Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • How to get riding a motorbike?
  • Olly
    Free Member

    Toying with the option of swapping my car for a motorbike. its purely a commuter, undecided whether the comfort of 4wheels outweighs the fuel difference and being able to skip 80% of the jams on the route to work.

    What would the panel suggest as the most effective way of getting on a bike? Learn on a “hire” bike? Or get one to learn on?

    How do you buy a learner bike if you don’t have a license to get it home and to the bike school?

    I’m 28 btw.

    Jamie
    Free Member

    What would the panel suggest as the most effective way of getting on a bike? Learn on a “hire” bike? Or get one to learn on?

    Just do a novice course with your local motorbike instructors.

    Something like this:

    http://www.camrider.com/prices-and-courses/full-licence-any-power-bike/6-sessions.html

    Then buy a bike once you’ve passed. Even if you decide it’s not for you, you’ll have it for the future.

    Anna-B
    Free Member

    For me the route is:

    1. Free taster session to see if I like it.
    2. CBT
    3. Buy 125
    4. Do DAS
    5. Buy bigger bike

    That’s the plan, have started but currently stalled 🙂

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    allthegear
    Free Member

    No need to buy a bike until you have a licence. I did my test in November (A licence) and now have a lovely BMX F800GS.

    I rode the bike up to Leeds this weekend from Norfolk. I was tired when I got here, though. Can you remember what it was like driving when you first passed your test? Remember how it wore you out just to drive 100 miles? That.

    Rachel

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    I have done a 15 mile each commute by bike for last 5 years. Its great. Tbe big however is that I can use a car when theres snow and or ice. Motorbikes are zero fun on ice.
    Go speak to a riding school I learnt from zero experience in 5 days..

    Jim_Kirk
    Free Member

    Go do a CBT, mention you are looking at doing DAS and they’ll be able to assess how much time it’ll take to get up to test standard. You’ll need a CBT regardless of moving onto a bigger bike and its a good way to see if you like it!

    Olly
    Free Member

    Tbe big however is that I can use a car when theres snow and or ice.

    We bought a van today. I want to keep the miles off it as intend to keep it as a long term toy (camper conversion), but because we have it i have NO need to move bikes etc in the car anymore. If it was properly minging it would do the van good to be used for a commute to keep the engine oiled (as dont see us doing much campering in the winter.

    The 6 day course looks ideal!

    Cheers all!

    winston
    Free Member

    My cars get better mileage than my bike….

    However my bike cuts through traffic like a knife

    and is much more fun

    Road tax and insurance are also much cheaper

    Buuuut I don’t need £1000 worth of kit to put on before I get in the drivers seat of my car

    See – its swings and roundabouts (watch out for those btw)

    All in all I suspect biking will not work out cheaper but will work out quicker and more fun IF you like it. Some people do, some bail after the first arse clench moment – there will be many of these.

    I would echo the sentiments above – do a CBT and if you like it do a DAS – its the only route left now anyway as the 33bhp door has been shut

    Good luck!

    allfankledup
    Full Member

    I never found the bike any quicker overall for general commuting – was quicker when moving, but 15 minutes of faff at either end of the ride – kitting up, warming the bike up etc. Didn’t save any time overall between breakfast and starting work. – unless I was going into Bristol where the morning traffic was awful – in which case I’d have access to the bus lanes and could skip loads of traffic.

    Took my test back in 1999 – cbt then some sort of direct access course, passed my test on the Tuesday, picked up a Triumph 955 on the Saturday. Great times – went all over the country on it, watching racing, going to track days etc.

    After the kids started arriving I sold the triumph and went green laning where I lived in Wiltshire – really really good fun, and a lot safer. Put supermotard wheels on an enduro bike and again took it on racetracks – awesome pieces of kit.

    Just cycle these days – but I do miss riding a motorbike…..

    Capt.Kronos
    Free Member

    Got to love a 955i Speedy… mmmm… miss mine sometimes. The 1050 Tiger was “better” but had less soul.

    The Guzzi has got it back though. And then some. When it works.

    Anyway – CBT/DAS is the way to go, I did it as much for the experience as it was an itch I had wanted to scratch for years… and got utterly hooked! Love bikes, love biking…

    I found it quicker for getting from here to Kendal (about 30 miles each way) than the car even with the faff factor. Especially so when there were roadworks in Kendal and I could just skip the queue! I still used the car on grim days mind. It is a shame my job doesn’t allow me to ride more often with tools and the like.

    Try it, if you don’t like it – then at least you have had the experience. I would just book a full course though and go for it as, if nothing else, it WILL make you a better driver in the car.

    mattstreet
    Full Member

    Did similar a couple of years ago – did an all-inclusive with a local training school that had bike hire, CBT, mod1 training, mod1 test, mod2 training and mod2 test all in. About £700 – very good value I reckon seeing as it was about 15 hours of training + everything else.

    Echo what others have said about bikes vs cars and going for DAS then get yourself something sensible. Some good commuters that’ll do 70mpg and still be good fun. And get good waterproofs.

    And yeah, commuting doesn’t seem to take less time… although I do tend to take the more fun routes home! 😀

    Don’t forget you’ll need to do a theory test too – the motorbike one is different to the car one.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    i only have 7 motor bikes and although i have commuted a few times its not something id give preference to over a car.. the fancy dress party before and after work out weighs any benifits of cutting through traffic. keep the bike for high days and holidays.. yesterday i rode the honda 400 /4 and the AJS 16c ticked all the boxes for the next week of tin box driving

    allthepies
    Free Member

    You need to master your clutch control.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    I commute by bike just have suit under textile suit. Takes 2 mins to take off and put my shoes on. No time at all. Commute isnt much faster but the traffic makes little difference so I can leave later, if I drive the car at that time it would take much longer. I’d prefer to ride a bicycle but cant motorbike is the next best thing. I like to feel weather it makes me feel alive.

    Crell
    Free Member

    AJS 16c ticked all the boxes for the next week of tin box driving

    That is a very nice bike!

    Anna-B
    Free Member

    You need to master your clutch control.

    Funny you should say that, my head keeps telling me it’s a brake 🙂

    And Rachel, I thought you had bought a BMW… 😉

    now have a lovely BMX F800GS.

Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)

The topic ‘How to get riding a motorbike?’ is closed to new replies.