Thinking about a motorbike...

Burly

Burly

Burly

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I have a driving licence (I assume I need a special motorbike one?) and would like the idea of being able to get around. My question is what are your opinions on them? Is it a death trap? What sort of costs are involved? i.e. cheapest possible motorbike built in the last 5 years or something average. Insurance? Road tax?

Basically I want to compare a year of bus travel (£233, restricted to a few routes at certain times) to having a motorbike (lasts a couple of years, running costs? attraction of going anywhere anytime)


And hopefully I can make a decision...
 
There was a recent thread that asked almost exactly the same question so have a quick search and you'll find your answers in detail.

In short though if you're doing it to save money you prob won't save much in the short term compared to if you already have a car. If you're comparing it to it costing £233 a year on the bus then you certainly won't save any money!!!

You'll need to take a CBT (£100), this will let you ride anything upto 125cc. Insurance 3rd party is about £120 for the year if you're 23+ without claims/points etc. Tax on these bikes is £15 for the year. As for a bike you'd be able to pick up a reasonable 2nd hand for around £500, but you'll be looking to spend at least that again on safety gear (helmet, gloves, boots, jacket & trousers).

I've just done the above and I'm having a lot of fun on the bike so far. It's so much quicker to get around in the town and so long as your sensible and keep a very close eye on the cars then it's not a total death trap :)
 
The problem is you can be as careful as you can ever be, some silly driver will make a mistake and the biker will always come off worst.
 
Raymond Lin said:
The problem is you can be as careful as you can ever be, some silly driver will make a mistake and the biker will always come off worst.
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this is true.. i hardly ever ride in england its so bad people just dont look for bikes even tho they look down the road they dont look propperly altho the isle of man isnt perfect people seem to be a lot more bike aware over here when i go across i take the car
 
Been riding a Motorbike for over 20 years(600cc or above) only ever had one accident and that was in my car(and not my fault). Paramedics said if I was on the bike I would have been better off. Not arguing with that.

As already said motorists don't look properly and its not just for bikes the general standard of driving has fallen recently. But if the bike rider is aware of everything around him/her then they should spot problems before they happen.

I can honestly say I feel safer on my bike than in my car (nothing to do with the accident), as I can see everything around me and not trapped in a steel box if something does go wrong.
 
Finglonga said:
Been riding a Motorbike for over 20 years(600cc or above) only ever had one accident and that was in my car(and not my fault). Paramedics said if I was on the bike I would have been better off. Not arguing with that.

As already said motorists don't look properly and its not just for bikes the general standard of driving has fallen recently. But if the bike rider is aware of everything around him/her then they should spot problems before they happen.

I can honestly say I feel safer on my bike than in my car (nothing to do with the accident), as I can see everything around me and not trapped in a steel box if something does go wrong.
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I've always felt like that even though I have driven cars a lot more than I have ridden bikes.

In my opinion, to ride a bike you have to have some sort of general interest in them in the first place as they command respect and as a commuting machine, winter can be a miserable time. Weather plays a big part in biking.

They are by no means death traps. If you do the proper training and don't rush into things, riding the bike should be pretty straight forward after a few miles out on your own. The problem is other road users. Where I am, bikes aren't all that common for some reason so other motorists just don't care to expect a biker in their daily drive. I myself have almost made the mistake of taking a bikerless route for granted when I very nearly pulled out on one.

The bike route is CBT (Certificate of Basic Training), theory test and then usually a course which takes you to your practical test (which is being revamped in October to be much more difficult). My advice would be to take your CBT, it's about £90 usualy and that allows you to ride up to 125CC with L plates for 2 years and then see what you think.

Costs are not all too bad. Budget for helmet + textile/leather clothing and boots, up to £500 for insurance if you're in a good area on a suitable bike and up to £3k for a young bike around 600cc and for a geared 125cc younger than 5 years you can pay under a grand however they might be a bit rough around the edges.

After adding it all up you'll find a small car cheaper and more comfortable however if you bought a mid-late nineties bike and sourced 2nd hand gear (but not helmet, always buy those new and make sure you get a proper fit in shop) you could find the costs more reasonable.
 
I'm going from Reading to London at the moment, and t'other way, and even though I see a hell of a lot of motorbikes on the M4 every single day, people still don't see them, or sit their cars in queues so the bikes can't filter. Annoys the hell out of me, but that's partly because I'll be attempting it myself in a week or so! And also in London the standard of driving seems awful. GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE LANE YOU STEREOTYPE FULFILLER.
 
This is a timely thread :) I have the option to buy an old motorbike from a family member who has decided he doesn't want it anymore. I'm not sure of the model number but its an old Matchless, possibly a G80 but I thought it was earlier, from the 1930s. I love the look of it, and would only use it as a weekend, sunny weather tourer.

The thing is its a 500cc single cylinder beastie, and I have no motorbike license. On top of the CBT, what else would I need to do to be able to ride it? If it makes any difference, I've got one of the older style car driving licenses (long before '97 when the license seems to have changed).

I can't really make much sense of the categories, listed on: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations/DG_4022547

My license says I have category A, which this document seems to indicate I can use a bike up to 33hp? I doubt this bike has anywhere near that :)
 
is the cat A in your provisional bit of the license ?
if not you have a full bike license

if it is in the provisional bit your cbt has run out and you have to take it again [ only last for two years ]
you can only ride up to 125 cc on a cbt and still have L plates

if its full you have to ride 33bhp for two years if your under 21 years old
 
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mines an old paper one asswell
it should show what you can drive/ride on a full license in the main part
and what your provisonal entitalment is in the provisional bit

how long ago did you do your cbt ?
 
I haven't! I was asking what I need to do to be able to ride this 500cc bike if I chose to purchase it, sorry for the confusion. I understand the CBT is an afternoon job, it was the other part I wasn't sure about. I've heard of people taking a week long course to get a full bike license? Is this going to change in October?
 
cyclops12 said:
if its full you have to ride 33bhp for two years if your under 21 years old
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How things have changed....

Back in 1986,,One my best mates was full road legal on a full power GPZ1100r (about 125hp) with L plates went he was 16 years old...
I myself owned an X7 ,MTX200 & DR400, went i was 16

The law here back then (1986) was a 14 year old could have up a 100cc (12HP)
and 16 year old unlimited cc & power
Plus there was No bike tests or training required...
 
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Bluelion said:
I haven't! I was asking what I need to do to be able to ride this 500cc bike if I chose to purchase it, sorry for the confusion. I understand the CBT is an afternoon job, it was the other part I wasn't sure about. I've heard of people taking a week long course to get a full bike license? Is this going to change in October?
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no its still the same its just gona be a bit harder to find a test center as they are closing a lot down

if your under 21 and only do the bike test you will only be able to ridee 33 bhp for two years
 
Will you be doing your test in Northern Ireland or England?

And get one! I'm currently in Inverness, after going camping around the Highlands, the roads up here are unreal! You'll love biking! :D
 
Bluelion said:
I haven't! I was asking what I need to do to be able to ride this 500cc bike if I chose to purchase it
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You'll probably be looking at a DAS course, they vary between 3 and 5 days long and cost abound the 500pound mark. This will take you from a never having ridden before to a full license :)

As has been mentioned the test is changing shortly and there actually seems to be a bit of confusion about whether it'll ready on time. It was scheduled for October but it doesn't seem like they have enough test centres ready so they may postpone for a few months, unfortunately they won't be extending the old test to cover the gap in-between so they may be a period where no one can get a license!!! Well that's what i've picked up from talking on The Motorbike Forum.

Also I think the min age might be raised from 21 to 25. If you're younger then you could take an A2 test, it's the same test as you'd do for DAS only you take it on a smaller bike and are restricted to 35kW (about 250cc i think) for the first 2 years of riding.
 
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i used to hanker after a motorbike, then i went to the nurburgring at the weekend

most of the track closures were due to bikes, there were supposed to be two fatalities also, both bikers.

they die left right and centre
 
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