*** How to obtain a bike license ***

I want to get my CBT. Bit nervous but does anyone have a rough cost of what I'm looking at for the bike, gear and what not. Pretty much everything needed to start.
 
the training school hire bikes and kit to do your cbt on

as for bike and kit if you were buying yourself id budget around £2000,cbt's idk how much they are
 
CBT is around £120, A decent 125 can be picked up from around £1000 up, insurance is going to be around £300-400 TPFT for the year, £18 tax, half decent helmet anywhere from £60 to £lol!, textile jacket and trousers should be able to pick up for under £200 for both just as starter kit, £30 on gloves, boots around £60-70, chain and padlock £40-50 for a Mammoth one up to over £150 for an almax.
I think that covers pretty much everything.
 
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So around 2k and I'll be pottering along. Might just book my CBT then. What's a good 125 to buy? Sorry for my nooby questions.

Thanks
 
infernox said:
5ft 9. Not gifted in the height department at all. ;)
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What sort of bikes do you like? I personally would suggest a naked bike, but you could also go with a cruiser if that's your thing.

I'm 6ft 1 and ride this bioke... It's a KTM Duke 125, fun and has wider tyres than your usual 125. I have my knees bent whilst having two feet on the ground, so you should be more than fine. My dad is around your height and he can touch the ground whilst sitting down with both feet down.
oERbSckm.jpg 'click for bigger image'

If this is not the type of bike you like, there are other bikes such as...
Honda Shadow 125
Honda Rebel 125
Suzuki Intruder 125
Honda Varadero 125 (It is pretty big for a 125)
Yamaha YBR 125
Honda CG125
Honda CBF 125
Honda CBR125
Aprilia RS4 125 (Warning Italian bikes aren't known for being trouble-free :p)
DERBI GPR125
Honda MSX 125 (GROM)
Honda XR125
Suzuki DRZ125
Suzuki DR125
Yamaha WR125
RIEJU MARATHON 125
For more bikes CLICK you can filter through what type of bike's you like. :)

Edit

The reason for why I say naked bike (this could possibly apply to cruisers as well) is better for a learner is because (this is newbie advice, take it with a pinch of salt)...
- Easier to manoeuvre.
- Sitting upright.
- When you drop the bike or even worse crash, no expensive plastics to replace.
- They seem to be more popular.
- Sport bikes with 125cc 4T engine are just as bad, as driving a 1.6 BMW with Msport body kit and badge IMO. :p
- Easier to service, you have better access to everything.

BTW you don't really need fairing on a 125, the wind start's to get annoying past 70mph on a longer run. But on my 125 I usually cruise at 60-65mph, so IMO not worth the hassle. On A2 bikes with 47bhp you'll benefit from them on e.g. motorway, but on a 125 no point really.
 
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I like your bike and thanks for your link. Something like the Lexmoto LSM 125 is my sort of style. Like a scrambler look. Don't like the look of the superbike type design.
 
infernox said:
I like your bike and thanks for your link. Something like the Lexmoto LSM 125 is my sort of style. Like a scrambler look. Don't like the look of the superbike type design.
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The bike you mentioned is Chinese and it's a SM (Supermoto) so in other words, a enduro bike with smaller/wider road tyres on.

If you like a scrambler look, than have a look at Suzuki VanVan.
 
wazza300 said:
Yamaha wr125? only bike I can think of,supermoto style
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There's also the...

Suzuki Drz 125 SM
Rieju Marathon 125
Rieju SMX125
YAMAHA XT125X
SACHS X-ROAD
HUSQVARNA SMS4 125
Hyosung XRX 125 SM
BETA RR 125 MOTARD
DERBI SENDA DRD 125 SM - Great bikes same engine as the YZF125 and WR125 for less money! (Older models are 2T though)
 
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I'm booking my CBT on pay day. Anxiously excited but it should be good fun. I've always wanted a motorbike but now i've decided to take the plunge rather than keep thinking 'what if'.

My plan is to do my CBT, ride for a few months and when I feel comfortable I'll go for the direct access course for a full license.

Got my eyes on an Honda CBR125. They seem to be around the £1000 mark. I'm kinda gutted that insurance is so high though. Cheapest I found for full-comp was £268 but with a compulsory £1050 excess! Is it even worth going FC or should I just opt for TPFT. Shame I can't combine it with my car insurance.
 
JunglistE said:
I'm booking my CBT on pay day. Anxiously excited but it should be good fun. I've always wanted a motorbike but now i've decided to take the plunge rather than keep thinking 'what if'.

My plan is to do my CBT, ride for a few months and when I feel comfortable I'll go for the direct access course for a full license.

Got my eyes on an Honda CBR125. They seem to be around the £1000 mark. I'm kinda gutted that insurance is so high though. Cheapest I found for full-comp was £268 but with a compulsory £1050 excess! Is it even worth going FC or should I just opt for TPFT. Shame I can't combine it with my car insurance.
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Judging by the cost of insurance on a 125, I guess you're not old enough to do the direct access and just get your full licence? If you are over 24, I would just go straight for direct access and spend your money on a bit of a bigger bike. Absolutely nothing wrong with a 125, but if you can, then why not get the full licence and have the choice of any bike :)

That insurance is about right for your first year, on a CBT, for a sportier bike. Excess seems a bit high though. If you want cheaper, go for something like the CBF125. A little more boring, but still good fun and ridiculously cheap to run.

FC / TPFT is completely up to you. I wouldn't go FC on a £1000 bike.

Edit: your profile says you're 25, so if you want to get into biking then I would just go on one of those 3-5 day courses and get the whole thing out of the way. If you're not sure and have never ridden then yes, I suppose riding about on L plates for a while is the cheaper option to figure out if you want to go further :)
 
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Yep, I'm 25. I feel as if I should've done my CBT about 10 years ago.

i was just thinking about going right for the full license but I think I would rather start of on something slow and build up road confidence on that. I expect my car confidence wont translate over to motorbike. Though I cycle on the roads a lot so I'm used to being on a bike of sorts during heavy traffic.

I would love to take a 3-5 day course but I work in a school who are very reluctant to let you have time off during term-time and it seems most of the work I need to carry out is during the school holidays. PLUS the girlfriend is actually very against the idea of me having a motorbike so taking up 3-5 days of holiday is a sure shot way to get a headache.

Plus I figured if I ride a 125 on L plates (yuck) for a few months I wouldn't hopefully need that many days for a course?
 
My road confidence improved no end after my DAS even though I'd been riding a little 125 for 8 or 9 months.

A bigger bike is a much nicer place to be.
 
I have heard people say a bigger engine bike is easier to ride because you wont be constantly changing gears.

Which sort of bike would you guys recommend? I don't want to spend crazy amounts on a first bike. Kinda treating it like my first car. Something that can take a drop or two and doesn't weigh the weight of an elephant would be ideal.

I was thinking about £1500 would've got me a 125 and all the gear.
 
I was twenty four and did cbt then theory, then mod 1+2. Mainly because I already had my vintage triumph ready to ride. It's got about fifty horsepower which less than a new rider could cope with imo. There are loads of bikes out there around the fifty to seventy hp range. If your twenty four or older I truly see no reason to spend time on a 125. Big bikes have better brakes, they're more stable and they're safer on motorways.
 
One said:
I was twenty four and did cbt then theory, then mod 1+2. Mainly because I already had my vintage triumph ready to ride. It's got about fifty horsepower which less than a new rider could cope with imo. There are loads of bikes out there around the fifty to seventy hp range. If your twenty four or older I truly see no reason to spend time on a 125. Big bikes have better brakes, they're more stable and they're safer on motorways.
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I wouldn't take my YBR 125 anywhere near a motorway! I don't think 125's should be on motorways full stop to be honest.

I did my CBT at 26 last October, rode my little 125 till may then decided it was time to move on so booked my DAS and was on my SV650 by the middle of June.

You can pick up something like an SV for only a few quid more than a decent 125, gear price obviously doesn't change, insurance is a little more but still not mental and I still manage around 55-60mpg so cheap to run.

If I had the money and time when I done my CBT I probably would have gone straight to my DAS but like most people say even on a 125 it's not wasted time.
 
Nothing wrong with doing 6 months on a 125, many people do it this way. After 6 months and 7000 miles on a 125 it took me 3 half days to pass my full A licence.

Some 125's are fine on motorways, my varadero would sit at 70mph, and top out at 80-85.
 
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