absolute beginner help needed

hi I live in walthamstow and will be starting to work in Heathrow very soon so me and my girlfriend was juggling ideas to keep costs down on travel, and one of the ideas was motorbike, I know I need a provisional licence and to start I was going to go for a cbt and see where it goes from there, so my questions are what would be a good cheap bike to get, what’s the average insurance,tax and MOT on a bike? and from starting from nothing except riding a push bike and roller blading around the streets of central London, I think I have a good idea of the roads and how crazy it can get! and would you suggest a geared or non-geared bike to start?

cheers ant

i’d suggest a scooter.

like this

http://londonbikers.com/forums/943321/honda-ps-125-scooter-2006-19k-miles

Across the city, a scooter is the most practical commuting vehicle - small, low centre of balance, very manoeuvrable, very fuel efficient and there’s generally a fair bit of storage under the seat to put a change of clothes etc in.

Since you’ll probably be ataking in a fair bit of the north circular, a proper motorbike might be a better bet as they’ve got bigger wheels which are a bit more stable at speed. They still return high mpg but you’ll have to find another way of carrying stuff. I only ever rode a CG125 for a week so can’t really comment on models.

Tax on a 125cc is £16 a year, I think I spent about £200 a year on servicing etc. when I had my scooter but I guess it depends what you have, what goes wrong and where you take it. Check the comparison websites for insurance as there’s a lot of variables.

Have you heard of GetOn? They do a free hour long taster session if you want to see how you feel on 2 wheels - few beginners tips on their website too.

http://www.geton.co.uk/

I ride to Heathrow usually at least once a week (flying somewhere or other) and talk to some of the other bikers there - many of them are airport employees who ride to work. Great thing about Heathrow is that there is free motorbike parking (apparently it’s very hard to get a free staff parking permit but anyone can park a motorbike free, including airport workers). To start with, get yourself a 125cc bike, with a 45L top box if you need to carry stuff. If you need to carry more, consider a maxi-scoot - huge amounts of storage underneath (I know an electrician who uses a 125cc Suzuki Burgman and fits all of his tools including power drill and long drill bits under the seat!).

What are you going to be doing at Heathrow?

-simon

welcome

i would say go for a 125cc scooter cheap to run and you get storage space whilst on a motorbike there is limited storage space for anything you wanna store away.

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not sure I’d put a 45L top box on it though
as it could cause serious handling probs on
such a small bike with just a few kilos load.
I’d stick to tank bag and rucksack or throw
overs to start with.

I’ve not tried scooters much, except on holidays,
so can’t really comment on their suitablity for
commuting.

Buying “cheap” can often be a false economy so be careful with what you are buying.

I’d personally get a Vespa and spend a little more.

The PS125 recommended above would be a good place to start. They are actually pretty fast, and a riot around town. Plus they have two controls, one for go and one for stop. They seem to run well on neglect so if you get it serviced it shouldn’t pose any problems.

I would say, go for a manual 125 bike, instead of a scooter. nothing against scooters, they are great in town, but I think given your likely route you are going to was to step up to something with a bit more juice quite quickly. I lasted a grand total of 2 months on my scooter before I booked my DAS and traded up, wish I had had a manual bike for that time too.

my commute is A316, A406, A4000, A40 so mostly 40mph (like anyone actually does 40! 65-70 is pretty normal on the elevated section of the A40) and I felt a bit small and slow scooting.

honda SH 125 best scooter for the money. big wheels and 70 mph 8-9 quid to fill and lasts for ever. nuff said

shows what you know about scooters then…

the vespa scooters are 5hit. poorly built, poorly designed and a coock to work on.

people are buying a look with a vespa. a honda 125 scooter or yam etc will be a better purchase.

the hondas etc also usually come with bigger wheels which adds stability

Have to agree with Matt. Me and a friend bought scooters at the same time about 6 years ago.

I got a yamaha, he got a vespa.

His was slower, heavier, more expensive, more expensive to service, had less storage and slightly smaller wheels. It looked better but that just made him more upset when it got scratched. He also got slammed with a load of bus lane fines but I don’t think that was the bikes fault :stuck_out_tongue:

Which is the main reason I’d buy one.

I’ve crashed my mate’s one a couple of times and it would have still been around today if the police didn’t impound it… Wasn’t worth paying the fee to get it out.

Going for practical reliability go Jap, going for (what some think are iconic Bikes) then Vespa. But from what you’ve said you’re after I’d go Jap clutch and gears, get yourself ready for that big bike test! :smiley:

If buying a 125 I would buy Honda simply for reliability. Either a SH125 or the PS. If money is tight get the older Dylan secondhand. If money is really tight get an Innova pizza bike. The fuel tank is less than a gallon, but it will do about 130 miles on what you can get in there!

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I ride one of these things 6 days a week. You’d rather have a honda with a wheel missing mate, trust me.

hi guys thanks for the advice, here is an answer to as many questions as i can remember, working at Heathrow supervising the car park which one i don’t know yet? i would prefer a geared bike to a twist and go! (i really cant stand the look of vespers) but saying that it also depends on insurance and running cost’s that’s why i would prefer a bike with an MOT, if tax is that cheap then there is not allot to worry about? as for money i have been out of work for two years so no savings at all so al this will be funded by my girlfriend (who will want paying back) so hence the reason why it has to be cheap as possible, and as im 28 the insurance should be a little better than a 17year old new rider,so i will be getting a full licence asap
once again thanks for the advice ant

Shailer, You’ll get as many opinions on this as there are bikes. I’d suggest a cbf125, not so much charm as the cg but it means you can get some good deals. It won’t depreciate too much if you get one a few years old and I still have fond memories of mine… Dropped it - still worked, thrashed it - still worked, didn’t put petrol in for month- still worked. You can then do your test on it if you fancy and upgrade to something bigger.

As an alternative you could try a varadero 125, harder to find but you won’t lose much money on it at all. Amazing performance too, ask woozy, he caught a few bigger bikes napping (me especially) on last weeks trip to south end.

The reason I mentioned the Innova is because, although I wouldn’t want one, a colleague commutes from Dorking to Westminster on one. He has ridden it every day since he bought it in 2007 without a hiccup. It only takes one US gallon, but he gets 130 miles on that. That’s why pizza companies love them. They cost nothing to run. Not the classy, cool or sophisticated option, but the very cheap one if money is important.

i highly recommend the more hi-tech PCX 125, the idle stop saves even more fuel!