Getting a 125cc Motorbike

CREATIVE!11

CREATIVE!11

CREATIVE!11

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I just wondered to any of you guys who have bikes,

What is the process to obtaining a licence to ride a 125?

I already have a driving licence of course and a around 6ish years no claims on my car insurance.

I'm interested in getting a 125 just to nip around easily and wondered how much basically a licence would set me back

Any advice? always wanted a bike.

Edit: Also want to add another question, how much do you guys with a 125 pay for insurance roughly? just interested to get a rough idea of the running costs.
 
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There's no licence as such for a 125cc, just Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), which should be around £100.

CBT

Then it's down to how much you want to spend on a bike, budgeting as well for helmet, clothing etc.
 
Sherpa said:
There's no licence as such for a 125cc, just Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), which should be around £100.

CBT

Then it's down to how much you want to spend on a bike, budgeting as well for helmet, clothing etc.
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There is a full license for 125 which lets you ride without L plates and carry passengers.
 
i have a 125 honda scooter for this purpose. I'd recommend one!

I ride on a CBT which cost £80, insurance is £100 TP only and I have a helmet and jacket that cost around £150. The helmet is HJC.

The scooter was £450 but it will always be worth that.
 
Step 1: do the CBT. Everything will be provided, wear thick jeans and boots. Cost £100 roughly.

If you enjoy that, step 2: get kitted out. Helmet, boots, gloves, jacket, trousers (textile for the jacket and trousers). Cost £200-2000 (realistically, £3-500 if you want to stay warm and dry).

Step 3: buy a bike. A geared 125 (best if you want to move onto a bigger bike/get your full licence) will cost £1000 minimum, up to £2000. Do not buy a new 125.

Step 3a: insurance - cost £100-200 for the year.

Step 4: ride!!!!! :D
 
cbt's don't last forever either 2 or 3 years I think? so you'll have to either do it again or go for your licence at some point

might have to do the theory test aswell

its a big pain in the ass
 
CREATIVE!11 said:
I just wondered to any of you guys who have bikes,

What is the process to obtaining a licence to ride a 125?

I already have a driving licence of course and a around 6ish years no claims on my car insurance.

I'm interested in getting a 125 just to nip around easily and wondered how much basically a licence would set me back

Any advice? always wanted a bike.

Edit: Also want to add another question, how much do you guys with a 125 pay for insurance roughly? just interested to get a rough idea of the running costs.
Click to expand...

Not sure that car no claims counts towards bike insurance. Mine didn't and it was the cheapest quote I went for, so I guess it doesn't.

Find a local school to walk you through CBT. At the end the instructor will either grant you your CBT or say you haven't met the required standard, but it really is pretty easy.

Don't pay extra if any schools offer you £x for a guaranteed pass i.e. unlimited re-tries. It's a doddle unless you have coordination issues, and as an experienced car driver you'll already have a big advantage in terms of rules of the road. Don't forget CBT caters also for 17 year olds, as all you need is a provisional driving licence.

I've been riding a YBR 125 since June and it's been excellent for my 25 minute commute. The last bit of the commute is through town, when it really comes into its own.

I pay £97 p.a. TPFT via Hastings Direct, but then I'm 34.

TallPaul_S said:
Step 1: do the CBT. Everything will be provided, wear thick jeans and boots. Cost £100 roughly.

If you enjoy that, step 2: get kitted out. Helmet, boots, gloves, jacket, trousers (textile for the jacket and trousers). Cost £200-2000 (realistically, £3-500 if you want to stay warm and dry).

Step 3: buy a bike. A geared 125 (best if you want to move onto a bigger bike/get your full licence) will cost £1000 minimum, up to £2000. Do not buy a new 125.

Step 3a: insurance - cost £100-200 for the year.

Step 4: ride!!!!! :D
Click to expand...

I pretty much did exactly the above. My YBR 125 was £1,300 and I'm expecting to sell it for pretty much what I paid for it 6 months ago, in favour of a bigger bike.

It's been excellent and ridiculously fuel efficient. It happily does 65 (70 down a hill :p), but any incline and it starts to stuggle. Plenty fast enough for most A roads and towns though.

wazza300 said:
cbt's don't last forever either 2 or 3 years I think? so you'll have to either do it again or go for your licence at some point

might have to do the theory test aswell

its a big pain in the ass
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Yeah, CBT and theory are both retake after 2 years if you don't pass your test. Lots of hoops to jump through altogether, it's a bit of a mission :/.
 
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wazza300 said:
im surprised you guys don't atleast get tpft,especially being 125's and highly nickable
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If you're referring to me in that, I have insured mine TPFT. I only mentioned third party because I genuinely didn't know it was possible to insure only TP without including fire and theft. I don't remember ever having seen less than TPFT in the drop down on insurer websites :).

TP only is a step too far!
 
Yeah forgot to mention that car no claims doesn't count for a bike policy, although some places will ask how many years car no claims you have.

For me, with a varadero 125, 0 NCD, 33 years old and doing 10k miles a year - I paid £180 for the year TPFT. That was a big decider in getting a 125 to get to work and back - my choices were train at £150 a month, 3 trains each way with a 20 minute walk to the station - travelling time over an hour. Or car at £1000 for a banger, £500 insurance (0 NCD as haven't owned a car for a few years, been driving since 2001) and £25 a week on petrol - travelling time easily an hour minimum with the traffic I have to deal with. Or motorbike at £1700 + gear (probably close to £3000 spend so far), £180 insurance and £13 a week in petrol - travelling time 45 minutes, regardless of traffic. Maintenance costs for the bike (6000 miles and counting) have been a set of new fork seals at £50. Its MOT is due in Jan though, will need a new rear tyre too along with a service, so that's maybe another £200, but £250 in maintenance over 8 months ain't bad. Oh and smiles - loads. :D

Plus, a cheap car won't see me going out for rides in summer to random places, or thinking about long weekends away in france/scotland etc. A bike is more than just transport. :cool:

I should really have included step 5: after 6 months on a 125, get bored and do the DAS giving you a full bike licence (so long as you're over 24) and step 6: buy a big bike :) Even with the best intentions of just using a 125 for a cheap run around, once the biking bug bites, you'll want a proper bike and feel envious whenever one passes you :D
 
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