Biker's Cafe Chatroom

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I passed my CBT this week and looking at a 125 to get a feel for it for maybe 6 months then go for full A licence, I have a few questions if you guys would be so kind:

I'm looking at something like this.. Link the reviews look decent, is this a decent bike to go for as a first bike? Anything I should be wary of?

Riding clothes seems very expensive, is there anything wrong with buying 2nd hand from the likes of eBay for jacket,bottoms,gloves & boots? I will be buying helmet brand new around £150.

Insurance seems excessive.. for the above bike it's coming in at £650-700 fully comp, £550 third party/fire/theft.. that's with being nearly 40, bike kept on private property, 10 yrs no claims on a normal car license.

Thanks :)
 
Congrats on the CBT. Unfortunately insurance is high for new riders.

That Is a good bike. But a few things to note:

1. Superbikefactory are hit and miss. They are the webuyanycar of the motorcycle world and don't look at the bikes as much as other dealers. You can get some great bikes on there but equally some badly looked after ones. So always view the bike with someone who knows what to look for. I would avoid buying from them without viewing.

2. Personally I would spend less on an old YBR125 because you will want to upgrade it when you pass your full licence. So buy something cheaper and lose less money on resale. It also means less risk with third party insurance if you crash.

Used clothes are fine. In would say used high quality clothes are better than lower quality new stuff. Or look for bargains at Sports Bike Shop. But never buy a used helmet as you don't know how it was treated. Get your first helmet fitted at a shop because helmet shapes and head shapes vary so much. Again personally I would buy a cheaper 125 and spend the spare money on good quality clothing and good helmet. You will reuse the clothing on the next bike so it's a long term investment. Clothing is the equivalent of a cars body and it's what helps reduce risk of serious injury. I am in the camp of spending as much as you can afford on gear. It's saved my life in the past. Also allow money for security (chain, lock, etc).

Edit: Don't scrimp on cheap boots either. Get proper motorcycle boots.
 
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Yeah I imagine insurance for little stuff includes that risk of a couple of toddlers picking it up and nicking it. When both I and my neighbour used to store our bikes outside (his a 125 mine a K1300) his just got nicked by some kids (I know a sample of 1 isn't valid, but they do weigh bugger all). But anyway I generalise. Also you can drop a bike :D. And as Hades said, you'll soon want to upgrade, most of us do, and our budgets are never enough! :D. As you've been driving cars for years, you may quickly find a 600cc+ bike is pretty hilarious :).

When looking for a hat maybe check out https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/ if they have tested the helmet you like. And as said, go and try them on, aiming to get served by someone with a brain who can advise. I went through half a dozen recently trying to find a goggle-compatible lid that fit me properly. Ended up back with Shoei damn it. Sportsbikeshop tend to just dump some boxes out and leave you alone. Motolegends down my way will stroke your hair and call you some kind of handsome demi-god whilst fitting everything perfectly and charging appropriately RRP numbers. Infinity Motorcycles down here were a halfway house for me recently :).

As Hades said, get proper boots. There'll be lots of low stuff and "oh look I can wear it to my ballroom dancing meets too" types, but you've only got one or two ankles and they are complicated bits of kit. Start off with all the most protection at least, and then in several years when you think you know better, you can choose other stuff.

Oh, and try and keep the bike out of sight, in the back garden or something. Hi Nottingham :P.
 
Griffo said:
Ended up back with Shoei damn it. Sportsbikeshop tend to just dump some boxes out and leave you alone. Motolegends down my way will stroke your hair and call you some kind of handsome demi-god whilst fitting everything perfectly and charging appropriately RRP numbers. Infinity Motorcycles down here were a halfway house for me recently :).
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I love Motolegends as they are close to me. When starting out I spent so much money with them I've now got a loyalty discount on my account :eek:

But what I did with my helmet was get it fitted by Motolegends and then use their 10% price beat policy to get it cheaper than whoever had it on sale at the time. They really do have great service and a few times they have talked me out of more expensive gear and steered me towards the cheaper alternative because they suggested it may fit me better. Unfortunately they tend to only stock very expensive and a little less expensive brands. I did end up with a Shoei too though.

I crash tested that Shoei Neotec 2 and it was absolutely brilliant. It was worth every penny at that moment. All of my kit was worth every penny right then. I'm still waiting for my injury claim to be settled so I won't say too much yet, but my crash experience is why I specifically mentioned getting good boots.
 
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Yep agree, I do love Motolegends and also spent way too much! The place they use for alterations is great too. I forget the name right now but they've sent a few things to them to get them just right. Brill!
 
I've mentioned a few times that I've been waiting for my injury claim to be settled before buying another bike; most likely a facelift Triumph Speed Twin or possibly a Tiger 900 GT Pro. But the medical expert we are waiting on keeps delaying things and we keep getting financial obstacles in our lives - my wife found out yesterday she is very likely to be made redundant. So I've decided to massively reduce my bike budget and just YOLO it. Frankly I need a bit of joy in my life.

Test ride on a 2011 Tiger 800 booked for tomorrow :)
 
The test ride of the Tiger 800 went well. The vibes and wind turbulence were worse than I expected compared to a ride I did on a far more modern Tiger 900 a year ago. But this is obviously a much, much older bike at a much cheaper price point so nothing will be perfect. It's also a love it or hate it venom yellow colour. One moment I loved it, the next I wasn't so sure etc. but one thing is for sure, it stands out from a crowd of white, black, blue and red bikes.

Despite its age the bike has clearly been looked after and seemed to be in great condition. I said I would get back to them tomorrow to confirm although the salesman is out tomorrow so that means Friday instead. It's held with a deposit until the weekend. Currently leaning very much towards getting it. I don't think I will find many better bikes of this type at this price point.
 
Hades said:
The test ride of the Tiger 800 went well. The vibes and wind turbulence were worse than I expected compared to a ride I did on a far more modern Tiger 900 a year ago. But this is obviously a much, much older bike at a much cheaper price point so nothing will be perfect. It's also a love it or hate it venom yellow colour. One moment I loved it, the next I wasn't so sure etc. but one thing is for sure, it stands out from a crowd of white, black, blue and red bikes.

Despite its age the bike has clearly been looked after and seemed to be in great condition. I said I would get back to them tomorrow to confirm although the salesman is out tomorrow so that means Friday instead. It's held with a deposit until the weekend. Currently leaning very much towards getting it. I don't think I will find many better bikes of this type at this price point.
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Buying the cheaper bike will always be more fun, then you can enter into the world of bike modification and upgrades! A great way of learning how these machines are put together.
 
agnes said:
Buying the cheaper bike will always be more fun, then you can enter into the world of bike modification and upgrades! A great way of learning how these machines are put together.
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Yes you're probably right. It really does seem to be a cheap do anything bike.


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That's a great looking bike! A lot of bike for the money imo. There are thousands of mods for that bike to take it into more sports focused riding or off trail, it's a very versatile bike.
 
agnes said:
That's a great looking bike! A lot of bike for the money imo. There are thousands of mods for that bike to take it into more sports focused riding or off trail, it's a very versatile bike.
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Thanks. It's a Gen 1 so lacks the improvements of Gen 2 and 3. E.g. not even sure if it has ABS as that was optional. It certainly doesn't have mod cons like traction control or riding modes, and is old school ride by physical cable so no cruise control, etc. It's quite basic. But on the plus side not much to go wrong with it.

The dash is a little old fashioned looking but it's very clear, simple and functional. I may even prefer it to cluttered displays on modern bikes. For a large(ish) bike it felt quite agile.

It does feel well cared for based on condition and that it passed the last 10 MOT's without any advisories. As it's on 24k miles it is due its 12k major service including valve checks/adjustment. That's probably the reason the previous owner traded it in. Instead of haggling on price I asked the (Honda) garage to include a valve check/service which would be quite expensive elsewhere, new front brake pads and a new MOT which they have agreed to.

I'm almost certain to say yes tomorrow.
 
@Hades if it was my choice, I think I'd actually prefer the gen 1, again, I hate to say it but there will be silly drops or dings, but my main point is the lack of electronics. I do feel a lot of new riders rely upon rider aids far too much not only as a safety net but more as a requirement to ride. No ABS is a very good point, until you feel a front tyre start to slip or the rear dance out of traction, you'll never really get the feel of how a bike moves under our bodies. With that, I think you'll learn a LOT more from riding without those aids than with, obviously this brings a lot of risks but I feel they are outweighed by the cost and value of rider education.

The training to pass exams really is like a young chef being taught how to work the cooker top with the cooking skills coming over time.

As for the mileage, it is common for riders to keep bikes up until their major services, given it's age, I'd suggest using an independent garage who won't mind stepping out of the default service scope to give the bike a once over (until I just read they are including it in the price, great deal!).
 
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