CBT in hand, many bikes to chose from. Send help!

[Networkgeek]

Hi everyone

Last year I passed my CBT and had every intention of buying a bike. Life got in the way and I'm now looking to buy my first bike. To spur me along, I went out and bought all of my bike gear yesterday.

My budget - £2500-2800
Bikes I like - Honda CB125R, Honda Grom (love this little bike), and Husqvarna Svartpilen 125cc
Wants - ABS, wider tyres (so not a CBF125), and something that looks cool

I love the Grom, but having never ridden one and I'm nervous about taking one for a test drive, so I don't want to commit to paying the money and then realising it's a bit.. well.. not my cup of tea.

I'm not at all worried about going fast (I have cars for that), I want to practice being a safe rider before adding any speed.

My questions -

Are Honda Groms a good beginner bike? I've read reviews / watched videos, but it would be great to speak with someone who had one as a first bike
Are there any other bikes I'm missing from my list?

Thanks everyone

[stepaway]

Well done on the CBT

My first question would be what is the intended use for the bike? Commuting, fun, sunny days only etc?

[Networkgeek]

stepaway said:

Well done on the CBT

My first question would be what is the intended use for the bike? Commuting, fun, sunny days only etc?

Good question, I forgot to include this info.

I will do a bit of everything, my commute to my office is lovely before I hit Bath, then it's all 20mph and bus lanes. I won't be doing this at first though, I plan to go out with friends on sunny days until I feel more confident.

[TurboHatchback]

I would recommend the CB125R, I bought one and did about 2500 miles before getting my big bike licence and it was great. Groms look hilarious but they are properly tiny and I'm not sure I'd like to ride one on a NSL road.

The Yamaha MT125 seems to be the most direct competitor to the CB125R, might be worth a look.

[GreaseNipple]

I think they're all very similar spec wise so just get which you like the look of. I'd avoid the Chinese bikes but sounds like you're not interested in them anyway, and I'd want the full 15 bhp and 6 gears which would discount the grom for me. I got an MT125 which was a nice bike but if I was buying now I think I'd go for an XSR125 which wasn't available when I was buying. It's got a newer engine and looks like a proper bike IMO.

[epicfail]

I'm not sure I would give it too much thought, just get a basic CB125 or YBR that's a few years old - easy to sell, easy to ride and reliable. I wouldn't waste time getting something too good - it's a 125, just a tool for learning before the more interesting stuff to come.

If you like your 125 too much it might hinder the desire to go beyond...

[JJ55]

I had a Suzuki gsx-s as my first bike. It was a great 125. The Gsxr 125 is another one to check out

[RazerSauber]

CBR would get my vote. Could look at the Ninja 125, too?

[Krikkit]

A friend of mine had an MT125 and very much liked it, looked the business too with turqoise wheels.

[OverSteery]

A grom is a hoot to ride, but

A Grom, like most 125s, will be about 10bhp.

a CB125R is one of the "premium" 125s and will be more like 13-15. If you are planning to do many miles, I'd go for the 125R. On a 125 you need every pony you can get

[airsafari87]

Those Svartpilens are a mint looking bike.

Regardless of which bike might be a better bike, will hold its value better etc …

The Svartpilen is the I’d buy every day of the week.