Starting to get into riding.

FloppyPoppy

FloppyPoppy

FloppyPoppy

Soldato
Joined
27 Jan 2012
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The king of the north!
Hey everyone,

Have always been interested in riding, more so than cars. However i have never had a need to have my own transport as I've always been fortunate enough to live close enough to walk to work ie an hours walk each way or be working somewhere with family/friends where i can get a lift in.

However this is changing now and i face a 20 mile commute to work. Fortunately, until around Xmas i can still hitch a lift into work.

I have booked myself onto a CBT for next Sunday and have just ordered some Daytona ladystar boots. The m stars are 1 size out but from my research they are identical boots just branded in size brackets. I have ordered these for a couple of reasons.

#1 Im quite a short bloke 5'2/5'3 depending on where i get measured and these are from what i see a secret weapon of quite a lot of short riders.
#2 Wanted to invest into something that would last a long time. Similar reasons to why i buy Altberg boots.

Im looking to get a cheapish secondhand bike to start with, IE a lexmoto venom 125 / CBR125 / CBF125 ect ect.

Insurance looks like it's going to set me back about £5-600/year. Any websites other than compare the market for finding good insurance deals?

Also how soon after passing a CBT would people recommend it would be a good time to sit the A2? My favourite bike is the R3 by a long shot so would love to get one of those after a bit of practice/getting comfortable riding on a cheaper bike.



Any advice and such is massively appreciated.

Harry
 
Personally I'd say as soon as possible. Riding is dangerous so the more training you get, the better. 20 miles each way on a 125 will work, but it'll eat your soul. Do your DAS and get something fun but manageable to start off with. The favourite is the SV650 or ER6N, but the new Ninja 400 looks promising too (and is apparently quite comfy despite the superbike looks).

Don't buy a Lexmoto. They're decent enough bikes but 40 miles a day will take a toll on it very quickly. Whilst they're getting better and better, they still have loads of components which are sub-standard and will fall off after one or two winters on salted roads. Think of springs for stands, bolts, exhaust guards, etc. Also with Lexmoto you pay for gimmicks which are crap anyway. In the case of the Venom, that gimmick comes in the form of an MP3 player and speakers (!).

If going new, the new CB125F is decent enough, so is the YS125 (Yamaha's replacement for the staple YBR 125).

Make sure you keep some bank aside for good gear. And I'm talking a grand or so, doing a 20 mile trip in the cold & rain will be one of the most unpleasant experiences you will have on a bike so make sure you bring the discomfort down as far as you can by wearing good gear (waterproofs, gloves, boots, etc). You can also grab some heated grips (good for keeping the palms of your hands warm but your fingers will still fall off) or heated gloves.

Riding a bike is one of the most fun and liberating things you can do but make sure you go in to it prepared.
 
How old are you? If you're not far off 24 it would be worth waiting and then do your full test as you'll need to sit it twice, once for A2 and again for the full A licence. There's nothing wrong with commuting on a 125 for a few months, when you come to do your full test you should just need a bit of polishing up rather than full training if you went straight into a DAS course.

If you want to commute through winter get some good, warm and waterproof textiles, I do 180 miles a week and for that mileage you need good kit.

Thebikeinsurer.co.uk is better than compare the market for insurance comparison.
 
I am 24 actually, honestly the reason I have booked a CBT and not a DAS does come down to money ( as you will see I am selling a couple of bits on members market for extra funds towards this )

Just doing the CBT for now works out a lot cheaper for the necessity. I'm certainly not looking at new for the bike right now.

I'm going to spend a few days looking at gear ect, will post in here if I see something and have questions :).

Regarding lexmoto, shame to hear what you are saying about it, I will take a look at the bikes you recommended. As mentioned earlier I will be getting the bike used if that changes anything ?
 
That's even better. One of the worst things you can do is buy a new 125, the depreciation falls off a cliff the second you walk out the door. Buy a used Jap 125 that isn't a complete shed and you can't go wrong.
 
harry5522 said:
I am 24 actually, honestly the reason I have booked a CBT and not a DAS does come down to money ( as you will see I am selling a couple of bits on members market for extra funds towards this )

Just doing the CBT for now works out a lot cheaper for the necessity. I'm certainly not looking at new for the bike right now.

I'm going to spend a few days looking at gear ect, will post in here if I see something and have questions :).

Regarding lexmoto, shame to hear what you are saying about it, I will take a look at the bikes you recommended. As mentioned earlier I will be getting the bike used if that changes anything ?
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Nothing wrong with that, I did the same. I did 7k miles and 6 months on a 125 before taking my full test. If you buy a decent used 125 you'll get your money back especially if you buy in winter and sell in summer.

As you're vertically challenged :p any of the Jap 125's will be fine, I had a varadero but they're much bigger with a higher seat height. I'm 6ft 3 so would have looked like a bear on a monkey bike on a normal 125 :D

Once you've done a few months on the 125 you'll be starting to get annoyed at the lack of power, then get your full A test done (not A2!!) and then get a 400-750cc bike.
 
Clov!s said:
MCN and eBay. Make sure you HPI the bike that you intend to buy before making any decent journey for it.
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Good point on the checking past, will be sure to do that.

TallPaul_S said:
MCN classifieds, gumtree, eBay, autotrader. I checked those daily when looking for bikes.
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Great thanks for those il have a gander.

arfoll said:
Tbh 125s go for a premium second hand, I'd pay to do the the DAS and scrimp out on a cheaper 600/650 and don't go full Shoe/A* on the gear to make it work :) Check the insurance it might be that an old bigger bike costs less than a 125. 1500 should get you an SV650 older shape and a kwak ER-5 should be available for ~750.
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I'm already having to go a bit cheaper in the gear department. Don't want to go any cheaper or I might end up naked :D
 
harry5522 said:
I'm already having to go a bit cheaper in the gear department. Don't want to go any cheaper or I might end up naked :D
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I picked up a decent helmet (HJC FG-ST), a waterproof jacket and trouser set that was highly rated (Oxford Montreal 2.0) and some A* short boots for ~£700. I went with 2 sets of gloves (a summer Richa set and a cheap pair of winter) at a later date for about £50. It's easy to skimp but tbh, is it worth it?
 
EVH said:
I picked up a decent helmet (HJC FG-ST), a waterproof jacket and trouser set that was highly rated (Oxford Montreal 2.0) and some A* short boots for ~£700. I went with 2 sets of gloves (a summer Richa set and a cheap pair of winter) at a later date for about £50. It's easy to skimp but tbh, is it worth it?
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No of course not. I fully intend to pick up some more kit quickly.
 
harry5522 said:
No of course not. I fully intend to pick up some more kit quickly.
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Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt you... but you can easily fall in to the trap of believing you must have a Shoei helmet, dainese leather jacket and Alpinestar gloves... these are luxury brands and not a requirement to enjoy yourself. Just wanted to make that clear. You can also upgrade from half-tidy, but I won't drop too low in my estimate of what constitutes good enough.

For instance, I've seen the likes of deals that promote "£150 for a helmet, jacket and trousers" .. would I go there? no chance :eek:
 
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EVH said:
Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt you... but you can easily fall in to the trap of believing you must have a Shoei helmet, dainese leather jacket and Alpinestar gloves... these are luxury brands and not a requirement to enjoy yourself. Just wanted to make that clear :)
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Oh don't worry I understand that :p thanks a lot for the advice too. The płace im doing my CBT is right next to a bike shop (naturally) they have a load Of helmets in there so I will hopefully pick one up in there on Sunday.
 
Skimping on gear is one of the stupidest things you can do as a biker. By all means get savvy and look for deals and whatnot, but those WingKingWinkie gloves™ (I just made that up and instantly trademarked it, so don't even think about it) are a step too far. Stick to stuff that's tried & tested and you'll be fine.
 
suggestions welcome! said:
Skimping on gear is one of the stupidest things you can do as a biker. By all means get savvy and look for deals and whatnot, but those WingKingWinkie gloves™ (I just made that up and instantly trademarked it, so don't even think about it) are a step too far. Stick to stuff that's tried & tested and you'll be fine.
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This.

I bought cheap on one or two of my biking things and guess what, I've had to replace each of them within the year with something better.

Poor kit is an unsafe complete and utter waste of money.
 
Philz0r said:
With black Friday coming up, I'm hoping for some good deals ^^
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That's a nice point il keep my eyes peeled. Especially for out season gear as I suspect that summer gear is typically cheaper in winter and the same is true in reverse.

Freeman said:
This.

I bought cheap on one or two of my biking things and guess what, I've had to replace each of them within the year with something better.

Poor kit is an unsafe complete and utter waste of money.
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Luckily a few things have fallen into place and I have a good bit of surplus cash now for gear. As per my OP I already have some nice boots, I'm going to get a helmet on Sunday from a bike store and I'm hoping that they also have jackets trousers for sale in there I will try take a look.

I also have a lovely bike lined up, (a store called so many bikes) kept popping up on different bike sites when I was looking and I was surprised to find i work about a 2 min walk from their showroom. (Hidden in a mill basement)

Going looking at it tomorrow after work and as long as everything is good in person then I will be buying it.

Will post some pictures in here tomorrow hopefully. Taking my boots with me so I can see how i feel on it with them on given the height issues haha. I don't mind tip toeing or such as long as I feel comfortable doing so with the bike. Touch wood all is good.

Cheers again for the advice.
 
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