I need some advice... I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[Neoluke]

I'm 16.

I'm on a provisional licence.

I'm 17 in 6 months.

I currently ride a Piaggio NRG Mc3 50cc scooter.

When I hit 17, do I instantly buy a RS125 or do I take my test and buy a 250?

Do you think going from a 50cc scooter to a 250 is too much?

Do you think a RS125 would be a good bike for me?

Should I stay with bikes or get a car instead?

I heard RS125's are unreliable, true?

General advice would be great.... I can't stop thinking about what to do...

[stinkwheel]

My oppinion, since you asked for it, would be to buy a normal, learner legal 125. Get a cheap 4-stroke one at about the 500 quid mark (or one of the 2-stroke 100cc machines which are cheap as chips), do some lessons and ride it about for a bit. Once you feel you have learned how to use the gears, hold your position in traffic, fallen off it a couple of times and learned to handle it to the max, do your test and get a 33bhp restricted bike.

Doing this will teach you how to ride a 'proper' bike, it will not have enough power for you to exceed your capabilities by too much, will be cheap to repair if (when) you fal off/drop it and you will be able to sell it for much the same as you paid for it. This will leave you plenty of cash for the bigger bike which you are now less likely to make a silly mistake on and do some more expensive damage.

I would be disinclined to buy a 'sports' 125, it will be expensive to insure, more likley to break down and is covered in expensive plastics.

4-stroke trailies make excellent learner bikes, they are easy to ride, give you a good view of the road ahead, have a lot more 'road presence' so you get less hassle off car drivers and crash with minimal damage.
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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.

[Ste]

If you are fairly confident and able on your 50cc then once you are 17 I would say to do an intensive training course followed by your test and then buy yourself a 250cc. You might find it easier to get a cheap 125 for a while (cheap being ~£500) get used to using the gears and general riding of it and then do your test on that. Assuming you look after it a little bit and don't crash it badly you'll be able to sell it for quite close to what you paid for it. However if you're confident enough then I would go for doing your test and then getting yourself a 250, Goose did that and got a CBR250 and had no problems at all and had just been using an 50cc ped before that.

You won't be able to get an RS125 for ~£500, get a 4 stroke (CG125 type thing) rather than something with expensive fairing.

Should you stay with bikes or get a car, I think you cna guess what the answer you'll get here on that one is.

Any bike is unreliable if not looked after, RS125's (and all two stroke sports bikes) need more looking after than a four stroke, so for a cheap 125 to learn with get yourself a CG125 type thing rather than a sports 125 with lots of expensive fairings.

[Frost]

If you do go for a 250, avoid a 2 stroke 250. they sound like a logical stepup from a 125, but with twice the power comes 10 times the cost

Go for a bigish 4 stroke, they are easy to ride, cheap to run and set you up nicely for a bigger 4 stroke sports bike

[Neoluke]

Cheers for the advise guys.
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Neoluke

[BLOFLY 636]

I happen to live in Australia and over here the only provisional license you need to get is a limited license up to 250cc. So I went out and optained my learners permit and booked a few lessons on a Honda CB250 and after 3 lessons I went for my test.... easy! so then I was faced with the obvious question 2 stroke power or 4 stroke reliability eventually I chose a 4 stroke...... a Kawasaki ZZ-R 250 and I had heaps of fun a top speed of 100 MPH and quick enough to leve most cars behind, I wasn't ever intimidated by it from the moment I rode off from the place I bought it so I guess my advise would be to try out a 4 stroke 250 and see what you think but it all comes down to your personal taste and ability just get what you FEEL you WANT mate and you will be happy!
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Those bloody footpegs......they ought to do away with em!

[G1_]

When I turned 17 I went straight from my 50 to doing my test. It took a 3 day intensive course and cost about 350 pounds. I then got a cheap 250 4-stroke a CB250RS and learnt how to ride properly and then spent my proper money on a 400! IMO learner bikes are just there to help you learn. No need to spend too much money on such a bike as it is garenteed to loose you money. Keep your money for proper bikes!