I’m thinking of doing my CBT, seeing how it goes/how I feel about the whole thing.

Never ridden a bike with an engine before.

Any of the STW motorcyclists any advice at all – training, kit, any what not to do’s, or things I should do, etc?

(Would be getting as much training as possible, even after passing the test.)

Should I do this, or should I just wait for the urge to pass and go back to being sensible?

Cheers!

I’ve ridden for 30 years and the best advice I can give is – do it.

Q – the car in front has its right indicator on, what is the only thing you should deduce from this?

A – the light works…

Be safe, enjoy and don’t buy too big a bike at first – I went 50cc, 80cc, 250cc (on ‘L’ plates, so showing my age), 350cc x 3, 600cc etc and my last two were 1050cc’s.

Enjoy it…do it in the summer, motorcycling in crappy weather is purgatory unless you are prepared to spend ££££££s on decent gear.

They’ve changed the rules on licensing recently, it is now a staggered process to get a full license.
Book a week off work and do it that way, the week i spent getting my Direct Access license was one of the most enjoyable i’ve had (sad but true)….started learning on the big bikes on Tuesday and sat the test on Friday, spent a good 6 hours a day on the bikes….did it in September during a gloriously warm and sunny week.

I dont ride as much as i used to but i still wouldnt be without a bike, Hein Gericke are good for kit and offer 0% finance if required.

Do you have to do an emergency stop just after a turn on the new fangled test?

I wouldn’t go back to riding a motorbike on the road if you paid me.

The amount of traffic on the road has increased incredibly in the last 20 years, but the number of dickhead drivers has gone through the roof.

Drivers WILL NOT see you on a motorbike.

I did my CBT last winter and have run up about 4,000 miles over the last 15 months.

Im now ready to go for my parts 1 & 2 test. I did the theory test last summer to get it under my belt.

Twist and go is a straightforward way to get going on a motorcycle, but I will need a bit of training on a geared bike to be comfortable before a test. Riding a 125cc gearred bike would have taught me a bit more, but Im happy with gear changes so reckon I wont lose out much.

I use my 125cc a fair bit, saving a fortune in fuel that it’s more than paid for itself compared to short trips in the landrover. I average 110 mpg and dont skimp on the the throttle – can happily chunter along at 60mph.

If you have done a lot of road cycling ,it should stand you in good stead for spotting lots of things,like road surface condition,driver/ped behavior.It all just happens a lot quicker 😉

Motorbikes are great fun,just go canny and enjoy 🙂

don’t buy too big a bike at first

I was thinking along the lines of one of these as my first bike. 600cc, 50bhp. Too much?

(I’m 6’4”, so should have the legs for the high saddle.)

Would look better with a bit of mud on it.

Im also 6’4″ and planning on getting a big, slow tourer 🙂

As above – go for it (even if the urge goes it’ll be back again!), and try to do the training in one hit. Get a bit of experience then book some ‘roadcraft’ training. I did a day of one to one, didn’t lead to any kind of certificate but it was great fun and taught me a helluva lot.
Maybe you won’t enjoy it, but there’s a good chance you will. Bikes are ace :).

Drivers WILL NOT see you on a motorbike.

The key to survival is knowing this -therefore always ride assuming no one has seen you. Positioning, gear, lights, horns are all useful ‘tools’.

And even on this with a full day-glo suit (and lights on) drivers wouldn’t see me (ie didn’t look).

The amount of traffic on the road has increased incredibly in the last 20 years, but the number of dickhead drivers has gone through the roof.

Drivers WILL NOT see you on a motorbike.

In your opinion ,but you don’t even know where the OP is going to ride,and that can change everything can’t it. 🙄

OP A big trailie is a good choice,you can see a lot perched up on one of them.

Q – the car in front has its right indicator on, what is the only thing you should deduce from this?

A – the light works…

… intermittently.

I was thinking along the lines of one of these as my first bike. 600cc, 50bhp. Too much?

No, but top-heavy so you’ll drop it at low speed.

You’d be better with a CB500 (or the like) until you get use to them. Also if you can get an ABS equipped bike, do it.

Do it, but don’t ever return to this thread after today as the comments will be split. You’ll be better off looking elsewhere as a select few are enough to put you off the whole idea.

Good luck and enjoy!

*edit – None of the above folk are the ‘select few’

I rode for years, loved it… Went off it eventually, one too many scottish winters 😉

Advice, hmm. There’s some things where a motorbike works quite differently to a pushiron so the best thing is to try and clear your mind of assumptions (I’m still trying to get rid of some motorbike thinking from my mountain biking!). Some of the roadcraft is similiar to driving and some is similiar to cycling and some is just totally different.

Also, remember that CBT is basically just what you need in order to start learning, at best it’s a bare minimum. Some schools are better than others, mine was quite exacting and really taught well, others will give any monkey their ticket. (my mate Stewart went back to redo his after 2 years, crashed in the practice yard after 20 minutes and broke his hand. They sent him off to hospital with a new certificate and said “You’ve been riding for 2 years, obviously you’re good enough”!) Kids just want to pass, grownups want to learn, right?

Gear- your school will probably have kit you can use. No reason to spend a lot if you’re not sure it’s for you. Worth checking what they can do for you (my school encouraged pupils to visit beforehand and try it out, to see if the loan kit was suitable)

I hated doing my CBT if I’m honest! But it was totally worth it, it gave me a lot of good times.

Tenere is a good choice

Just do it, the feeling of blatting around country lanes in the summer is fantastic.

Go touring in Europe as well, that is immense.

I was thinking along the lines of one of these as my first bike. 600cc, 50bhp. Too much?

(I’m 6’4”, so should have the legs for the high saddle.)
Ideal. They look fine with gravel rash too which is a bonus. 🙂

When I were a lad you just bought a bike and off you went. Never did (most of) us any harm. So I’d do the bare minimum personally.

What is worth looking at is the Yamaha Offroad School. They do beginner days at MX tracks. You’ll learn loads and have fun.

Advice, hmm. There’s some things where a motorbike works quite differently to a pushiron so the best thing is to try and clear your mind of assumptions (I’m still trying to get rid of some motorbike thinking from my mountain biking!). Some of the roadcraft is similiar to driving and some is similiar to cycling and some is just totally different.

Aye, like taking the amount of steering you’ll have on a motorbike for granted, then finding out where the steering lock is when you least expect it! You will find that you could do tight turns no bother at all on the pushbike but the motorbike will only steer so far and see you on the deck.

Assume nothing always have a plan B

And a plan C

And a plan D

3 steps ahead? That’s like Steve Davis playing snooker in his day,only he had time to think about it all!

I had a 125 on L plates for a couple of months before doing my direct access. Jumped onto a 600cc CCM big thumping single as my 1st proper bike. Soon sold it and bought a cbr 600 for reliability reasons. I didnt and still dont see much of a point in buying a smaller bike (like 400cc). Insurance used to be expensive on 400s as lots of newbies bought and crashed them.
There is definitely an large element of control that is required when riding your first motorbike though! Tempting to open the throttle it maybe, but do yourself/your family and your license a favour, take it easy.
Bikesafe/edge44 course is cheap and useful for new riders. It’ll also help bring your insurance down.

Riding in the wet weather will teach you to be smoother on the bike, and also get rid of some of those urges to whap open the throttle on first summers rideout. The more you ride, the more you develop your 6th sense. Most accidents are well avoidable. May not be anything to do with you, but you’ll know when something is likely to happen – stay away from it, try to avoid being in those situations. If you can, then close calls become very infrequent.

Quality textiles can be had for 1/2-1/3 price of the likes of Rukka and imo are perfectly fine. I have ridden for everyday to work for the last 12 years (through snow/rain whatever) and have only just changed my £200 jacket, £200 trousers as they were wearing out. Have bought another set of similarly priced textiles (actually £300 I think).

If you can, get yourself over to Western mainland Europe for a some fun hols and appreciate how much better/more observant the roads and drivers are over there. Used to goto Spain and Germany regularly, much fun was had!

Used to ride and loved it, various things have put me off today. Have considered going back to it but the riding I used to enjoy is not really available due to numbers of cars and the truly dreadful state of the roads. (balls out knee down stuff on small two strokes, giggle per mile was off the scale). A big enduro should insulate from quite a bit of the road condition.

After reading your posts on the religion thread last week this comment popped to mind, not meant to offend, just amuse: “Motorbikes bring distant places closer together, like this world and the next!” 😀

I’d say go for it but read the very sensible advice above.

“Motorbikes bring distant places closer together, like this world and the next!”

haha, yes that does bother me somewhat! I’ve wanted to do it since I was a kid, now I’m in my forties I guess I’m hoping I’ve gotten sensible enough to at least avoid getting carried away with the throttle.

I think I’ve about got the measure of car drivers from years cycling on the road. The invisible diesel/ice/whatever on the road scenario bothers me more, tbh.

Love my bike 🙂

Best advice I can give is to keep well within your limits, get to know your bike by practising braking etc where there is no-one else around and assume everyone else on the road (and pedestrians) are incompetent, unpredictable idiots.

i sold my car and did my CBT and got a 50cc a year before my daughter was born to save some cash.

i would rather cut off a limb than go anywhere near a motorbike again, i didnt really enjoy it at all.

you are totally invisible to car drivers, lucky i only did a 8 mile round commute which was enough. you can be the best biker in the world but it means jack sh*t if an idiot pulls out of a junction and doesnt see you.

The CBT imo it does not prepare you for the road, looking back i think only certain people with bigger balls than me can be competent riders.

i see learners out on the road now and cringe.

only advice i can give is dont buy cheap, get a good helmet and good boots, gloves, coat.

if you like it i would save yup and do your full test a.s.a.p

good luck!

If you want to try it I’d recommend an intensive course – don’t just to the CBT. The more days the better

What you want is proper training and the best part of my training (16 years ago now) was the day and a half we had just riding with the instructor.
The basic stuff and passing the CBT teaches you basic bike control – you learn to ride on the road and are best doing it with someone who is very experienced.

I bought a 600 Bandit for my first bike. The power scared me and made me respect it and I kept (and still do) well within my limits. Dropped it twice, both times when I forgot to take the disc lock off. Never dropped it on the road.

One of the best things I’ve ever done.
Do a course and decide after that if you want to spend the money.
As others have said it’s not just the cost of the bike – the equipment is likely to cost you more.

Someone I know has just had his leg amputated due to a motorcycle accident, not to mention all of the other injuries. All at 40MPH.

I’m glad I did it and got it out of my system though, I have no urge at all to get back on a motorbike now I have kids.

I think your age bracket also die the most, don’t mean to put you off, just saying.

I did direct access, so learnt on a 500cc.

My first bike was a VFR750, lovely smooth power delivery and super comfy for all day rides.

Always assume, as with cycling on the road, that every single driver out there is actively involved in a plot to see you dead!

Get the best helmet, leathers, boots and gloves you can afford. Never even contemplate swinging a leg over your bike without all that gear on!

Motorbikes are bloody great fun! But motorcyclists are referred too by the medical profession as ‘donors’ for very good reason

I can only say what I did; which was to get a 125, in my case a Suzuki RGF 125, which I rode for a year on L plates. The DAS schemes had been brought in just a bit before I started and the rule about having to pass on a 600 if you wanted to ride unrestricted straight off. So, to do this I booked a 3 day course culminating on the day of my test which I passed.

The main thing that sticks in my mind is that the instructor made a comment after an initial ride that I had ridden before, the other guys on the course hadn’t, obviously down to my previous year. I know things have changed, but back then (and now) I wouldn’t contemplate on going from nothing to full licence in 5 days or whatever.

So my advive would be to ride on L plates for a decent amount of time.

As to first bike, I took the view that most could kill me no matter the power, but was more likely to be another driver. So my first big bike was Suzuki GSXR 600 🙂 happy days

Oh, and yes, Do IT

I actually did my CBT yesterday in a similar position to yourself. My advice would be if it’s raining and cold beg/borrow/steal kit from any bikers you know. I could barely move my cold, wet fingers in the training centres gloves by the end of the day, which didn’t help my already poor clutch control.

I’m undecided whether I will take it further. It had it’s fun points, but I didn’t like the feeling of vulnerability. I like being in a car and knowing that if I or someone else makes a stupid mistake there’s that extra level of protection there. That may all change the first time my mates with bikes go out in the summer.

Do it. Enjoy it.

Get what bike you want, not what people tell you to get. No point owning a bike you don’t like and don’t want to ride.

I did my direct access 8 years ago, and jumped straight onto a CBR600F, which was an absolutely fabulous bike. Did everything, went everywhere, B-Road scratching, touring, track days etc.

I changed it after 2 years and bought a CBR1000rr, which I still have, and have taken to the Alps, Pyrenees, and Spain. Amazing experiences.

Get good gear, and a helmet that fits properly, and never ever ride anywhere without all yur kit on.

Fit crash bungs to your bike. I almost guarentee you’ll drop it on the ground in he first year, usually doing something simple like wheeling it out of the garage. 🙂

Enjoy, don’t look back. Freedom awaits!!

CB

The amount of traffic on the road has increased incredibly in the last 20 years, but the number of dickhead drivers has gone through the roof.

Drivers WILL NOT see you on a motorbike.

Sorry, but that’s hysterical BS. In the 16 years I’ve been riding I think the roads are better for bikers, not worse, for a start. I have very, very few problems on the bike or scooter. I did 1200 miles in 2 weeks recently to Aylesbury and back for my Cytech course and it was fine, no stress at all.
But there’s a key to it, and that’s TRAINING. to be hones I never think weather a driver has seen me or not. I just don’t put myself in a position where that could become an issue. It’s fairly easy to make decent, smooth progress through the traffic in complete safety.
The last time I had to brake hard was about 1/2 hr ago……. I practiced an emergency stop from about 40mph on our road, just to make sure I knew what it felt like. :). ( stuff me you can stop RAPIDLY if you trust the ABS!!!)

To the OP: do it. Do it now. It’ll only ever get harder to get a license (I wish it would for a car license too…) and you’ll most likely love it. I think your intended bike looks pretty much spot on for someone tall, that’ll be fine as long as you don’t do too much motorway work, and reasonably crash proof too.
Oh yeah, you will crash. Everyone does. I’ve had 3 or 4, nothing too hectic, I just get back on and ride off mostly. Accept that and you’ll be fine.
Training is good. IAM or ROSPA do some good training, get into it, they’ll teach you more and make you a better, safer rider. 🙂
Good gear is worth it, but I worked up to what I have slowly. I’ll be wearing well over £1000 worth of kit, and I’ll be warm and snug literally right down to freezing point for 50 miles or more. There’s some good budget kit around though. Go for textile jacket and trousers, they are far more versatile, and you don’t need to pull over to put on waterproofs when it rains. Which it does.
Also, learn about your bike. Cars can be generally ignored between services but bikes are more fickle, just like mountain bikes are really. Tyre pressures make a massive difference, you’ll probably need to learn how to adjust and lube the chain, keep an eye of the oil and the brake pads…… Stuff like that. 🙂

i’ve ridden bikes since i was 3 (i’m 47). my dad was a lifelong motorcyclist. i’ve raced, ridden trials etc etc. i no longer ride bikes on the road.

my own ability does not concern me, its the idiot coming the other way.

if you do go ahead, buy the police roadcraft manual and read it.

also remember ‘every other road user is out to kill you.’ and i’m not kidding!

i have owned and ridden many… i’ve ridden on track lots, i’ve raced on tracks plenty…

I still ride on the rode

However i ride mostly like i don’t care if anyone kills me…

some funny old guys here with old guy attitudes…

Live a little and enjoy 140mph 🙂

It’s amazing you people don’t crash you are every day…

Did my CBT and theory in Sept with the intention of doing DAS this year. Used to ride a 125 trail bike as a teenager back home on the Isle of Man where you could start at 16 so had 5 or 6 years “experience”. That was over 15 years ago though but I was surprised how it all just came back within about 10 mins on the bike.

Really looking forward to getting the Mod 1 and 2 sorted!

Been riding for a long time now, for me the key was to commit to it.

When I first started riding I treated it like a weekend hobby, I rode at weekends only and spent more time hanging around the dealers in full Astars kit posing about like a knob than actually learning the craft of riding.

Then my circumstances changed and I started to commute to work on it daily, it was it this point I realised I was a really crap rider. I dug in took some advanced training and started racking up the miles. My GSXR was binned and replaced by the first of many VFRs. I got faster, smoother and more confident as the miles piled on.

You will love it, but you have to commit to it, think of it as a constant learning process.

One point that no-one else seems to have mentioned is that compared to driving a modern car its a tiring pastime; both mentally and physically, so don’t expect to be taking on epic distances immediately.

some funny old guys here with old guy attitudes…

Live a little and enjoy 140mph 🙂

As a former motorcycle courier who spent a few years doing this all day every day, when I was young and absolutely stupid (I’d regard anything below 100mph as just pottering about) I look back now and wonder in amazement how I made it to 30! I’ve walked away from some truly massive high-speed smashes. Looking back, I was one right flukey bastard. Be careful out there nkaaaaaaay kiddies 😉

Ha ha Binners Bloodrunners 😆

I was a courier in London for 2 years and had 1 big off not my fault got hit by a car in Primrose Hill, 6th sense told me it was going to happen. Was knocked out but nothing broken (maybe 10 years of schoolboy trials had got me used to crashing) also threw it down the road twice from my own optimistic belief that my tyres were better than they were.

Saying you are going to die because you ride a bike is just retarded.