I wouldnt have liked to ride after just having done a CBT, I mean the other bloke doing it when I did it went trough a red light and still passed.

When I did it the other guy pulled a wheelie away from a corner, not realising the examiner had gone to a different position…….he still passed! Things have changed since I were a lad 😉

BTW – you’re never to old to learn and I’m going to have a day with some mates HERE – just can’t decide whether to do the on or offroad.

CBT is only training, not a test. I’m pretty sure, you cant really “fail” it.
My 2 pennies. You’ll get bored of a 125 pretty quick. But then doing the full test is rather expensive (circa £500). So probably best, seeing as you only want to use it for nipping into town, would be to go for the restricted 33bhp for 2years test which works out a lot cheaper than DAS.

Further lessons, h’mm, with enough road experience from bike/car and maturity then I don’t reckon you need it.

Honda XR250,great bikes. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-XR250-99-green-laner-scrambler-off-road-VIDEO-/150625593869?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item2311fc2a0d#ht_1647wt_1141

So probably best, seeing as you only want to use it for nipping into town, would be to go for the restricted 33bhp for 2years test which works out a lot cheaper than DAS.

Is it all that much more expensive? One of the training places here in Edinburgh quotes a 4-day DAS course as £685 and their 4-day A2 course as £650.

Cheers all.

I am thinking of doing the CBT and using that to see what the 125s are like with a view to getting one – I feel like I want to start off small, if I want a bigger bike I shouldn’t lose much money.

As I’ve said it’s in town/quiet B-roads etc so I don’t think I’ll want/need huge power.

What should one budget for helmet/leathers etc? (happy to go SH, poss. even for a helmet)

Kit is remarkably cheap these days.

Have a look at Sharp for helmet safety scores – you can get very good helmets for under £100.

Textile jacket/jeans can be had very reasonably.

Wouldn’t bother getting a 2nd hand helmet if I was you. It may look ok on the outside but if it’s been dropped the inner shell may be damaged. You might as well put an watermelon on your Bonce. Still, on your head be it. 😀

J&S in Hamilton are a good option for cheap kit.

As I’ve said it’s in town/quiet B-roads etc so I don’t think I’ll want/need huge power.

125’s are fine in town – they’re quick enough to keep up (or beat) traffic up to 40mph or so, it’s only really once you get into 60mph limits that they can be frustrating. Quiet B-roads are one of the best places for going fast on a motorbike though, so while you might not need 100bhp+ something a bit quicker than a 125 is a lot more enjoyable.

This sort of things looks reasonable?

OK not vintage, but cheap, safe and reliable?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584503974&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

Old, neglected, crashed, non believable mileage, wouldn’t touch it. Can of worms. Likely to need hundreds spent and many many hours to bring it to acceptable condition

What should I be looking to spend on something decent of that ilk?

Most bikes similar of that ilk will be in similar condition. Since the advent of direct access few people have bought 125s new. So what bikes there are have a very hard life with generation after generation of learners with no money or maintenance skills. Even the cg 125 has been made in Brazil not Japan IIRC for a good few years now so is of lower quality

Finding an unshagged old 125 will be very hard. They just are not out there on the market

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/bikes

🙁

I guess authentic low mileage and youth are the main things then…

have a browse around autotrader

Jebus!

How crap would a 50cc be?

EDIT…restricted to 30mph, I can pedal faster!

Al your original post details what sort of thing you fancied but did not really say why you wanted it.

I would stop worrying about the fast bike will kill you thing. The biggest threat you have on a bike is at junctions with cars pulling out on you. These don’t go away on a 50cc bike.

Why not do your DAS on a 500cc bike so your choice is totally open. You will get a good idea if the whole idea is for you or not.

Incidentally I got a new bike the other week a Triumph Street Triple its a 675cc naked (no faring) bike with around a 100BHP. It will out accelerate most supercars to 100mph, but its so easy to ride and so forgiving of mistakes. It looks cool and because there is no fairing it keeps my straight line speed down. It really is such an easy and stable bike to ride.

I would not feel safer on any of the smaller bikes mentioned in this thread. I have the brakes grip and power(if needed) to get myself out of trouble much easier and its upto me if I want to use the power to get into more trouble but I can choose not too.

TJ similar comments re. this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270774229091&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Would going to a dealer be best?

bazzer – I’m looking to dip a toe in the water TBH, I can probably afford a starter 125 etc this autumn, I don’t want to be blowing £££ on a big big & testing etc straight away. Looks like I can do the CBT & get kitted-up for £500 + bike + ins….DAS would be way more…and I could save my way up to that if I wanted to.

I like classics (but not if they are cost/maintenance headaches), I like the idea of slow – it’s unlikely to be used for days out or “fun” riding – just short trips in town & locally.

I actually owned and H100 (not the S). That one looks like a much tidier bike than the earlier one you linked to. good wee bike as well.

a dealer would be best – but the same applies – non knackered small bikes are rare thus expensive

I still think you are heading in the wrong direction / answering the wrong question.

Cool that makes a lot of sense.

If your on a budget for the bike then anything remotely sexy is pretty much out as sex costs 🙂

The amount of fun you can have on a 125 will depend on which one you get. All have crap power but some have nice handling and are fun to ride (if not a little frustrating)

One of the changes in the second hand bike market is that smaller lower power bikes now have a market again as people who didn’t do DAS or are not 21 or over are limited to 33BHP so bikes that typically fell in between a proper big bike and a learner bike now have a market again.

If you want to run something older and interesting though its going to cost you in the wallet or in time spannering yourself.

So it might just be worth getting something not so cool to start with enjoy it build up some no claims and then if you enjoy it move up.

Just try not to be put off, the difference between a crap bike and a good one is huge.

TandemJeremy – Member
I still think you are heading in the wrong direction / answering the wrong question.

I know….but I’ve said I don’t want to outlay much to start with, and I also want to learn myself, rather than jump on a 500 cos I’ve been told to.

Ta bazzer – you get me! for 33bhp bikes I need CBT, then theory and practical test on a 125 yes? Would a >125 but <250 be cheaper/better value due to the market?

How best to identify a “good”/”good handling” bike? I don’t want to be spending lots of time looking.

Perfect.

And when you get fed up with it next week:

Can’t find a conveyance made entirely out of snot though …

On just a CBT (assuming you are at least 17 :D) you can ride a 14.6BHP 125

If you take your Theory, and practical tests as well on a 125cc you can then ride any cc bike as long as it has no more than 33BHP

So if you went that route I would have thought some >125 with a lot less than 33BHP would be cheaper. Not sure what falls into this category as its not something I have looked at.

Best thing is go to a bike dealer look at all the really shiny cool bikes with bling bits on them realise you need to have one do DAS and sell a kidney and buy a new Ducati 1198 🙂

Wait until you can afford to do it properly. Doing it on the cheap and buying a cheap old small motorcycle will be no fun and a total waste of your time and money

Buying in the Autumn is a bit daft as well – you will not use it over the winter

TJ – Cheaper in autumn..it’s not going to get used a lot any time of year, but there are good days Autumn – Spring are there not?

And I think you are transplanting your “fun” for what I have said I am after.

Gawd this is pointless.

No – I am giving you the benefit of decades of experience. You don’t want to listen. I’ll leave you to it.

Oh well. bazzer understands.

Please stop TJ.

Please?

I quite often agree with you but your point is well and truly proven.You have ridden motorbikes since they were horse drawn we get it.

While I have some sympathy for TJ’s point of view and also think bigger bikes are safer/more fun that didn’t stop me from enjoying the 2 or 3 years I had riding 125’s (and even a year on a 50cc bike when I was 16) when I was a teenager.

There was even a period when I had big bikes that my wife just had a little Suzuki GN125. Yes it was slow but it didn’t stop me using it to commute on sometimes and still having fun with it. It was a different sort of fun to my own bikes, but because it was small and light you could take all sorts of liberties with it – jumping off speed bumps, pegs down on every corner, stoppies etc. I used to ride it in town and also the 10-mile each way commute to Livingston (mostly on 50/60 limits) and it was fine for that.

TJ – please read the above…it helps explain where I am coming from.

My Vintage Small Motorbike (not actually mine but the same model)
100mph, 75mpg, cheap insurance and not too heavy.

**** it

I do understand what you want. Its impossible to get. its pointless trying to talk to you as you do not listen.

Killfile back on

How is this not what I am wanting?

epicsteve – Member
my wife just had a little Suzuki GN125. Yes it was slow but it didn’t stop me using it to commute on sometimes and still having fun with it. It was a different sort of fun to my own bikes, but because it was small and light you could take all sorts of liberties with it – jumping off speed bumps, pegs down on every corner, stoppies etc. I used to ride it in town and also the 10-mile each way commute to Livingston (mostly on 50/60 limits) and it was fine for that.

or…

one last attempt

Al -because the money you want to spend will only buy a clapped out knackered 125 which is horrid to ride.

Epicsteve is an experienced and skilled rider so can ride around the flaws of a knackered 125 and have fun. You are not. You don’t want to do any real training.

Look at he secondhand market for 125s – the prices are badly inflated for learner bikes as there is a shortage of them – both 125s and 33bhp bikes

BTW – IIRC the 100 you posted cannot be used to do a test on. too small.

Epicsteve is an experienced and skilled rider so can ride around the flaws of a knackered 125 and have fun.

My wife might have taken exception to her little GN being described as knackered as it was newish and absolutely immaculate (no way would I let her ride round on a bike that wasn’t 100% perfect)!

Sorry steve – did not mean to give that impression! Al wants to spend a few hundred quid on a 125 – that will be knackered 🙂

So TJ you are saying say £750 will only buy a knackered 125?

So TJ you are saying say £750 will only buy a knackered 125?

Based on my mate getting nearly a £1000 for his shagged, neglected, unridden (+5 years), no MOT’d, rustbucket 600 – probably yes.

Epicsteve is an experienced and skilled rider so can ride around the flaws of a knackered 125 and have fun. You are not. You don’t want to do any real training.

Your definition of fun may differ from others.

I doubt I’d enjoy riding a crappy 125 now. But I did when I was riding my first 125 and didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to be having fun.