125cc motorcycle rant =/

[chopster125]

I have been unfortunate.
i was recently discharged from the Royal Navy because of medical reasons and was gonna buy a nice big shiney car
so ok i says ill gets myself a bike and enjoy myself a bit so i gets myself an 800 quid chinese import  bad move but it got me to college and stuff so i was ok. and now im not being vain but i have been told i am a good rider not one of these mongs who put a rediculous exhaust on a 50cc moped. but im coming home and the road conditions are shit etc and i drop it. ok great im now in the club and blah blah blah.

right here goes

why is it so god damn expensive to find a decent 125cc bike in the midlands thats not a rediculous price. i like hondas im good with honda i did my cbt on one and i loved it. the law says i cant run anything bigger but the fact is i can get a 125cc second hand for about 1,200 but ive seen 1980s 600cc bikes around £550  does anyone else disagree that we should be limited becaus eof our age when we can pass our car test and straight away but what ever car.

opinions please?
sorry for the rant

[jimc]

It will cost you GBP25 a year - but join MAG (Motorcycle Action Group) and you might see some effect in Parliament.

Three new London Local groups started in the last few months.

One of the big beefs is that anyone who passes the car test (a one-off piece of piss) can then drive whatever Daddy allows them to drive.

To ride a big bike is a much bigger hurdle.  I'm not saying the latter is bad - I'm saying the former is not good for road safety.

[chopster125]

alright cheers ill look at that.
i think that it should be the ther way round (up to an extent)
i have to trave 10 miles to college up and down hills and getting there is a night mare if i could get a 250 or a 500cc bike it would make life so much easier.
the test should be more like a direct access course, if you do your cbt etc on a 500cc bike you can ride that for 2 years instead of a 125cc but the cbt should be harder, not allowed stupidly huge bikes like 1000cc and idiots shouldnt be allowed to do it 

[templar]

Bloody Matelots!

I actually agree with the restrictions, and concur with Jimc that something similar should happen with cars. In fact, I even did a piece on "Police, Camera, Action" about it a few years ago.

It is very true to say that bikes are inherently more dangerous that cars are, and that our power to weight ratios are significantly higher. I ride a 500cc Honda CBF - hardly the pokiest bike in the world - and that has about the same power to weight ratio as a Porsche 911 GT2. There are also more things to think of when riding a bike than driving a car - you don't have to lean in a car, you don't have to think about which brake to use in a car, and because you have around 20 times the contact area between tyre and tarmac in a car, you don't need to consider things like road surface, paint and manhole covers.

This is why you need to get more training to ride a bigger bike - the power to weight ratio goes up very very quickly as you increase engine size, but the dangers don't change. However, I wrote something up for the Riders Digest recently (Which won't be published, as I got beaten to it by one of the regulars) about DLD3, the next set of interference from the EU to do with our driving licenses. They now talk about a staged license, with minimum times between tests, but what a lot of people have failed to notice (And I bet our Government will also fail to spot) is that it does away with the need for a test at each stage. It says we are allowed to offer a training module to step from one license to the next, something I agree with wholeheartedly.

[Ogri]

Is the sidecar thing still valid ? Where a learner could bolt a pram wheel as an out-rigger on to a Z1000, put on L plates and ride off into the sunset ?

[kaychanc]

alright cheers ill look at that.
i think that it should be the ther way round (up to an extent)
i have to trave 10 miles to college up and down hills and getting there is a night mare if i could get a 250 or a 500cc bike it would make life so much easier.
the test should be more like a direct access course, if you do your cbt etc on a 500cc bike you can ride that for 2 years instead of a 125cc but the cbt should be harder, not allowed stupidly huge bikes like 1000cc and idiots shouldnt be allowed to do it 

what you should do is toe the line a little bit a 1998 aprillia rs125 with 33bhp (the same as most 400cc's!) should set you back around 800-1100 quid and 165 to insure... that should keep you moving till you pass your test!

[templar]

what you should do is toe the line a little bit a 1998 aprillia rs125 with 33bhp (the same as most 400cc's!) should set you back around 800-1100 quid and 165 to insure... that should keep you moving till you pass your test!

It would also be illegal, as the CBT only allows you to ride up to 15bhp.

[kaychanc]

It would also be illegal, as the CBT only allows you to ride up to 15bhp.

or 125CC... as the aprillia is a 125cc most insurance companies cover you!... some strange loophole in the law .. was told about it by a well known dealer...

[woodstock521]

Pass the test. It sounds silly, but once you pass your test you can ride up to 33bhp - which is exactly what a mate of mine did. Week long(-ish) course and got her full licence. Still only the A2 meaning she was limited to 33bhp, but her uncle sold her a triumph trident (107bhp list) and restricted it. The comfort and stability of a big bike, with enough power, but still legal.

Other than that, keep looking for bargains, my 125 (yamaha tw) cost 500 sods.... then the cost of the test.

[kaychanc]

TW's are pokey and are quite fun to ride... they can move too! (got 85 on the speedo once!)

[templar]

or 125CC... as the aprillia is a 125cc most insurance companies cover you!... some strange loophole in the law .. was told about it by a well known dealer...

You're not allowed to go over 125cc OR 15bhp. Otherwise loads of companies would be selling higher spec 125cc bikes wouldn't they?

[kaychanc]

You're not allowed to go over 125cc OR 15bhp. Otherwise loads of companies would be selling higher spec 125cc bikes wouldn't they?

good point.... yet I have been riding a Full power rs125 on a CBT for yonkers... was fully insured and had no problems!

[kaychanc]

BTW chopper125 what bike did you buy? maybe i could give you some pointers on how to fettle it for a bit more grunt... (i.e new exhaust... what power commander fits.. a better air filter... if it's a 2 stroke which oil gives it a boost..)

[templar]

good point.... yet I have been riding a Full power rs125 on a CBT for yonkers... was fully insured and had no problems!

Probably not fully insured. I bet you didn't mention the bhp to the insurance company. Should you have had an accident I bet you weren't covered at all.

Chopster - do you r test ASAP I'd say. Yes, it is a pain in the arse, but it's worth it. Depending on your age, you might be able to go DAS and get a full license straight away. It won't even cost you more.

Either way, you'll never look at a 125cc bike again after you've had a full sized one. I used to ride a Honda Varadero, which had the full 15bhp allowed, and after riding an 500cc ER5 during my training, I got back on the Varadero, and wondered why it was so slow to accelerate! Until then though, 125cc bikes are pretty capable if you pick the right one. I'm a hulking 14 stone and 6ft2, and the two 125cc bikes I rode did a reasonable job. my housemate is the same size as me, and rides a 2 stroke DT125, and we rode to Cornwall and back just a month ago. OK, so he didn't make it all the way back (oops!!) but the bike pretty much kept up the whole way there (and 50 miles back too!). 399 miles in 48 hours, before it died...

[kaychanc]

Probably not fully insured. I bet you didn't mention the bhp to the insurance company. Should you have had an accident I bet you weren't covered at all.

Chopster - do you r test ASAP I'd say. Yes, it is a pain in the arse, but it's worth it. Depending on your age, you might be able to go DAS and get a full license straight away. It won't even cost you more.

Either way, you'll never look at a 125cc bike again after you've had a full sized one. I used to ride a Honda Varadero, which had the full 15bhp allowed, and after riding an 500cc ER5 during my training, I got back on the Varadero, and wondered why it was so slow to accelerate! Until then though, 125cc bikes are pretty capable if you pick the right one. I'm a hulking 14 stone and 6ft2, and the two 125cc bikes I rode did a reasonable job. my housemate is the same size as me, and rides a 2 stroke DT125, and we rode to Cornwall and back just a month ago. OK, so he didn't make it all the way back (oops!!) but the bike pretty much kept up the whole way there (and 50 miles back too!). 399 miles in 48 hours, before it died...

correction... your housemate is wider than you!!!

[kaychanc]

It will cost you GBP25 a year - but join MAG (Motorcycle Action Group) and you might see some effect in Parliament.

Three new London Local groups started in the last few months.

One of the big beefs is that anyone who passes the car test (a one-off piece of piss) can then drive whatever Daddy allows them to drive.

To ride a big bike is a much bigger hurdle.  I'm not saying the latter is bad - I'm saying the former is not good for road safety.

MAG till the end eh JIM? I must agree with you though... MAG is a great option...

[edenphil]

I cant stress how important ongoinG training is and that it should be a part of your agenda for your whole motorcycling life.  I've been riding since 16, did the 2 part test in the 80's and thought "Well thats it" .  Oh no, no no, I did a bikesafe course last November and realised I was riding like a muppet and beyond the capabilities of the bike ( its a Harley so granted thats not hard - no jokes please).  Being a father of 4 kids I realised I was being selfish and not putting their needs first and that as the years go by we become more and more vulnerable as road users due to the crappy training given to car drivers and the fact that the number of cars/lorries etc increases every year ( you do the maths, more cars and lorries increases the likelihood of the "sorry mate  I didnt  see you scenario"  - simple laws of probability ). I have now brought the IOM manual and apply its techniques on every ride and will be looking to do the IOM course soon.  Don't get me wrong, I am not captain sensible but just trying to reduce the risk.  I love riding my bike and the buzz it gives, have had sportsbikes in the past and love the thrill of riding near the limit and stringing some curves together.  you've just gotta remember to pick the best time and place.   Also, Templar is right,   if you havent passed your test and ride a bike over 15bhp you are not insured.  You may get lucky and never have an accident requiring a claim, but if you do, the insurance company will drop you like a lead weight. 

[MonkeyBoy]

... and because you have around 20 times the contact area between tyre and tarmac in a car, you don't need to consider things like road surface, paint and manhole covers....

You might want to try a high powered rear whee drive car if you think that is true!

Many a TVR driver has ended up seeing where they have been due to too much power on a loose surface  

[MonkeyBoy]

Edenphil - do you mean the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) or has the Isle Of Man started up some training?  

[edenphil]

Sorry, my mistake . Yes IAM