NE150N80

Hey Onesea - thanks. That’s a fair point! My only concern about top boxes were how secure they are - some people have said that they take little more than 2 mins with a screwdriver. I have no point of reference, but am happy to here recommendations for top boxes too!! What are the better brands to look at?

Hi All Bit of a noob here (just about to take CBT), but I thought I better try and post in the correct channel, rather than the newbie channel. One of the many advantages of getting my full bike license is the cheaper commute, however a train journey will often be included, and I'm looking to get a decent size rucksack that has a helmet carrier (harness), and is a good size to carry my boots and laptop. I've seen few out there on Amazon; just wondered if you guys have any recommendations at all? (or brands to stay away from!) Thanks!

Hi All! Thanks for the help and suggestions! We went to Sports Bike Shop today to grab some gear Great staff, really helpful and let us try loads on! Very happy to have this as my local bike shop! Ended up going for the best I could afford and that also felt right - felt comfortable. Got myself: RST Paragon 2 boots Richa Cyclone Gore-Tex Jacket and Trousers Richa Hurricane Gloves HJC C70 Passed my theory on Friday, doing my CBT in a couple of weeks (yeah I know, that’s kinda in the wrong order!) - it’s all beginning to happen! Can’t wait!

Hi guys In the next couple of days, my wife and I are looking at getting some of our first ever bike gear (helmet, jackets, gloves, boots etc.) and Sports Bike Shop isn't too far from us (we're in the Peterborough area) so we were going to along and have a look round as they seem to have the largest range of gear. I just wondered if anybody else has been there and how consultative they are? My wife and I are complete first timers so are looking for some help, advice and guidnace on what to buy that's right for our needs, ensuring we get the correct fit etc. I'm sure there's a lot of great shops out there that provide really sound advice and guidance and just wondered if Sports Bike Shop were one of them - are they able to provide that kind of service, or are they just a warehouse full of kit, where you'd need to know what you're looking for. In addition to this question, does anybody have any other recommendations for the Peterborough area? Thanks all.

Once again - lots of great advice that is very much appreciated. Especially thanks for all the brand suggestions!

Hi All Am just starting to look at jackets ahead of my CBT, as COVID now means that supply our own gear. No major issue here as I'd be buying gear anyway! But I obviously would prefer to "buy once, by well". My problem is, I don't know what are good brands, which brand I should be staying away from or which brands are more for racing wear etc. etc. So, although I want to get a decent jacket - I can't quite stump up thousands! I'm thinking textile (prob GoreTex) as we're coming into colder, wetter months. However, I am unsure what to do about armour. Hear a lot about D30, AA etc. At the moment I'm just looking online to get an idea, but will go out to a shop in the next week or so to have a look and try some on properly. Thanks!

WOW - I didn't expect to generate so much interest! But I really am grateful. As many have you have guessed, I'm only going to use the 125 as run about to get some road experience in between my CBT and Mod 1+2 and the message is loud and clear (and delivered fairly I feel) - go for Jap. Thanks so much guys! My next question is about Jackets... which I'm just about to post

Hi all. My wife and I are just about to start the journey of learning to ride. We’ve been driving for 25yrs, although we are both coming into this with the viewpoint that our driving experience means nothing! We’ve booked CBT booked for for a couple of weeks time. We’d like to get a 125cc to run about on for a bit to hone our craft while we prepare for the Mod 1 + 2. Looking at 125’s, the Honda’s, Kawasaki’s and Yamaha’s of the world seem to hold their prices well (2nd hand averaging £2,500). I’ve seen a cheaper options in Lexmotos and wanted to get some opinions. For honing your craft, what’s peoples thoughts on the Lexmoto brand? Obviously, like most things in this world - you get what you pay for, but do the Lexmoto 125s good enough to serve the right purpose of just gaining bike experience between your CBT and Mod 1+2? Thanks

Hi All! Thanks for your replies so far - all really helpful! Husoi - Apologies, I probably should've been more specific in my original post, the station has a locking area for bikes, just no lockers for gear! Giving it a bit more thought, I'd definitely continue to wear the jacket - this would become my standard to work jacket. So, I suppose I'm just thinking of helmet, gloves, boots and trousers. Good idea about the top box - that makes sense, gloves and lid can go in there! Then it's just a case of boots and trousers which I should be able to fit into a bag with my laptop (Thanks Dynax! The pics are really helpful!) Thanks all!

Firstly thanks for the warm welcome to the forum and all the help on the first question I submitted. Just to preface, I'm a noob that knows nothing about bikes, so my initial questions are likely to be silly! I'm looking to get my bike license for the most important reasons; the life-long dream of riding out on the road, that sense of freedom, and also to be part of an awesome community! However, this will also become my main mode of transport to the train station when I start going back into the Big Smoke (as it would be a very long bike commute, esp as a novice!) [EDIT: Don't get wrong - the idea of a 2-3hr ride sounds great, just trying to be a bit sensible]. As far as I can tell, the station doesn't appear to have any lockers of any sort, so I'm trying to figure out what I would do with all my bike gear - is there a rucksack big enough?! Just wondered if you guys have similar situations and/or ideas?

All of this is superb advice! I’ve heard that the biking community really is a great community and this forum definitely testament to that! I’m in the Grantham area and the following school (Think Bike) seems to have lots of good reviews (they run out of a Kawasaki dealership that has a cafe there etc): https://thinkbike.kawasaki-krts.co.uk/courses They seem to have lots of options for courses especially for beginners. Would welcome any bodies thoughts on this. Thank you all so much!

Thanks so much everyone!! This has been a great introduction this forum & community and I really appreciate the warm welcome and all the helpful advice! Onesea and Magpie84 - that’s really helpful advice and great to hear from experiences similar to my own humble starts! I’m sure I’ll have many more questions, but this has been great!!

Thanks guys - It’s baby steps here so any ideas welcome Really appreciate your advice!

Hi All! Complete newbie to motorbikes. Have wanted to do my bike license and get a bike for years but not had the opportunity. Long story short, COVID has now given me that opportunity. I’m 40years old and have been driving for 23years. However, I know NOTHING about motorbikes, so I have a lot of questions! In the first instance I’m just looking to understand where to go to understand the basics - I’m googling, but there so much and it’s hard to understand whether I’m getting hitting reputable websites or not. So, aside from this fine forum, are there any other information based sites where I can understand costs for training, clothing, different types of bikes etc. Sorry if this is a silly question, but keen to get into this as soon as possible, so want to learn the basics from the right places/people. Thanks!