What CC for your first bike?

Associate
Joined
1 Dec 2005
Posts
1,373
I did my CBT around June last year then bought a 125, I could have just gone straight into DAS but just felt like I'd rather get some experience riding around on a 125 on my own for a while, think I put about 1250 miles on it and yes they aren't the fastest things in the world but I still enjoyed my time on it.

Took a 3 day DAS course a few weeks ago and passed both mods first time, I definitely put a lot of that down to having done a bunch of miles on the 125 first.

It all comes down to personal preference though really, some people want to jump straight to a 650cc bike and some like the experience of learning on a 125 for a while. All that said and done I am looking forward to picking up my big boy bike on Monday though :D
 
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Soldato
Joined
4 May 2009
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3,370
Location
Southampton
I did my CBT around June last year then bought a 125, I could have just gone straight into DAS but just felt like I'd rather get some experience riding around on a 125 on my own for a while, think I put about 1250 miles on it and yes they aren't the fastest things in the world but I still enjoyed my time on it.

Took a 3 day DAS course a few weeks ago and passed both mods first time, I definetly put a lot of that down to having done a bunch of miles on the 125 first.

It all comes down to personal preference though really, some people want to jump straight to a 650cc bike and some like the experience of learning on a 125 for a while. All that said and done I am looking forward to picking up my big boy bike on Monday though :D

nice one, don't forget to post her in the new bike threat
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Aug 2006
Posts
3,915
I used to change my bikes like under pants when I was younger to lazy to list them in previous post.

I will post some pics of our equivalent version of the gopro used today using a 110 camera :D
 
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Associate
Joined
18 Jan 2011
Posts
1,187
Location
South London
I also did a little stint on a 125 but didn't ride it as much as I thought I would due to not being allowed on the motorway. When I passed my DAS I went for a 650 IL4, had that almost 2 years and just swapped it for a 680 twin. The twins power is much more usable than the IL4, probably only pushed the torque limits on the IL4 a handful of times as it'd be screaming.
Can't say this bike has had me wanting more power but I'll be going for an AT or 1200 GS once I move out of London for comfort!
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Sep 2013
Posts
12,300
Was going to start on a 125 but a couple of experienced bikers have said not to and just go larger. Gives you bad habits apparently as you are just maxing the bike all the time. Is this true?
It is utter ****ing ********, mate... unless you're intentionally trying to ride like a ****, that is.

Riding a 125 forces you into good habits - In particular, having virtually no power or roll-on means you rely on forward planning and observation for everything, particularly overtakes. That's something that stays with you for ever more.
Too often I've seen some idiot who hopped straight onto something powerful think he can just roll on the throttle and blast past a vehicle, relying on that power to carry him back into position before the oncoming vehicle splats him... a good 50% of the time the power was not enough and/or it was too much for him to handle. Usually the rider has ended up in the hedge, but a few never rode again.

As for ragging it everywhere, again that is utter crap. If you're doing this you're not riding properly anyway, so having a bigger bike would be no different, except you'd be ragging that at a higher speed.

Mine topped out at 74mph (indicated) and was perfectly fine all the way down to Cornwall and up to Scotland on the A-Roads. Part of it is technique and throttle management - You click up to 5th and slowly roll on to build the speed over maybe 20-30 seconds (you're only cruising along, anyway), which works far better than nailing it open and expecting the engine to jump to.

:p I think you mean "sell like hotcakes" :D
No, he means cupcakes - This is only a 125cc, after all!! :p :D
 
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