Questions from the completely overwhelmed

[DaveWilby88]

Afternoon Everyone!

after a short time of thinking, sleeping, eating and especially drinking on it, I have decided to take the jump and get a bike. I have my CBT booked in for next month and have been practising on my father in laws scooter in the large field behind the house.

Now, I live in the outskirts of Cheltenham and travel around 16 miles round trip to work and back (but not in town), and maybe want to do a bit of riding in weekend (but nothing major)

Since the idea was put in my head, I have gone from being determined to be green and go for an electric scooter, to a electric cafe racer, to opening up to 125cc's, but then do i want a scooter? or one of the many new chinese cruisers or scrambler like the Hanway Scramble or the Keeway Superlight or WK Legend?

Or do I follow some advise i have heard and go for an older model since they hold their value? do i invest in maybe project or a barn find that needs minimal work?

basically, my mind is a minefield of questions. I have a budget around £2000 to £2500. I am also going to sell my car so this is going to be a long term sort of commitment, so i am not keen on settling with a scooter, and I love the idea of owning a scramble or cruiser, and I am honestly not fussed about sticking to a 125cc

one other thing...which might sound weird. I suffering from time to time sciatica in my back, so comfort would be a high priority to me

I know this is a lot of questions, but I need someone just to straighten it all out for me. I know it can be down to personal preference, but if that was the case i would end up having nearly a dozen bikes!

I appreciate all your help on this guys, and I am sorry for the mess of questions

[stinkwheel]

My advice, get on the road with something totally vanilla and not too expensive. Decide what you do and don't like about it, move on once you know. Something that looks like the motorcycle a 6 year old would draw.

So if you're on L-plates, something like a YBR125 then. Don't spend as much as £2k on one, £1,500 will get you something very tidy with uinder 10k miles on. Mileage and condition are more important that age. Standard is good, modified is bad. Look for one that doesn't need a lot of consumables doing imminently.

If you fancy something a bit out of the ordinary with a scrambler look, a Suzuki Vanvan?

A moderately priced japanese 125 will sell for much the same as you paid for it in 6-12 months providing you haven't wrecked it.

You'll probably want to do a test and get something bigger at some point. You can then get money back on the 125, upgrade and haven't totally blown your wad.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[DaveWilby88]

[Riejufixing]

[DaveWilby88]

[Riejufixing]

[slowside]

[Riejufixing]

[dynax]

If you tend to suffer with sciatica i would consider getting a step through rather than a leg over bike, something like an innova 125, they are a good all round bike and have a good following and a go anywhere reputation

https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/moto_gallery/HONDAANF125Innova-319_1.jpg
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Mike.
Bikes: Xena, Bridget,Florence
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmihUc0xXxYbR4_0l-F1FzA/videos?view_as=subscriber

[DaveWilby88]

[DaveWilby88]

[slowside]

[DaveWilby88]

[DaveWilby88]

[dynax]

Modern 4t 125's are very capable of keeping up with the flow of traffic, i have a UM renegade commando classic it is a cruiser and weighs in at 172kg and with my weight avg 60kg it will cruise all day long at 60-65 mph, one advantage of a heavy cruiser is that you don't tend to suffer with side winds so much and with them being big bikes they do have some road presence, go round to some dealers and sit on some and see what you feel comfortable with, but don't get too caught up in the 125 hype, when they re open i will be doing my test on my 125 as i have no need for more power it does me fine and will do for the next ten years plus, just try and enjoy the freedom of biking
____________________
Mike.
Bikes: Xena, Bridget,Florence
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmihUc0xXxYbR4_0l-F1FzA/videos?view_as=subscriber

[dynax]

[DaveWilby88]

[DaveWilby88]

[dynax]

[WD Forte]

Strickly speakin, you'd have to be about 5 foot tall to be classed as obese at 95Kg
I suspect like many of us, yer just a bit of a fat bastard

How tall are you?
I kind of like 125s as runabouts but at 6'2" and a bit, many of them feel tiny
and I just cant get comfy.
Some are physically bigger though like the Varadero and Honda PCX scoot, probably
quite few others too.
Your size and mass will affect how well a limited power machine will ride too.
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bikers smell of wee

[DaveWilby88]

[stinkwheel]

Varadero is a good call. Getting a bit old now but if you can get one in good nick they are a much bigger bike than most 125s, v-twin engine with a bit of poke and some road presence. Some offroader styling cues too.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[WD Forte]

Most 125s should tootle along happily enough at 40-50
Sit on a few by all means but be warned,
you dont really get to know a bike until you've spent some time in the saddle and bikes in show rooms wont let you do this.

I dont have a smart answer to this dilemma but would suggest you do the CBT before deciding and spending money on a bike.
You'll have spent a few hours on the trainer and that plus talking to the instructors and others might help point to the type of bike you feel would suit you best.
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bikers smell of wee

[linuxyeti]

Your list of bikes, is quite varied, I would suggest before plumping for one or the other, got to a multi marque bike shop, where, hopefully, you can sit on a few and see how they feel, and then, whether you buy new, or go second hand, you know what you have a preference for. There is no reason to be put off by chinese bikes.

However, don't take this the wrong way, but taking your lack of experience into account, I'd be wary of getting a 2nd hand 125, irrespective of manufacturer. By there very nature, many 125's have been first bikes by novice riders, that don't know how to look after them properly, and rag them silly. They don't seem to realise that a bike is a little more hands on than mummy's and daddy's car, mantainence wise, so, there is more risk involved in buying a 2nd hand 125, than there is in say, buying a 2nd hand 650.
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Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[CorriganJ]