What Kit to Get Started

fez · 16 Dec 2015 at 16:51

I'm just about to do my CBT with the idea of riding a 125cc for a while before I can get my DAS sorted. Party this is to familiarise myself with riding a bike for a while and partly to placate the missus.

Anyway, there seems to be a huge amount of information out there and I'm a little overwhelmed by it all. I have a few questions that I was hoping you could all help me with which will at least help me to narrow things down.

I want to be able to ride in sunshine and rain, summer and winter so I assume I will ultimately need 2 sets of clothing to cover both.

Should I be looking at leather or synthetic clothing or doesn't it make much difference. I'm not that worried about the cost as I would rather have the safest gear that costs more than risk a more serious injury by saving a few quid.

I struggle to find well fitting clothes normally as I have don't have the usual physique of either skinny, fat or just the same all over. I have wide shoulders, a thick back and a thin waste so are there particular brands I should look at or is it just best to go into a shop.

I like to buy things online because you can find huge discounts on last years stuff etc but if the fit isn't likely to be good then there isn't much point in that.

Now, onto the bike.

I prefer the sports style bikes over motocross but there are still a lot of options and I have no clue where the sweet spot is money wise. I keep hearing the idea that a well kept bike won't really lose much value over a year or so which makes me think that spending a little more to get something better isn't a bad idea as most of that money would come back when I upgrade.

With a budget of ~£2500 what should I be looking at. I don't mind spending less if there is no point spending that much but would prefer not to go much higher. The bike wouldn't be used for commuting but would be for general travel and going in and out of london a few days a week.

I'm not sure if I have missed anything but any advice on the above would be really appreciated.

wazza300 · 16 Dec 2015 at 16:54

textile clothing tends to be the best for year round riding,they come with armour in the knees/shoulders/elbows and back

they also have a removable inner lining for summer,just unzip it,best to try on the clothing in the shop for the right fit,then buy the same size/brand online

as for bikes something like the ybr 125?

TallPaul_S · 16 Dec 2015 at 17:03

How tall are you? Most 125's are quite small, so if you're over 6ft one of the bigger 125 bikes like the Honda Varadero will be worth looking at.

100% get a decent set of textiles as your first set of gear, you can wear then in summer and winter, rain and sun.

If you have a decent bike shop nearby with lots of clothing, go in there and at least try everything on, I'm tall and skinny so not much fits me well, the guys in the shop will advise you on fit for textiles, and fit for helmets etc.

£1500 on a 125 leaves £1000 for everything else which is plenty. If you were going to be commuting in winter I'd have said spend a bit more on kit but as you're not you don't need to go overboard - I started out by doing a 200 mile a week commute on a 125, and so I bought goretex boots/gloves and decent textiles kit (£350 worth just on jacket and trousers) but it was worth it to stay warm and dry in winter.

^JP^ · 16 Dec 2015 at 17:07

Location still Norwich?, If so go to Infinity Motorcycles on Ber Street (next to the BMW and Harley dealership), great selection of gear in there. Also a few miles on the Ipswitch road there is Seastar Superbikes (Ducati and Kawasaki dealership) where they have very good gear room.

Try on everything you like the look of and sit on bikes as just standing or sitting in a chair is not the same as the riding position!

If you find things you like then look online and check the prices but always ask in the shop if they will price match as you never know.

fez · 16 Dec 2015 at 17:10

Cheers for the replies guys. I'm 6'2" so I probably don't want a tiny bike. Sounds like synthetic stuff is best to be starting with as well.

Unfortunately I've been ripped from the warm bosom of norwich and re-homed on the outskirts of London in Sidcup at the gfs behest.

misterjingo · 16 Dec 2015 at 17:15

I'd definitely recommend going to a shop to buy your gear. The helmet I was set on buying didn't fit as good as another one. Same with the gear, I went synthetic, and spent a bit on it. I figured it's worth the outlay to get good gear. They guy in the shop I went to was great. I tried on a fair bit of stuff, and perhaps went for sizes I wouldn't have usually gone for.

Don't forget to factor in security, a decent chain and lock will set you back around £150-200. Add disk locks to that, and it adds up. I recently had a bike stolen (4 weeks post CBT) and it was ****. For the use of a good chain (Almax 3 etc) my bike was gone.

Edited to add: I'm 6'2" too. Initially I was looking at one of the sporty 125s such as the yzf. But they are small. I ended up going for a supermoto (wr125x), it's height was perfect. The only downside is they're popular with thieves it seems :\.

^JP^ · 16 Dec 2015 at 17:17

fez said:
Cheers for the replies guys. I'm 6'2" so I probably don't want a tiny bike. Sounds like synthetic stuff is best to be starting with as well.

Unfortunately I've been ripped from the warm bosom of norwich and re-homed on the outskirts of London in Sidcup at the gfs behest.

Hah! I thought Norwich to London a few times a week on a 125 was a bit crazy!

I am 6'3 and have the Alpinestars Andes textile jacket and trousers in Large, they fit pretty good for off the shelf size so I would recommend you check them out and for leathers I have Dainese tall size but they don't make them anymore

Unless you have large chest size then it is hard to find anything that fits well at 6ft and up in my opinion.

TallPaul_S · 16 Dec 2015 at 17:18

Deffo look at the varadero, also known as the XL125 - I ran one of these for 8 months and 7k miles. They can be picked up for around £1500 upwards, and it's a honda so reliable as an old nail. They'll do 70mph too, a bit more on a downhill.

Captain · 16 Dec 2015 at 18:33

Speaking from experience, I wish I skipped buying a 125 and went straight for a bigger bike, is a DAS course out of the question right away?

fez · 16 Dec 2015 at 18:35

I have a reasonably large chest and quite a large back so hopefully some of the jackets will suit me.

Cheers for the suggestions for bikes. Do you need to know what you are looking at if you get a bike from a random seller as opposed to a legitimate dealership? Any things to keep an eye out for?

wazza300 · 16 Dec 2015 at 18:56

just give it a good looking over for any crash damage,listen to the engine for any abnormal knocking/rattling sounds

best to take someone who knows a bit about bikes with you if you can,there's not much to go wrong on a bike tbh

Stovepipes · 16 Dec 2015 at 19:16

I'm 6ft I was quite happy on the Honda CBF 125 and they're very cheap.

If, unlike me, you've got a normal sized head get down to a big motorcycle shop try on a lot of helmets find one that fits well then try and find the cheapest price on the internet and order it from there.

For jackets I buy them on ebay, new or used. I don't mind second hand and there's loads of biking gear that people bought but never wore or barely used before having to give up biking. I got a new Hein Gericke Jacket for around £25, New Spada boots for £35 and a used Bulletproof textile trousers for £6.

I'll also mention storage, I personally don't like rucksacks and think they're unsafe. I'll use one only if I have to but get yourself a tank bag, soft panniers or a tailpack.

For security I'd advise a big alarmed disc lock with good sized chain which half the time you won't have anything to chain to.

Stovepipes · 16 Dec 2015 at 19:18

fez said:
I have a reasonably large chest and quite a large back so hopefully some of the jackets will suit me.

Cheers for the suggestions for bikes. Do you need to know what you are looking at if you get a bike from a random seller as opposed to a legitimate dealership? Any things to keep an eye out for?

I'd buy from a trader, it's a bit more expensive in most cases but you get peace of mind if like me, you don't know what to look for, and pay at least £100 by credit card to get added protection.

The_Abyss · 16 Dec 2015 at 22:22

TallPaul_S said:
Deffo look at the varadero, also known as the XL125 - I ran one of these for 8 months and 7k miles. They can be picked up for around £1500 upwards, and it's a honda so reliable as an old nail. They'll do 70mph too, a bit more on a downhill.

I loved mine - it was my first proper bike, and I sold it for a profit! Really good bike to learn how a bigger bike will feel - apart from the power of course.

fez · 17 Dec 2015 at 19:31

So, I did my CBT today but I need to go back tomorrow to do the on road part. I was fine with everything apart from the slow speed manoeuvres using mainly the clutch biting point. The clutch level had miles of travel and the bite point was quite near the end of the range. I literally had my had as extended as it would go when the clutch was fully open.

I couldn't seem to feather it so close to the end of the range and with my hand almost fully open. The front brake lever was the same so I was also struggling not to over rev the engine when going for the front brake.

Any tips? The instructor said that he would try me on a bigger bike tomorrow (something like a 650) to see if I got on better with that as I want to go on to get my full licence asap.

I have watched some videos of people riding proper bikes and explaining how to use the gears and clutch but they mostly seem to say something along the lines of "the bite point starts about an inch into the travel from the lever being flat against the bar" and the completely open level is only about 2.5 inches from the bar at most. I know it obviously differs from bike to bike but all the videos I have seen look like they have far less travel and a bite point much closer to the bars than the 125 I rode.

On the plus side it was good fun and I think that I would prefer to skip the 125s and go straight onto the proper bikes as soon as possible.

wazza300 · 17 Dec 2015 at 19:37

adjust the clutch lever adjuster nut in a little so it bites earlier

its all about feel,feathering the clutch and a tiny bit of throttle you'll soon get the hang of it

TallPaul_S · 17 Dec 2015 at 19:41

Different people like different bite points, but I think most bkes will have the bite point as far from the bar as possible without the clutch slipping, so maybe an 1-1.5" into the travel. It makes gear changes easier as you don't have to pull the lever in all the way, you just give it a very quick squeeze as you change gear.

If you were going for the front brake you shouldn't be over revving the engine as you shouldn't have any throttle on at all! For slow speed stuff where you need to move but at a controlled pace, it's back brake only. That way you can feather the back brake, while having full control of the throttle and clutch.

A lot of it is 'feeling' the clutch bit point. I hope they did a bit where you get the bike moving slightly with just the clutch and no throttle to teach you where the bite point was.

Saying that though, some school bikes aren't the best for clutch feel - I swapped bikes on my DAS as I felt the clutch on my bike was a bit rubbish, and I was instantly better in u-turns/slalom etc.

I would say though that if you're still having some issues after CBT with clutch biting point and throttle control, staying on a 125 for a while might be a good idea, as if you get it wrong and end up at 6000 rpm and letting the clutch out too quickly, on a 125 you'll just pull away quite quickly. On a 600, you'll be embedded in the nearest tree/lampost/car or have flipped the thing!

fez · 17 Dec 2015 at 19:41

I was happy moving off with it and changing gears once I was going but really struggled on the slow speed figure of 8 and doing a U turn in a tight lane. Can you adjust the fully open position of the level as well as the bite point.

I have an issue with ankle mobility as well so I cant pull my toes up towards my shin very far. This made using the rear brake very hard and when I had my foot over it, it was always pressing on it a little. The instructor said that can be adjusted but it wasn't worth doing on a practice bike. I was fine doing the figure of 8 with quite a lot of rear brake but he said I shouldn't be using so much which is fair enough.

^JP^ · 17 Dec 2015 at 19:42

Yeah as wazza says, I would ask the instructor to adjust the levers so they fit me. Nothing worse than being uncomfortable with the controls when you are learning everything!

wazza300 · 17 Dec 2015 at 19:45

usually its a 1mm gap between the lever and lever stop

soon as you go slow or feel the bike pulling you over release the clutch again and a touch of throttle,it hard to explain it its more of a feeling you get for it

(remember to put your feet down aswell to catch yourself,no shame in doing that rather than land on your ass with the bike ontop of you)