You’re very old if you think a 25 year old bike isn’t vintage. You’re a midget if you think it’s not small. It’s not euro though 😉

A Morini 350 might just fit the bill:

Italian, stylish, economical, great handling, decent brakes, mechanically reliable, reasonable parts avaliability, quite a few about.

Might be a bit too powerful and the electics, as Druidh said, might be a bit interesting.

North Leicestershire Motorbikes (NLM) usually have a good selection.

Can’t post a pic at the mo, but they really are beautiful.

Test information

Its a bit different now to how it was 4 years ago (when I did mine). Its split into two seperate practical tests + a theory. I’d done a theory when I did my driving test but still had to do another one, not sure how you stand on that front.

All in, it cost my previous SO around the £800 mark with lessons, tests and so on. I’m sure its possible to do it for less, but she felt confident enough to get on my sports bike at the time (CBR600) and trundle round on it, which I doubt she would had she done one of those ‘do it in a weekend’ type courses.

Also, big bikes might seem a bit scary now, but believe me you soon get used to the speed and power and lower powered bikes start feeling dangerous. I remember walking into a bike shop when I had my first bike (a hornet) and laughing with fear when the sales bloke suggested a go on a Daytona 675. Two months later I’d bought a fireblade….

You want proper retro cool? You need a fizzy

A Morini 350 might just fit the bill

A friend of mine had one of those (an trail bike) – nice little bike although it was a nightmare to kickstart sometimes.

You want proper retro cool? You need a fizzy

And deep pockets if you want a good one now!

You want proper retro cool? You need a fizzy
And deep pockets if you want a good one now!

I know! That’s just mad when you consider how common they were!

TandemJeremy – Member
cb250 RS is a good bike. its not vintage, its not euro and its not small – still fits your criteria eh?

It’s vintage enough if folk (as you are) say older stuff is unsafe.
It’s “small” in my eyees – I did way up to 250 did I not?
I said Jap was OK too – folk are saying Euro stuff will be a nightmare.

in summary…leave it! 😀

TJ, CB250RS’s are not big bikes.

Honest, I’ve had two and I’m only 5 foot 6.

Big problem is that the cam runs directly in the head, so wear isn’t an easy fix
Brilliant bikes though, I’d love a good one.

Al (can I call you that?) – consider that you’ll do your test on at least a 500cc bike. A vintage 250 will feel dog slow and you’ll be ringing its neck everywhere, which is far more dangerous than a leisurely ride round on a bigger bike. As for vintage stuff, when you first pass you’ll be so excited about riding a bike around, you won’t care what it looks like. You will care however when yuo’re stood on the hard shoulder with it smoking away merrily.

If you want a retro bike, have a look at the w650 Kawasaki. 650 sounds a lot but its not, horsepower wise it’ll be similar to the bandit/cb500 you do your test on. And you can make em look like this

Rusty / 5th – I know that. Its just nothing like what cycnic al originally started asking about. A good bike in its day but when did you last see one? Are they not all dead now?

Flange – yo are absolutly right – w650 or triumph retro would be the perfect thing

One CB250rs in MCN
one w 650

Loads and loads of triumphs

I don’t want to get a big bike cos it’ll be too fast and I’ll kill myself

I used to think this. Once you start riding, you realise that having something that is faster than other traffic and that has brakes that work properly is actually much safer.

60+ mph on a naked bike feels pretty damn quick.

My usage is much as the same as your intended use and my Ducati Monster does a great job of it. £1500 up gets a 600 or 620 which is ace as a first bike.

Ah OK ta all….not interested in English or retro though….am interest4ed in cheapness, which is why bottom of the curve 80s Jap is looking appealing.

Why is the “bigger bikes are safer” thing about power/speed?

Why not take your test and see how you feel after you have done a bit of riding.

As people have said you will be riding a 500cc bike for your test and your views might change.

The Mrs has a Suzuki gn125 and I quite like it to look at and ride but I defo feel safer on a bigger bike . Worth a look the its cheap to buy, fix, service, tax, run and insure

will be riding a 500cc bike for your test

That’s the accelerated DAS test? You need a 125 for the wee-er one?

Firestarter…”worth a look” – the Suzie?

Tests keep changing but I think now they are the same for any size bike.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/PracticalTest/DG_178328

As for vintage stuff, when you first pass you’ll be so excited about riding a bike around, you won’t care what it looks like. You will care however when yuo’re stood on the hard shoulder

Exact!

Yeah al I like it myself but some don’t. Pardon the bottom end of the garden/dump 😉

That’s nice.

How about this? 2003 – better brakes?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-SUZUKI-GN-125-not-cg-gs-learner-first-bike-/320718189462?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item4aac4b3396

My wife had one of those like Suzuki 125’s as her first bike. It was ok if a bit slow. The only reason I occasionally rode it was because it’s the easiest bike I’ve ridden to get the pegs down on!

Rusty / 5th – I know that. Its just nothing like what cycnic al originally started asking about. A good bike in its day but when did you last see one? Are they not all dead now?

Yeah, as Rusty Spanner said they do have a flaw in the head design. Common to the XR series, Dominators etc. So finding a live one and keeping it that way may be a challenge.

But… I’m pretty sure the engine is still made by the Chineses (again). I believe they’re used in quad bikes amongst other things.

Al, I would wait (as bazzer says ^^) as your views/requirements/desires may change fairly dramatically once you’ve done a bit of riding.

Small bikes may look like a ‘safe’ bet at this stage but it’s unlikely that you will be satisfied when you’ve actually ridden for any length of time.

Having said that – you really couldn’t go wrong with any of these
Honda Benley or CD175 or Something really different !!

I think given Al’s requirements, basically pootling about as you would on a bicycle anything with an engine would actually be safer than… a bicycle.

250RS’s were ace but as has been said they are pretty much extinct now due to cylinder head going. Commonly cracking round the spark plug hole. Shame. I see a Superdream pretty much every day but tbf, they were crap when they came put and you don’t see many of them now. There is a reason for this.
MZ 250 is not a bad shout if you can put up with the, er, looks.

Ta guys.

Am wondering about just getting a 125, see how it goes, upgrade if I want adn not lose too much £££?

The benefit of having a 125 is that it’ll be much easier to sell on when you’re bored of it – folks always want 125’s due to only needing a CBT. Me personally, if I was thinking about doing my test I’d just get on and get it booked. You’ll probably still need a CBT, plus insurance, kit and a bike. You’ll pay nearly as much for a decent 125 as you would a 500/600. A CB500 would be an ace first bike, or a 400 super dream. And they hardly EVER go wrong. Unlike a highly stressed, wobbly 125.

<£1000 should get you something decent like a bandit, plenty of parts available, easy(‘ish) to work on and will never lose much money. Buy at the right time of year (eg not summer) and sell at the right time (eg summer) and you’ll make money. I’ve never lost money on a bike yet

Hmmmm….thanks.

If you’re determined to go the 125 route, I’d again go Honda. Yes, I’m a honda fan, but for a reason – every other bike make has given me grief.

CG 125 sounds like a winner then

I don’t want to spaff £££ when I’ve never even swung a leg over a bike…if I can get and ride a 125 at minimal cost, try it for a bit, upgrade or sell on without much loss, it seems a winner.

Will take me a while to save so end of summer for buying sounds great.

All you need is CBT for a 125, which you usually do on a hire bike, so you can do it before you get a bike. Which could be a good way to see if you actually enjoy riding one.

Hmmm £160 for CBT including hire, sounds OK.

GET MORE TRAINING THAN JUST A CBT BEFORE YOU HIT THE ROADS – OR YOU WILL HIT THE ROADS – FACE FIRST

How much do you charge?

Al-If you’d like the vintage look but not the vintage tyres/brakes take a look a t the modern Enfields.

All 400cc 28bhp.Lots of variants cafe racer/electra clubman/scrambler or woodsman I think its called.

Nice on a nice Sunday and ok for a trip ’bout town.A lot more reliable than the older ones.
Someone may have suggested this on the other thread but I lost interest.
If you’re serious about a bike as others have said get some miles and some training in.

Good luck,have fun and take care on the roads….I declined a duel with an Audi on the M4 this morning-they are all out to get you.

Chris

I want Vintage because of * above, fun & character – but safety is important too.

I’ve never riddden a motorbike before.

I guessed the second comment, after reading the first…

The problem you’ve got is that due to the government putting off people biking since the late 70’s a decent volume of small-mid sized bikes have pretty much dried up. Once the 125cc restriction came in, all the sub 400cc bikes pretty much disappeared – and the 400cc ones are usually fine (in size) for your average Asian, but…

An Enfield might look great (and tbh I’m in India at the moment and they sound great compared to the Hero Hondas and the various copies), but you’ll soon tire of the 50’s style (and go) – just as you would an Oxford Cambridge or the like.

I ran 250/350 2-strokes when younger, mainly due to not having the cash for anything bigger and/or not wanting a Honda 🙂 Its a shame this size of bike has disappeared, as they were full sized and would easily outdrag most things.

Al the one you linked to on ebay is same as my mrs hers is 2003 too. We got ours via ebay as it was local I went to view and asked best price I got it for 625 knowing it needed fork seals doing but that was cheap enough to sort.

You will always be able to sell on a 125 as said above.

Cbt with bike hire round our way at most places is 100 some a bit more some less

GET MORE TRAINING THAN JUST A CBT BEFORE YOU HIT THE ROADS – OR YOU WILL HIT THE ROADS – FACE FIRST

Remember, this is cynic-al