Advice on costs etc of obtaining my motorbike license
Discussion
Hi there, I'm relatively new to these forums and i've been thinking about getting my motorbike license for years now, Turned 21 in November of last year and i'm aware I can now take a direct access course 
Has anyone got any advice on whats involved and roughly how much and how long it will take to complete the course, I'm a complete novice with absoloutely no experience of anything with less than 4 wheels. I live in Cheshire and i've been looking round for training centres but they all seem to say different things about whats involved, is it CBT - Theory - Pratical or theory first, is there any time restrictions between the CBT and the theory/practical tests etc?
Also any information on what first bike to buy would be great, I was thinking along the lines of a Yamaha YZF thundercat 600, i've seen decent examples from between 1k to 2k and there relatively cheap to run (apparently) for someone with little experience, Bearing in mind that I only want to keep the initial bike for about a year before I move onto something like a GSX-R 600
Thanks in advance.
Chris
Has anyone got any advice on whats involved and roughly how much and how long it will take to complete the course, I'm a complete novice with absoloutely no experience of anything with less than 4 wheels. I live in Cheshire and i've been looking round for training centres but they all seem to say different things about whats involved, is it CBT - Theory - Pratical or theory first, is there any time restrictions between the CBT and the theory/practical tests etc?
Also any information on what first bike to buy would be great, I was thinking along the lines of a Yamaha YZF thundercat 600, i've seen decent examples from between 1k to 2k and there relatively cheap to run (apparently) for someone with little experience, Bearing in mind that I only want to keep the initial bike for about a year before I move onto something like a GSX-R 600
Thanks in advance.
Chris
hobo said:
How much of a flid are you ?
What's a flid?
Anyway, in short, do your CBT first, valid for 2 years, then the rest. Will give you a taste of biking... as for the first bike, I get the general feeling on here is get what you are comfortable with, if you restrain yourself you can't really go wrong...
Have a look on the first couple of pages of the forum, you'll find all the info you need!
Hi mate, I'm 22 and did my direct access a year ago.
CBT first, I think this "runs out" after 2 years (it may be 1 I can't remember). Get your theory done asap. You can do this before or after your CBT, you just have to get it done before your test.
In terms of time scales. I did my theory test before my CBT. Then it was a case of CBT on the monday, wednesday got on a CB500 for the day, thursday I rode it all morning and took my test on the thursday afternoon. It had ridin a bit before but not much. If you have a car license its a massive bonus as you don't have to learn all about the rules of the road and you're much better at judging gaps at roundabouts etc.
It cost me £510 not including the theory test. I've heard of people paying less but the centre was closest to me.
Hope this helps mate
JIM
CBT first, I think this "runs out" after 2 years (it may be 1 I can't remember). Get your theory done asap. You can do this before or after your CBT, you just have to get it done before your test.
In terms of time scales. I did my theory test before my CBT. Then it was a case of CBT on the monday, wednesday got on a CB500 for the day, thursday I rode it all morning and took my test on the thursday afternoon. It had ridin a bit before but not much. If you have a car license its a massive bonus as you don't have to learn all about the rules of the road and you're much better at judging gaps at roundabouts etc.
It cost me £510 not including the theory test. I've heard of people paying less but the centre was closest to me.
Hope this helps mate
JIM
Cheers guys,
Does the theory test have a time limit like the CBT's 2 Years and is it structured similar to the driving theory?
just can't wait to get my hands on a motorbike, working out in Buxton at the moment so it's such a ballache driving up and down the cat and fiddle road every day knowing that the sun will be out soon and I could be riding there
think i'll book my theory and CBT asap then sort out the test shortly after then take a few bikes out for a test
Does the theory test have a time limit like the CBT's 2 Years and is it structured similar to the driving theory?
just can't wait to get my hands on a motorbike, working out in Buxton at the moment so it's such a ballache driving up and down the cat and fiddle road every day knowing that the sun will be out soon and I could be riding there
think i'll book my theory and CBT asap then sort out the test shortly after then take a few bikes out for a test
I just got my first bike in December I was looking at a Thundercat as a first bike but decided it was a bit too much of a good thing. For a novice rider I would recommend anyone of the following:
Yamaha Fazer
Suzuki SV650S
Suzuki Bandit
Kawasaki ER6
Any of these will cost about 1/2 1/3 to insure as a Thundercat as well as being lighter and much easier to handle. They will also be plenty fast enough. (I have SV650S)
Yamaha Fazer
Suzuki SV650S
Suzuki Bandit
Kawasaki ER6
Any of these will cost about 1/2 1/3 to insure as a Thundercat as well as being lighter and much easier to handle. They will also be plenty fast enough. (I have SV650S)
Alex@POD said:
hobo said:
How much of a flid are you ?
What's a flid?
Talksteer said:
I just got my first bike in December I was looking at a Thundercat as a first bike but decided it was a bit too much of a good thing. For a novice rider I would recommend anyone of the following:
Yamaha Fazer
Suzuki SV650S
Suzuki Bandit
Kawasaki ER6
Any of these will cost about 1/2 1/3 to insure as a Thundercat as well as being lighter and much easier to handle. They will also be plenty fast enough. (I have SV650S)
Yamaha Fazer
Suzuki SV650S
Suzuki Bandit
Kawasaki ER6
Any of these will cost about 1/2 1/3 to insure as a Thundercat as well as being lighter and much easier to handle. They will also be plenty fast enough. (I have SV650S)
The Fazer and Tcat are very similar bikes so I don't understand why you would perceive one being too much for a novice in comparison to the other. The ER6 isn't that different either, and the other two aren't all that far away.
Personally I wouldn't move from any of them to a GSXR 600; wouldn't see the point, they all put out about the same torque and on the road the Yam and Kawa would probably be just as quick whilst being comfier. One of the above followed a year later by a 750? Or get a cheap hack you wont lose too much cash on in a year, like a GS500 or ER-5?
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