Considering moving to 2 wheels...

[Invertigo]

I've been driving now for 3 years, and while I love it, the cost of car ownership is a bit much recently. I'd like to give biking a try, both for the cheapness compared to my current car and the enjoyment.

My friend at work makes biking sound amazing, and she's promised me a ride out when she gets some new rear footpegs for her bike. Along with this, I plan to do one of the free sessions through http://www.geton.co.uk/ to get a feel of it myself.

With me being 21 in summer, I think I'd prefer to go for the DAS route, though I assume this means I could only learn via lessons, as I don't much fancy buying a 125 to sell as soon as I pass.

Any tips/advice you guys have would be much appreciated

 

[Invertigo]

I've been looking into this more recently, and I think I might get my CBT done and pick up a 125 for a while, just to get a feel of biking.

My brother has a full set of gear that he will let me use, as he bought it all with the intention of buying a bike himself, did his test, and 8 years later there's still no bike!

I'd probably be looking at a sports style bike, and am quite curious about the Yamaha YZF-R125. It seems to be one of the better performing 4 cylinder 125's, though for the price I could easily pick up a slightly older Caviga Mito or Aprilia R125.

The question is, when I do my full test, if I do DAS, I'd probably sell the 125 on and get a 5-600, so having a 125 that can be unrestricted to 33bhp isn't really necessary.

There's always the CBR125R, which is a bit cheaper. I've heard they're quite small though, especially compared to the Yamaha. Guess it's a case of go try it out. Or the older bikes, such as the NSR125 and TZR125...

The reason I'd pick a sports 125 over, say, a CG125 is purely because, if I got a bigger bike, I'd want a sports one. It seems to make sense to get used to the riding posture of being hunched over. Plus they're gorgeous!


Ideally, I dont want to be spending more than £2000 on a bike, preferably about £1500

 

[Invertigo]

Although I might do my DAS over summer, I still think that, if I want to get a bike, I'd be best off on a 125 for a year or so, not least because the insurance on a Honda NSR125/Aprilia RS125 etc are significantly cheaper than my current car insurance.

Plus, I've talked to a few bikers who have been riding for years and they all seem to think a 125 is a smart move, as it lets you get used to riding before jumping on something that can have you flat on your arse before you know it should you get a bit throttle happy

After I get my license then, I can have the bike unrestricted up to ~30bhp, which will be a decent learning block I think, instead of going from a bike that struggles to hit 70 to one capable of double that straight away!

 

[Invertigo]

Definitely this. Learn control and awareness first, then get yourself the power.

Exactly why I'm tempted to go for a 125 that has a decent bit of power when unrestricted. It wouldn't be a huge increase, but would happily tide me over for a year or 2 until insurance on a 600 isn't near to £1000!

Had a quick scout around, and its about £500 for TPFT on a NSR125, which has 32bhp unrestricted...plenty to start with!

I'd still do my test as a DAS, giving me the option to move up sooner than 2 years if I wanted though

 

[Invertigo]

Except that you're not allowed to ride an unrestricted bike.

I meant once I have my full license it can be unrestricted, which I'll be doing over the summer. It means I can start on a restricted, get used to riding, to my test and then get the bike unrestricted after passing. Gives me a gradual build up of power, which I think would be a smarter idea than going from a tiny, weak 4 stroke onto a 600cc machine.

Plus I love the 2-stroke engine sound, despite it being like a swarm of bees

 

[Invertigo]

Ok, so, just looked for insurance as though I was 21 and with a full license....

£375 TPFT for a 600cc Hornet....do want! My current car insurance is just over £1k, you can get a 2002ish Hornet for roughly what my car would sell for (£2000). My dad is even tempted to buy my car off me and sell his 5 series, so I could be a named driver for an extra £200ish, which still makes biking hugely cheaper! Plus I'd have the car if I needed to move something/people

 

[Invertigo]

Right, started looking at this seriously again now. I'm wanting to do my DAS in august, then ideally pick up a 5-600cc after.

I've dropped the idea of getting a daft supersports bike, as theres plenty of time for that when I'm older. My dad will be buying my current car off me, but keeping me as a named driver so I'll have a car should I need to transport anything.

Basically, I'm looking for recommendations as to what to look at. Assuming something along the lines of a Honda Hornet or CBR600F would be suitable?

 

[Invertigo]

Cost has put me off, a hornet or bandit can be insured for £400, a cbr600 is over a grand! Even a cbr125 with full license is 550...

Logic? I see none!