Got my CBT on Thursday and need a 125 - what do you think of this?

Participant · 15 Jun 2014 at 09:25

Hi all

My CBT is booked in for Thursday. The only motor-powered 2 wheeler I've ever driven was a scooter in Thailand, 13 years ago! I remember this being an absolute blast, but only now am I in a situation where a motorbike is starting to make sense for me.

I'm 33 and have been driving for 16 years, but Stratford Upon Avon town is such a nightmare now to get through in a car due to the ridiculous number of traffic lights that are now appearing, that I've decided to try commuting on a motorcycle for a bit.

The commute is 12 miles each way, 3 of which is through town.

Few questions:

1. Am I sensible buying a 125 to use after my CBT (assuming they grant me a certificate!).

2. What do you think of this bike? Could probably get it for a grand:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...cc/page/2/postcode/b807pa/radius/20?logcode=p.

Suitable first commuter? Motorbike mileage is an interesting one in the second hand market. Anything over 10k seems to harm the price quite badly, whereas with cars it's >100k!

3. Any tips for the CBT? I have some walking boots and feel fairly confident and that's about all I can say so far as I'm not sure what to expect. So, any other tips are gratefully received!

Ideally I'd bypass the 125 stage and do the DAS and get a 600, but we've just had another child and I won't be in a position financially to afford the DAS and a bigger bike for a year.

Dogbreath · 15 Jun 2014 at 09:49

The YBR is a perfect 125 for commuting. Cheap to run, reliable, and easy to maintain and it won't lose much value when you come to sell.

It would make sense to get at least a bit of training in before doing your CBT. Jumping on a bike for the first time in 13 years means you are not going to have much in the way of riding or road skills.

TallPaul_S · 15 Jun 2014 at 10:09

Yep the YBR is perfect as a starter 125. Although there's loads of choice about, so don't necessarily buy the first you see. I'm doing the 125 thing before doing DAS too, although I'm on a varadero 125 as I'm a tall git.

I'm also 33, did my CBT in march bought the varadero in April and have already clocked up over 1500 miles.

Dogbreath said:
The YBR is a perfect 125 for commuting. Cheap to run, reliable, and easy to maintain and it won't lose much value when you come to sell.

It would make sense to get at least a bit of training in before doing your CBT. Jumping on a bike for the first time in 13 years means you are not going to have much in the way of riding or road skills.

Typo? CBT is your basic training, he can't do training before the CBT

Op, all you should need to take to the CBT is strong hiking boots, and thick jeans. They'll take you through all the very basics and will expect you to have zero previous experience. The morning is the tricky part, doing all the low speed stuff, and you'll find there's a lot they cover in those few hours. The road ride is where you get to enjoy yourself.

You'll have heaps more time to do your life savers, think about road positioning, indicating, gears etc where on the training pad you only had a few hundred feet to do everything.

Participant · 15 Jun 2014 at 11:10

Thanks for the replies both.

Dogbreath said:
The YBR is a perfect 125 for commuting. Cheap to run, reliable, and easy to maintain and it won't lose much value when you come to sell.

It would make sense to get at least a bit of training in before doing your CBT. Jumping on a bike for the first time in 13 years means you are not going to have much in the way of riding or road skills.

You'd probably point out that it's not the same, but I've been commuting the same route on a bicycle for two years, up to three days per week, so my awareness of two wheel road positioning and traffic discipline etc. is better than most that are doing CBT having never ridden a motorcycle.

The route I'll be taking is quiet B roads so it's quite convenient in terms of cutting my teeth.

Fully aware that I'm very much a noob though and I'll ride accordingly. I'll know a lot more after CBT about my abilities (or lack of) I guess.

TallPaul_S said:
Yep the YBR is perfect as a starter 125. Although there's loads of choice about, so don't necessarily buy the first you see. I'm doing the 125 thing before doing DAS too, although I'm on a varadero 125 as I'm a tall git. I'm also 33, did my CBT in march bought the varadero in April and have already clocked up over 1500 miles.

Op, all you should need to take to the CBT is strong hiking boots, and thick jeans. They'll take you through all the very basics and will expect you to have zero previous experience. The morning is the tricky part, doing all the low speed stuff, and you'll find there's a lot they cover in those few hours. The road ride is where you get to enjoy yourself. You'll have heaps more time to do your life savers, think about road positioning, indicating, gears etc where on the training pad you only had a few hundred feet to do everything.

Cool, thanks for the tips. I'll keep looking but I've hardly found any 125s for the £1k mark. They're all ~£1.5k.

TallPaul_S · 15 Jun 2014 at 12:40

Yep 125 prices are inflated due to a constant demand from people on a CBT. But you should be able to sell for the same price you paid when you come to sell.

The cycling thing will help, you should already be used to doing shoulder checks (life savers) whenever changing road position so it will help, and having lots of driving experience will help with reading the road/other road users etc. So you're better off than a 17 year old who's never driven anything engine powered on the road. The hardest bit will probably be the gears, they're completely different to car gears. I thought I would struggle after 12 odd years driving but luckily it just clicked.

Then after your CBT is when the real learning begins. They don't tell you stuff like not trying to change into 1st when you're stationary - you need to change into 1st as you are moving (i.e. as you come to a stop) or else the gears don't line up and you'll be stuck in 2nd pulling away which on a 125 isn't good. Only experience on the bike will give you this, the CBT is just there to make sure you're not dangerous and to teach you the very basics.

Participant · 15 Jun 2014 at 14:30

TallPaul_S said:
They don't tell you stuff like not trying to change into 1st when you're stationary - you need to change into 1st as you are moving (i.e. as you come to a stop) or else the gears don't line up and you'll be stuck in 2nd pulling away which on a 125 isn't good.

Good tip, not heard that one before. Remembering to do that will be fun - I'd expected to de-clutch and coast to a stop, worrying about gears once I was stationary!

TallPaul_S · 15 Jun 2014 at 15:20

Don't worry about it too much on the CBT, your mind will be pre-occupied with plenty of other things! Once you get out on the road though it's one of the things you have to learn that they don't tell you. If you get stuck in 2nd you can let out the clutch so it's just starting to bite, this will move the gears slightly which normally lets you shift down into 1st. I still have to do this sometimes when I've come to a stop from 40/50/60mph in 5th and haven't gone through all the gears while slowing. You basically want to be changing into 1st as you roll to a stop, with the clutch in.

Dogbreath · 16 Jun 2014 at 08:06

TallPaul_S said:
Typo? CBT is your basic training, he can't do training before the CBT

No, not a typo, and yes he can.

Participant · 19 Jun 2014 at 17:06

Passed the CBT!

Used Open Road Motorcycles, Redditch. It was all fairly ghetto but the instructor was very good and it was only £99, so can't complain. My hands still stink after a shower and some swarfega...man the gear was nasty.

It was very, very good fun. Now to hunt for a second hand CBF or YBR. I used a CBF for the training and it seemed really competent (based on my experience of one bike).

Dogbreath · 19 Jun 2014 at 18:00

Participant said:
Passed the CBT! Used Open Road Motorcycles, Redditch. It was all fairly ghetto but the instructor was very good and it was only £99, so can't complain. My hands still stink after a shower and some swarfega...man the gear was nasty.

It was very, very good fun. Now to hunt for a second hand CBF or YBR. I used a CBF for the training and it seemed really competent (based on my experience of one bike).

I would go for a YBR125 or a CG125 for a basic 125 commuter. The (Indian built) CBF build quality isn't up to Hondas normal level.

acemastr · 19 Jun 2014 at 19:14

I loved my YBR, did 11k miles on that. Only thing to look out for is the little engine can't cope with too much load from lights and heated grips, a 55w bulb and heated grips will cause problems in winter (it died whilst riding between traffic on my way home from work once)

wazza300 · 19 Jun 2014 at 19:26

I wouldn't worry if its four stroke machine,just pile the miles on it and enjoy,its only two strokes you need to rebuild ect