New biker issues.

[carelesschucca]

Originally Posted by NTECUK

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

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...

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.

[SIII]

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.

Originally Posted by Serdna

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.

+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

[NTECUK]

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

Originally Posted by SIII

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.

+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,

Originally Posted by Dave81

+1.

That was my first bike

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

Originally Posted by missyburd

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

Less o yer cheek, Missy!

[Fallout]

+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.

[PyroUK]

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.