Afternoon all

Been thinking about this for a while, can't afford or justify running two cars in the family but there are times when a seperate form of transport for me would be benficial.

So thinking about learning to ride a motorbike. Now I've never ridden one and have no idea where to start.
All I do know is you nnned to do some sort of test before being allowed to ride round on your own with plates on?

So questions.

1. Take it I need to do this test thing first? do I need my own bike or do they supply one? where can I get some instruction on real basics as I don't even know hoe to get on one without me and the bike falling over!!

2. Can I ride round on L plates on a small CC bike after passing this first test bit? how long can I do this for before needing a full licence.

3. I'm 6' 4" and a bit on the portly side, can anyone recomend a good starter bike
a. not too big or heavy as I'll drop it fall off it etc but also don't want to lok like I'm riding a kiddies toy
b. cheap to buy and insure/run
c. speed isn't important as I probably won't get over 40 due to fear
d. easy/simple to maintain as I know nothing about bike mechanics

4. any web sites providing info for a completey novice potential rider?

As always many thanks for your time and patience
Jabba

Methinks you need to speak to Yazza64

very simple to get started

sit a CBT test on the instructors bike - about £70 off you go can ride for 2 years till you need to sit it again but limited to no more than 125cc engines and have to have L-plates

If you are big and tall, then probably best with an off road style as the 125 sports bikes are quite dinky and really sized for teens. Don't worry about being scared, that will wear off quite quickly. I mind my first 125, I was staying in second gear as that was way fast enough , now I find my 535cc bike slow!

You can sit quick course that last only about 4 days which will then let you ride large bikes but you need your theory test done before you start. My course cost me about £400 and was a lot of fun too.

Go for it, I love my bike, so much more fun than any car and costs me £12 a week on fuel

this is my bike, I use it almost everyday and cover about 15k a year. It's big and heavy but loads of torque. Very forgiving even in heavy rain or slippy roads. Actually a dead easy bike to ride and easier to handle than my CR125 I first used, it's also not effected by wind which is nice, the CBR125 was a paper bag.





[Edited on 19/8/11 by Mr Whippy]

government site for this sort of thing

If I was doing it today I would learn on a driving school bike on the direct access scheme thingy then just the bike I wanted. I assume you are over 21?

If you want advice on a bike then for myself, I prefer the low down torque of a twin cylinder rather than four clyinder bikes which are high revving and IMHO not all that relaxing to ride.

I have one of these which is quick enough has a shaft drive and isn't so small that I look daft on it




something like a CB500 would be good but you might look too big for it. Trailie type bikes are often better for tall people.

Cheers

Mark

ditto the shaft drive and v-twin, it's the way to go. My last bikes chain was just a pita to keep good and only lasted 5k.

Mr W, is that a Virago?

Many thanks for the pointers. Yep I'm over 21 (nearly 44), looking for more of a cruising bike than a sports type but it's the weight/control thing that has me concerned.

Trail type bike seems a good place to start I'll have a look at prices for 2nd hand.

Cheers all

yeah it's a 92 virago xv535, I painted it ford metalic purple

jabbahutt - don't worry about the weight/control thing, a cruising bike like mine has a very low CG and I'm only 5"5' 80kg and manage it without any bother squeezing through traffic. Offroad bikes are top heavy and not very stable in comparison.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
My last bikes chain was just a pita to keep good and only lasted 5k.

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Do your theory test then your direct access course so that you can ride any bike you choose, i really think you'd hate the noise and lack of power on a 125.

Here is mine :-)





[Edited on 19/8/11 by aka_shortie]

cheers all, much appreciated for all the helpful advice.

So in your collective opinions is it better to hire a bike to learn & do tests on or buy a cheap small bike and learn on that?

My daughter did the CBT on the bike hired from the training centre went straight home and rode the one I got for her, went out with her a few times to make sure she was ok no probs.

We both have cruiser stlye mines a 1600cc her's is 50cc




[img]
My Daughter's and My Bikes [/img]

As others have said, direct access course I'd you best bet, I did it a long time ago when you passed on a 125 and then could ride anything! Bike wise defo look at the trail/enduro style. Not sure what your budget is, but something like the bmw f 650 gs single would be a perfect first bike, or if you can stretch some more cash the later f650 gs twin (800cc, don't ask me why they did that on the naming!) Is a cracker (what I commute on evry day)

To be honest if it's just for the odd pootle of a few miles maybe a 50cc is enough. I'm pretty big (I came under the weight limit for two riders!) but 90mpg and (if derestricted) a good 50mph was enough for me to go to work across town

Go for it - I did mine recently and wouldn't look back.

My wife bought me a CBT for my birthday last year and I soon after got a Honda XL125 which I used for green laning with my mates (quite amusing as I was doing things on a 25 years heap of crap that they were all doing on full enduro spec KTM's )

I soon upgraded to a DT125 (2 stroke engine, lighter and more ground clearance) to bring my trail riding on a bit while at the same time progressing through my theory test (you need to do one regardless of whether you already have a car license or not) and modules 1 & 2.

I still have the DT, which I use for off roading, though this will be getting upgraded to a KTM soon.

My first big bike is a Triumph Tiger 955i - bit bigger than a lot of people's first bikes but it's very relaxed and stable at speed, and fine around town once you get used to balancing the size and weight of it. Cost me £1500 to buy (a bit of a bargain really as they go for a bit more than that usually) and £350 to insure fully comp with no NCB.

A lot of people don't like them - I love it including the colour too


Description

May i throw a plug in for the V-Strom. Big, comfy, stable and plenty quick

As said, CBT is the first thing you HAVE to do. Learn the basics and a legal requirement.

Then do your theory test.

If you're not interested too much in speed, just do your A1 test. You will then be restricted to 33bhp (125 - 250cc) for 2 years. After 2 years, you're allowed to ride any bike, any size.

If you really want to ride anything more powerful, the direct access scheme is the way to go. But TBH, as you're (understanbly) apprehensive, so what i said above, then pay for the DAS if you want it. Don't commit to it if you dont need it as it will cost you about £600!!

I did my CBT and test in 2 days and it cost me £200. Plus £50 odd for theory. Then stuck with 33bhp for 2 years (being under 21, there wasnt much i could do about that though anyway!)

Ok, not in the league of most of the above replys but i have recently got a 20 year old 50cc small frame vespa with low mileage.

We are planning on having a nipper next year & at that point cawill only be able to afford to run one car for a while so i went down this route to allow me ultra cheap transport just to work & back so that the wife can have the car most of the time or if she doesnt use it then we are quids in as its a SAAB 95 its not the most economical thing on the road !

My current route to work is 7 miles each way & in the car we rarely get over 30 mph so a 50cc is just perfect, roadtax is about £16 per year, insurance is £65 per year & i reckon at most the fuel will be about £25 a month. Overall i should be £50 per month better off depending how much the wife uses the car.

(Car costs me about £90 per month in fuel just to get to work)

I can ride this on my car licence without a CBT as i got my licence in 1990, i also dont need 'L' plates.

Im only a short arse & have just reached the grand old age of 38 but its great fun to ride & if weather gets really bad i can just use the car for a while so it ticks all the right boxes for us.

Its probably not what you were looking for but i thought it may help put a very very cheap option infront of you ?

I did look at some modern 50cc scooters but i really like older stuff so the Vespa suits me

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

quote:

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Originally posted by speedstar

If you really want to ride anything more powerful, the direct access scheme is the way to go. But TBH, as you're (understanbly) apprehensive, so what i said above, then pay for the DAS if you want it. Don't commit to it if you dont need it as it will cost you about £600!!

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Recently been through this whilst having yet another mid life crisis

Did my CBT to see if I'd enjoy it
Loved it

Bought a 125 (CG125)
Rode it for a year and it felt like a rocket for the first few months

Still loved riding it so decided it was for me and I should ditch the L plates

Did theory test...passed

Did Mod1 and failed
Re took Mod1 and passed (without locking the rear on the emergency stop this time)

Did Mod 2 and passed

This is all without training so is the cheapskates way of doing it
IIRC the total cost of the tests were sub £150 for theory both Mod 1's and the Mod 2

Got a GPZ500 and a set of 33hp restrictor washers
Sold the CG125 for more than I bought it for (pretty much paid for itself and the tests!)

Still loving teh GPZ and only just wanting a little more power a year + on
Only another few months and they will come out and I'll have a full 50 odd HP on tap
(33 ponies does not sound a lot...but its plenty enough to do the ton and it gets there way faster then my barebones MK)

If you do the DAS it involves tuition and bike hire etc (cheapest round here was £500 odd notes!)

There was a scheme called "get on" or something similar where they offered FREE bike riding experiences for complete novices

Worth checking out before going in too deep
Will see if I can find a link to it

Regards
Rob

http://www.geton.co.uk/

Go for it! (before the test changes...again)
I wish I'd done it years ago

Regards
Rob