Need a Motorbike and a Motorbike License - Help!

[DeludedGuy]

So I have decided to get a motorbike - however I'm really confused.

I'm over 21, have a full UK driving license since 2005 but have no idea whats the easiest or cheapest route to get a full UK motorbike license.

A workmate has advised me that in terms of running costs, I would be better off getting a 500cc bike, something like a CB500 or a Kawasaki ER500. I know nothing about bikes but from doing a quick search it turns out cheaper to buy a 500cc bike then a 125cc and the insurance costs the same.

So how would I go about obtaining a license for a 500cc bike? Do I do that A2 license? Do I need to first complete my CBT? Is it easy to pass the CBT and A2? Should I just get the 500cc bike and put a restrictor on it in order to practice? What will be the total cost of this license?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Disturbedguy]

I know nothing about motorbike license's but: -

http://www.best-motorcycle-informati...otorcycle.html

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...code/DG_069867

Following quoted for second link

If you have a full car licence you may ride motorcycles up to 125 cc and 11 kW power output, with L plates (and/or D plates in Wales), on public roads, but you MUST first satisfactorily complete a CBT course if you have not already done so.

Also, the chart on this link may be of some help: http://www.motorbikestoday.com/featu...ke_licence.htm

[DeludedGuy]

Hmmm....looks like I may just buy myself a CB500, restrict it to 125, do my CBT and get lots of practice on it before doing my A2...hmm...so many ways of doing this.

[Hicks12]

I know the general way of doing it is to do the A2 and restrict the bike you get to the 33BHP limit, however i dont think you can do it for a CBT.... googling that might help as ive never been told that was an option from my instructor.

What you do for it though is:

CBT ---> A2
CBT can be very easy, if you do it on a 50cc scooter you can still ride a 125cc bike afterwards. The bike i was using (CBF 125) for my CBT was great but for some reason didnt get on with the gears so switched to a 50cc scooter and passed. Afterwards jumped onto my En 125-2 and was piece of piss to use the gears .


Question for you, whats the bike for? Work? How far is your work place?. If its like 3-6miles id say get a 125, honestly my dads mate has a 600cc and he just ruins it as he rides it to work (about 4miles) and so the battery gets killed quick and he does poor MPG. Now he earns like minimum wage so cant spend money on going out or taking a ride else where so all it is is his work bike, very expensive one at that!.

Personal recommendation would be the Suzuki En 125-2, amazing bike. Very reliable, easy to get parts for and decent MPG (ive done 140miles on my tank so far... only just gone to reserve so probs another 10/20miles left!). Cheap on insurance, £200 for me third party (im 18 so everything else expensive!).

Oh and make sure you get good protective gear, dont be silly and not buy something that will save your life!. I had a car hit me while i was going down my lane to park up, he didnt see me but thankfully i came out with nothing done and my bike was scratch free . Hein gericke is a good place for gear but i recommend second hand as its cheaper, but be careful and make sure you get stuff that isnt to worn down.

Another recommendation for actual clothing :
Boots: Swift X Torsion boots, got them second hand for £25 as i couldnt find any store with my size (retail is £50-£60), comfy boots and waterproof with alot of protection... great buy IMO.

Gloves: I got so RST Gloves, better than my dads gloves which retail at £150!. They cost me only £25 off a ebay store brand new (retail is £50). Not water proof but damn good protection and very good for "feeling" the grip etc, great for beginners IMO. I will find the model number for you if you like and the ebayer seller.

Jacket: Got a Frank Thomas aqua jacket, waterproof and was £60 in the new george white sale as they bought out plymouths biggest motorcycle dealer. Good stuff.

Trousers: Same as above, from the FT aqua range and got them for £35 which again are good, comfy with knee protection and warm.

Helmet: What ever your budget can afford really, i got my dads arai RX-7 as he just got a new helmet. its £400 or something, i wouldnt pay that as i couldnt afford it but if i could i would as it is the best helmet ive used so far (out of 4... ok i havent been riding for years!).

Now i bet you have already bought all your gear but i thought id try and help .

edit: Forgot to say, A2 is a solid test! I havent done it yet but its a 5 day thing and man is it hard. So many details to remember, it makes driving tests look like a piece of cake so id recommend using the 2 years of your cbt as much as possible to get the training in!.

[jackvdbuk]

nice post hicks, would love to know where you got the gloves from as im currently using my MTB gloves on my 50..

[Hicks12]

ah they had postage, of £3.50 so was £28.50 total but still cheap.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

heres his current stock: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/kenimoto/m.ht....c0.m270.l1313

Im a medium so i went with them, they are thin so controlling the bike is easy . However the material is very good so i would trust them to be safe.

[Apex]

Has you do not hold a bike license you can not go on the 500 and have it limited down, the most you could limit a 500 to is 33bhp which is above what you can ride.

You need to start with your cbt first, this then allows you for 2 years to ride a bike no bigger then 125cc and producing no more then 14.? bhp.

Once thats done with you can either go direct access or the restricted route.

Best place to check for info is

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring...eds/DG_4022568

It lists all you need

and Hicks, 140miles to a tank..... mm something wrong there, am getting a good 250miles to 11 quids worth of fule, which normally works out at around 110mpg - This on a 07 plated Yam YBR 125

[Hicks12]

Crap your right... i really didnt think of it properly, mines a 14ltr tank iirc so thats doing what... 46MPG!. Hmm, certainly not right, i know these are fuel effciencent bikes so maybe mines not tuned properly like fuel mixture etc.

I will check out my fuel levels again when i get a chance at uni, thanks for bringing that to my attention!. I know im not the best rider but i dont race around wasting fuel lol.

edit: just checked, its on the reserve line and ive checked the fuel myself and it is indeed that low. Will have to give it a thorough check then because the guy i bought it off was getting 100 odd out of it, he was like 50+ and was learning to ride at the time so i assume he wasnt lieing, the reviews speak for themselves to.

That is annoying but again cheers for making me check that, will have to fill it up anyway but will see if theres anything wrong.

[Apex]

Even with me thrashing the bike i have not seen less then 100mpg

Riding at 50mph gives even better mpg i've seen 140mpg out this bike and not my normal stop start 40mph max that i get to work and back.

[Rave]

Hmmm....looks like I may just buy myself a CB500, restrict it to 125, do my CBT and get lots of practice on it before doing my A2...hmm...so many ways of doing this.

As Apex says this is not an option. As a learner you can only ride a bike of more than 125cc (or more than 14.7bhp) on the road if you are accompanied by an accredited instructor.

So really you have three choices: 1) buy a 125, do your CBT, and ride it around as a learner, getting some practice in, 2) buy a 500 and then do a Direct Access course on it (but you will not even be able to ride the bike to the training centre unaccompanied) or 3) just do an all-inclusive Direct Access course- all bike training companies have fleets of CB500s or ER-5s or similar to loan out, and I doubt the cost is more than an extra £100 for a five day course vs. providing your own bike.

Once you have a full licence you can buy whatever bike suits you. If you're just commuting through town then TBH I'd go with a 125; I bought an ER-5 a few years ago and the temptation to use the extra power for marginal overtakes and riding fast caused me to fall off twice and have some very scary near misses. The scariest was when a Merc W124 driver didn't see me and pulled out from a junction in front of me. My left leg must have missed by less than 6", quite possibly a lot less than that. I was doing about 45mph in a 30 zone since it was 5am, and only wearing my work trousers. That could easily have cost me my lower leg TBH. Another occasion, roughly the same time, same speed, same dress, I hit a patch of diesel at the bottom of a little compression and the front wiggled quite enough to let me know that I'd had absolutely no grip at that point. Luckily a wiggle was all it was.

Plus the ER-5 only managed about 65mpg, a 125 can get over 100mpg as others have said. Obviously if you're doing A-Roads or motorways you'll want at least a 250, a 400 or 500 would be better. ER-5s are good bikes and dirt cheap, so if you do go with a 500 I'd recommend it, though I've never ridden the CB500 which most people think is superior.

My ER-5 lasted a year before I broke the suspesion when it fell off its sidestand; since then it's been rotting outside my house. I have some vague plans to strip it and turn it into a little cafe racer, maybe that'll happen when I move in with my mum and have the use of her garage....

[Hicks12]

Alright, ive filled my bike up just now and well... i managed to add 7.33 litres so the remaining fuel amounted to ~93MPG, i cant believe how much was left in the reserve!. So basically when it hits the red ive got crap loads left.... maybe the dial is slightly off but im happy with that haha.

How do you manage 140MPG though bud? YBR only rated for 95MPG iirc, i know for me mine should be worse like 70-85 cause its short journeys and always cold weather but 140mpg is way way way up . Eitherway a YBR is a good bike, or the cbf's or my en 125 .

[Russ]

As rave said, if it's just for commuting, get a 125.

CBT is around £80 and you can get a decent bike, helemet, and gloves for around 5-600.

My Suzuki en125 does around the 100mpg mark, and thats sitting at 9k rpm for a about 10 miles a day.

The next "logical" step is to get an A2 licence, this will allow you to ride your 125 without L's and get any bike you want, hyabusa/r1/ninja but it must be restricted to 33bhp for 2 years, giving you time to gain the experience required driving a big bike on the UK roads.

Or just do the Big Bike license and ride whatever you like, 14.7 bhp one day, 150bhp the next. you'll be fine

[Russ]

My Insurance was £98 for the year through swinton, minus £30 swinton cashback minus £27 quidco cashback so.. £41 for the year

[Tumble]

Complicated isn't it? It's Old Skool here - 125 with L's until you pass a theory & practical test, then anything you like, but you have to wear R plates, carry no pillions and you're restricted to 50mph for a year (same with cars, except you can drive anything with L plates on accompanied)

[DeludedGuy]

Great advice guys, thanks.

I've booked my CBT for next week and have been looking at some 125s as I think its the sensible choice, but 125s seem to be expensive.

I've had a look on ebay and Autotrader for the SUZUKI EN 125 and YAMAHA YBR 125 and can only find some around London for £1100+. I don't want to travel more than 15 miles from my house to pick up a bike, are there any other websites I should be looking at?

[Russ]

Could try biker forums, BCF (bikechatforums) is the biggest.