Mid-Life-Crisis (Motorbike purchase)

Gets you an MT-10 like mine!

Say… that’s a nice bike.

(Looks like a bloody transformer!)

I am in the middle of a MLC as well, but 52 years of age

plus it’s taking me years to build my Yam SR250 scrambler so I had the lessons (after CBT) and took my test in July.

I’m now the proud owner of this and love it , but it truth I have not been on anything except the MT07 that I learned on in order to compare.

as other have said, just get the CBT and do the direct access on the full bike, don’t bother with the A2.

DO IT !!

Untitled by eastham_david[/url], on Flickr

and lets you get to places like this with ease

Untitled by eastham_david[/url], on Flickr

If your going to ride all through the year get a bike with decent mudguards. My Z1000 is great fun on my commute in dry weather. It’s a pain in the wet as the hugger offers bugger all protection from spray when it’s  raining.

The bike gets very dirty as do my clothes.

Your hands will get cold so good gloves or heated grips are well worth having, if not essential.

I’d go for an upright bike rather than a sportsbike. Better contol and vision for the rush hour, especially if you’re doing a lot of urban miles.

Get something big enough to keep you interested. You’ll think most bikes are quick when you first start riding but you’ll soon start to use more and more of the power and then find you need more.

Don’t race other commuters. It gets silly filtering at 3 figure speeds. Certainly wakes you up though.

There’s something really really wrong with your set up if you’re only getting 1500 miles on that Yam from a rear!

That or you’re a ham-fisted monkey 😂

Seriously – spend a small amount on having it set up and you’ll see the mileage rise considerably even on race rubber.

There’s something really really wrong with your set up if you’re only getting 1500 miles on that Yam from a rear!

That or you’re a ham-fisted monkey

I’ll go with ham-fisted. And i’ll throw in a ‘squared off’ rather than ‘shot to pieces’ 😀

I’m sure it’s fashionable for manufacturers to put soft, triple compound, race style tyres on a bike like that but considering it’s engine size and weight (i’m assuming it’s heavy – it looks heavy) there’ll be better options out there that last a decent amount of miles and offer more than enough grip for the type of rider who chooses this style of bike.

Vortex, love the look of that Triumph btw

I’m in the process of (hopefully) acquiring my full licence at the moment. 40 years old and wanted a bike for years but wife had always vetoed it.

CBT was fun and fairly basic, the theory test was fairly easy too. A bit of revision but a lot of the knowledge comes from driving cars for 20 years.

I start my DAS on Monday and have already bought a 650!

When you upgrade you need to upgrade to this … 😀

Honda Goldwing 2018 – I think Honda redesigned to reduce the weight a little.

I prefer my Goldwing!!

I prefer my Goldwing!!

Very nice looking classic Goldwing  😀

The modern version looks like the “transformer” that will turn into a talking robot. 😀

That said I already want to trade it in for a Royal Enfield Himalayan

Oddly, just had a sit on one of these at Robinson’s of Rochdale at lunchtime.

They look fantastic, and I really fancy one, despite all the issues with the original carbed models.

However.

3000 mile service intervals for the valves. The service cost for this is less than £150, usually nearer to £100, but it’s still crazily short for a modern bike.

They’ve sold loads and showed me all the work carried out at various services. No one’s had any serious problems, yet. 🙂

Have a motorway commute and 24hp and a realistic 70mph is just a bit lacking.

Finish is a bit mixed – full stainless steel pipe, but it looks like it’s been knocked up in a shed and the clocks look cheap.

No clutch cable adjuster at the lever.

Oddest of all, I’d read somewhere that the spokes, even though at first glance a straight pull design are actually slightly bent as they leave the hub. And upon inspection, yes they are. Why? Someone spec the wrong rims or hubs?

Heart says yes, head says run up the road to the Honda dealer and look for a secondhand CB500X.

In the time-honoured tradition of recommending what you’ve got – I’ve just bought a nearly new BMW F800R Sport.  I wanted something smaller and lighter than my Tiger 800, but which could still handle a pillion.  I really wanted a Street Triple (I’ve had 7 Triumphs in the last 17 years!), but my OH hated the pillion provision (can’t blame her).  Anyway, after getting used to the unusual engine noise, I really like it.  It’s quick enough, handles beautifully and as a bonus is incredibly economical.

Well, last Thursday I went to a “novice introduction” for a couple of hours of 1-2-1 coaching. Rode a 125 around a few cones at Dunsfold until the instructor was happy, and then we went for a spin around the perimeter road. It all seemed to go pretty smoothly, I even got as far as counter-steering.  The hardest thing for me was the low-speed control, and adjusting my brain away from the MTB method of braking.

I will shortly book my CBT, and I’m actually thinking of getting a cheap 125 to commute and practice on for a while before I try for the big bikes. I’d like to get the clutch control and braking fully into muscle memory before I try anything more powerful.

Nice one.

Exactly the route I went down. I did a year on the 125 to get my confidence up.

One thing on Clutch control- on the 125 you can dump the clutch when shifting. On a big bike you will learn to feed the clutch. Really quickly.

Something like a Yamaha YBR125 is a great choice for the commuter bike. Mine was great, and so cheap to run.

Also- good 125’s retain their value- I think I only lost £200 on the year with my YBR.

Normandy Motorcycles stock a lot of 125’s and they are great guys. Definitely worth a visit, and just down the road.

Paul

My advice would be do a DAS course, buy something that actually you have some enthusiasm for. Ride it for a few weekends to get a feel for it. You might think its hard to start it will get easier.

Give it a chance is the big bit of advice, it will take time to get the right setup and the right kit etc. Once you do though if its for you (and its not for everyone) it will change your life 🙂

Black clouds outside and I have the Take the BMW for some warranty work this afternoon, with the right bike and the right kit it doesn’t really matter.

@allthegear you had any problems with yours?

You don’t need to worry about a clutch on the upshifts once you’re above 1st, maybe 2nd depending on the bike

I found moving to a big bike so much easier. The bike was comfier, heavier, yet smoother and easier to ride. Strange I know. That was on my DAS moving from a 125 to a 500. Went straight onto an SV650s after I passed

You don’t need to worry about a clutch on the upshifts once you’re above 1st, maybe 2nd depending on the bike

Great advice for someone looking to pass their test 😀

Maybe if you added something along the lines of…roll off the throttle slightly if not using the clutch on upshifts…  Better to learn how to use the clutch properly ime

I could quite easily see how you could only get 1500 miles out of a rear on an MT-10 with a soft sports tyre. I have seen off a Rosso Corsa in a little over 2000 not riding stupidly on my Tuono V4.

I have had a couple of pairs of Metzler Roadtec 01’s on the S1000XR recently, sport touring tyre. They last probably 4000miles. I get about 3000 from a Rosso II. I think I am going to go back to a sportier tyre, the sports touring tyres may last a bit longer but the profile is not as nice a a sports tyre even from the start, even worse when it squares off a bit. So think I will give the Metzler M7RR a go next. They may last a 1000 or so miles less but they are actually cheaper than 01’s so swings and roundabouts. Just a pain when on a long tour.

I found moving to a big bike so much easier. The bike was comfier, heavier, yet smoother and easier to ride.

Same.  Did my CBT as part of a Direct Access course a few years ago.  No immediate plans to buy a road bike, just wanted to be able to and the option to do road sections on the trials bike.  3rd CBT I think – couple of stints on L-Plates when I was younger, never took the test.

Riding around on the 125, I kept thinking “Why am I doing this?!”  All the practical drawbacks of biking v. hopping in the car swam to the surface, and it wasn’t even any fun!

Different story on the 500, though, felt like it was supposed to, as above – comfier, smoother, enough power (only 47bhp) rather than not enough.  Definitely an “Aha!” moment getting out of town on that one.

I’m now selling the trials bike, but keeping the CBR1000F I bought off my brother shortly after I passed.  There’s a recommendation.  Good introduction to big bikes.  It’s big and heavy, but very smooth power delivery and very predictable handing.  Traditional Honda build quality, so high mileage examples shouldn’t be an issue.  Some people slag them off for being boring, but they’ve got a lot of fans in the people who ride them.

Probably doesn’t tick your boxes, I commute 50 miles into London every now and then, and it’s not ideal for nipping in and out of traffic.   40mpg ish too.

I will shortly book my CBT, and I’m actually thinking of getting a cheap 125 to commute and practice on for a while before I try for the big bikes

This is what I did for 6 months over winter to see if commuting by bike was something I wanted to do long term. If you buy a second hand 125 and look after it you wont loose too much on exchange.

@Euro – my comment re clutchless changes was aimed at tootalpaul who doesn’t appear to be a novice rider

My CBT instructor was useless, my proper DAS instructor was much better. Quick top tips for slow speed moving

– slightly more revs, slip clutch, use rear brake (right foot). That keeps it balanced and upright

– look where you want to go. If you’re doing a u-turn turn your head and look at the exit. Trust me, the bike will just follow. don’t look down

Wish my CBT instructor had told me that

I did mt CBT in April 2014 then got a 125 to commute to work, did that for 6 months then passed the full test in October 2014. Got myself a cheap little Honda CB400 to commute on, went to Wales/Devon/Belgium and Germany on it:

Then got an Aprilia Tuono as a nice summer bike to keep it company:

Then I sold the CB400 and replaced it with a 5th gen VFR800, commuted on that and did a 3000 mile Alps trip on it:

The, after 45k+ miles of commuting/touring I changed jobs to one 2 miles away 6 months ago and got rid of the VFR, which just leaves me with the Tuono and I’ll soon have a winter commuter in the form of a Subaru Legacy Spec B. 🙂 4 winters of commuting was enough, if I was still doing 200 miles a week I reckon I had another 1-2 winters on a bike in me.

May I suggest a Panigale?

Cougar

Subscriber

As far as I’m aware you cannot fail a CBT – it’s Compulsory Basic Training. If you do “fail” you’ll be invited to come back the next day. At least, that’s what I was told when I did mine.

Well, people always say that but if you do the training and don’t get the pass certificate what is that if it’s not a fail?

I gave up bikes @ 35 & have not really missed them at all , kinda weird as I absolutely lived for them since I was a teenager. Been semi interested in an XR 400 for a bit but the prices people are asking for them is a joke & I don’t care how great the classic air cooled traily is I aint forking 2k + for a 20 year old bike.

However recently these have caught my eye , I think it looks the dogs & there is some bargains out there 3k for something a year old with a few hundred miles is possible.

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That is one nice KTM

I’m 3 months and 3000 miles into Duke 390 ownership. Commuting 70 miles a day and all I can say is that it is a fantastic bike. It’s the perfect amount of power for UK speed limits, enough grunt for motorways and safe overtakes on single carriageway roads but I doubt it would top 90mph, immense fun on the B roads and almost as nimble as a pushbike around town. I’ve had a big V-twin cruiser, scooters, an 80s classic, a sports-tourer and a supersport, but the Duke is rapidly becoming my favourite. Get one vongassit, you’ll love it.

I really like the Duke 390. Cracking looking little bike,  I’d like one but wouldn’t want to sell my Blade, and don’t have room for 2 (or time to ride both)

Well. I passed on Friday morning and went to pick up my bike in the afternoon. Did 90 miles on it Friday and commuted on it yesterday. I bought a 2008 er6n. Brilliant fun so far.

Good stuff 👍  get a pic up then!

400’s are great fun and perfect for the road – fast enough up to 80 to beat 95% of cars (5 seconds 0-60) and yet only do 110-120 tops so you can thrash it around in every gear and not be doing stupid speeds. And they’re so light they handle brilliantly.

Congratulations! Well done!

I’ll take a pic tomorrow. Not had chance yet. @weeksy. Thanks

Well done Andy!

I passed my MOD 1 last week, MOD 2 is coming up shortly…

I was thinking of getting a Yamaha MT-07 or Honda CB650 or similar – but I do like the look of the KTM 390.  And sounds like the power of these size machines is good and being a bit lighter certainly makes them a tempting choice…

Well I’m currently trying to come up with ideas why I shouldn’t buy the KTM. Winters on it’s way & our roads suck! are the 2 best so far ,closly followed by your a fkn idiot on a motorcycle : ) That 1 should probably be at the top of the list.

Loving the look of that KTM Duke, stunning bike.

Did my CBT last year and A licence in July.  Was going to get a Suzuki SV650 or Yamaha MT07 but ended up with a 16 plate Triumph Street Triple R 675. Loving the smooth 3 cylinder engine.

STR is a wondrous bike

Picking this chunky beast up at the weekend. It was a Cat N, and the only damage seems to be a dent in the tank.

Untitled by kayak23[/url], on Flickr

It’s a retro retro GSX750W. Year 2000, and retro when it was bought out and now even retroerer. It’s in fantastic condition for its age and only 15k.on clock.

It’ll compliment my 1982 Gsx400f well and will now be the youngster bike 😁

Untitled by kayak23[/url], on Flickr

Both will have modifications along the way. Thinking about a flat tracker build for the 750.

I like the GSX. I so want a “muscle” bike…