Complete Newbie With a Few Quezzies...

[Guest]

Hi guys,

Just joined the forum so Hi! I'm wanting to learn to ride this year and have a couple of questions.

1. How much am I looking at spending to get my full cat A? I am 24 by the way, but have zero experience with bikes.

2. Could I learn and pass the tests within 2 weeks? I'm in the forces and would be doing it during a leave period.

3. What is an ideal 'beginners' bike? I'm a big fan of jap cars, but how are their bikes?

Cheers!!!

[Nell]

Hiya and welcome.

You're looking at probably around £600 quid, though it could be more. You'd need to factor in the cost of your cbt, about £100 quid for that, £30 odd for the theory test and then the DAS course from there. Maybe have a look for bike schools in your area, and see what sort of price they advertise on their website. As with anything, cheapest isn't necessarily best.

A lot of places will do your course within 3-5 days, depending on how well you take to riding, and the pressure of an intensive course. 1st day would be the cbt, and then a day or two's training, and then your module 1 and module 2 after that.

Can't fault jap bikes, reliable, provided you look after them, parts easily available. As for ideal first bike, what style do you like? I've got a suzuki bandit, so upright riding position, midsized engine, cheap to run and insure. The cruisers are even cheaper to insure, the fancy pocket rockets with lots of plastic and highly desirable to thieves are normally more expensive. Remember to budget for your protective gear as well, when you're looking at bikes and insurance costs.

[Guest]

Hiya Nell,

Cheers for your reply! I'm looking at the Honda CBR600 or Kawasaki Ninja really. The sports bikes are more my thing.

How much do you reckon I'm looking at for a decent helmet, gloves, boots and leathers? And which brands do you recommend? Apologies if this is getting off topic from the correct part of the forum.

Cheers

[Tango]

Hiya mate.....welcome to the Forum......

I think Nell has answered the original question pretty thoroughly....nothing I can add to that.....

Gear need not be expensive.......the most important thing about the crash helmet is that it fits you......too loose and it could come off in an accident.....too tight and it'll be uncomfortable and distracting after a while on the bike......Check out the Sharp website for ideas of price and safety ratings of lids:

http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/

Bike clothing is dependant on the sort of riding you intend to do.......if you only ever intend on going out on sunny afternoons then a set of leathers and an oversuit just in case would probably suit OK......but if you're planning on using the bike year round...then a set of decent textiles may be a better bet......

Leather bike boots and gloves are always a good thing to have too.....

Prices can vary wildly.....so just do some searches on the sort of gear you think you'll need and then come back and ask here if you want any advice on what you've seen.....