Discussion
At the age of 37 I have just passed the CBT. It’s something I have wanted to do for some time as my dad and father in law both ride.
I’m looking for a bike so I don’t use my diesel (car allowance) V40 D4 as much. So will use the bike for commuting to Sainsbury’s, friends, and now I have experienced it, just a ride out.
We had a good half day on the yard learning the bike. Slipping the clutch and using the rear brake for slow speed manoeuvres just felt wrong, but hey. Poor clutch.
And then we had two hours on the road. Windy. A little rain. It was a revelation. My bike was a a Chinese KSR Duke rep. 10hp but I was genuinely surprised at how well it kept up with traffic and hit up to NSL.
So I’m in that stage of thinking what my next step should be. To be honest, 50 on a country road was enough for me. But I felt confident and safe. My only real fault on the drive was changing lanes on a roundabout. A slightly quicker 125 (MT or Duke) would probably be enough for me. I live in Belper and I will just be going up and down the A6 which alternates between 30 and 50. I won’t be going to Matlock on a Sunday.
The L plates will have to go in two years, but until then is there any shame in rocking the L’s to really learn the craft?
I personally believe that driving something slow fast is far more fun than driving something fast slow. Example our fun car is a new Cooper S. It’s brilliant. And I can see that this will absolutely be the case with a bike. Plus I fully understand the dangers that riding brings. So ultimately I can’t see me ever wanting more than a A2 class bike (MT03, Duke 390). But as I understand it I can’t do the A2 licence, I have to do full DAS? What is annoying is the same A2 class bike is near enough the same price as the A1 version.
All input is welcome. Especially those who are new to riding.
I’m looking for a bike so I don’t use my diesel (car allowance) V40 D4 as much. So will use the bike for commuting to Sainsbury’s, friends, and now I have experienced it, just a ride out.
We had a good half day on the yard learning the bike. Slipping the clutch and using the rear brake for slow speed manoeuvres just felt wrong, but hey. Poor clutch.
And then we had two hours on the road. Windy. A little rain. It was a revelation. My bike was a a Chinese KSR Duke rep. 10hp but I was genuinely surprised at how well it kept up with traffic and hit up to NSL.
So I’m in that stage of thinking what my next step should be. To be honest, 50 on a country road was enough for me. But I felt confident and safe. My only real fault on the drive was changing lanes on a roundabout. A slightly quicker 125 (MT or Duke) would probably be enough for me. I live in Belper and I will just be going up and down the A6 which alternates between 30 and 50. I won’t be going to Matlock on a Sunday.
The L plates will have to go in two years, but until then is there any shame in rocking the L’s to really learn the craft?
I personally believe that driving something slow fast is far more fun than driving something fast slow. Example our fun car is a new Cooper S. It’s brilliant. And I can see that this will absolutely be the case with a bike. Plus I fully understand the dangers that riding brings. So ultimately I can’t see me ever wanting more than a A2 class bike (MT03, Duke 390). But as I understand it I can’t do the A2 licence, I have to do full DAS? What is annoying is the same A2 class bike is near enough the same price as the A1 version.
All input is welcome. Especially those who are new to riding.
Edited by PT1984 on Thursday 7th October 09:57
Edited by PT1984 on Thursday 7th October 09:59
I did my CBT on a bit of a whim at the age of 32 last year. Finally out of Covid I did my full test around April. If you're going to get a bigger bike than a 125 at some point, do it sooner rather than later. It's difficult to describe how much different a big bike handles than a 125. A lad I shared a couple of lessons with commented on it and seemed to find it more difficult than I did jumping straight on the big bike after only doing a CBT. Also an opportunity to get into some bad habits that'll need shaking before you do your proper test. All IMO of course.
Your CBT probably didn't involve much overtaking. One of the biggest benefits of riding a bike and would probably highlight the limitations of a 125 a bit more.
I've done a couple of thousand miles on my MT09 since passing and use it purely for the fun of riding, I don't have a commute. If I had a commute like you describe, I think the A2 class of bikes would appeal.
Your CBT probably didn't involve much overtaking. One of the biggest benefits of riding a bike and would probably highlight the limitations of a 125 a bit more.
I've done a couple of thousand miles on my MT09 since passing and use it purely for the fun of riding, I don't have a commute. If I had a commute like you describe, I think the A2 class of bikes would appeal.
Bigger bikes are not just about speed. It's the weight, torque and plushness compared to little bikes. They are to me much easier and nicer to ride regardless of speed.
Get a day on one of the riding schools twins, something like a Suzuki Gladius. A crossover day I think they might call it or induction to a big bike.
At this point, you don't have enough road time and you haven't ridden a bigger bike. Far too early to make any decisions on never wanting a big bike! You might think them intimidating and fast compared to a 125, but they really aren't. I really don't like little 125 bikes, they are much harder to ride as they are a bit snappy and unrefined. If I stuck with small bikes I would not have carried on with motorbikes.
You will be very surprised how much easier and nicer a 600cc twin is to ride than a 125.
Get a day on one of the riding schools twins, something like a Suzuki Gladius. A crossover day I think they might call it or induction to a big bike.
At this point, you don't have enough road time and you haven't ridden a bigger bike. Far too early to make any decisions on never wanting a big bike! You might think them intimidating and fast compared to a 125, but they really aren't. I really don't like little 125 bikes, they are much harder to ride as they are a bit snappy and unrefined. If I stuck with small bikes I would not have carried on with motorbikes.
You will be very surprised how much easier and nicer a 600cc twin is to ride than a 125.
Edited by Mortgage_tom on Thursday 7th October 10:13
I did my CBT back in March, convinced the Mrs that alittle 125 would make my commute easier and save us money.... By May I was doing DAS and passed in July, in July bought a GSF1200. I adore it. I'm 36.
A 125 is great... But has its limitations. Once you ride a 600+ bike, you'll end up getting a tad frustrated with a 125. For bobbing around town, my Varadero 125 was great, soon as needed alittle more speed (50+), it seriously bugged me.
Believe it or not, I found the larger CC bikes so much easier to ride and also control at slow speed. They have alot more torque and the overall weight makes them easier to control.
Doing the A2 license and the full A is exactly the same just the bike you use will be different power. If you can, may aswell do the A, you'll never be limited on choice then.
L plates... Well... You'll find you get bullied alot on the road by other drivers, usually vans! They all seem to assume youre some 17 year old Deliveroo driver and treat you as such. Once the L plates came off I found I was given more space, tailgated less and just generally treated better... Having the ability to leave someone tailgating you very, very far behind aswell with just a flick of the wrist also comes in handy occasionally.
Just go for it. I've not regretted it once.
A 125 is great... But has its limitations. Once you ride a 600+ bike, you'll end up getting a tad frustrated with a 125. For bobbing around town, my Varadero 125 was great, soon as needed alittle more speed (50+), it seriously bugged me.
Believe it or not, I found the larger CC bikes so much easier to ride and also control at slow speed. They have alot more torque and the overall weight makes them easier to control.
Doing the A2 license and the full A is exactly the same just the bike you use will be different power. If you can, may aswell do the A, you'll never be limited on choice then.
L plates... Well... You'll find you get bullied alot on the road by other drivers, usually vans! They all seem to assume youre some 17 year old Deliveroo driver and treat you as such. Once the L plates came off I found I was given more space, tailgated less and just generally treated better... Having the ability to leave someone tailgating you very, very far behind aswell with just a flick of the wrist also comes in handy occasionally.
Just go for it. I've not regretted it once.
Congratulations! I did mine this year at a similar age to you. Wait until you get onto the bigger bikes, they feel much safer than the wobbly little 125's.
Don't worry about the the clutch, it's a wet clutch and is designed to be slipped. I've been driving for 18 years and found that I kept trying to use the clutch like a car to protect it. My instructor told me to ride the bike like I was trying to pull away in a car in second gear. It really helped it click with me.
Are you moving onto your DAS lessons this year?
Don't worry about the the clutch, it's a wet clutch and is designed to be slipped. I've been driving for 18 years and found that I kept trying to use the clutch like a car to protect it. My instructor told me to ride the bike like I was trying to pull away in a car in second gear. It really helped it click with me.
Are you moving onto your DAS lessons this year?
I had a Honda cb125f on L plates for about 18 months /2,500 miles of town riding, up until earlier this year when I passed my test via DAS. Gave me alot of confidence I didn't really have after completing the CBT. Being out on your own is where the real learning is, on any bike or other vehicle.
I bought and sold the Honda privately and made a few hundred quid. They don't really lose money, even if you get one and decide after a few months you want to move on, it'll be easy to shift.
I've a 700cc bike now bought this summer and it's great. Much more like motorcycling, I can go places or days out on it. The 125 just isn't built for that and your learners licence keeps you off motorways which sometimes means a very long way round to get somewhere.
I bought and sold the Honda privately and made a few hundred quid. They don't really lose money, even if you get one and decide after a few months you want to move on, it'll be easy to shift.
I've a 700cc bike now bought this summer and it's great. Much more like motorcycling, I can go places or days out on it. The 125 just isn't built for that and your learners licence keeps you off motorways which sometimes means a very long way round to get somewhere.
Very long time lurker, but only just joined so I thought I'd start posting as your experience does resonate somewhat.
I did the CBT back when I was 16 or 17 and had a little 125 scooter, the CBT expired after the 2 years and I didn't bother doing another and had no interest whatsoever in biking after passing my car driving test. My interest turned to all sorts of cars in the next 10 years and I slowly lost interest in weird and wonderful cars a couple of years ago, having sold an Audi S8 V10 when I was 27 which I had for a few years, the sale of which I now regret but that's another story. After that sale, I had a bit of spare cash and put £1,000 towards getting my full bike licence plus some gear. I worked with a bike-mad guy who I think sparked the interest in me somewhere. I passed the CBT, Mod 1 and Mod 2 (Direct Access scheme) with no problems and now I love being out on the bike -- if it's a dry day then I'll be on the bike either commuting or just enjoying going for a ride with nothing else in my mind. That was 3 years ago, I'm now 30 and have gone through a few bikes in that time -- Honda Grom straight to a Ducati Hypermotard, Honda CBR600RR and currently a Honda CB1000R, with a couple of less exciting ones in between.
With a 125 you're on full throttle a lot of the time, with a 600 and more so a 1000 it's a glorious feeling knowing you've got enough power to pick a point on the horizon in front of you and reach it in a matter or seconds. The more you ride, the more experience you gain, don't be afraid of the rain but do be afraid of wet drain and inspection covers
I can't think of any good reasons why you should go for an A2 or A1 licence when your age allows you to pass a full unrestricted licence, and I think any instructor would advise the same. Even do your full unrestricted licence and get an A2-power (35kW iirc?) bike if you must. As has been said already, you do get sh!t from other drivers if you're wearing L-plates, you don't get a social 'nod' from other bikers, you've barely got enough shove if you wanted to overtake on a 30 or 40mph road let alone a dual carriageway or country road, you can't go on motorways, not allowed pillion riders. The list goes on...
I did the CBT back when I was 16 or 17 and had a little 125 scooter, the CBT expired after the 2 years and I didn't bother doing another and had no interest whatsoever in biking after passing my car driving test. My interest turned to all sorts of cars in the next 10 years and I slowly lost interest in weird and wonderful cars a couple of years ago, having sold an Audi S8 V10 when I was 27 which I had for a few years, the sale of which I now regret but that's another story. After that sale, I had a bit of spare cash and put £1,000 towards getting my full bike licence plus some gear. I worked with a bike-mad guy who I think sparked the interest in me somewhere. I passed the CBT, Mod 1 and Mod 2 (Direct Access scheme) with no problems and now I love being out on the bike -- if it's a dry day then I'll be on the bike either commuting or just enjoying going for a ride with nothing else in my mind. That was 3 years ago, I'm now 30 and have gone through a few bikes in that time -- Honda Grom straight to a Ducati Hypermotard, Honda CBR600RR and currently a Honda CB1000R, with a couple of less exciting ones in between.
With a 125 you're on full throttle a lot of the time, with a 600 and more so a 1000 it's a glorious feeling knowing you've got enough power to pick a point on the horizon in front of you and reach it in a matter or seconds. The more you ride, the more experience you gain, don't be afraid of the rain but do be afraid of wet drain and inspection covers
I can't think of any good reasons why you should go for an A2 or A1 licence when your age allows you to pass a full unrestricted licence, and I think any instructor would advise the same. Even do your full unrestricted licence and get an A2-power (35kW iirc?) bike if you must. As has been said already, you do get sh!t from other drivers if you're wearing L-plates, you don't get a social 'nod' from other bikers, you've barely got enough shove if you wanted to overtake on a 30 or 40mph road let alone a dual carriageway or country road, you can't go on motorways, not allowed pillion riders. The list goes on...
Edited by olivers8 on Thursday 7th October 12:01
I did my CBT at 24 and ran a 125 for 6 months and then gave up.
Did my big bike test 2.5 years ago on a whim at the age of 32 - I had picked up and restored a Honda Transalp, but within a week of passing, had bought an R1200GS
I only did 800 miles last year, but did a 1500 mile road trip the year before. My bike mainly get's used for popping in to town and an occasional commute.
Enjoy it
Did my big bike test 2.5 years ago on a whim at the age of 32 - I had picked up and restored a Honda Transalp, but within a week of passing, had bought an R1200GS
I only did 800 miles last year, but did a 1500 mile road trip the year before. My bike mainly get's used for popping in to town and an occasional commute.
Enjoy it
I did my CBT last March just before lockdown, because of that I had no choice but to get a 125 if I wanted to do any sort of riding for the following few months so I got MT125, without lockdown I would have read everyone saying go straight to DAS, 125s are boring etc, but I think it really worked out for me. The MT is more like a big bike than some 125s and being able to have little rides slowly building my confidence was just what I needed. The empty roads were a bonus too! I remember finishing my CBT and not feeling ready to ride on the roads at all. To have to have then gone on a 600 straight in to lessons would have felt too much for me I think. I think your attitude sounds right for getting a 125, just being on a bike and learning a new skill was enjoyable and enough for me to keep me interested. When lockdown ended I signed up to get my A licence, I had lessons but avoided a weeks course, I just had one a week and then could put the stuff I learnt in to practice on the 125 on my own, I dont think I would have enjoyed an intensive course at all. I think the main benefit of it was being able to practice on your own, for mod1 I was out most evenings for 15 minutes in the car park practicing manoeuvres because there was little else to do in lockdown, but it really paid off, to this day I still feel really confident at low speed stuff and U turns, If I had had 3 hours training and gone straight in to Mod 1 I doubt that would have been the case. Before mod 2 I was out in Uxbridge riding the routes as well so again come the test I felt much more prepared than I would have. I passed in september '20 and was feeling the limits of 125 by then, dual carriageways were a pain although I could get to an indicated 75 on the yamaha, if I lived somewhere where fast roads were predominant then I would have got fed up earlier, but for suburban riding, little rides on B roads and trips in to the city it was fine. I sold it at after putting 2000 miles on it and made £500 so it worked out perfectly although I think the market is at the top now.
PT1984 said:
But as I understand it I can’t do the A2 licence, I have to do full DAS? What is annoying is the same A2 class bike is near enough the same price as the A1 version.
There is nothing stopping you doing an A2 if you so desirethe process for you (being over 24) is the same,
- you have your CBT
- do the theory test
- take Mod 1 and Mod 2 (must be done on the same category of bike). If you take it on an A2 you will be restricted to a2 licence. If you use a bigger bike you will not be.
Given the process is identical and costs are usually similar - there seems little point in not going for a full "a" licence and then choose whatever size/category bike you want (if you are old enough)
Edited by OverSteery on Thursday 7th October 14:48
PT1984 said:
Some great feedback, thank you.
Just had a chat with the school. Going to have a day on their DAS bike. Z650 I believe. A few hours on the yard, then a few on the road.
Good choice! Soon as I got past the first 10 minutes of jitters on a big bike it was 100x easier - at low speed everything is better quality and nicer to use, the extra mass is actually helpful as it smooths things out, and as soon as you're on the road it's night and day.Just had a chat with the school. Going to have a day on their DAS bike. Z650 I believe. A few hours on the yard, then a few on the road.
If you do the DAS and pass the full licence it means you can ride whatever you like - if that's a KTM 390 as a super light and friendly A2 bike then why not! At least you've got the choice going forward.
Krikkit said:
Good choice! Soon as I got past the first 10 minutes of jitters on a big bike it was 100x easier - at low speed everything is better quality and nicer to use, the extra mass is actually helpful as it smooths things out, and as soon as you're on the road it's night and day.
If you do the DAS and pass the full licence it means you can ride whatever you like - if that's a KTM 390 as a super light and friendly A2 bike then why not! At least you've got the choice going forward.
This, 100%.If you do the DAS and pass the full licence it means you can ride whatever you like - if that's a KTM 390 as a super light and friendly A2 bike then why not! At least you've got the choice going forward.
Alternatively buy a CBF125 and ride around for the next two years on L plates, then do your CBT again when it expires; I know of someone who has been riding around on L plates for donks.
I did my CBT in May and then decided to do DAS . Had my licence 7 weeks now and love it. Bought a CBR650F and it's really easy to ride and is plenty quick enough for me at the moment. I'm conscious the weather is going to be taking a turn for the worse so I am using the bike at every opportunity. Commute, fun ride out etc. Don't bother with the shops, too much hassle. The lessons and the tests are just the start, I'm learning something new every time I go out.
I think that once you have done your day on the 650 you won't want to carry on down the 125 route. I contemplated going the 125 route but decided I'd may as well go straight to DAS. It was amazing the number of people who have been riding 125s having lessons with me had become complacent with life saver checks and general bad habits.
I think that once you have done your day on the 650 you won't want to carry on down the 125 route. I contemplated going the 125 route but decided I'd may as well go straight to DAS. It was amazing the number of people who have been riding 125s having lessons with me had become complacent with life saver checks and general bad habits.
Did my CBT last summer at the age of 49, pottered on an AJS scrambler for a year or so before doing my DAS.
Then bought a 1994 Ducati Monster 600 which I love to bits, it isn't quick but it feels it and is great fun to throw around, I soon found that as lovely as it is (and I won't be selling it) it's rubbish if you actually want to go anywhere... The whole reason for me and biking is to join a friend of mine who runs CIMT (central Italy Motorcycle Tours) and this bike was never gonna do that so ended up with a V-Strom 1000 to put next to it in the garage, whick sounds big and it's very quick if you want it to be but only as fast as you open the throttle obvs!
Getting back on the Monster is such a laugh after the V-Strom, moral of the story is you will 'need' more than one bike
Then bought a 1994 Ducati Monster 600 which I love to bits, it isn't quick but it feels it and is great fun to throw around, I soon found that as lovely as it is (and I won't be selling it) it's rubbish if you actually want to go anywhere... The whole reason for me and biking is to join a friend of mine who runs CIMT (central Italy Motorcycle Tours) and this bike was never gonna do that so ended up with a V-Strom 1000 to put next to it in the garage, whick sounds big and it's very quick if you want it to be but only as fast as you open the throttle obvs!
Getting back on the Monster is such a laugh after the V-Strom, moral of the story is you will 'need' more than one bike
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