Not sure if this is the most appropriate forum - mods please feel free to move

I've finally taken the plunge and have booked my CBT for a few weeks time.

Never ridden a bike before, so the day itself should give me a flavour - I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy it so will consider getting hold of a bike to trundle around on - depending on how I get on with that, think about a full licence etc etc but that's way in the future.

I've been looking at the CBR 125 which seems to get excellent reviews, recommended as a novice bike, reasonable cheap second hand and looks cool

However, I'm 6 feet 2" tall and a fatty boom boom at 18 stone - will a) the bike be too small and b ) go faster than 20mph??

Any advice welcome on the subject whatsoever (including other bikes etc) as I know precisely zero

Edited 29 May, 201016 yr by Timmyboy

Prepare to become addicted.

I'd suggest not bothering buying a 125 unless you are really sure you won't do the full license. You'll want to move up ASAP and there isn't THAT much difference in the prices.

125's feel a bit toy-like to be honest. Faster than you'd think but never as fast as you'd like. Being a bigger bloke you might find issues with a lack of torque and you might look like you're riding a monkey bike.

Do your CBT, if you're going to do direct access etc save your pennies for a cheap bandit or a Fazer you'll get longer out of it.

Edited 29 May, 201016 yr by Aspman

I was in exactly the same position a few years ago and in fact your post is almost identical to some I made at the time. I rubbished the 125 route at the time as they were so pathetically slow and wanted to go straight for the bigger bikes with an intensive course for direct access. However good friends of mine who'd ridden motorbikes for years convinced me to stick with the 125 and work my way up so I sat my CBT as normal then bought a Honda CBR125 which I rode for a good chunk of the summer until it was too cold and shortly after sat my direct access test and then bought a Suzuki SV650S. My view is the opposite of above in that I think it was the right choice for me going with a 125, their acceleration isn't bad in town but they run out of puff at around 50mph and getting them to 70mph is tough and pretty noisy. On the other hand though it's good to get to grips with something that isn't powerful as a stepping stone up to something faster and if you do it right you can sell the 125 on without losing much money, tax is very low and the fuel economy is very good.

What particularly convinced me about going with the 125 was that I did unfortunately crash it by making the classic error of going round a corner I couldn't see right round and hitting a spread of gravel - by the time I saw it I couldn't do anything as there wasn't enough room to brake which meant the bike fell to the ground. I came off almost immediately while both the bike and I were sliding down the road and eventually came to a halt in a ditch with the bike just up from me. I had my full protective gear on so I was fine aside from a large friction burn on the arm I'd slid down the road on but it could have been far worse on a more powerful bike particularly as they're quite a bit heavier. While it was a fairly painful lesson it was an extremely valuable one because once you know what it's like to come off the bike it does change your riding or at least it did in my case, with my 650 I've never crashed it as I'm much more cautious now on corners.

John

Agree with John!

Best bike for a large bloke about 5 years ago was the Honda Varadero 125 as it could cope with a 20 stone 6ft4 bloke and didnt look daft when riding it

Things may have changed but for a 125 its a good start!

Good Luck!

Tim , do the cbt and see how you go , i used to teach cbt's a while back , just have a go and get a feel for what you want , then have a sit on stuff and go from there really , dont forget the cost of decent protective gear , it soon adds up

Talk to the guys doing the training they will have a lot of experience of this , when i was doing it there was no restrictions so you could go from a 125 to an r1 literally and thats frankly stupid , try to find a few people with experience to follow , its like when you pass your car test , you have to learn to ride not just pass a test thats just a step to allow you to learn.

You could try a trail bike for size

Thanks for the replies - very useful.

Agree with Pete and John - I want to get some good experience under my belt on a 125 before thinking about anything else, in no hurry to get on the faster stuff - my poor modded Octavia is there for the power thrills, albeit a different league to the sports bikes.

The Varadero looks interesting but is a chunk more money than the CBR 125's but I don't want to look like a nob riding a mini moto

Any other suggestions bike wise?

I'm a couple of miles away from Fowlers so I might do as you suggest Pete and go and waste their time for a bit!

I suggest an R125, full size YZF frame and 4 stroke controllability, if that sort of thing floats your boat.

I agree it's good to start off on the 125 route or restricted bike route - get used to perils of motorcycling, like gravel, potholes, manhole covers and slippery white lines first.

I had great fun on a MBX 80 for many months, before moving on to 200's/ 250s and then 550cc +

Currently have a Yamaha Fazer 600, which is a great bike. I sat on a Yamaha YZR 125 a few weeks ago, which seems quite high ( I'm 5ft 7 ) and gets good reviews.

Another idea might be to go for one of the middleweight bikes, that you can get restricted, and then remove the restriction later once you feel ready.

Either way, hope you have many miles of happy biking.

Don't bank it over, else you likely to go slide about.

A 125 in total weighs in at 200-230 lbs. Its is really too lightweight for you and the frame will be too small making operating foot controls difficult. See if the Test people won't let you ride something bigger for training/test purposes. With your height/weight, I'd say at least a 500 - no reason why it couldn't be limited for power output purposes until you pass.

In terms of simple mechanics, you weigh more than a 125 bike and are going to be perched relatively high-up. This will pull the centre of gravity away (upwards and backwards) from where it normally sits (junction of the cylinder block and crankcase). This, I would suggest, would have the effect of making the control envelope for the bike narrower than usual. You might find, with that weight distribution, that you won't be able to bank as far over on corners before one of the wheels lets go - especially when banked-over, going over thermoplastic road line-markings/drain covers etc, potholes, in the wet. Also, because the power ouput of a 125 is only 12-15 HP the tyres have quite a narrow aspect ratio. So there's not much edge avaialble when the bike's banked over.

If they do restrct you to a 125, then be very careful.

Losing some weight might help.

Nick

Edited 1 June, 201016 yr by Clunkclick

Food for thought Nick, thanks.

I've actually booked the CBT now for a couple of weeks - I think they use Honda CG's which are supposedly ok for bigger blokes.

I've done a load of reading the past week or so including a load of bike forums, and I'm beginning to conclude that the general risk of motorcycle riding isn't worth it at the moment, especially given I'm a new dad etc. Sounds defeatist I know but that's the impression I've formed.

But anyway, the CBT will be a fun new experience either way

My experience is somewhat dated - 30 years ago. I was 5'10" then and about 10.5 stone, and with the low seats and small frames on the jap bikes (I was riding a CB 125 then) meant that , with my feet on the rests, my lower leg was always positioned 90 degrees to my upper leg - not good - but apparently good enough for the DOT numbskulls. This made operating the foot gearshift difficult and painful on long journeys as it put a strain on hamstrings/cartildge going up the range.

Used to avoid the CG prefix Hondas (They are not still knocking those out, are they ?) as they were essentially low-cost basic commuter bikes with un responsive push-rod actuated valve engines (For economy ?) - virtually unrevvable. So, if you got into trouble you couldn't use the rev band of the meagre 12HP to get out the way.

Even in those days, with 22 million vehicles on the UK roads, the official statistics said you were 20 times more likely to come a cropper than a car driver. Now, with 25 million vehicles, including more motorcycles and more powerful ones, and the gross detrioration in the road surfaces, that figure has got to be higher. I say, if you can afford it, car for commuting, motorcycle for recreation.

I say that all that training on a 125 teaches you to do is to ride a 125. Riding any of the larger ccs and heavier bikes is a totally different experience, IMHO.

Nick

Edited 1 June, 201016 yr by Clunkclick

Agree, but I think the crucial point about spending a bit of time on a 125 is roadcraft, positioning, lifesavers and generally becoming used to the exposure sitting atop an engine instead of inside a metal cocoon.

I never felt safe on a bike till I was on a 400-600cc. Better brakes, more power, more rubber ,less 'toy like'.

But you have to learn at your own pace and remember if you make a mistake on a bike it's going to hurt, a lot.

Oh , the CBT was one of the most fun things I have done in a long long time

I did mine on the 4th January many many moons ago

It was fantastic

I sat the night before trying to get on .to my head , that the clutch pedal was in your hand come on...how strrange is that

But hey , the first gear change on the CBT , that was it

Yes , be prepared to be hooked , I was it was great......

Oh dont worry about anything now , just have fun

Sarah

Well, I took the CBT on Saturday just gone and now have a nice certificate

Tremendous good fun. The instructors were excellent and the other 5 people were all complete novices and all riding the same geared 125's - not a scooter brandishing teenager in sight.

Was a bit nervous but quickly left once on the bike. Complete the 4 ish hours of training with no problems, then took to the road for a 10 minute wobble back to the base. That first road ride was the worst bit I think, felt just like it did when I was first in a car - too many things to think about and not really feeling in control.

Had a spot of lunch then another 2 hour session with the instructor - nice young chap, amusingly sat inbetween his 2 pupils on a 600cc Yamaha sports bike making lots of amusing noises behind me

Felt fine by the end of the day and perfectly 'natural' - eager to get some more riding in to get some more experience.

Took the CBT on a Honda CG125 - way too small, knees up around chin! I'd already narrowed a list of potentials prior to the CBT, and the short list was down to 2 until today - a Honda CBF125 or a Varadero.

Sat on a CBF today - considering it's a replacement for the CG, it's noticeably bigger and would probably suit me ok, but, the Varadero (also sat on today) is just so much nicer and feels really weighty in comparison. Good shout there swordstoke, that's what I'm aiming for. Pleased to find insurance will be around £100 which seems extremely cheap considering I'm a new rider and it will be sat outside on the driveway, albeit to a ground anchor. If I'm patient looks like I can get a 2007 updated version with fuel injection for around 2k.

Congrats mate - have fun biking!

Nice one!!!!

Glad you enjoyed it , you will have more fun now

Sarah

Ride carefully

I would go for a used ER6 Kawasaki if it was me, and get a restrictor kit fitted. That way there is not to much peril from the loud handle whilst learning the ropes and they are a fantastic bike to transition to. Go for the N model and there is less to break if you dropped it one day.

When your ready / qualified, you could remove the restrictor kit and then you are away. You could buy a good used ER6 for the price of a CBR125 with a bit of shopping around I reckon. The restrictor kit's normally sit in the inlet tract so are easy to both fit, and remove.

http://www.google.co.uk/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=ER6&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=YaQgTLPmD4KM0gS7-pXvDw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCEQsAQwAA

Congratulations BTW Welcome to the club.

Edited 22 June, 201015 yr by fluffmeister

Well done

Versys, ER, SV, CB. plenty to choose from and all good bikes

I'm a similar size to you too, did my CBT on an SR125 looked like donkey kong on the thing but still could keep up with the flow of traffic even if it felt a little unstable at times. I then did a DAS course on a CB600F a month or so later with no practice in between. The bigger bike felt much more stable and so much easier to ride for me. I spread my DAS course out doing the odd day over a number of weeks as I wasn't up for the 3 days and do a test thing. Passed the test with no minors

Then one of the guys at work gave me a 1998 ZZR600 as it needed a bit of work. Rebuilt the brakes, fitted new brake hoses, changed the oil, did the valve shims (cams out job every 6000 miles ) and its not too bad to ride. Didn't have any probs riding it after my test, its not exactly a savage sports bike but 90bhp is enough to make it feel fast enough for me! You obviously dont have to pin the throttle wide open while you are still new to it after your test, as long as you keep that in mind it should keep you out of too many tricky situations

I took my bike test in 2008, did CBT then full DAS a fortnight later. The 500/600 bikes are SOOOOOO much easier to ride than the 125s. I did a CBT then a 3 day DAS & cost all in was about £600. You then have to budget for kit - if you ride in tracksuit & trainers you're an idiot and it WILL hurt eventually! A lot of money, but when I get on my ZZR1100 on a sunny day & blast past the cagers I know it was money well spent.

Please bear in mind, you CAN NOT ride a big bike with restrictors until you pass an A2 (I think it's still called that - essentially a test on a big bike that's shorter than a full DAS test) test. Your CBT limits you to a 125cc with less than 14.5 bhp (or thereabouts). The A2 license lets you ride a big bike restricted to 33BHP and the A1 lets you ride what you want. DAS is the A1 test.

If you're nervous about the risk of a big bike, do A2 & ride a bigger bike restricted - nothing more dangerous in biking than not being able to stop or get out of the way in time - a 125 will do neither. Even the Ninja 250 (33bhp stock, so A2 friendly) will do 90+ and is a stunning bike to ride - so much more planted than a 125.

I occasionally ride my missus' 06 CBR125R & it terrifies me - wobbly, slow, poor handling & brakes. It oozes budget, budget, budget. I hate riding it, and not just because of the performance - it just feels dangerous!!!

One thing though - every car you own in your life (unless you happen to be extraordinarily wealthy) will disappoint in comparison. You are part of the bike, your body is the control mechanism, you've got seemingly limitless power and overtaking is easy. The limit is you. It's incredible, fantastic, amazing and absolutely the best thing you will ever do in your whole life.

Can you tell I'm a convert?

Also don't be afraid of a big bike going fast,

It will only go as fast as your right hand wants it too.

You could aways buy a Scooter here's one like mine

It's incredible, fantastic, amazing and absolutely the best thing you will ever do in your whole life.

Sorry Steve, I have to disagree with you. It is absolutely the SECOND best thing you will ever do in your whole life

I'm around the same size as you (6'1") and I did DAS when I was 21. I did the whole lot on an ER5 and then bought a Yamaha Fazer 600. I then went to a Suzuki SV650S and then a Honda CBR600. Current bike is a BMW R1150GSA.

This bike is the most comfortable bike I have ever owned, the most fun to ride as a result. The other bikes were too small and the design kept way too much weight on my wrists as you were always leant forward (apart from the Fazer).

I would have a GSA again and a Fazer, but none of the others.

Regards

Tom