place, in blind spots and had no look-ahead. I watched him with dread, and I could only relax when he had gone down a different road.

Sometimes an instructor can give you pointers which have nothing to do with tests but which might keep you safer.

[M.C]

[chickenstrip]

[Polarbear]

[Bhud]

[chickenstrip]

[Bhud]

[chickenstrip]

[Teflon-Mike]

I'm a Marxist..... a Grouchy one!.... "I wouldn't want to be a member of any club that would have me as a member" Lol. But, clubs come in all shapes and sizes, and I have probably been a member of an awful lot of 'bike' clubs in my time... all of them organising events in muddy fields.... though usually sanctioned under ACU trials regs!!!!

Which is to offer little reminder, that 'Bike Clubs' aren't all Sons-of-Apethy life-style am-dram outfits..... and the smorgasbord ov'em is loaded.

Under the BMF umbrella, there are an awful lot of owners clubs for particular marques or even models of motorcycle. Some organise ride-outs, some shows and concourse, auto-jumbles or swap-meets, some 'classic' clubs I believe even have 'club' workshops, and tool-pools, and things like that.

Under the ACU, as alluded, most motorcycle 'racing' from observed trials through to tarmac road-racing, with stuff like grass-track and speed-way chucked in the mix, are all organised through 'clubs' and many don't just limit their activity to the racing; Some 'classic' race or trials clubs also organise shows or auto-jumbles, too, and the smorgasbord starts saging under the over-lap!

My local trials club, regularly organise 'Training Days' often with 'Taster' classes.. which begs mention of modern test-training, and in which the BMF, were instrumental in formalising and standardising the 'training schemes' often only offered through clubs, when Motorcycle-Schools were no more than a figment of Thatherite imagination.... which takes the topic off into the 'Political', where BMF now affiliated with MAG, actually do the lobbying on motorcycle legislation, and are normally involved in the Quangos and such, involved in it's planning.... all of which, IF you are of a mind you can get involved in, through the clubs.....

And of some pertinence, since a passing interest in 'off-roading' was mentioned, and links to the TRF or Trail-Rider's-Fellowship were offered; that one offers in micro-byte an idea of how much bike 'clubs' can have to offer. You would likely join the TRF because you like the idea of having a go at this 'green-laning' thing, and having joined, you would likely be invited to along to a group ride, on the lanes.... tong only slightly in cheek... its always good to have a spare pair of hands to haul your bike out the hole when you are bruised! Follow on from that, though, would be to attend mark-up sessions, where members, most likely the Rights-of-Way officer, would let you copy their map-markings highlighting legal and status checked unsurfaced-public-roads, onto your own... probably down't'pub, over a pint. Or at least that's how it used to be done... probably all e-mails of Memory-Map way-finder over-lays now! But still... THAT then takes you to actually status checking the trails, and 'some-one' has to make an appointment to visit the county records office and consult the 'definitive map' and and and THAT takes you into the political, lobbying against TRE's that the local high-ways dept may want to save actually going move some mud.... a-n-d, a-n-d, A-ND on it goes... from there you get to organising maintenance days, or just participating, probably turning up to a muddy field with some-one in a Land-Rover pulling a Sankey full of gravel... to be handed a shovel....or going to church hall meetings or actual council meetings to offer your vote against intended local by-laws.... which begs mention of the Lake-District-National-Parks-Authority's attempt a few years ago, to 'ban' all 'recreational' motor-vehicle use within the park boundaries... which was actually both illegal and contrary to their own 'charter', but they probably would have managed to effect through the back-door, were it not for 'The Clubs' turning out at church-hall meetings, and taking the matter up to Whitehall, to get them to back down.... which they 'sort' of did.... ish....

But even that, is but a tiny snap-shot of just how much and how wide ranging 'Club' activity, in motorcycling MAY be..... Its FAR from just all bad bands, bad-beer and bonfires in a muddy field!

So I used the term 'Club-Biking' in its most catholic sense, incorporating all forms of biking 'Clubs' not just the back-patchers.....
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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?'

[bhinso]

[chickenstrip]

[Bhud]

[chickenstrip]

[Teflon-Mike]

Once upon a time, I used to wear a crash hat, in the hope of suffering helmet hair.... given my locks were bright-red and curly, and utterly un-tameable.....

Now... Hair! Ah Yes, I REMEMBER that!.... let me tell you a funny story abut Grandad's shampoo......

I actually was the first man in my family, in living memory, to pass their thirtieth birthday with hair on their head.... I was told various stories in my younger days, how baldness was associated with male virility, and after fathering two before I was 30, fully anticipated waking up that morning, to find it all on my pillow....... Most of it though, has hung around.... I THINK just to get the last laugh! It just keeps going on random holidays... it's still unruly, and 'some' of it is still sort of red! Not so much salt and pepper, but sugar and spice!
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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?'

[bhinso]