Help please!

Hi & welcome to the forum View attachment 2656

Well, your Dad had a bike so in theory, whats good for the goose is good for the gander. But seriously, you need a mode of transport for getting to work & back as public transport is costly & unreliable. Motorcycles are cheaper to purchase, run & maintain that cars in general.

Regarding the clothing & helmet, whether you ride a 50cc scooter right through to a sports bike you should always make sure you are wearing suitable protective clothing. You might think you are the best rider in the world & wont crash but dont forget the prick in the car that hasnt seen you. Kids on scooters think they look cool in their tracksuits & trainers, or shorts & t-shirts but trust me, it fucking hurts when skin hits tarmac mate. When it comes to protective clothing, boots & helmets, buy the best you can afford to be honest.

Triumph Bonneville is a good sensible bike to start with & probably considerably cheaper to insure than a sportsbike at the age of 21. Once you got experience & no claims bonus under your belt then the bigger, sportier bikes become more affordable.

 

Oh & good luck convincing your folks! View attachment 2657

 

I havent seen statistics but i would imagine the majority of motorcycle accidents are at speeds between 30mph-40mph (although i may be wrong). Im basing that theory on that being the common speed limits in built up areas & towns etc which are heavy in traffic (car drivers) that dont see motorcyclists, low speed rider errors, plus its the 30mph-40mph roads that generally have more manhole covers (ideally positioned in the centre of the road to fuck up unsuspecting motorcyclist when wet) & road markings which can also be slippery.

If i am correct on my theory then surely falling off or getting knocked off a scooter at 40mph (flat out) will hurt just as much as it would if you were doing 40mph on a sportsbike, so why dress differently?

 

You could possibly force the good mood with flowers, chocolates, alcohol etc :biggrin:

 

Welcome to the forum Ant, it's good to see a young fella interested in bikes.

Have you actually spoken to your parents about getting a bike yet or are you just worried that they are going to say no?

I was very lucky as I had my first bike when I was 12 and a full bike licence when I was 15 1/2 (a long time ago and not in the UK).

With regards to your first bike I think you are looking at is a good choice but do not buy brand new one as you are going to fall off and scrape and break it.

Get a decent second hand one then you are not going to loose too much money when you change up.

As far as bike gear goes P19DJG is spot on, I would go for textile kit first off as though Leathers may look cool they are not great in wet weather.

Also do not buy a cheap helmet get a decent brand and one that fits properly different makes are different shapes.

The T100 is also a brilliant choice for your first big bike.

Anyway best of luck with your parents.

 

Ditto what the others have mentioned....also...find a decent training school one that teaches you to ride and not just pass a test, best of luck convincing your parents...although I feel your going to upset them anyway...

 

As above.......good luck convincing them. With your own transport they won't have to be a taxi service for you :upyeah:

my parents bought me a Honda mb5, second hand for about 100 pounds when I was 16. First time out I came off on some ice in a pair of jeans and scrapped my left leg quite badly, so as said before invest in the best equipment you can afford and enjoy

 

Hi Ant welcome to the forum. Always a difficult one persuading parents its a good idea to have a motorbike, my son who is 19 rides but his mum and I are both riders so we could hardly say no. So long as you get some decent training, do your CBT and buy a half decent 125 you should be fine. Should be able to pick up a decent safe helmet for about £50 or £60, waterproof jacket and trousers with impact protection would be highly recommended together with leather gloves and a decent pair of boots; even using budget items you could spend £200 - £300 new. May be worth checking e-bay for some second hand riding gear, but I would always go new with a helmet, try plenty on to find a good tight fit, a full face helmet is probably safer than open face.

A good argument for going for a motorbike is insurance costs; we checked how much it would cost to insure our lad on a crappy little car once he had passed his car test and the best result was £3600!!! At the time KTM were doing a years free insurance if you bought a new KTM Duke 125 for £3600, so it was a no-brainer, we bought the KTM which he did his test on. Ran it for a year then he sold it and bought a 33BHP Ducati Multistrada 620 for what he sold the KTM for. With a year's no claims he insured the Ducati for £600.00 this year with another year's no claims he is insured for £350.00.

Good luck and if you do get out on a bike and remember to treat all motorists like they have not seen you.

 

Bloody hell, Ant - you've actually managed to start a thread which has only elicited sensible replies. A definite first for the site! All the above is good advice and worth taking heed of. With regards to apparel - buy the best you can afford. Simples! As Richard says, only buy a brand new helmet - a used one may have been dropped, rendering it unsafe. To expand on Pete's response, I think training is very important. I passed my test way back in 1979 when there wasn't much in the way of training, the test was a piece of piss and there wasn't anything like the volume of traffic on the road that there is now. Not only will it make you a better rider and help to keep you alive but if you emphasise your willingness to get decent instruction it could be a bit of a leverage point with your Mum? Best of luck, pal. (And welcome to about the best fun you can have with your clothes on!) B

 

If your thinking of clothing then the London bike show is on in Feb and will be a good place to view lots different clothing and will also enable you to grab a bargain...

 

My mother was dead against me having a bike ,but my dad bought an old Royal Enfield to do up ,so that convinced her to let me get an old bike to restore that was when I was 14 or so ,when I started work I got a moped but both of my parents said I had to get my bike training and test ,which I did, so might be better if you tell them your getting training from the outset might set there minds at rest,as for the gear good advice already been given E bay and local papers or even in the spring Boot sales but buy a new helmet ,good luck :upyeah:

 

Although you don't need to it may not be a bad idea to pass your theory test and hazard perception tests to prove to your Mam that you're taking the safety issue seriously and understanding the rules of the road before you venture out?

Good luck mate, it's taken me 13 years to persuade my wife to let me!!

 

Pussy! x

 

Thank god for that I thought this was going to be the first and most likely only post with only sensible answers....

 

Cunt! x

 

I would be offended if it wasn't true :upyeah: