About To Start Riding...

[Mentize]

So I'm 18 and about to go for a CBT in a couple months, so at the moment I'm just preparing a kind of check-list of things that I would need to have as well as gather opinions on the choices I've made so far.

Information about me:
18, 5ft 8", About 9½ stone in weight.

Bike Choice: Yamaha YZF-R125
Apparently this is one of the best learner motorbikes, I don't like how scooters look so am wanting a super-sport styled 125.
Prefer a 4-stroke engine as it removes the needs to buy/mix oil with the fuel. (I'm aware oil will need changing, but not as often on a 4-stroke)
http://bit.ly/11nS6SA

Tires? - I've heard the stock tires on this bike are terrible, giving low grip and being some of the worst in wet weather. Could anyone recommend a replacement pair? I'm in England so I expect the weather to be wet for at least half the year.


Security:
Home: -Kept in locked garage
Almax Immobiliser Series IV + Squire SS65CS Lock + Hardie Ground Anchor | http://bit.ly/13ogT5E
Travelling:
Xena XZZ6 Motorcycle Alarm Disc Lock (Possibly 2 of them.) | http://ebay.eu/15oX4zn

Body Armour:
Head: AFX FX-90 Helmet | http://bit.ly/12uNOvo
Top & Bottom: -Not sure about these, Any recomendations? | http://ebay.eu/18KM1p3
Gloves: Cortech DX 2 Gloves | http://bit.ly/1bxKu6F
Boots: Joe Rocket Ballistic Touring Boots |http://bit.ly/17MMVN5


If anyone has any suggestions/feedback I would love to hear it! I'm new to this and don't want to make any silly / obvious mistakes before I've even started.

 

[Mentize]

@wazza300

I'll be buying 2nd hand for around £2,200 - I would never spend just shy of £5k on something I can't even handle yet

Would it be worth carrying the chain I use at home? or buying a lighter one? I heard the 19mm ones are kinda heavy.

Could you give an example of the types of jacket/trousers?


And thanks for the recommendation, That's not extremely far from me, i remember going there as a child :L

 

[Mentize]

@Rroff -Would be amazing

@wazza300 -I Will have a look around for textile / armoured leathers, Though I'm seeing names like jeans / cowhide leather / Cordura -Is one better than the the other?

@Scythe -Yeah, I can totally relate to that, As for the american things, that's why I'm on here seeking help!
Yes the bike will probably be the one I do the test on, so that I learn how to handle that bike from day 1.

Honestly, I don't like how the YBR125 looks, I'm trying to stick along the styles of the images ill link too at the bottom of this reply. I wouldnt want to buy something that I'm not happy with.

The tires will obviously need replacing eventually, as with all other parts, I won't be replacing them at day one, but probably sooner then it would usually be. As for replacing parts after a crash, would fitting crash protectors not stop this?

I will never buy anything this scale from china, esp bikes, I've heard too many stories of how "the foot-peg fell off after a week" or "the throttle jammed after 2months" -If I'm investing this much into something, I want a trusted brand.

Style I'm trying to get:

Spoiler

or

NOT

Spoiler

 

[Mentize]

@wazza300 & Hector: Those bikes look nice for the price, but I really don't like the idea of sitting with a straight back. It just gets uncomfortable for me after a few minutes, even in cushioned chairs.
I'll look around them, but even the fact they make a higher-pitch sound puts me off, I've always preferred bass and attaching an exhaust to a city scrambler just seems silly
And aren't carrying chains in the open classed as weapons anyway?

@Scythe: As much as I'd love to do the test on an easier bike then what I plan to ride, I don't really feel like paying out £300/£400 for a bike hire just to buy the bike I was going too anyway
As for helmets, I'd rather pay £100+ then pay for skull surgery

As for paying for security, my initial idea is to keep the thing in my possession for its lifetime, obviously if they want to remove a wheel that badly they'll do it. But anything short of cementing it to the ground is where I'll begin.

@Mucky_Pup:
What are the stock tires like? I heard they're pretty bad for wet weather.
Any main issues arose? like engine failure, part replacement?




General Note (Partly Scythe): The main reason I'm not going after a 2-stroke is because of the lack of reliability & the need to buy oil every time I buy fuel, eventually this cost for fuel+oil will greatly outweigh the price of a running 4stroke. Trying to think about the future.
This bike will probably need to last me 5 to 6 years, Given I'm only 18 and am at that stage where I need transport to secure a job, then settle down somewhere.

The Honda CBF125 looks fine, but it's the upkeep of it that puts me off.


[Edit] - Loving the support, again Overclockers proves to be the best place for me to get advice!

 

[Mentize]

erm... when you say you're going for your CBT - have you ridden a moped or motorbike already or is your CBT going to be the first time you've sat on a moped/motorbike?

Never ridden before, hence all the planning.

Hoping to do some kind of prior practice, my Uncle has I think 2 larger supersport 600cc+ bikes, But he's slow to respond when I message him about seeing if I can sit on them and get the engine running. -understandably of course,

 

[Mentize]

those bikes I posted are 4 stroke,they all sound deep,compared to the wasp sounding 2 stroke

Really? Every trail-bike or scrambler style bike I've ever heard has been ridiculously loud and high pitched. Didn't think they could produce a 'rumble'.
Definitely shifted my opinion on them knowing this.

Any particular model you'd recommend in term of 4 stroke trail-bikes then? I'm not buying for about another 5/6 months so looking at 2nd-hand sales on right now is pretty pointless.


@Scythe: o.o? I've been on 2 or 3 reviews sites before coming here and they all stated it was a 2 stroke, I know because I have it on my desktop notes from when I listed potential models before coming here

 

[Mentize]

Yes, the Honda CBF125 is definitely a 4 stroke, you must be looking at the wrong bike.

Yeah I was looking at the Honda CBR125, god this is almost as awkward as learning processor numbers


Knowing that not all trail bikes produce a high-pitch engine sound, I may scale down my ambitions, At the end of the day all most people will hear is the sound. Still would prefer a bike with a bit more 'lean' to it like the images in my earlier posts but seeing I'm getting the impression of "Learn before you go big" from people in here I should probably not ignore that advice for obvious reasons

The Kawasaki KLX125 looks pretty nice with a rider on it (I have a thing for Green)
The Suzuki DRZ125 seems to have a smaller seat then the Kawasaki one. (Thickness)
The Yamaha XT125 I don't like the look of how the seat rides up slightly at the front.

[Edit] -Originall the Idea was the following:

Bike: £1800
Gear: £700/800
Security: £200/300

-Are these price ranges still viable? I see the Kawasaki bike is still around the same price as a yzf r125 off e-bay for 2nd hand.
The Honda CBF is about £500 cheaper 2nd hand. (Going at around £1400 atm)

 

[Mentize]

The CBR125 is also a 4 stroke

Please no... I have it down as a 2stroke?

How little I know is really starting to show...


So now its
Kawasaki KLX125 VS Honda CBF125 VS Honda CBR125 VS Yamaha YZF-R125

 

[Mentize]

ring up on insurance quotes first before you buy the bike,just find out the year of the bike for the quote ect

Pretty much all the same, they must not insure based on model.
-This was from "The Bike Insurer" who say if I find cheaper, they'll beat it.
-They all had breakdown cover, none included overseas or other bikes.
-Voluntary excess of £200
-All seemed to be with some 'MCE' company.
-This was also with ticking the box to having no security other than being kept in a locked garage (There wasn't an option for chains/locks)

Comprehensive: 11 Payments of £90 with Deposit of £90
Kawasaki KLX125 (2012) £882
Honda CBR125 (2004) £882
Honda CBF125 (2004) £882
Yamaha YZF-R125 (2010) £882

With third-party only it they all dropped to about £530

No idea if this is good or bad, never looked at insurance prices for other drivers.

 

[Mentize]

Been looking through some textile clothing as advised - Found the following:

--------------
Head: AGV K3 Rossi Gothic 46 - Black - http://bit.ly/13hkirM
----Brought it up over £100 as recommended by Scythe

Gloves: Weise Hornet WP Glove - Flo Yellow - http://bit.ly/1608vfN

Jacket: Weise Hornet Jacket - http://bit.ly/16vpXsw

Base Layer: Weise-Tex Zip Neck Top - http://bit.ly/11qgVgP
----Felt the need to add a base layer, as I don't have any long-sleeve clothing and figured the gap between the helmet & jacket would need filling for wind purposes.

Trousers: Weise S-Type Jeans - http://bit.ly/13pMWDa

Boots: Weise Monza Boots - http://bit.ly/1c7ekOR
--------------
Made sure it's pretty much all water-proof as advised by xMarkie.
It's all textiled and has some form of armour as advised by Wazza300 & Scythe, the jacket does has removable liner.
Figured I'd go for a yellow colour so it's bright during darker hours.
All together this comes to around £510

Went for Weise because they we're one of the first brands I noticed getting consistently good reviews, and given I already chose their jacket (Textiled & Armoured) I figured they'd had matching clothing for the rest of me.


Opinions?

 

[Mentize]

So try gear on before buying, and barter with the guys at J&S -got it!

Really I shouldn't be getting the YZF-R125 becuase of its cost to repair in future. That's udnerstandable.


Would you guys say its worth going for a CBR125 then? as the Kawasaki trail bike is more expensive then a CBR125 and is more the style I'm after. -Or is it just as pricey to repair as the YZF?