Me and my bro are thinking about taking our bike tests and need a bit of advice.

The current plan is to buy a little 125 to get the hang of ridding then take more lessons and then buy something bigger.
My questions are
1) what 125 to buy under 1K? Thinking about an TZR
2)What lessons are best. 5 day intensive or spread over a longer period
3)What bike to buy after the test. Current think is Honda Bros 400/650 or CBR/VFR 400.
Will we find these physically too small as we are both over 6 foot?
Any advice?

Mark

Hi Mark,
Learner bikes, how I loved them. I always wanted a 2 Stroke race rep, so bought a Cagiva Mito - this blew up after it had travelled 12,000 km's, so then I bought a Aprilia RS125, which blew up after 12k too(luckily both fixed under warranty) - didn't get another 2 stroke! But then I did more miles than most. If you are serious about getting a full liscence I would suggest not bothering with buying a 125 at all, the 5 day course will take most people up to test standard comfortably, and it saves you the hassle of buying then selling the 125.
But if you really want an answer:
1) Get a CG125, not sexy but cheaper to run, easier to sell on and same power.
2) No real difference except in terms of your patience, I'd just get it over and done with. I did a 3 day course, I had been riding 125's for a couple of years and out of the 5 guys doing it my week, 2 passed and 3 failed. Make sure you go with a bigish school - on my first test day the guy before me dropped the bike and I had to cancel the test as school couldn't get me another bike to ride that day. GRRRRRRRRR
3)Bike to buy depends on how sexy you want it to look - my first big bike was a Yamaha Thundercat - very nice for the time(crushed by a truck after d*ckhead knocked me off "Didnt see you mate!"), then I went to a Suzuki Sv650S(half faired) - incredibly confidence inspiring and highly recommended, and I'd suggest this an ideal first bike(but ultimately too slow for me after the Thundercat), and I also had a RVF400 - looked fantastic and insurance on a par with the SV650, but slower and more cramped.
Got a ZX6R now - lovely.
Im 6'2, I met Nigel at the Drive it All day (Hi Nige) and I fit on all the bikes you mention. Just bear in mind that the RFV400 is small and you have to enjoy the 'dialled in' feeling of knees round ure elbows you get from it.
Get some leathers too, no matter how good a rider you are, some time, some where, some d*ckhead will have you off the bike.
Drop me a mail and I'll bore you even further about my exploits, I guess I've had 8 or 9 bikes in my career!
Chuck
22B and ZX6R :-)

dont bother with the 125 just do the 3/5 day course and buy and decent bike thats what i did.

pah im cut to the bone, ok two srokes blow up (fact) but after riding bikes for about 20 years now nothing kicks in harder than a stroker.

ive had 996, rc30, zx6, cbr's, nc30, rs250, gsxr750 etc and the sheer thrill of an on song two stroke wins hands down for me, they blow up, but they are normally cheap to fix.
and theres nothing funnier than stuffing the four strokes on brands track days (providing its the small circuit).

p.s. nc30 and rvf are cracking little 'first' bikes too and at least you can improve them, tuning parts on a bros are limited unless you like shipping stuff over from the states.

Mark,

Is your brother called Nigel and owns a 98 UK Wagon??

Andy

hi
congrats on doing the test you wont regret it
i and a friend did the same last year and have never had so much fun
in my humble opinion.......
dont bother with 125 just take cbt and test and buy a bike to learn the craft
i was going to buy a mad bike so when i passed my test i was ready to give it large
everyone i spoke to said i was mad and that i was on a 1 way ride to the big place in the sky
looking back it was the best advice i could have been given
i too was looking at 400s and sat and tried them all and ended up with a cbr 400 rr whilst my mate went for a vfr 400 nc30
iam 6 foot 3 and the vfr did seem very small (sitting position etc)the cbr was a little taller in the saddle and the tank is slightly wider and taller and was far more suited to my size
dont be put off by the 400 bit these bikes go well and have ample power 4 someone that has just passed their test
oh and the handling well they are unreal and a superb platform to learn all the pitfalls as the bikes are light and very forgiving in those worrying moments that u WILL have whilst gaining experience
go for a 400 and u wont be dissappointed
hope this helps

jon

Thanks for the advice guys http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif

Looks like a CBR 400 maybe the way to go. Just hope we can find two in different colours otherwise we could look rather sad.

Andy

Yes my brother is Nigel (the bearded one). I think he mentioned that he worked/works with you or something.

Warning !

A mate did the quick training & test. 3 weeks later he was the proud owner of a ZZR600. Needless to say not too long later he was off work for a few days recovering from an incident where due to lack of experience a corner turned out to be sharper than anticipated!

It does happen!

But please don't be put off biking it's great fun. Learn and survive ! http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/biggrin.gif

It's not 'quite' as much fun anymore with all these speed cameras, but that might be set to change as they bring in these photo from the front ones http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/biggrin.gif

Mick

Mick I think you are correct!
I will buy a little 125 and take lessons one at a time.

Walk first.... then run!


<B>Howdy Andy </B>

Dont do it Nigel!
I saw u at the drive it all day and it wouldnt be kind to the 125! http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif
i think whatever the bike ure risk is in how u use it, excess speed not that much of a factor if u take it easy to start with.
Are u saying that if u got a big bike u wouldnt be able to practice self control?
The biggest issue is whether u are likely to drop the bike through inexperience - get a cheap first bike, regardless of the size. Fully faired is bad choice for first bike - fairings are expensive.
Regards
Chuck

Lads, Lads

Admit it a lot us do find self control difficult http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/eek.gif

Part of the problem my mate had was that he went out scratching with other guys who were much more experienced bikers. His bike was up to the job but he just had not put in the hours with a lower speed lightweight machine.

I have to confess I was absolutely amazed when we got an FZ600 for my missus. The low weight meant you hardly had to back off for corners at all. No grunt until well up the rev range and an appallingly small fuel tank but there is a lot to be said for a lighter weight machine. http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/biggrin.gif

Mick

Hi Nigel!!

Don't do the 125 thing!!! Get an intensive course, then jump on a Fireblade!!

Is this to make up for not getting a P1??? http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif

Do you still have the wagon, or have you moved on to an import??

Andy (now with a slightly different car!)