[Closed] Riding a motorcycle: walk me through it

Well I certainly wouldn't buy a bike of any kind and then do a CBT, riding around Cardiff on a bike can be a full-contact sport and you might not like it.

I believe you need to renew the CBT every 2 years until you pass your test, which is no bad thing. I personally see nothing reckless about riding a 125 on a L plate forever, especially if you've been driving a while. I shudder about the thought of 16 year old heading out on the roads on 50s with only a CBT under their belt though!

Bike tests ain't easy or cheap, it cost me £800 to complete my DAS course (allows you to ride any bike straight away) the cost can spiral if you fail any part of it, but even though I decided not to ride a bike about a year after I passed my test, I still think it was both enjoyable and worthwhile. The course I took was designed for people who have been driving for a few years already.

It's probably cheaper to pass the 'normal' bike test, but I couldn't be sure.

If you only want a 125 though, you might as well stick with eh CBT and a automatic scooter.

How old are you?
If over 24, just do your DAS straight away on an intense course.
Once passed, buy a bike that suits your needs and take some additional training.

I wouldn't waste your time, energy & money with a 125cc. They are good fun riding around at full throttle for a bit but they are slow, very light and feel more vulnerable.

Direct access scheme
You can get your full (category A) motorcycle licence using the direct access scheme (DAS) if you’re aged 24 or over. You’ll have to pass the motorcycle practical tests on a machine of at least 40 kW (53.6 bhp).

Taking direct access means you’ll have a full motorcycle licence without previously holding a licence for a smaller bike for two years – you’ll have no restriction on the size of machine you can ride.

While you’re practising for direct access, you can use any size of motorbike bigger than a learner motorbike but you must

be accompanied by a qualified approved trainer riding another motorbike and in radio contact with you
wear fluorescent or reflective safety clothing while you’re being supervised
have L plates (D plates in Wales) fitted
follow the provisional licence restrictions.
If you think DAS could be the best way for you to get your licence, speak to your trainer about it.

Find a friendly motorbike school, most will offer a taster session, they normally charge a nominal fee to stop the troglodytes wasting their time but the cost is usually refundable if you book lessons and they will have kit for you to wear for it.

I took the direct access (DAS) route, seemed least hassle to me and mean that when you get your full licence you can choose what bike to ride and if you want to carry a passenger.

Its possible to do the DAS compressed in a week or over a few weeks. I went for the second option.

You will need to do your CBT and theory test as well.

do it, great fun.

One thing that stuck with me from my instructor, was to imagine every other road user is trying to kill you so ride with caution and stay alert.....

I'd say do CBT first, on their bikes. Couple of reasons, partly that you know nothing about bikes, and partly that their bikes are usually really sensible learner bikes while you might choose to ride something different. But no matter what you'll come out of the CBT with a better idea of what you like and don't like and if you even want to do it.

And then decide what to do next after that. CBT is really, really basic so I think most adults will want to do more tuition at least and that naturally leads towards full licence.

I did a sort of different version of the first option- decided I wanted to do it, bought a bike. Did CBT, was awful. Did CBT again, was still awful. Got L plate, rode til bike disintegrated, got full licence. Don't do that. It worked out great in the end though.

CBT and see if you like it. Its not for everyone.

As people said if you like just do a DAS if you can afford it. That will then open up your choices more. Also will let you hire a half decent bike on holiday etc.

Prepare to get hooked and end up spending all your money on fuel and tyres 🙂

Why not just do the CBT first and see how you get on?

You need a CBT to progress any further if you decide to, and its a pretty cheap/easy way to get to ride a bike on the road for 2 hours, plus car park training. And you have not had to buy anything.

Then decide if you want to get a 125, get lessons, do a intense course etc.

What bigyan said. I'd recommend the CBT to anyone who is even partially curious and I think it should be done by everyone before even starting driving lessons as an awareness. I'd second the other recommendations of keeping going and doing the full thing. Saying that if I was living in a city, cutting about on a Grom, Mutt or Monkey bike for a bit would be a hoot.

Have a go on an ebike. I’m reliably informed that they are exactly the same.

I'd do the following. Find a school who can do a combined CBT and DirectAccess course. Ask if you can pay for just the CBT and then top up to the direct access if you enjoy the CBT (they usually offer a discount on the combined price). Try and do the CBT on some day when there's less traffic - I did mine when England's pig's bladder molesters were chasing spheroids aboard: the roads were dead. It made for a much less stressful experience.

Be aware that all CBT bikes are terrible, have the worst brakes and juddery, unmanageable clutches imaginable. If you really don't get on with the CBT for mechanical reasons, find a school with a 125 varadero. Many have these parked out back for the person who just keeps stalling the heap of indian-made iron poo that passes for a CBT motorcycle. They're like a big bike but scaled down, properly.

Once you've got your full license, then go out and buy a bike. A proper bike that stops, goes and turns properly. Then you need to start really learning. Most police forces offer bikesafe training of some sort. These are a great to jump start your riding career safely.

Get a copy of Roadcraft, the police training manual for sensible riding http://www.roadcraft.co.uk/
and Twist of the Wrist (book or DVD) for other types of riding
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3456350/

Is your biking ban that severe that you can't tootle around on an upright Dutch style e-bike?

CBT first (£100). The I bought a 125 for my son - who's not riding it now! So I'm selling it and going Direct Access. If you can 1) drive a car 2) handle a bicycle, then you will be fine, it's just a different coordination. 125 bikes will hone your skills in gear changing, but they are a little slow in traffic. Mine is the most desirable YZF-R125, and I will want something more powerful after DAS. But riding it is very enjoyable. I'm not a thrill seeker 😉

Passing the hazard perception test was a challenge - you will need to purchase the DOT test - experienced motorists fail as they spot hazards much earlier than 16yo's.

Kit is not cheap - £1000 entry really. I want to take Mrs TiRed out for nice pootles as she doesn't cycle.

EDIT: Since you are looking at around town use - Knowing what I do now and having a 125, I'd do the CBT and run a scooter instaed. Honda PCX is the default goto. You have to renew CBT every two years or pass the test.

tootle around on an upright Dutch style e-bike

Seriously? It never even crossed my mind, but that's not a bad idea.

Having said so, there is a part of me that wants to do my CBT so that I can at least have a taste.

Having said so, there is a part of me that wants to do my CBT so that I can at least have a taste.

Do it, you'll have bags of fun. And big bikes may still feel a bit daunting even after your CBT, but that'll soon go after the first ride.

It’s great fun, go for it but take your time and get lots of advice and training - it may well keep you alive.

I started motorcycling at age 15 on a knackered GT250 Hustler and my test consisted of a woman standing on a street corner and telling me to go round the block while she watched. My eldest is now 15 and I shudder to think of him taking this approach! It is much better the way it’s done these days.

Kit is not cheap – £1000 entry really.

That’s well off nearer £600 is perfectly achievable.

Re scooters, I pretty much only ride in town now and have gone from Bike(s) to scooter- much better for town use. It also helps to have a 250 cc scooter for extra oomph 🙂

If any new riders are after some decent kit I have a Medium Klim Apex Jacket and a 32" Klim Badlands pants for sale.

Only selling as I am no longer Medium or 32" waist 🙂 I have replaced with the same kit in a "different" size.

Its Gortex Pro-shell and has D30 armour etc, probably amongst the most protective textiles you can buy.

I want less than half new price for it and its in great nick. Maybe I should put it in the Classifieds now we have a lot of (moto)bikers on here 🙂

@kilo

Are you sure £600 will buy you decent kit.

Helmet £200
Boots £150
Gloves £100

You now have £150 for a decent jacket and trousers, thats not going to get you something thats going to keep you very dry or protected.

I have been pretty conservative on the above My Helmet, gloves and boots would be £700, £500 and £250 respectively.

As above. My expense was
Helmet 250
Jacket 200
Trousers 150
Gloves 80
Boots 130
Locks 150
Cleaning kit £30
Not cheap, but the helmet was still only half the price of my TT lid 😀

It’s great fun. And being a mature and experienced cyclist gives a great safety perspective. I feel more vulnerable on the motorcycle than I do on my bikes.

Do a CBT first, see how you enjoy it. Then take it from there. I was impressed by the training methods, and I’m a BC coach, so know about how to train.

I did my CBT last week with the notion of getting a Honda Monkey for pottering around on 🙂

Half way through the road ride the instructor took me to the off-road training area and told me to get on his bike and have a ride around - it was lovely!

Completely messed up my thoughts - I'm now seriously considering doing my full licence and a CB500X is way up on my list of potential purchases 🙂
This would open up the potential for longer trips including a little off-road if I wanted.

The riding school I went to is associated with a Honda dealership which means that their bikes are swapped out very regularly so you don't learn on some bag of nails.
Honda are also doing an offer currently where they'll give you £500 off a new bike (> 125cc) if you do an A2/full licence through one of their approved schools - pays for most of the training.

No way you need to spend that much to get going £100 for gloves for a small engine motorcycle to pootle around town! Helmet 1-150, jacket 100 or less, trousers and boots the same, gloves 50. Have a look in Aldi, J and S, M and P, Sportsbike superstore. I reckon I passed my test and bought all my kit for under a grand. All serviceable if a little lacking in style. Slowly replacing it as I go along.

I assumed we were talking post test, on a bigger bike that you actually want to go somewhere on.

I agree pootling around on a 125 you are not going to be that far from home.

What would a 250 be like in terms of capability? I know it's twice the size of a 125, but everyone keeps talking about 125s as if they are seriously limited; does a 250 take you into the realm of "real bike"? Or do you need to go bigger still?

Oh, and as for equipment: how much can a pair of flip flops, old shorts, and a t-shirt cost?

You'll need improved hazard perception to ride a motorbike.... 😉

Also, you won't be able to take your motorbike across the park or on the Taff trail. E-bike every time.

how much can a pair of flip flops, old shorts, and a t-shirt cost?

Depends how much you value skin!

From what I've heard a 250 is still pretty tiny - really depends on where you're envisaging riding? If it's all short runs in town/very local then a 125 would be fine (others are far better qualified than me to comment though). Without moving on from the CBT you'll still be using L plates.... if that makes a difference.

there is a part of me that wants to do my CBT so that I can at least have a taste.

It's exactly what I did. I vaguely wanted a bike, kinda wanted the licence more so that if I decided one day to get a bike I could just go and get one.

I went into to CBT as a "red letter day" type experience. I figured if I didn't get on with it then that'd be the end of it, I'd spent £90 or whatever to scamper about on bikes for an afternoon so I hadn't wasted anything. It was several months later that I decided to sign up for lessons.

And as someone else said above, even if you're not going to buy a bike it's still well worth it just from the point of view of improving your car driving. I learned a lot, I'd like to see it included in the car test where practical.

Yeah, costs for gear are waaaaay off. I was less than £150 for a Nolan helmet, stole a pair of £90 gloves for about £14 in an Amazon sale, Weise jacket for £130 and £50 for Oxford trousers. Nothings going to be proper waterproof unless you're spending upwards of £1000, so I got a set of Oxford waterproof overs for about £30. Had a pair of Sidi courier boots from ages ago that cost around £150 new. So that's around £600 for the lot, but you could spend far less. Been commuting 300 miles a week in all weathers since August last year and I arrive warm and dry and safe every time.

As for what size bike, I've had all the way from 125cc to 1500cc and a few inbetween. 125 Vespa was great for scooting around Edinburgh, but I rode it to Stirling and back once and was not quite so enamoured - just not enough oomph for the open road. Vulcan 1500 was like a very very very loud armchair but not great for city riding. GSXR750 just an uncomfortable exercise in speed for speed's sake. Currently on a 390 Duke which is just about perfect for all conditions and locations. Really comfy, plenty quick enough for motorways, super-nimble for riding in traffic, great on fuel, cheap to buy and maintain. You'd need at least an A2 license to ride one though, and if you're doing the A2 you may as well do the full thing.

I would suggest DAS.

smaller bikes are more sought after and you can generally get a much much better bike for not a lot more. Itll also give you more options.

Bikes are amazing but im not allowed one any more. Speak to your other half before taking the plunge.

Of course you can spend far less for motorbike gear all you legally need to ride a bike is a helmet. So you could buy one second hand on Ebay for £20

But generally money spent on bike gear does two things.

a) Protects you in a crash.
b) keeps you dry warm and comfortable.

How much you spend depends on how much of the above you want to have.

Point of note here,

Assuming you buy from a reputable source rather than some Far Eastern shop on ebay, it's not possible to buy a "bad" helmet in the UK. Anything sold here has to meet EU safety requirements (for the next couple of months anyway). Paying extra money buys you features: nice paint job, comfier padding, better ventilation and so on. If you're on a budget, the cheapest pisspot lid will do the job.

You could, of course, go the dodgy ebay route too. But as a biker friend of mine once eloquently put it, "how many heads do you have?"

"Assuming you buy from a reputable source rather than some Far Eastern shop on ebay, it’s not possible to buy a “bad” helmet in the UK. Anything sold here has to meet EU safety requirements (for the next couple of months anyway). Paying extra money buys you features: nice paint job, comfier padding, better ventilation and so on. If you’re on a budget, the cheapest pisspot lid will do the job."

Rubbish !!!

They all don't have the same sharp test ratings and results.

They just meet a minimum standard.

They all don’t have the same sharp test ratings and results.

They just meet a minimum standard.

But not all of the top brands peform best in Sharp tests ?

You can get a perfectly acceptable HJC for £120 for example.

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/107134

Perfectly good used RST jacket, £70
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RST-Pro-Series-Leather-Motorcycle-Jacket-Size-Uk40/273831633828?hash=item3fc1a323a4:g:q-0AAOSwrdlcw2F~

Kit doens't have to be expensive.

@weeksy I agree with that 🙂

Though some high end brands would argue a lot of the time thats a problem with the test. they would argue they don't test stuff like how well it handles glancing blow and the force transferred to the the neck etc, the shape of the shell can influence this.

My point was though they are not all born equal.

As a non-motorcylclist, I once messed about on a knackered old 185cc off road. To me, it was fast, like hot hatch fast. I can't imagine needing much more for general transport. Of course it was far from refined, but I don't imagine the OP is going luxury touring given the post.

My point was though they are not all born equal.

It's a good point, and one I should have said. All I was trying to say was, well, exactly that, you cannot buy a lid which doesn't meet the minimum safety standards. Ie, you can't buy the fallaparty ones any more that used to feature on shows like That's Life many years back.

https://www.gov.uk/motorcycle-helmet-law

I wasn't aware of SHARP, presumably that came about after my time. The link to their website is broken on that page above, the correct URL is https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/

I would be interested in testing people

Send them down Bruntingthorpe runway on a bike and they have to chuck them self off the bike at 80mph They have the choice of wearing a £600 Arai RX7 and £0 cash or a £120 HJC and £480 cash in their pocket. Which one do you think most people would choose 🙂

I know what one my head would be in 🙂

I'll have the £480 in cash. Actually I'll have 600 quid and dig a 30 year old helmet out of the barn to wear.

As Jamie Whitham said about helmet sponsorship "I'll wear an old pot on my head if you pay me."

Send them down Bruntingthorpe runway on a bike and they have to chuck them self off the bike at 80mph They have the choice of wearing a £600 Arai RX7 and £0 cash or a £120 HJC and £480 cash in their pocket. Which one do you think most people would choose 🙂

I know what one my head would be in 🙂

It's a strange leap of logic though. You've accepted the risk or riding a motorcycle is hitting the ground at 80mph in your case.

Which is bonkers.

If you apply your rational logic to it you would spend £600 on a knackered fiesta and never swing a leg over a bike. Not a £600 helmet that has a very slim chance of having any benefit over a £120 one.

I use oxford jacket and trousers, relatively cheap, warm , waterproof and armoured, received good reviews by various magazines- probably better quality than the speedy set of dainese leathers, and not much worse than the very expensive Rukka kit I had through work. Hjc helmets are good quality, correct fit is probably more important, my alpine star gloves were about £100.
I’d be quite happy wearing that cheaper kit at speed although I’ve no intention of stepping off the bike.

Just don't.
Motorbikes are fun, fast & dangerous to fall off.
There were 13 of us on my MSc course, a few years back. Add spouses, 26 people.
Within a year of the course ending, one of us and one woman's husband, had died in bike accidents. Both were experienced , both hadn't had any accidents beforehand.
And I know of others who have lost limbs or injured themselves badly. Just don't.

Of course I noted cheaper helmets and kit - I just stated what I bought to start riding. I bought the bottom of the range Shoei Qwest in white for a reason - it was unbelieveably comfortable, offered all the protection I'd need, lighter than the cheaper models and from a premium manufacturer. I think it was a good choice. Jacke was a lighter Alpinestars as I liked the design, but it was cheaper than many of the others. You won't see a lot of change from £500, but I chose differently.

Just don’t.
Motorbikes are fun, fast & dangerous to fall off.
There were 13 of us on my MSc course, a few years back. Add spouses, 26 people.
Within a year of the course ending, one of us and one woman’s husband, had died in bike accidents. Both were experienced , both hadn’t had any accidents beforehand.
And I know of others who have lost limbs or injured themselves badly. Just don’t/blockquote>
I know hundreds of bikers. Far more are dead from other causes than bikes.

 

Quick note: the Sharp test is really pretty rubbish.

SaxonRider

Subscriber

What would a 250 be like in terms of capability? I know it’s twice the size of a 125, but everyone keeps talking about 125s as if they are seriously limited; does a 250 take you into the realm of “real bike”? Or do you need to go bigger still?

A typical slow 125, like an SR125 frinstance, is about as fast/faster than a low powered car, most of the time- like a polo 1.2 or similar "first car". The biggest limitation is top speed but then you're not allowed on the motorway on CBT (my terrible Virago 125 topped out completely at 62mph! But it got to 50 unworryingly fast, it was just that last 10mph that was a stretch). Around town etc they're absolutely fine.

Unless you're enormous anyway! Rider can have a lot to do with the power-to-weight ratio

250 is a bit of a weird class in the UK, it's sort of neither one thing nor t'other. People tend to split it into "learner bike", "first big bike" and "proper big bike" and even something really pretty rapid like an SV650 qualifies as "first big bike". 250s and 4s make a lot of sense but they just don't seem to catch on... which is self fulfilling because there's less out there to buy.

(I finally got myself an actual fast car, and it's barely any faster than my "first big bike". Though, it's less likely to fall over)

PS, gear prices listed on here are predictably STW. £100 will get you the carbon santa cruz of gloves, £40 carefully spent will get you something really good. Most schools can provide you with kit, though.

I've got a couple of grand's worth of riding kit probably but my most worn gloves are these excellent things: https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/52034 and most of my riding was done in an £80 Belstaff textile jacket (with CEN armour all round) and a pair of Wolf leather-and-textile trousers that were £120, with leather on the slidey crashy bits. Oh and a £400 furygan leather jacket which is just lovely 😉 And I had helmets from £80 to £400, the top end ones are certainly better but not 5 times better.

Dunno if anyone's said it, but don't buy what's expensive or cheap, buy what fits.

I'm unfortunate as Shoei fits my spherical bonce, me Da gets away with cheaper lids as he as a more oval head. Try a few on starting with the cheapest and working up in price until you hit the right one for you.

Same goes for all the other kit as well.

My first proper set cost something like

Lid: Shoei £300
Jacket: Old Frank Thomas from a Charity shop £15
Jeans: BKS from the bike show £50
Gloves Alpinestars from the bike show £50
Boots: Alpinestars, you guessed it, from the bike show £50
Back Protector: Alpinestars. bike show £50

So half decent summer kit for less than £600 all in, one of the good things about the bike show is a lot of the big shops, like J&S which is where most of my kit came from, use it to punt on the unpopular colours of last years kit at pretty big discounts.

Gotta say, if I had the choice between a £200 lid and cash or a £600 lid, I'd be buying better gloves.

I have been pretty conservative on the above My Helmet, gloves and boots would be £700, £500 and £250 respectively.

Hang on - you bought gloves for £500?!

Interesting thread though, been thinking for a while myself of doing CBT then DAS, whether I end up buying a bike I'm not sure (I crash enough exploring the limits of adhesion when cornering on my road bike, don't think I'd want to do that at motorbike speeds). A eMotorbike would be tempting though but not looked into how far advanced they are at the minute

There's really no need to go bonkers on kit.

I bought the wife some Alpinestars GP Pro gloves for £60 worn twice.. I've bought TCX boots for £110 or Oxtar etc, in fact unless you go for Daytona it's hard to spend more than £200 on boots.
Jackets, seriously, Ebay. The number of leather/textile jackets that are on ebay after a few times is ridiclous, these are selling for 20% of the purchase price mostly.

@FuzzyWuzzy

Got that wrong gloves were £250, and to be fair they are for track use.

@Weeksy, Daytona boots 🙂

Took my CBT via a firm in Devizes, straight onto Direct Access. Passed my test on a tuesday and picked up a Triumph 955i on the Saturday. Still alive

Moved onto trail riding a few years later, WR400cc which I used for trail riding / converted to a supermotard and took it round tracks (Pembrey mostly) where it was good fun and kept ahead of a good few bigger bikes.

Spend money on kit in line with what your end goals are - i knew i was going to get a sportsbike when I set out, so bought decent gear (Arai lid etc) - cheaper options are available now that are pretty good.

How big a bike you need really depends on where you are going to use it / top speed etc. You could use a 125 everywhere - but a bit more cc makes life a bit easier. I'd probably look at a 450cc motard for around town, more resistant to being dropped when you do so... Get good locks