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

[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.