New biker issues.
 

How do I convince a guy I work with that he's making a big mistake?

Everything he says makes me think that 4 or 5 months down the line he's gonna want something bigger he said himself that he wants something to come to work on and go bimbles at the weekend. He's just passed his CBT and is looking at one of these bad boys :-)
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...5_1514705c.jpg

Now, I'm not the only one in work that has told him to carry on and get a full licence and get a proper big bike (I've even shown him SV's and ER-N6's that are up for sale) but what can I actually say that will make him go full licence and stop this stupidity... I mean if your gonna go 125 4 stroke you'd at least get one of these

http://mcitours.files.wordpress.com/...mdukestat1.jpg

Re: New biker issues.
 

After a prolonged trip on a 125, hes going to want more poke. Then perhaps do the test.

Those ktm's are really expensive arent they?

Having said that, if youve got good local roads, you can have a laugh on a 125. You can push them to the limit, i still cant do that on the sv

Re: New biker issues.
 

if he's hell bent on getting a 125 then tell him to get a cheep as chips thing and get some miles under his belt.

Re: New biker issues.
 

Yeah the KTM's are expensive but I know what he's like he'll want people to be impressed with what he's got even though it is a 125... We have tons of good roads around here.

He's thinking about money and how much it'll cost he's also talking about getting a Chinese thing... I tried explaining that if he wants to have fun weekends as well as commute that he'd be better getting something bigger and not having to try and sell on a 125 at a later date.

I had originally told him to get a scooter as he was just talking about the commute but then the truth started to come out about the weekends and its more than just a tool to get him to work.

Re: New biker issues.
 

I guess it comes down to his bank balance and how tight he is woth it lol.

He shouldnt have any problems shifting a cbf125 at a later date. Plenty of people like them for cheap transport

Re: New biker issues.
 

it really depends if he is big or small. if he's a big lad he is not going to like it.

a 125 will teach him the basics and give him road sense without splashing out on lessons. if he still likes the feeling of a bike after a few months then he has been bitten and doing his DAS will be the way to go and will pass easier than if he just had lessons.

what you should be doing is trying to convince him that buying a cheep honda 125 first is the right way to go. lets face facts he's going to crash it so better crashing something cheep that has readily available parts.

with the money he has saved buying a cheep bike ha can invest in decent all weather gear that is going to make his commute less of a chore.

there is nothing wrong with a 125 if your the right size and depending on commute distance it might be ideal for his needs.

Re: New biker issues.
 

125s are the easiest bikes to sell. He will become competent a lot faster. I think he is making the right choice tbh. If he enjoys it he will do his test when he can. Sure he can get a nice shiny pointy. But he won't want to show it off after hes dropped it in the first couple of weeks will he?

My advice, spend £400 on a CG125. Thrash it around for a few thousand miles until you are utterly fed up, crash it a bit, then sell it for £400. Then DAS and a 250-650cc motorcycle.

Re: New biker issues.
 

You can take a hoarse to water ,but a pencil must be lead ..
What bike have you got?
Take him out on a spin if it's legal for ya.
don't go mad . I'm sure he will then see the light

Re: New biker issues.
 

Lance you know what I'm like never let my head rule my heart when it comes to motorbikes...

He's not a big lad thats for sure. 5'5" maybe and he is kinda set on the 125 and I've told him that out of the chinese thing or the Honda to go Honda every time...

The scary thing is everyone that he's talked to thats into bikes has told him to go the full route... I'm certainly not gonna talk him out of being a biker. I think its the best thing in the world, its all I live and breath... That and b00bies I do think about B00BIES every so often...

Re: New biker issues.
 

aaahhh i see so that's why you like me coz of my moobs :-)

at 5'5'' he is going to have no problems with a 125.

personally i don't get this whole big bike thing especially for committing, maybe its coz i have a small willy.

Re: New biker issues.
 

I've tried to get him to come out on the back of the bike for years... The street is probably the most comfortable for pillions but for some reason he doesn't seem willing its like he doesn't trust me...

Re: New biker issues.
 

CBF 125 is a good little bike and holds its value well. Caz had one to learn on & we sold it after she passed for pretty much the same as we paid for it. Plus as a bonus she earned a years no claims to put against her bigger bikes insurance.

Re: New biker issues.
 

I am glad I spent time on the 125, I was terrified going above 50 first time out, by the end of 6 months i was on the limiter in every gear. Was a good learning curve. If he wants a 125 help him get a decent one and stay away from chinese - sitting by the side of the road when it's broken down again will put him off soooo quickly.

Honda VT125 - buy it now (expensive compared to other 125's of similar age), ride for a year and sell for what you paid for it!! Sought after so keep their money. With the V-twin engine compared to single, it may have same bhp, but has more torque and grunt. Full sized motorcycle but low seat height for your wee shortie pal. Finish on them is better than any 125 I have seen and is the same as the rest of the Honda VT's - 750 etc (rusty steel spokes are the only known fault). Only problem is you might have to travel to collect as there ain't that many up for sale at anytime.


Wish the KTM was around when I was on a 125 - I still want one now! But they do lose a lot of money quickly. Seen them selling for 1/2 list price already.

Re: New biker issues.
 

+1. As long as he doesn't crash it too badly then a 125 isn't going to depreciate much if at all. I bought my YBR125 '05 for £650, rode it for a year, crashed it 3 times in the first 3 months, rode it all winter and sold it for the same, £650. I learned the mistakes not to make when "experimenting" with different road surfaces, YBRs are easy to get inexpensive parts for. Main reason I had mine for so long was finance related but I don't regret the experience gained in all weathers, commuting etc on the 125, I gelled with the SV straight away having played about with the 125 and when I went back on it after learning on a 500, SOOO MUCH FUN :D

Re: New biker issues.
 

Well a 125 still fun.and tall bikes like a KTM are off putting for new riders.

Re: New biker issues.
 

+1.

That was my first bike and it was brilliant. I think I lost 50 quid on her. She looked the mutts danglies once I was done with her,
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/6...e536bbbc_z.jpg

Re: New biker issues.
 

Good grief lad, we're supposed to be encouraging Dean's mate not put him off for life! :smt003

Re: New biker issues.
 

Less o yer cheek, Missy!

Re: New biker issues.
 

+1 to everyone who's said he SHOULD get a 125. As has been said, they're easy to sell, cheap and it's good learning. When he moves onto a bigger bike he'll have miles under his belt and be able to keep it upright. At 5'5" if he starts off on a comparatively heavy bike like an SV, he'll drop it and have all the misery that involves. He may crash it too.

Sounds like he's a sensible chap and wants to learn slowly. There's a lot of fun to be had moving up through the power bands, suspension qualities etc. You don't need to go SV straight off, buy a Busa on year 2 and then run out of power options early on and never learn to ride either of them properly.

New biker issues.
 

Yep cheap and cheerful 125 all the way. I always knew I wanted a big bike but didn't know if biking was for me. Got a 2nd hand cbr 125 and ride it for 6 months, learnt a lot and figured out riding was def for me.

I bought am absolute s**ter on eBay as I was impatient and foolish so lost money on it. If he buys right he lose lose little and gain a lot.

125's are the most expensive market relatively speaking. Or at least they were when I got in to it. There weren't that many to choose from and as a youngster you have no other options so the values on 2nd hand are good.

Unless he absolutely has to, don't buy new as no matter how good the market there will be instant depreciation.

There is no point splashing out £600+ on das then a big bike and insurance then a month or 2 later thinking, riding sucks I hate it and wasting all that cash.

Plus the road craft he learns on the 125 will help with the theory and das when the time comes.

And as others have said, lots of fun to be had on a 125 in the right places!

His hesitance on going pillion is understandable, it can be a big issue for some people as they dot understand bikes, less of a comment on you and your ability, just a worry for him. Once he has gotten on a bike for a bit he may be more willing to try pillion with you as he will have the confidence in the bike.

Re: New biker issues.
 

On the other hand chose to do my CBT then straight into my DAS with a week or two renting a 125cc to do some practice on my own. This has some advantages, I didn't have nearly as bad many bad habits to take into training as the other guys who I done DAS with at the same time. I was quite lucky in that I picked things up pretty naturally.

I then went out and bought myself a shiny 0 miles SV650. Not the smartest idea in the world but the oldest I was willing to go was around K9 and from a dealer with < 15k miles these seemed to go for about £1000 less than what I paid for mine. Still waiting on that inevitable first drop to make me realise what a bad idea it was, but that would have been the same even if I'd spent a little bit less.

Re: New biker issues.
 

The SV is an ideal first 'big' bike to cut your teeth on. Not enough power to get you into serious trouble but plenty fast enough to do spirited overtakes, something you can't do on a 125. Not very heavy either & lots of low down grunt for a 650. You don't get that with a 4 cyl of this size.

Re: Re: New biker issues.
 

You sure about that? I'd say respect for any amount of power is a useful thing. You can still pop the back end out on most corners!

Re: New biker issues.
 

Second this!
Did 6 months and 5k on a YBR125, probably explains why I ride the SV like a 2 stroke.

If the KTM had been around in 2009 I think I'd be a thumper man. I wish I could get a test ride on the Duke 390 TBH

Re: New biker issues.
 

Shouldn't do if you have decent tyres!!;)

Seriously tho', A V twin gives you more traction out of the corners than a UJMC.

In a lot of ways it's more fun as well on a smaller bike, I enjoy the SV hugely to ride. Suzuki got it spot on with this bike.

In contrast to the 1200 where you just dial in a speed, any speed, and get there in seconds!!

Re: New biker issues.
 

Personally i had a 50 scooter, then 125 scooter, then onto a 250 and now a 500 restricted, and i havent crashed once (well i slipped off in ice, putside my house at 2mph on the 50 when i was 16..)
It seems to have payed off, learning slowly. But I think if you have the money and you know you like biking, then do the full test and get a 250 ninja or something to cut your teeth on, i wouldnt want to be riding round on a cg125 or something long, just took slow and unstable on those tiny tyres. My cb250 was pretty slow too but ok enough for eveything but motorways

Re: New biker issues.
 

My girlfriend is doing pretty much this right now. Got it on the road last august. Crashed twice in the first two days, first was my fault really asking too much on the first day, dusk, nadgery road, very very bumpy (think speed bumps) gravel strewn bend that she took innocently at 30mph in front of me. And bang. She probably had 50miles under her belt at that point. Then all winter riding to work with only one more miss hap (again with me). She is getting pretty fast on it now in the bends and very confident and smooth. It didn't get that good that fast starting out on my VT250. Jayne is waiting until she is 24 in October to do DAS. Its just too much money otherwise. Shame because she would be on a bigger bike now had the test rules not changed.

Re: New biker issues.
 

After my CBT I bought the CBF125, 20mile commute each way on A roads. Pretty happy pootling along a 60 (indicated, probably 45 in reality....) but only opted for full license and going for a bigger bike due to being blown about like a kite on exposed parts of my route. Took the DAS, tested on a 600, then bought my SV. Never looked back, and try even harder not to look at the £/MPG ratio. The CBF125 if your mate is still interested is good to learn on and its quite large for a 125 higher seating than the YBR, even better on the wallet. If he's gonna go around town then its a good bike, on the bigger roads it wasnt my cup of tea. Tell him if he must go for it, buy 2nd hand, as resale is pretty good. There is a FB page for CBF125's and the guys on there are really helpful and he might even get a bargain if one of them is selling up.

Re: New biker issues.
 

Open the throttle in the powerband on an SV when you have some decent lean on, and it doesn't matter if you have superglue for tyres, you are going to lose it!

Re: New biker issues.
 

How reckless is the guy? I think getting straight into DAS and onto a bigger bike is fine if you have restraint and some level of common sense...if however he would be showing off on his big bike on day 1 then a 125 for a while would make more sense.

I did my bike test in my mid 30's (2010) and went from nothing to an SV, I have absolutely no regrets, I just wish I would have bought an older first bike so when I dropped it I wasn't so miffed! I nice 2005 pointy would be spot on for a first big bike I'd say. 8 months in I got my SMT, still have no regrets.

Re: New biker issues.
 

I did my DAS and still had a 125 to start with...it taught me so much, I will never regret that choice.

As for the guy in question...why should all you bikers in work be trying to convince him into anything?

Accidents on bikes sometimes happen because people push themselves out of their comfort zone. I cannot believe any bikers are trying to make a lad get a bigger bike if he doesn't want to or feel comfortable with it. Very silly.

It's his life, his money and his choice. If that's the bike he wants, who is anyone else to tell him otherwise?

We are all different. There are plenty of bikers out there that start with a smaller bike and never get anything bigger. Not because they can't or won't...just because they like what they have and feel no need to change. If he is getting that bike for a purpose he has chosen....good on him.

Leave him to do what he wants to do.