Anyone ride a motorbike?

[jabcrosshook]

Oh speed demon flighty

[druadan]

Don't bother spending decent cash on a learner bike, get yourself a cheap 5 year old jobby for £500, learn on it, flog it. 125s are not cool, no matter how much plastic you put on them. Yam SR125, Honda CG125 both cheap, reliable and easy to learn on. Plus you can practice things like U-turns, which you won't be doing any time soon on a CBR/FZR/whatever. Riding around on something that looks good but sounds like a hairdryer and barely moves actually makes you look more of a dick than a 'normal' learner bike.

[Starwon]

Riding around on something that looks good but sounds like a hairdryer and barely moves actually makes you look more of a dick than a 'normal' learner bike.

I'll 2nd that

[cruicent]

I did my CBT last month (how many times did I nearly kill myself?). Its just to get you used to riding. They are changing the practical test in the summer I think, making it harder so get your test done before then.
You might as well get something faster than a honda cbr125, 80mph.
Look up an Aprilia rs125, can get up to 115mph. Less reliable than the honda but would last you longer if your not interested in doing your test for a while or getting a more powerful motorbike and want something 'sporty' looking.

[flighty]

Oh speed demon flighty

Ab so ferkin' lutely!

My late hubby stuffed himself up on a Z1R

Thank fark he was nowt to with me by then . but I had to explain to my son that his dad was dead ..... worst thing I have ever had to do in my life.

[druadan]

Look up an Aprilia rs125, can get up to 115mph. Less reliable than the honda but would last you longer if your not interested in doing your test for a while or getting a more powerful motorbike and want something 'sporty' looking.

I say again my last.

And if your RS125 is getting up to those speeds, it's not restricted to learner standard, and as such is illegal to ride on a CBT. Standing by to be corrected, I find it hard to believe that a fully de-restricted CBR would differ much performance wise. But as above, why bother, pass test, buy decent bike. For £2k nowadays you can easily pick up a bike that does 0-60 in sub-3s and tops out around 170mph. Why fanny around on something that does no more than a car? Having said that, I also re-emphasise the point about learning to corner properly, which many fail at - a 125 sports bike would teach you that (with a decent set of tyres fitted).

[jabcrosshook]

I partly agree that it would be better to get a license then go for something larger like a 600 with restrictor, but being 18 I'm getting the bike instead of a car so my parents are going to help a bit with it but they won't help with the 600. What I inted to do is do my cbt, get my license then ride the 125 for 2 years before upgrading to something more powerful.
70mph is fast enough for me anyway.

[xcj]

cruicent, had you sat on a bike before you did your CBT?

They're changing the test in October 08 so it'll be harder to pass after that (not sure how much harder - just extre maneuvers I think).


It's f*ckin freezin here just now, bollocks am I getting a bike at the minute. I'll wait and do my CBT late january maybe, get as cheap a 125 as I can, pass my test before the week of sunshine we get and ride something better for a bit.

I can imagine the freedom of a fast bike on a warm summers day, thats' what I'm thinking of. Some great roads up around the Glenshee area.


Sorry to hear about your ex flighty.

[druadan]

I wouldn't go as far as a 600 with a restrictor, to start with the extra weight would probably make it slower than a 125 I rode a mate's restricted ZX7-R a coupla years ago, absolutely pointless.

IMHO, the best bet is pass your test, maybe keep your learner bike for a month or two to get some more road experience, then get on a 400. If sports bikes are your thing, a CBR400, RVF400, VFR400, ZXR400 or FZR400 all offer around 60bhp and decent enough handling (plus very easy to get your knee down as they're tiny!). Ride them restricted til your comfortable, then de-restrict them yourself. Insurance won't kill you either. If you prefer naked stuff, the Honda Bros 400 is actually 33bhp legal as standard, V-twin makes it quite grunty and easy to ride for a 400, and the handling isn't bad. Bit of a quirky bike, love it or hate it I think. I had one (and then the 650 version) when I was 17-18. Also consider ZX400, CB400 or Honda Superfour. You can get Bandit 400s, quite rare but out there.

Once you've got a year or two no claims and more confidence you can upgrade to bigger stuff. I actually had more fun on track on my CBR4 and RVF4 than my R6, purely because they were easier to throw around and you could whack the throttle open without worrying about losing the back end. Still slower mind

[jabcrosshook]

Ooooow never noticed this before.
http://www.kawasaki.co.uk/250R/?Id=3404434F331

[Cliodna]

Yep, been riding for 14 years now.

Got a FZR400RR 3TJ as my track bike, a CBR400RR NC29 as a road bike and am now the proud owner of a GSXR750K7. The CBR is going to have to find a new home some time.
T'other half has got a GSXR600K2 for his track bike, a GSXR1000K4 John Reynolds Rizla Rep for the road and also an MV Agusta F4 1000 for the road.
Hopefully doing a bit of racing this year at some point on 600s.

Stick to something cheap and nasty to learn on. The more plastics on a learner, the more you'll have to fork out on when you do inevitably fall off, plus you have to factor in the insurance premium on top. How gutted would you be if your sparkling Honda Fortuna Rep 125 got pinched and then you were shafted for years by the insurance companies because of it.
I learned on a CG125... not the coolest bike on the planet by a long stretch of the imagination, but you can still get your knee down on one if you try Just dont try it on your test

[Beast]

Yep...