V-Force
Part of things
I like Hondas.
Posts: 846
|
|
|
|
*I know this may not be *strictly* relevant so if it needs to go then just delete it, but I'd appreciate it being left until the morning at least so I can see any replies that are made, sticking a thread up in General now as penance. ThanksAlright everyone, just looking for some advice on doing my bike test, I.e. CBT, and Module 1 & 2. Limited to 33bhp for 2 years, no restriction after that time. Decided over the last week or so that I really want a bike, I've been pillion on a few in the past and loved it, wanting to do it someday. One of my best mates has just got insured on his CBR600 and seeing him on that has made me really want one, so I've started researching. This is when I found out the bike test is changing massively, on the 19th of January next year it just goes stupid (loads more tests, more probationary periods, no direct access until aged 24) so that's really getting me motivated to get it done as soon as possible. I've got a couple of mates that are also thinking the same kinda thing and wanting to get theirs done at the same time, which is good as some training centres offer discounts for multiple people. Can get an 06 new shape Aprilia RS125 off another mate for 1200 quid, if he hangs on to it until early next year which he's said he probably will if I want it, which I do. Here's the problem - I've got VERY limited experience of riding geared bikes - infact motorbikes in general. Ridden a mate's old ped a few times a few years agobut that's so easy my dog could do it. Last time I tried to ride a geared bike, it didn't end well (GasGas trials bike, loads of torque and very responsive on the throttle), so I'm not very confident at all. Guessing it'd be quite a lot easier on something like an RS125 - you're sat down, it's not as torquey etc? I've been looking into intensive courses which involve doing your CBT, all the training for your tests, bike and gear hire etc for £500ish all in, although that's obviously without the test fees. Anyone had any experience with these sorts of firms and are there any recommended in the North West? We're willing to travel, but not too far, could do with being less than 45 mins to an hour away from Winsford (20 miles west of Chester) as we all have jobs with limited amounts of time off. Not bothered about getting a bike until spring next year really as I can't afford one (need coilovers and Rotas first) and won't ride in winter anyway. Any suggestions other than this RS125 my mate has? I've seen a few other bikes, Cagiva Mitos, Derbi GPRs, Yamaha R125s etc, but a lot of my mates have had RS125s although most have sold up and got cars now, they seem to be the quickest, best handling, best looking 125 you can get imo. Where's best to go for gear - I'll want a decent helmet, gloves, boots and leather jacket, maybe full leathers? Obviously Demontweeks are way too expensive, there's a J+S local to me, or should I just use ebay? Here's what's made me want one  : (with the EJ9 sneaking into the background  )  Looks amazing, sounds amazing, argh I just want one. I know a 125 won't be anywhere near as good but it'll be fun enough for me for the 2 years until the restriction comes off my licence. Any advice anyone? Cheers 
|
| |
Last Edit: Jul 6, 2012 23:10:03 GMT by V-Force
1999 Impreza WRX typeR STI Version 5 Limited
1999 Civic VTi-S Aerodeck
2005 Bora TDI daily
Several other 90s Hondas (shhh they're sleeping)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I did CBT, 125cc for a year, then test.
I ride a 650cc now, which is restricted (its a BMW F650GS which isnt much over the power anyway, a simple BMW £5 throttle stop officially limits it).
I'd personally avoid 125cc sports bikes. I'd look for a Yamaha YBR125, or a Honda CG125.
Reliable, dependable. Not highly strung high revvers that'll be twitchy, especially with your limited riding skills.
Helmet/gear - buy the best. Infinity/Hein Gericke/Ebay can sort you out. Buy the best helmet you can, you don't want to have to re-buy everything when you get a bigger bike.
Its all about riding experience. How old are you? You need to know when to back off and take it easy, young kids have a bit of a gung-ho attitude, which with limited experience spells disaster on a bike.
Be uncool for a year - ride something simple, reliable, take your test on it, and don't die.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
personaly i would not get a highly strung 2-stroke like fat jack said get a Yamaha YBR125, or a Honda CG125.
go for ever and when you do up grade to a bigger bike you get you money back as long as you look after it..
or do what i did pass you test and go out and get a 1200 for you first bike..
what ever you do have fun:-)
|
| |
 1995 mk3 cavalier 1.8i 1972 1200 beetle 2010 1.2 fiat 500 "sometime's" 2000 suzuki gsxr 600 srad |
|
elpedro
Part of things
2000 - Rover Mini Cooper Sport 1275mpi
Posts: 83
|
|
|
|
|
33 bhp isnt a 125 btw 33bhp is more like a 240 and some 400 and some 500cc bikes depending on the bike and engine .... i road a 125 to pass my test on when i was younger then once i passed my test i got a honda cbr 400 babyblade road that for 2 year then went to a zx9r then had a sting of 1000 cc bikes for the past 8 year iv been riing on the road but I'm quite experanced in bikes as iv been brorght up around them and on them since i was born so iv always been skilled on bikes
|
| |
rover mini cooper sport
kawazaki zx9r ninja
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not being confident with geared bikes is no problem at all. Your CBT instructor will be well used to teaching people from scratch, so to speak. I never got further than doing my CBT and hooning about on a DT125 for a year or so, but it was really good fun. I will, when I have some money  do it again and do the full test. I quite fancy something old and British to modify. Only bit of practical advice I can give is to go and try on lots of helmets and see what fits well. Buying mail order for something that may not fit correctly is a bit of a lottery I'd not want to play with the insides of my face. |
| |
...proper medallion man chest wig motoring. |
|
V-Force
Part of things
I like Hondas.
Posts: 846
|
|
|
|
|
Been and booked a free taster session for next Sunday with a local training company - there's three of us that are looking at getting it done, so I think we're going with them for test training etc. The bikes they use are Yamaha YBR125s, what are they like to ride for a complete noob? Guessing they're pretty forgiving as they will have people in this situation all the time.
I'm not going to be using it for any important journeys, I'll probably only insure and tax it over the summer tbh, and I'll only use it for work if I'm up early enough and the weather is really good, so I'm not massively fussed about reliability etc. Most of my miles will be done in the Civic, I'll only really use the bike for non essential stuff.
Just been to J&S, found a few decent helmets and stuff, I'm budgeting at least £5-600 for helmet, leathers, gloves and boots so should be able to get some decent stuff for that. Found some RST leathers on the internet new for about £330, which I thought wasn't too bad.
I'm 18, I know this doesn't sound like a very good combination, but I do know when to back off when I'm driving a car, and I'm pretty sure I'll be a lot more careful on a bike. On a bike I obviously have no experience so won't be trying to pull wheelies and stupid stuff like that, I reckon I'll be pretty sensible tbh as I know I'm not capable of much on a bike.
If I get an RS I'd probably use it until the restriction comes off my licence and then get a Bandit or something, i.e. not something ridiculous but a good progression. If do manage to get this RS for £1200 I'm pretty sure I'd get at least that in a couple of years as there aren't many below a grand, even the old shape ones.
Cheers
|
| |
1999 Impreza WRX typeR STI Version 5 Limited
1999 Civic VTi-S Aerodeck
2005 Bora TDI daily
Several other 90s Hondas (shhh they're sleeping)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I wouldn't bother with leathers for what you are doing, you want waterproof and warm! Find a decent bike shop and ask what they use/ recommend, you'll get very nicely set up with money to spare on the price you said. The Knox clothing system used to be bloody excellent, saw someone come off and slide down the road at 80 leaving only scuffs on his jacket - its not the cheapest though, Rev-it used to be good value for money too, I'm a bit out of touch now so things have probably changed....
|
| |
|
|
crazymonkey
Posted a lot
ummm....what was I doing again???
Posts: 1,981
|
|
|
|
|
YBR125 is a perfect beginner bike so be ideal to get used to gears. I learnt on my old CG125 and the YBR is pretty similar I think. so much more forgiving than a 2 stroke sports 125. Ive been used to peds for a few years as havent had a geared bike for years due to an injury but trying to get back onto them (have a little project I'm fixing up to learn gears again)
trust me I only actually rode a geared bike once and its easy once you know how-it will come naturally.
as for the gear best bet is to look around local bike shops. avoid cheap internet deals-you want to get stuff that fits nicely and is comfortable.
|
| |
whoever said dogs were man's best friend....obviously never heard of cable ties
|
|
V-Force
Part of things
I like Hondas.
Posts: 846
|
|
|
|
|
Undecided as to if I'm gonna go for leathers tbh, I'll definitely get at least a jacket though. I won't be using it in anything other than summer months and will only ride in the wet when I'm already out and get caught out by the rain, so not too bothered about waterproofness. Really don't like the look of textiles tbh, and I've read that they're not as good protection wise as leather.
Crazymonkey that's good to hear as I literally have a couple of minutes of experience of geared bikes, so I'm hoping it'll be easy enough to pick up. Been told by mates that the clutches on their RS125s are more like a switch, i.e. either on or off, hope it isn't like this on the YBR
Cheers
|
| |
1999 Impreza WRX typeR STI Version 5 Limited
1999 Civic VTi-S Aerodeck
2005 Bora TDI daily
Several other 90s Hondas (shhh they're sleeping)
|
|
forde
Part of things
Posts: 377
|
|
|
|
|
curse word lol I wouldnt worry about the clutch on a ybr or cg mate those things couldnt pull the skin off a rice pudding.
I wouldnt worry about a "sporty" 125 having too much power either I mean jesus christ its a 125 some people are way too paranoid about bikes. never mind the fact youll be getting right onto a 600 straight after your test if your like most people. you can kill yourself on a cg just as easily as on a rs125 if you have no sense, if you are they type of person who is going to crash a bike itll happen no matter what your on. also, having ridden CGs and YBRs the handling and braking is so bad it is unreal. I would much rather be on a cbr125 or rs125 at least you might avoid something or get stopped in time.
basically you can either buy a real nice 125 that youll be happy to do test on and play on for two years until restriction is up like a yzf-r 125 or rs125 or cbr125, or you can buy a boring cheap shitter of a learner bike with a view to selling it on as soon as you pass and getting a 250 or restricted bigger bike.
2 stroke rs125s are a bit highly strung but its no big deal you just have to rebuild them every 5k or whatever, and they are cheap and easy to work on 2 strokes are way simpler engines than 4s and a lot more fun. depends if its your main vehicle or just for fun as well and how many miles youll do.
cbr125s have been out for donkeys years now and are 4 stroke and honda so bombproof, maybe one of them would be a good shout? the newer rs125s and the yzf-r125 yamahas are also 4 stroke then you have the derbi and hyosung etc offerings their newer models are much improved on their older stuff.
|
| |
Last Edit: Jul 8, 2012 5:20:41 GMT by forde
'15 Royal Enfield Continental GT
'95 CZ 125 Type 488
'91 Vespa PX125E
'77 Camino, '86 Camino
'82 Puch Maxi S '70 Puch Maxi N
'80 Maxi S "Sport"
|
|
|
|
forde
Part of things
Posts: 377
|
|
|
|
curse word lol I wouldnt worry about the clutch on a ybr or cg mate those things couldnt pull the skin off a rice pudding. I wouldnt worry about a "sporty" 125 having too much power either I mean jesus christ its a 125 some people are way too paranoid about bikes. never mind the fact youll be getting right onto a 600 straight after your test if your like most people. you can kill yourself on a cg just as easily as on a rs125 if you have no sense, if you are they type of person who is going to crash a bike itll happen no matter what your on. also, having ridden CGs and YBRs the handling and braking is so bad it is unreal. I would much rather be on a cbr125 or rs125 at least you might avoid something or get stopped in time. basically you can either buy a real nice 125 that youll be happy to do test on and play on for two years until restriction is up like a yzf-r 125 or rs125 or cbr125, or you can buy a boring cheap shitter of a learner bike with a view to selling it on as soon as you pass and getting a 250 or restricted bigger bike. 2 stroke rs125s are a bit highly strung but its no big deal you just have to rebuild them every 5k or whatever, and they are cheap and easy to work on 2 strokes are way simpler engines than 4s and a lot more fun. depends if its your main vehicle or just for fun as well and how many miles youll do. cbr125s have been out for donkeys years now and are 4 stroke and honda so bombproof, maybe one of them would be a good shout? the newer rs125s and the yzf-r125 yamahas are also 4 stroke then you have the derbi and hyosung etc offerings their newer models are much improved on their older stuff. just make sure you get the best gear you can afford and good luck |
| |
'15 Royal Enfield Continental GT
'95 CZ 125 Type 488
'91 Vespa PX125E
'77 Camino, '86 Camino
'82 Puch Maxi S '70 Puch Maxi N
'80 Maxi S "Sport"
|
|
forde
Part of things
Posts: 377
|
|
|
|
Helmet/gear - buy the best. Infinity/Hein Gericke/Ebay can sort you out. Buy the best helmet you can, you don't want to have to re-buy everything when you get a bigger bike. why would you buy curse word gear to ride a 125 then re buy? coming off a 125 at 60mph hurts as much as coming off a 1000 at 60mph. i got hit my a car doing 60mph on a tuned 50cc, the size of the bike is irrelevant. |
| |
'15 Royal Enfield Continental GT
'95 CZ 125 Type 488
'91 Vespa PX125E
'77 Camino, '86 Camino
'82 Puch Maxi S '70 Puch Maxi N
'80 Maxi S "Sport"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leather is good for sliding down the road but you still get broken bones from the impact. Textiles tend to have better impact protection / armour but get shredded in a slide.
Basically no perfect clothing !
I got hit by a car and the armour in my textile jacket and trousers meant I just have one very small scar - yet I sufffered brain injury as it moved within my skull despite having a decent helmet.
What I'm saying it motorcyclists risk injury every time they go out no matter what they are wearing. With that in mind the best way to avoid getting hurt it to avoid getting into situations in the first place and that is where proper training comes in (plus decent clothing, helmet, gloves, boots, body armour etc :-) )
Go for it - it's a great feeling of freedom no matter whether you are riding a 50cc moped or a superbike.
Personally my health has deteriated to the point where I now accept I won't ride again despite still owning 5 bikes and am glad I was able to enjoy all the previous years on two wheels.
Paul H
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Do it and do it sooner rather than later. Here's a pic of mine for some more inspiration  |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Helmet/gear - buy the best. Infinity/Hein Gericke/Ebay can sort you out. Buy the best helmet you can, you don't want to have to re-buy everything when you get a bigger bike. why would you buy curse word gear to ride a 125 then re buy? coming off a 125 at 60mph hurts as much as coming off a 1000 at 60mph. I got hit my a car doing 60mph on a tuned 50cc, the size of the bike is irrelevant. Many people buy cheap first time round, because they've spent all their cash on the bike and insurance. I didnt recommend buying curse word gear, but its pretty common. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Many people buy cheap first time round, because they've spent all their cash on the bike and insurance. I didnt recommend buying curse word gear, but its pretty common. My textile jacket cost £300 !, Helmet almost as much, add summer & winter gloves and boots etc then you are looking at nearly £750. Never bothered adding it up before When I first started riding, in 1973, it was a mates cast off helmet, Vietnam military surplus combat jacket, golf oversuit for bad weather, cheap gloves and Doc Martin boots. I cringe to remember how I risked riding in such unsuitable gear. This was 250cc bikes on L plates with no training - not evern CBT. Paul H |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I figured it was worth shelling out for decent equipment, as when I started riding I was statistically very likely to end up sliding down the road...
You'll love it. Nothing beats it, not even the fastest of cars I've owned. They don't come close!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've been thinking of getting my bike license as well. Luckily I won't have to bother with 125cc bikes! I don't think I'd fit on one anyway. In South Australia you used to be allowed up to 250cc as a learner and for the first year after you pass your test. Now they've changed it to anything under 660cc with a power to weight ratio of less than 150kW/tonne. A lot of the manufacturers offer 600cc bikes with power restrictors on them to make them learner legal.
What are people's opinions on road-legal dirt bikes or supermotards as learner bikes? A mate of mine who rides motorbikes used to ride a Suzuki GS500, so I asked him if it was any good. He said that it was a bit too slow, and that he wishes he had bought a DRZ400 instead. I would be interested in the idea of a road legal dirt bike, but if I had my license I would probably want to go for rides through the hills as well. Anyone know what dirt bikes are like on dirt tyres compared to road tyres through twisty roads?
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
any single pot bike is going to struggle at anything like decent speeds
something like a gs500 is much less highly strung and a more relaxed ride allowing you to enjoy the experience whilst learning
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
waveman1500, a dirt bike or supermotard are great to learn on. They're very agile and light and are pretty robust when you fall off. The downsides are that the fuel tanks are pretty small in comparison to a road bike but most can be fitted with larger "enduro" style tanks. As for knobbly tyres on the road, they are not nice. They move about an awfull lot more than a road biased tyre. If your riding on the road predominantly then get road tyres. If your doing a bit of off-roading get some trail/adventure style tyres like the the Michelin Sirac or Anakee 2 (I don't work for Michelin or sell tyres they are just the first two I found using Google  ) |
| |
|
|
|
|
: (with the EJ9 sneaking into the background 
)
do it again and do the full test. I quite fancy something old and British to modify.
)