How much will this set me back?
Discussion
Hi everyone, first post in here so be nice... Appreciate it's probably a question that gets asked a lot. I'm looking at doing my CBT and getting a 125cc (thinking of the Honda NSR125 at the moment - opinions?) until I do my A license or Direct Access. The bike looks like it's going to cost me around £1400, with Insurance at roughly £400 - £600 for the year. But the question is what clothing am I going to need to buy? I've been looking on the web but there seems to be some many brands and different types of kit on the market; What brands should I be looking at and how much is a helmet, jacket, trousers, boots and gloves likely to set me back?
Any advice is much appreciated before I go and look around some bike shops at the weekend - fully understand I'll get a better Idead of what is good / fits better / looks better in a shop but some guidance from you knowledgeable folk would be great!
p.s read the newbie guide at the top before anyone say it
Any advice is much appreciated before I go and look around some bike shops at the weekend - fully understand I'll get a better Idead of what is good / fits better / looks better in a shop but some guidance from you knowledgeable folk would be great!
p.s read the newbie guide at the top before anyone say it
NSR - your a speedfreak then 
helmet - i was told £100 min if your going to ride a lot as they get more comfy at that sort of price. cant fault my carberg V2 (except for windnoise) & that was £99.
get a decent jacket, i paid about £80 for mine. its a 'lewis' some not very well known make but does the job & is waterproof.
gloves? err £10 upwards it seems, as long as they fit its up to you from there.
i got a complete set of almost new akito leathers off ebay for £80 a few months ago so its always worth a look there. id get the lid new though.
ps - frank thomas is shit. my £130 boots leaked after 6weeks
pps - welcome as i forgot to say it. i only started riding in january so i know what its like when you have no idea on gear (i still dont)
helmet - i was told £100 min if your going to ride a lot as they get more comfy at that sort of price. cant fault my carberg V2 (except for windnoise) & that was £99.
get a decent jacket, i paid about £80 for mine. its a 'lewis' some not very well known make but does the job & is waterproof.
gloves? err £10 upwards it seems, as long as they fit its up to you from there.
i got a complete set of almost new akito leathers off ebay for £80 a few months ago so its always worth a look there. id get the lid new though.
ps - frank thomas is shit. my £130 boots leaked after 6weeks
Edited by Hooli on Tuesday 21st August 21:12
pps - welcome as i forgot to say it. i only started riding in january so i know what its like when you have no idea on gear (i still dont)
Edited by Hooli on Tuesday 21st August 21:14
It's something you've probably heard before but it's true:
GET THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD!
At the end of the day, it's only really going to prove it's worth when it does it's job i.e. protects you when you come off, and then is not the time to find out you should have spent a bit more!
For me (been riding all of almost 2 months now!), I spent £200 on the helmet, although I would have liked to have spent more but needed everything else, as I overheard a salesman tell another customer, you can fix/afford to lose various other body parts, but your head is the most important bit!
My Alpinestars gloves cost £100. They were bought primarily on fit as I have quite long fingers & I had to go up a size to get them in anyway, and the only ones that were remotely "right" in terms of fit for an oversize glove were these.
Boots, again Alpinestars, and again, bought primarily on fit. Paid about £180 I think that's a fair reflection of a mid-range type of boot.
Leathers, £580-ish on a Spyke 2-piece. Think the only reason for buying a one-piece is to stop the 2 halves seperating if you come off; my logic for going for a 2-piece was how far are you likely to slide if you come off on a public road before you hit something anyway? Plus, again, heard this somewhere too, a one-piece is exactly that: a ONE-PIECE, meaning the chances of it fitting YOU exactly right EVERYWHERE it needs to are quite slim. At least if you go for a 2-piece you can get a little better fit on the jacket or trousers, whichever you prefer. Also, it's a bit more convenient when you get off the bike as you can take the jacket off rather than hanging the top half of a one-piece around your waist.
All in all I spent a grand buying all the gear but it depends what you want. I only ride in the dry so therefore waterproofing was dead last on my list of priorities. I didn't bother looking at textiles at all as my thinking was, if they're as good as leathers, why do companies make, & racers wear leathers?
I did most of my lessons in jeans & trainers but now I'd barely consider LOOKING at the bike now without putting all the gear on! It made a hell of a difference to my confidence too knowing that if you do come off, you going to be a lot more comfortable wearing gear that's up to the job. (do a search for veetwin's thread titled "not a good morning" )
HTH
GET THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD!
At the end of the day, it's only really going to prove it's worth when it does it's job i.e. protects you when you come off, and then is not the time to find out you should have spent a bit more!
For me (been riding all of almost 2 months now!
), I spent £200 on the helmet, although I would have liked to have spent more but needed everything else, as I overheard a salesman tell another customer, you can fix/afford to lose various other body parts, but your head is the most important bit!My Alpinestars gloves cost £100. They were bought primarily on fit as I have quite long fingers & I had to go up a size to get them in anyway, and the only ones that were remotely "right" in terms of fit for an oversize glove were these.
Boots, again Alpinestars, and again, bought primarily on fit. Paid about £180 I think that's a fair reflection of a mid-range type of boot.
Leathers, £580-ish on a Spyke 2-piece. Think the only reason for buying a one-piece is to stop the 2 halves seperating if you come off; my logic for going for a 2-piece was how far are you likely to slide if you come off on a public road before you hit something anyway? Plus, again, heard this somewhere too, a one-piece is exactly that: a ONE-PIECE, meaning the chances of it fitting YOU exactly right EVERYWHERE it needs to are quite slim. At least if you go for a 2-piece you can get a little better fit on the jacket or trousers, whichever you prefer. Also, it's a bit more convenient when you get off the bike as you can take the jacket off rather than hanging the top half of a one-piece around your waist.
All in all I spent a grand buying all the gear but it depends what you want. I only ride in the dry so therefore waterproofing was dead last on my list of priorities. I didn't bother looking at textiles at all as my thinking was, if they're as good as leathers, why do companies make, & racers wear leathers?
I did most of my lessons in jeans & trainers but now I'd barely consider LOOKING at the bike now without putting all the gear on! It made a hell of a difference to my confidence too knowing that if you do come off, you going to be a lot more comfortable wearing gear that's up to the job. (do a search for veetwin's thread titled "not a good morning" )
HTH
Edited by Centurion07 on Tuesday 21st August 21:46
Hooli said:
Centurion07 said:
I didn't bother looking at textiles at all as my thinking was, if they're as good as leathers, why do companies make, & racers wear leathers?
aerodynamics & greater protection as far as im aware.Better?
Or did you mean textiles?
Don't bother with an NSR.
All 125s are pretty much equal on performance due to the power restrictions. Only 2-strokes which are easily de-restricted are worth paying more for.
You want a CG125 <makes sign of the holy pushrods> or GS125. No real performance difference, but cheap as chips and if you buy carefully, they're completely depreciation proof.
All 125s are pretty much equal on performance due to the power restrictions. Only 2-strokes which are easily de-restricted are worth paying more for.
You want a CG125 <makes sign of the holy pushrods> or GS125. No real performance difference, but cheap as chips and if you buy carefully, they're completely depreciation proof.
jamesw2000 said:
Thanks for the responses guys, is it worth getting some textile clothing as well as leathers. Sounds stupid but what can you wear underneath them?
I almost exclusively wear textile these days - I have some summer textiles which are lightweight but not waterproof and some heavier, warm, winter textiles.They may offer less protection in a crash, but, especially the summer textiles, they're significantly more comfortable than leathers both on and off the bike - meaning I'm less likely to crash anyway. (That's my theory and I'm going to stick to it).
I still own leathers, but haven't worn them in over a year now.
Centurion07 said:
It's something you've probably heard before but it's true:
GET THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD!
But how can he tell what is the best?GET THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD!
Edited by Centurion07 on Tuesday 21st August 21:46
A £100 helmet can be every bit as good as a £400 one in terms of safety. The more expensice one probably just has some nicer reatres for comfort, and a more famous name paid to wear it on the track.
Your post goes on to list some pretty expensive kit with no justification for why you think that it is better than the cheaper stuff.
If you are starting out, and money is an issue, then buying used is a good route to go on lots of pieces of kit. May people give up biking, or get too fat for their hardly used leathers, so buying their stuff is a sensible move.
The only kit I woudl always advise buying new is the helmet, and they do not have to cost a fortune.
jamesw2000 said:
Thanks for the responses guys, is it worth getting some textile clothing as well as leathers. Sounds stupid but what can you wear underneath them?
Textile kit is great. I have Hein Gericke stuff and it is waterproof, vented, and comfortable.Leathers may possibly offer greater ability to protect you in a 100mph slide on a track, and I do have Dainese leathers for track work, but on the road, I never bother with them. The fabric kit just seems so much better on most occasions.
If you actually get out there and use your bike, then you will occasionally get caught in the rain. If you do get leathers, then I'd recommend getting a waterproof oversuit to carry with you, too. It is a bit miserable riding in soaking leather.
Good point ... when I first started I bought stuff second hand off E-Bay with no problems [Deffo not a helmet though!]
In my experiance when it comes to biking kit the cheaper offers 90% of the expensive stuffs protection ability. What you are paying for is material and build quality which means the kit last longer.
For example:
I paid £100 for a set of Alpinestar Gloves which I've done about 10'000 miles and one crash and they are still in v v good nick [I reckon I'll get at least another 2/3 years out of them]. My mate paid about £30 for a set of gloves which after 6 months the palms are worn through and they're practically dropping to bits!
I know which I think are good value for money!
In my experiance when it comes to biking kit the cheaper offers 90% of the expensive stuffs protection ability. What you are paying for is material and build quality which means the kit last longer.
For example:
I paid £100 for a set of Alpinestar Gloves which I've done about 10'000 miles and one crash and they are still in v v good nick [I reckon I'll get at least another 2/3 years out of them]. My mate paid about £30 for a set of gloves which after 6 months the palms are worn through and they're practically dropping to bits!
I know which I think are good value for money!
Centurion07 said:
Muffles said:
Centurion07, have you thought about getting a back protector? You can get a Knox one from £60, and it seems like the only thing missing from your armoury 
Can't say I had.....I was more worried about road rash than an actual "impact" per-say. Any good are they?Read a little bit down the first page and you'll see comments about the injuries and the role of the back protector!
Made me get one anyway...
Edit: I haven't actually tested one so I can't comment on how good they are, but the Knox Stowaway I have is pretty solid.
Edited by Muffles on Monday 27th August 10:34
jamesw2000 said:
I'm looking at doing my CBT and getting a 125cc (thinking of the Honda NSR125 at the moment - opinions?) until I do my A license or Direct Access.
My advice would be to just do your direct access and get a bigger bike straight away (as long as your old enough of course). You'll soon get pissed off with a 125.Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff