mdk1 it's me Johnp.

mdk1 it's me Johnp.

Morning JP

Thanks chaps.

Bennets: £106

Carole Nash: £171

Ebike: £223

1st Quote: £147.63 (they were also helpful enough to show a quote from Norwich Union - £513 )

In fairness, Carole Nash included breakdown cover and legal.

Sale now agreed, good stuff! I've been getting a little nervous at my first proper bike journey being a 3.5 hour marathon and a couple of friends have expressed the same concern, so I might end up getting the bike collected - got a quote of £78 so far (Portsmouth to Bristol) which seems like a steal, so could get the train down and catch a lift back with the courier. Bit of a cop out but I'd rather be on roads I know for the first few journeys - it's the navigation bit that was making me sweat a little.

Thanks all for the input, this has been a really useful thread.

hi i passed my A2 test in april on my 125 and then bought a 250 kawasaki eliminator (custom/cruiser type) which is quite a big bike and good for us erm larger folk

i used dial direct for my 125 and it cost me £72 for fully comp on it with it being parked outside etc and only £25 more for the 250..

i bought a lot of my gear from george whites in swindon they have a shop soiled auto jumble every weekend with some of the ex display stuff and some of it is mega cheap and also odd sizes, i had a textile jacket with ce armour etc for £15 last time..

welcome to the club mate i'm sure you will love it once you get out on your own a bit

Hadn't heard of that George White's place - looks quite good, I work in Swindon so may pop over there.

That insurance seems crazy cheap - all my fully comp quotes were coming out at around £300 - I wonder if it's because the Varadero is so damn expensive?

I've just bought the insurance from Bennets - added legal and injury cover at the last minute (adding legal gives a discount on injury) as I've been feeling strangely mortal since considering this bike lark.

I've officially bottled riding the bike home - I've got it being collected and delivered for £66 now, seemed like the most sensible option. Should be arriving Sunday morning - then got a ground anchor to fit

I found insurance expensive to start with but dropped rapidly. Started out at £300 for TPF&T and was down to £80 after 3 years for a ZXR400 (grp14).

Well the bike arrived on Sunday. Courier was a bit of a cowboy unfortunately and strapped it to the side of his van rather than on a stand in the middle. Consequently picked up a nasty rub mark over the course of the journey (it was padded, but not sufficiently so it seems), but he's agreed to fork out for the relevant touch up paint - £26 quid's worth - considering the job only paid £66 it's a reasonable gesture, although I suppose I could insist on going through his insurance. Shame though as apart from a couple of tiny scratches and a couple of rusty bolts on the top box fitting it was immaculate.

Got the ground anchor into the driveway with no problems - what a fantastic product. Was out all day on Sunday so took the bike out for a spin for the first time this evening - fantastic experience.

Must admit, I was plenty nervous about taking it out simply due to the size of the thing - it literally dwarfs the bikes used on the CBT, but once it's moving everything makes sense and it feels small again.

All the kit fits nice and comfy, got a high viz in the post to finish things off and a book Pete recommended coming from Amazon (the Roadcraft one which seems to receive universal praise). The only thing that was slightly unnerving was maybe 3 times in my 25 minute ride, people went to pull out then stopped abruptly when they saw me - something to always watch out for I suppose. Might happen when I'm trundling round in the car as well but never really noticed.

Finally, got my first 'nod' from a proper biker too Think he probably wanted to take it back when he spotted the 'L' plates on my seemingly non-L-plate-worthy looking bike, but nice to be in the club

Enjoy and learn

Glad you had a good ride,

Always try and make eye contact with car drivers waiting at junctions, will become second nature after a while.

But if you remember only one thing " Everyone on the road is trying to kill you" was the advice given to me by my instructor.

" Everyone on the road is trying to kill you" was the advice given to me by my instructor.

Mine too along with "If it's shiny it's slippy stay the f^ck away from it".

Also turn on your light if you're not already. Helps with getting seen

Got a good deal on insurance from MCE (I haven't any no-claims so was impressed with the quote) so just placed a deposit on one of these

Collection over the weekend I hope.

Edited 13 July, 201015 yr by Keith Lard

Got a good deal on insurance from MCE (I haven't any no-claims so was impressed with the quote) so just placed a deposit on one of these

Collection over the weekend I hope.

I had to check back the original poster there.

I thought he's decided the 125 wasn't for him and he'd bought a GSXR. Next post would be from casualty.

Nice bike. Not for me though. Too fast for the road, it's almost a waste.

To the OP - purchase, read, practice & perfect the information in here. It'll definitely save you a lot of pain & upset and it'll possibly save your life.

To the OP - purchase, read, practice & perfect the information in here. It'll definitely save you a lot of pain & upset and it'll possibly save your life.

He's got it ordered steve , its on an earlier post , i recommended it as well mate

Yup good advice gents - it arrived yesterday and I'm mid way through the first chapter

He's got it ordered steve , its on an earlier post , i recommended it as well mate

Oops sorry - I'm popping in and out of this thread whilst at work.

OP - get a biker mate with a heavy bike to show you countersteering. With the bike on its wheels and you sat on it (feet down) steer left and right whilst stationary and feel the weight shift. It goes the OPPOSITE way you expect it too; This is counter-steering (or positive steering as I've heard it called), and it's the only way to get some heavier bikes to go round bends (it's also how you steer any bike, but you're probably unaware of it). It makes perfect sense when you feel it happen this way...

OP - get a biker mate with a heavy bike to show you countersteering. With the bike on its wheels and you sat on it (feet down) steer left and right whilst stationary and feel the weight shift. It goes the OPPOSITE way you expect it too; This is counter-steering (or positive steering as I've heard it called), and it's the only way to get some heavier bikes to go round bends (it's also how you steer any bike, but you're probably unaware of it). It makes perfect sense when you feel it happen this way...

Takes a bit of getting used to, but soon becomes second nature

Funny you should mention that today, as I was practicing this earlier. Went out for my second ride today as the weather has been appalling this last week, did a 20 mile round trip from Bristol to Bath and back - very enjoyable.

Interesting that counter steering was only really mentioned on the CBT about 15 minutes before the end of the session, yet it appears it is fundamental to bike control. I must admit, on the first ride earlier in the week it did feel a bit strange on the tighter corners where I just managed to get around, slowly, by shifting my weight around the bike.

Low and behold, a subtle counter steer on entering the corner does this weight manipulation for you and automatically gives the perfect lean angle I was trying to manually atain.

Lots to learn

I'm quite intrigued with all this. I'm seriously thinking about doing my bike test as I have kid no.2 on the way and we really want to drop down to one car but I still want to keep the flexibility of having another mode of transport. However I'm stuck with the "Am I being irresponsible" thought by even considering getting on a motorbike with one young child and another on the way. I know my parents will go ape (I'm 28 so big enough and daft enough to do my own thing, but they're still my parents!) and I'm just trying to get it all squared in my own head. I don't want to spend loads of cash doing my bike test only to not put it to use. It will mainly be for commuting 7 miles back and forth to work each day and then some fun at the weekends every so often. If the weathers really bad I'll still have the option of a car but I want to be able to leave that with my wife most of the time so she's not stuck in the house all day with 2 kids.

Did you buy a helmet, gloves etc before doing your CBT or did you just borrow the training centres stuff?

I went through the same thought process as you can probably tell from my earlier posts - I did actually decide, probably 2 times, that I was *definitely* not going to get a bike just because I'd be (or, I am currently) putting myself in danger for no real reason other than enjoyment.

Spoke to a load of people though and put my mind at rest to some degree, but I'm very much approaching it from a 'safety is paramount' point of view.

Didn't buy anything before the CBT, borrowed everything from the CBT place - I'd never ridden a bike before CBT day so that was going to be the decider for me.

Did the CBT on a Saturday, went to a big bike shop in Bristol on the Monday and bought a helmet and boots just to get the ball rolling

Having been through the process, my best advice would be to do as I do - book the CBT and enjoy it. If it's not for you, then it's only £120 down the pan.

I went through the same thought process as you can probably tell from my earlier posts - I did actually decide, probably 2 times, that I was *definitely* not going to get a bike just because I'd be (or, I am currently) putting myself in danger for no real reason other than enjoyment.

Spoke to a load of people though and put my mind at rest to some degree, but I'm very much approaching it from a 'safety is paramount' point of view.

Didn't buy anything before the CBT, borrowed everything from the CBT place - I'd never ridden a bike before CBT day so that was going to be the decider for me.

Did the CBT on a Saturday, went to a big bike shop in Bristol on the Monday and bought a helmet and boots just to get the ball rolling

Having been through the process, my best advice would be to do as I do - book the CBT and enjoy it. If it's not for you, then it's only £120 down the pan.

Thanks for the advice and info. My local training centre only charge £90 so like you say it's not too bad. I've mucked about on a mates farm on an old CG125 so have a fairly good idea of gears and things already and that was back in my youth bombing about with no protective gear at all so confidence isn't an issue lol although I had a lot fewer responsibilities then. My family are probably going to see this as some sort of assisted suicide, have to get my best political hat on and change their minds!

Ask yourself honestly, are you a knob in a car? If you are then don't get a bike. You'll end up hurt. If you can't exercise restraint in your car then a bike isn't for you. This might sound brutal, but it is true.

The majority of guys who make up the accident statistics are the ones you see coming. They're the ones that pass you on blind bends or tailgate you when you're in the car. If you can honestly say you're not that guy and you aren't agressive behind the wheel, you'll probably make a good, smooth (and hence fast) biker. If you're that all-or-nothing, must get past, must go faster type of guy, then I'd recommend you stay in a vehicle with seatbelts and airbags. Bikes don't forgive mistakes.

Interesting that counter steering was only really mentioned on the CBT about 15 minutes before the end of the session, yet it appears it is fundamental to bike control. I must admit, on the first ride earlier in the week it did feel a bit strange on the tighter corners where I just managed to get around, slowly, by shifting my weight around the bike.

Lots to learn

and move your butt too. Positioning your body correctly before the corner makes everything flow so much better and has the added benefit of stopping you getting a sore back because it's getting some movement.

Ask yourself honestly, are you a knob in a car? If you are then don't get a bike. You'll end up hurt. If you can't exercise restraint in your car then a bike isn't for you. This might sound brutal, but it is true.

The majority of guys who make up the accident statistics are the ones you see coming. They're the ones that pass you on blind bends or tailgate you when you're in the car. If you can honestly say you're not that guy and you aren't agressive behind the wheel, you'll probably make a good, smooth (and hence fast) biker. If you're that all-or-nothing, must get past, must go faster type of guy, then I'd recommend you stay in a vehicle with seatbelts and airbags. Bikes don't forgive mistakes.

No, I'm not like that. I've passed my IAM test in a car so drive to a reasonable standard. You've made some very valid points though.

Well it's been a very enjoyable summer which feels like it's coming to an end more's the pity.

I've managed to get around 1000 miles under my belt including 4 round trips Bristol to Swindon for my daily commute. Haven't had any really nasty moments as yet, just a few stalls, a few "why did I do that" moments and some people overtaking way too close - both cars and bikes, strangely.

The whole biking community thing is a welcome surprise - I honestly never realised it existed before getting on a bike, but now I get nodded at on each and every journey

Inevitably, I'm wanting a more powerful bike already. Not necessarily from an out and out speed point of view, but the 125 is just too slow in a few situations - overtaking slower moving traffic on a dual carriageway up a hill as one random example.

Will probably try and do my theory over the winter then think about getting the full licence next summer.

Question for the experienced bikers - could you give me a short description of when and how you generally filter?

Reason I ask, I've been avoiding in until my last couple of journeys just while I got my confidence to a decent level with basic bike control etc. Did my first filter a few days back while waiting at a queue for a roundabout (only really plucked up the courage as another bike overtook me and filtered). No oncoming traffic, nipped up behind the car at the head of the queue, 2nd in queue quite happy for me to do so, job done.

Same roundabout a few days later, did pretty much the same thing but there was an oncoming car - I was straddling the middle line while creeping up the side of the traffic, and the oncoming car flashed me. Looking back, it was a rash move and the chap was right to flash - the moment I saw the car I should (and could) have pulled up alongside one of the cars in the queue and waited until he passed.

Passed my theory test this morning  =

50 out of 50 for the theory questions - quite smug at that

47 out of 75 for the hazard avoidance - pass mark is 44 so pretty close. I've been using a training aid for the last couple of weeks and the hazard perception areas seemed a lot harder than I thought they would be - actually thought I did pretty well today so quite surprised at the outcome.