muldoon74

f**ked it. put foot down getting into position then bolloxed my emergency stop coz I’d put my foot down and knew it was done!! raging with myself.

Adding to this my 2023 CB125F was made in Thailand.. Not the hotbed of Engineering excellence people imagine but its absolutely awesome for reliability and build quality (at its price point of £3049 on the road)...

So my CBT is due end of April.. Through various misfortunes and life bollox I had to take it twice (20 years apart).. Same with hazard Perception and Theory.. Resat my Theory in Feb (I think) and got to thinking.. Had the money to DAS training for April however, again life gets in the way and had to spend it.. Not keen on paying £180 for CBT resit so booked my A1 MOD 1 AND 2 (£90 for both..) for this sunday and thursday next week respectively. Will give me a wee bit breathing space regarding repetitive tests (that, in my opinion are just money makers) and get rid of L plates. Pass these and only DAS training , MOD 1, 2 for bigger bike and I can get bigger bike. Anyone else done similar due to money/circumstances etc..? Not the path I wanted to follow but its how its worked out.

A fair few KTM and BMW engines are made in China... Just saying..

Good to know, cheers… I think I read the width for u turns etc is 7 meters… measured that with my tape measure. It’s ridiculously wide! just watch me fail on that now..

More worried about the MOD1 tbh.. first couple of months biking I’d go to an industrial estate near me and take 10/15 mins at beginning or end of ride to practice u turns etc but that’s slipped away a bit.. so I’ll be watching a few mod1 videos and taking note of requirements to practice in lead up to it.

Yeah can do it on own bike. just need all correct documents with you.

That's my thinking. Mainly thinking of saving money though. £180 for CBT again.. Bollox to that. Still won't be doing motorways on my wee CB125F though.. Too many w**kers.

Just booked MOD1 and MOD2 for end A1 (125cc) for end of March and early April. Couldn't get same test centre on same day. But they're within 4 days and test centres aren't too far. One is local, within 10 mins, the other is about 20/25 mins away. I was saving for DAS but won't be able to do it before CBT runs out end of April, work family and all that shite, (first was 2003, second was 2 years ago April,.. Bollox to doing it again when I have 1.5 years experience on my own bike and am capable of passing both MODS..) Assuming I pass MOD1/2 I won't need to do Hazard perception (Hazard perception passed again a couple of weeks ago..) or CBT again so saving myself over £130... Not the way I wanted to do things but best for my circumstances as they are.

https://www.amrmotorcyclesltd.com/product-page/royal-enfield-411-scram-premium 4k for a brand new Scram 411? Not to be sneezed at..... (I'm seriously considering this post-DAS..) AMR in Glasgow aswell..

Did the exact same when my Cb125f was about 6 months old (it's a 2023 registration and had about 800 miles on, mint condition, never dropped (even now) and they phoned me at least 12 times within 2 days. A dozen emails chasing the trade-in/sale. ) They offered me £1600. A drop of £1400 in 6 months for something barely run in and had just had it's first service 200 miles before. Ignored them and they stopped communication attempts after a couple of weeks. I'll be selling it privately when it comes to it and using cash to pay it off/deposit/new lid/towards insurance...

You're in a similar situation to me (except wife wont be getting my cb125f as she neither can nor wants to ride!).. I'm a heavier guy aswell (although that is going to change, health issues starting to appear..) I love the Honda and got an indicated 61mph out of it yesterday (even though Rever app says max 59mph).. Like you however I get frustrated (would be on any 125cc I feel) at lack of overtaking power as at 50 mph you've not much left to overtake and getaway so just have to hold back and hope the bugger in front turns off at some point soon.. I intend doing DAS this year and, like you, am looking at bigger bikes. Have you considered Royal Enfield or CF Moto? https://www.amrmotorcyclesltd.com/category/royal-enfield amr are in Hillington in Glasgow, maybe worth a wee day trip to have a look, get a test ride? There are some great deals on RE and CF at the moment. I have the "Chinese" doubts as well but an NK650 for £4000 brand new?.. Gotta be worth a look..(Basically the NK looks exactly like the z650... also, I may be wrong, but I'm sure the NK engines are derived from the Kawasaki units used in the z650 or its predecessor).... If your hell bent on a brand new honda you'll maybe have to travel and take a day out (as per royal enfield above.) You could have a bash on an RE at hillington then pop over to Victor Devine and co for a go on a couple of Hondas. Make a day of it. I'm luckier in a way as I'm Central Scotland and there are plenty within an hour for me to go to. Where you live might be a bit of pain when it comes to actually going to a dealer but on the plus side you've got some awesome roads down there for when you get the bigger bike.. (I used to deliver all round Dumfries, Stranraer etc.. Looking forward to some all dayers when I get my big bike aswell..)#

FTFY..

First ride since November. cleaned and lubed chain and check for oil leaks. Also done tyre pressures. went a familiar route but with a couple of be offshoots down a wee lane or two.. pulled into garage about 30 mins in to check for oil. Clean as a whistle. Bike never missed a beat. Only problem was user error, I stalled on my only hill start on the route.

Thanks for all the replies. I've seen a few dealers around my area (ish..) that are doing pre-registration models of a couple of bikes I'm interested in for over £1500 off new.. I tend to keep my cars until they're not only paid off but just too expensive to repair so will likely follow this route with bikes.. Although ideally I'll find the right bike straight away.. (not likely but possible ) If I can get test rides (dealers don't like to give test rides to new passes, even though I've been driving for 30 years and have class 2 license so have a fair bit of road sense..) I'll certainly be looking to try a few and get a feel for different bikes..