Learning in your 30s, what 125 price point?
Discussion
At the grand age of 39 I've decided to finally do my CBT.
I went to the local Honda place and they offered me an 18 plate CB125F with 1 mile on it for £2399.
I was about to pull the trigger but made a last minute visit to a Yamaha dealer and had my head turned by the MT-125 for £4250. I've since seen the KTM Duke 125 which looks great as well, they are £4199 but with £500 worth of clobber.
My plan for the Honda was to keep it until I'd done my test then move it on, but the Yamaha is nice enough and (just about) fast enough to keep hold of.
As a brand new learner, is it stupid to go for the more expensive 125s or should I be going for the cheaper 10bhp bikes?
And any opinions on the MT125 vs Duke would be good too.
Thanks
I went to the local Honda place and they offered me an 18 plate CB125F with 1 mile on it for £2399.
I was about to pull the trigger but made a last minute visit to a Yamaha dealer and had my head turned by the MT-125 for £4250. I've since seen the KTM Duke 125 which looks great as well, they are £4199 but with £500 worth of clobber.
My plan for the Honda was to keep it until I'd done my test then move it on, but the Yamaha is nice enough and (just about) fast enough to keep hold of.
As a brand new learner, is it stupid to go for the more expensive 125s or should I be going for the cheaper 10bhp bikes?
And any opinions on the MT125 vs Duke would be good too.
Thanks
Have you considered doing a DAS? This will give you all the relevant training you need to pass your test so you could go straight to a proper bike.
I done a CBT one weekend, the direct access the following week and a few weeks later had a new bike.
If you've been driving for years i think going the 125 route would just be a waste of money.
I done a CBT one weekend, the direct access the following week and a few weeks later had a new bike.
If you've been driving for years i think going the 125 route would just be a waste of money.
Just bear in mind a brand new one with you as first owner can be had for £2499 and don't forget do your training for a bigger bike with the HSM and you will get £500 off your bigger bike .
The CBF are great little bikes to learn on but you will want to move up, ask your local school how quick they think you could move on as some people need more time before taking DAS successfully
If I can help send me a PM I am in Kent
The CBF are great little bikes to learn on but you will want to move up, ask your local school how quick they think you could move on as some people need more time before taking DAS successfully
If I can help send me a PM I am in Kent
39 is not a grand old age. I did mine last year at 38 which is very, very young.
Do the CBT then do the das. There is no way I would be spending 2-4k plus on a 125. A good 600 can be had for £1500 and will feel ballistic compared to most cars. Use the rest for good quality gear and lessons.
Do the CBT then do the das. There is no way I would be spending 2-4k plus on a 125. A good 600 can be had for £1500 and will feel ballistic compared to most cars. Use the rest for good quality gear and lessons.
I can't see the point of spending 4 grand on a 125.
I got one of these after CBT, then did DAS and bought a 600. PXed the YBR for what I bought it for I think.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-Yamaha-YBR125-CBR-...
I got one of these after CBT, then did DAS and bought a 600. PXed the YBR for what I bought it for I think.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-Yamaha-YBR125-CBR-...
I personally made the mistake of spending the 4k for an mt-125. Good starter bike, handles well, nippy but gutless above 60 like any other 125, and as soon as you get on a big bike for your tests you'll want rid of it. I lost a fair bit part exing it after just 4 months. If I did it again I'd probably stick with a CBF or YBR or whatever.
Agree with others on buying a 125cc. Dont bother you will soon get bored of it. I did my DAS at 48 which was 3 years ago. Use the training schools bikes then decide when you have a full license. Interestingly enough you may find like me just 1 bike will not do all you want, I have a new KTM duke 390 which is great and also an old BMW K1100RS. One is fantastic just for the pleasure of riding, the other is great for commuting along dual carriageways and motorways. What bike you think want now will change after you have a full license.
I got my licence a couple of years ago and rode an mt125 for 6 months beforehand as I was riding to commute. The MT is a fun bike and a lot nicer than a YBR or something like that. If you're in no rush and just want to learn the ropes the old way then go for it with a nice 125 - if you get a secondhand one you won't lose much. Once you get on a big bike though...forget it. The 125 will seem a laughable child's bike.
Rollin said:
I can't see the point of spending 4 grand on a 125.
I got one of these after CBT, then did DAS and bought a 600. PXed the YBR for what I bought it for I think.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-Yamaha-YBR125-CBR-...
This sounds like me. I was 45 when I first sat on a motorbike. I bought a second hand YBR to do my CBT and get some practice road-miles in while I did the DAS over a few months. Once passed, sold the YBR privately for what I'd paid for it and bought Kawasaki ER6F before quickly moving on to a Triumph Street Triple which I've kept (and loved) ever since. Enjoy!I got one of these after CBT, then did DAS and bought a 600. PXed the YBR for what I bought it for I think.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-Yamaha-YBR125-CBR-...
Just got my big bike license on Friday at the tender age of 42. This is my take on a few things.
I wish I'd done an intensive course for DAS. I spread lessons 1 a week over a few months. The time between tests and lessons gave me too much time to over think things and stress.
Contrary to what many others think, I believe there's some benefit in riding a 125 for a bit. You get better at controls and more importantly better at mixing all the observations and positioning with the controls. I spent a year riding a borrowed 125. I also think it gives people a chance to see if riding is really for them before spending roughly £1k on lessons and tests.
If you do go the 125 route do it as cheaply as possible as once you've got some time on a big bike you won't want to ride the 125 and you won't keep it after you pass. Also, unless you just plan on doing a CBT every 2 years you will definitely progress within that time so £4k on a 125 is daft.
I wish I'd done an intensive course for DAS. I spread lessons 1 a week over a few months. The time between tests and lessons gave me too much time to over think things and stress.
Contrary to what many others think, I believe there's some benefit in riding a 125 for a bit. You get better at controls and more importantly better at mixing all the observations and positioning with the controls. I spent a year riding a borrowed 125. I also think it gives people a chance to see if riding is really for them before spending roughly £1k on lessons and tests.
If you do go the 125 route do it as cheaply as possible as once you've got some time on a big bike you won't want to ride the 125 and you won't keep it after you pass. Also, unless you just plan on doing a CBT every 2 years you will definitely progress within that time so £4k on a 125 is daft.
nunpuncher said:
Just got my big bike license on Friday at the tender age of 42. This is my take on a few things.
I wish I'd done an intensive course for DAS. I spread lessons 1 a week over a few months. The time between tests and lessons gave me too much time to over think things and stress.
Contrary to what many others think, I believe there's some benefit in riding a 125 for a bit. You get better at controls and more importantly better at mixing all the observations and positioning with the controls. I spent a year riding a borrowed 125. I also think it gives people a chance to see if riding is really for them before spending roughly £1k on lessons and tests.
If you do go the 125 route do it as cheaply as possible as once you've got some time on a big bike you won't want to ride the 125 and you won't keep it after you pass. Also, unless you just plan on doing a CBT every 2 years you will definitely progress within that time so £4k on a 125 is daft.
Agree with the above, riding for 6 months on a 125 let me get to grips with the mechanics of riding and make mistakes at sensible speeds. Only reason I did my test was to get rid of the L plates but then I realized how much more fun a 500cc+ bike was and that was that, also bought a Street triple and equally rate it!I wish I'd done an intensive course for DAS. I spread lessons 1 a week over a few months. The time between tests and lessons gave me too much time to over think things and stress.
Contrary to what many others think, I believe there's some benefit in riding a 125 for a bit. You get better at controls and more importantly better at mixing all the observations and positioning with the controls. I spent a year riding a borrowed 125. I also think it gives people a chance to see if riding is really for them before spending roughly £1k on lessons and tests.
If you do go the 125 route do it as cheaply as possible as once you've got some time on a big bike you won't want to ride the 125 and you won't keep it after you pass. Also, unless you just plan on doing a CBT every 2 years you will definitely progress within that time so £4k on a 125 is daft.
I had a 125 for a while. By the time of doing the DAS i could ride a bike without thinking about it too much. But then again I reckon I would have been fine doing the DAS straight away as riding never felt difficult. Plenty of people pass via DAS.
If a bigger bike is your goal I'd not worry too much about having a 125. Do the CBT and see how you feel. You may even be given a free taster by the school for the bigger bikes before committing.
If a bigger bike is your goal I'd not worry too much about having a 125. Do the CBT and see how you feel. You may even be given a free taster by the school for the bigger bikes before committing.
Not sure I see the benefit of a 125 at your age OP. I'm doing my DAS just now, and we only had the CBT and one lesson block on a 125. Since then we've been on a 650 and it's been great. Feels more stable to me, and personally would have no interest in going back to a 125. I'll probably get a starter bike around the 650 size and learn the ropes on that.
Northernchimp said:
Cheers, so is DAS an intensive course?
It doesn't have to be, I did every Saturday for 6 weeks, with one missed. The intensive ones wrap it up in 3 or 4 consecutive days. There's pro's and cons to both, but either way you end up being able to ride any bike without L plates subject to budget.I would agree with the DAS course option, not sure on the new rules since I did mine but this was what I did just before the rules changed.
I was late 20's and had experience driving bikes off road before, CBT done in a day then straight onto the 500cc bikes, as I knew how to ride already I got on the 500cc ones early while the complete novices stayed on the 125's.
It was all pretty straight forward and once passed I bought a CBR600rr as my first proper road bike
I was obviously very careful with it while I got to know it and gained more experience, had I not already ridden bikes before off road I maybe wouldn't have gone straight for one of those, but if you are sensible enough to control yourself then no reason not to get straight on a bigger bike, it only goes as fast as you let it anyway and you presumably have plenty experience of the road with cars.
I always say its the other road users that you have to worry about mainly, some real idiots around sometimes.
I think you would be bored of a 125 very quickly, you could always get one of the mid range types brought out for the new rules, I borrowed a MT-03 recently when my bike was getting its pickerl (MOT here) and it was actually pretty decent, smooth and enough power around town etc (Didn't test on open roads as I only went to work and back with it) it was juts a bit small for me though, I was glad to get back on my XT660x afterwards.
If you needed to you could also restrict a bigger bike to fit with the power restrictions of a CBT, then de-restrict it later.
I was late 20's and had experience driving bikes off road before, CBT done in a day then straight onto the 500cc bikes, as I knew how to ride already I got on the 500cc ones early while the complete novices stayed on the 125's.
It was all pretty straight forward and once passed I bought a CBR600rr as my first proper road bike
I was obviously very careful with it while I got to know it and gained more experience, had I not already ridden bikes before off road I maybe wouldn't have gone straight for one of those, but if you are sensible enough to control yourself then no reason not to get straight on a bigger bike, it only goes as fast as you let it anyway and you presumably have plenty experience of the road with cars.
I always say its the other road users that you have to worry about mainly, some real idiots around sometimes.
I think you would be bored of a 125 very quickly, you could always get one of the mid range types brought out for the new rules, I borrowed a MT-03 recently when my bike was getting its pickerl (MOT here) and it was actually pretty decent, smooth and enough power around town etc (Didn't test on open roads as I only went to work and back with it) it was juts a bit small for me though, I was glad to get back on my XT660x afterwards.
If you needed to you could also restrict a bigger bike to fit with the power restrictions of a CBT, then de-restrict it later.
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