Soldato
- Joined
- 7 May 2008
- Posts
- 3,151
- Location
- Bristol
I would like to share my recent experiance about returning to the saddle. After riding a bike from the age of 18 until i was 22 I didnt touch a bike until some 3 years later when due to work commitments I was forced back onto two weels.
My first bike was a CG 125 that I paid £400 for direct from the test centre I did my first CBT at. Lovely machine that was written off in a crash around 6 months after I bought it. 2 weeks later and a shiney new CBR125R was delivered. This sat in the garage for a few weeks as my injuries healed but I was itching to get on it.
Rode on this bike for the next 18 months until i decided to renwew the CBT and take the full test (before the Mod1/2 came in) Got way ahead of myself and already bought a GS 500 as a first foray into bigger bikes. Failed the test due to a foolish road positioning error. So here I am left with 2 bikes, one I cant ride and the other I was relying on selling to pay bills etc. Oh how the young are foolish! Ended up selling both bikes and getting the bus or a lift to work.
Some 2 years pass and I never really had the buzz to get back on a bike. Come December 2011 and my workmate who gives me a lift to work decided to move jobs so I am faced with a challenge. Get a bike or get the bus. Easy choice. Off i go to redo another CBT. Passed with flying colours.
I had a weeks notice to get the test done, new gear and a new bike ordered, all on a tiny budget. Ended up riding a Piaggio Zip SP 50. A terrible bike, if you can call it a bike. After riding this for 2 weeks I can see why my Dad, a very experianced rider, flat out refused to let me have one at 16.
Yesterday I was on trade-it looking at bikes for sale when I come across a CG125 for £550. Needs some work, exhaust has lost all the chrome and the front brake needs fluid. 3 hours later and I have seen the bike and the owner has delivered it to my house.
Spent today fixing up the 50, exhaust needed welding up and the electrics sorting. took about 3 hours to sort all of this and I trundle back home from Dad's, picking up some Dot 5.1 and oil on the way. The next hour is spent bleeding the brake, until finally the spongyness has gone and I have solid brakes again. Oil is changed, lights are checked, tyres checked and off to the petrol station I go on my new machine.
That mile was the nicest mile I have ridden in a long time. After the 50 topping out at 25 up a hill (I live at the bottom of a massive hill!) it is such a good feeling to hit 40 without a struggle. Tank is filled and off for a ride I go.
I will never take the humble CG125 for granted again. It is great to be back on the road, with a bike where I control the gears!
Now all I need to do is book some training days in and prepare to take the full test again. Then ZX-6 and beyond!
My first bike was a CG 125 that I paid £400 for direct from the test centre I did my first CBT at. Lovely machine that was written off in a crash around 6 months after I bought it. 2 weeks later and a shiney new CBR125R was delivered. This sat in the garage for a few weeks as my injuries healed but I was itching to get on it.
Rode on this bike for the next 18 months until i decided to renwew the CBT and take the full test (before the Mod1/2 came in) Got way ahead of myself and already bought a GS 500 as a first foray into bigger bikes. Failed the test due to a foolish road positioning error. So here I am left with 2 bikes, one I cant ride and the other I was relying on selling to pay bills etc. Oh how the young are foolish! Ended up selling both bikes and getting the bus or a lift to work.
Some 2 years pass and I never really had the buzz to get back on a bike. Come December 2011 and my workmate who gives me a lift to work decided to move jobs so I am faced with a challenge. Get a bike or get the bus. Easy choice. Off i go to redo another CBT. Passed with flying colours.
I had a weeks notice to get the test done, new gear and a new bike ordered, all on a tiny budget. Ended up riding a Piaggio Zip SP 50. A terrible bike, if you can call it a bike. After riding this for 2 weeks I can see why my Dad, a very experianced rider, flat out refused to let me have one at 16.
Yesterday I was on trade-it looking at bikes for sale when I come across a CG125 for £550. Needs some work, exhaust has lost all the chrome and the front brake needs fluid. 3 hours later and I have seen the bike and the owner has delivered it to my house.
Spent today fixing up the 50, exhaust needed welding up and the electrics sorting. took about 3 hours to sort all of this and I trundle back home from Dad's, picking up some Dot 5.1 and oil on the way. The next hour is spent bleeding the brake, until finally the spongyness has gone and I have solid brakes again. Oil is changed, lights are checked, tyres checked and off to the petrol station I go on my new machine.
That mile was the nicest mile I have ridden in a long time. After the 50 topping out at 25 up a hill (I live at the bottom of a massive hill!) it is such a good feeling to hit 40 without a struggle. Tank is filled and off for a ride I go.
I will never take the humble CG125 for granted again. It is great to be back on the road, with a bike where I control the gears!
Now all I need to do is book some training days in and prepare to take the full test again. Then ZX-6 and beyond!
