I’m starting a new job soon and will be ditching the car as there’s nowhere to park so I’ve been thinking of getting a scooter type motorbike. Looks like I can get up to a 125 without needing to pass a test as I got my full license in the 90s. Is this correct?

What should I be looking for in a bike? I’d want to go new as I know nothing about mechanics so would worry about buying a dud. Milage would be less than 10 each way.

Any makes to avoid? There is a shop near that mostly deals in Italian makes, any reason not to get something like this? https://delbasso.piaggiogroup.co.uk/brands/aprilia/Scooters/SR-Motard-125

Even if I don’t need to do a CBT would it be worth it for safety sake? I’ll be doing lots filtering along the side of stationary traffic.

What about helmet etc. How much is reasonable to get good quality stuff?

Any and all advice greatly appreciated.

For goodness sakes, yes please do get training. You do need it.

Rachel

For less than ten miles each way I’d save the money and bicycle it.

I’ve thought about a bike or scooter for my 20 mile commute but part of is concorned that if/when someone pulls out on me I’ll be more likely to be doing a higher speed so it’ll hurt more.

Do a CBT at very least, preferably a full A1 license. Spend as much as you possibly can on gear. expect to fork out at least £500 on jacket, boots, gloves, trousers and a lid. Second hand textiles are great value and eBay is your friend here. Never, ever buy a second hand lid. £200 for a decent lid?

Once you’ve done a test, book onto a Bikesafe course.

As for bikes: personally I’d avoid all the Chinese makes (if you’ve not heard of it, avoid it). They all look like they’ve dismantled a late 80’s Honda, photographed it then got someone to copy it from the photos.

For scooters: Aprillia. Piaggio, Pug, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki.
Bikes: all the big makes do stuff around 125cc. The little KTM 125 duke is a pukka loony bike, generally available with 0% and abs as standard (not sure if it’s KTMs witchcraft leaning ABS though). I’d love one!

You can only ride a moped without a CBT.

https://www.gov.uk/cbt-compulsory-basic-training/overview

So unless you like going no more than 28mph you need to do CBT. Unless it’s changed a lot in the last 15 years it isn’t exactly challenging, and if you have so little clue that you fail it’s probably a strong indication you should not be on any sort of motorised bike.

I had a scooter, 125 Aprilla, for a couple of years of commuting, before doing direct access full bike licence and got a proper bike – different rules back then for full licence. Scooter was fine for commuting.

Cbt and get a honda

Those scooters with 2 wheels upfront are very popular, bit more forgiving under braking I understand. We see tons aboit in Paris. You see quite a few with the leg covers on too bit more user friendly in the winter.

Good luck and be safe

Something like a Honda PCX 125 would do. They’re £2600 new but a 3yr old one would be half that and they’re dead reliable and quite nippy. If you want cheap and cheerful, there are plenty of brand new Chinese 125 scooters for under a £1000 that will give you good service – but buy from a firm who offer some back up.

You find a lot of used scooters that people have bought with the intent of commuting on but been scared off and put them in the garage for a few years before selling on, virtually unused. Don’t worry about something having a short MOT or none at all – bike MOTs are pretty simple compared to cars and unlikely to cost much.

Kit? Number one rule in helmets is to get one that fits well. A £40 lid that fits is better than a £500 one that doesn’t. Go somewhere that stocks all the brands and try on several. When you find ones that fit well keep them on a while to make sure. I found some cheaper brands like HJC just as well made as expensive ones like Arai. A pinlock visor is good for commuting – it’s an internal double glazed insert that doesn’t fog.

The amount of protection you wear is often a compromise between convenience and safety. I know my 1 piece armoured leathers with race boots and gloves is the safest combo but sometimes I pop out in textile jacket/jeans/trainers. You can get one piece kevlar oversuits that fit on over your normal clothes. It depends also on what you need to wear for work and if you have somewhere to change/hang your kit when you get there.

You need a CBT. 😉

Do your proper test. Would you do consider someone who’s done half a days driving in a car ready to drive on the roads unsupervised day in day out?

CBT = a license to learn, nothing more.

Thanks for the advice so far. I didn’t realise that what I was looking at wasn’t classed as a moped so a CBT is a definite.

@hot_fiat – That KTM looks great but a little too much like a proper bike to me!

@namestebuzz – THe PCX looks exactly the sort of thing I’m after.

How often to bikes like this need servicing? And what’s a reasonable number to expect MPG wise?

I’ve got one for sale. Electric bicycle far superior and cheaper. Protective gear costs more then you think and you have to keep replacing it.

Getting dressed takes longer than the commute at that distance.

cbike makes a good point. There’s a shed load of hassle involved in commuting by motorcycle. If I was living in and commuting around London again, I’d definitely look at an e-bike.

I went through all this a couple of years ago.

Started with a 50cc Vespa ‘ped. Not a bad way to start, as you WILL throw it up the road at some point and on one of these a) you won’t be going very quick and b) they’re mostly metal so won’t shatter into a thousand pieces like the others. However ‘peds are slow, which makes you very vulnerable.

So do CBT and get on a 125cc with L-plates, which will at least mean you can keep up with traffic and keep you out of harms way. For a geared bike Hondas are excellent (CBF, CBR, Varadero – all cheap & reliable) and the Yamaha YBR is also very popular as a beginners bike. Or there are loads of scooters: the Honda PCX is good, but limited storage space under the seat. Yamaha Xmax is a great scooter (now replaced by the NMax I think?).

CBT lasts 2yrs, during which you can get your full license, and then get something with a proper engine!

Running costs: £15/yr VED, £30/yr MOT, I pay about £100/yr insurance, parking anywhere is free. I get about 100mpg out of my 250cc scooter, and servicing cost is much less than for a car. Once you’ve bought your riding kit and got qualified it’s cheap motoring!

Don’t be tempted by the tilting 3-wheelers that you can supposedly ride on a car license, they can be unreliable and are expensive to run.