New to riding/125cc questions!

[Fridge03]

Hi all, 

So here I am, dangling my toe into the world of 2 wheels. I’m 34, been a car driver since I was 18. Never really considered a bike before but with fuel prices going up and my commute to work changing, it’s starting to make a lot more sense to learn.

I will be primarily using it for commuting, with my route being 18 miles along mostly B roads which tend to be quite quiet and a small section of A road which is single carriage way but 60mph limit. The last couple of miles is where I’m really considering the benefits of a bike as it’s a regular slow crawl. Can take up to 30 mins just to get through that last couple miles. I also respond on-call, to my local station 3 miles away with a 5 minute turnout which again I’m thinking a bike could help with. This is again a country B road.

I'm 99.9% convinced (so much so, that my CBT is booked for 3 weeks time) that I will be sticking with that for at least a year, maybe ride out the 2 years then reconsider my options as to go for my full licence or not. So I'm looking for a decent bike. The least amount I can spend to get something decent...the better...however I don't have a budget per-se. Would rather spend a bit more if I have to get something suitable and reliable. 

I’m a 6ft biggish guy (about 95kg) so a 125 on the "larger size" or at least not a grom would be what I am after.
My two choices are searching for a decent used Varadero as I've seen people rave about these and the feedback tends to be excellent. However being completely new to the world of bikes, I'm more tempted to look at new (or nearly new) so get a bit of piece of mind with warranty/condition etc.
So the new ones I'm looking at are Suzuki GSX-125, KTM Duke 125, Yamaha MT125 or a Honda CB125R. Again, read/watched lots of reviews and all of them score high. I'm not interested in the Chinese brands as for every good review, there seems to be at least the same amount of bad. So it's more down to what would suit my frame more I guess?
Any suggestions or thoughts would be hugely appreciated on the bikes. 

Secondly, in regards to gear. I want to start picking up some pieces. I know you can't really put a price on safety (and will defo be buying a brand new helmet!) but in general is it easy enough to maybe pick up 2nd hand gear to get me started and until I figure out what works best for me?

Thanks all

[Ian Frog]

@Fridge03 Welcome aboard and I hope your journey is eyeopening and rewarding

Yes riding gear can be bought secondhand but you are right to get the helmet new.

Cheers

Ian

[Blackholesun]

Lots of stuff on marketplace but in the end after multiple poor purchases I just bought my own jacket and jeans and boots ! Can’t go wrong with a japenese bike

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

You may be able to pick up a good used 125 and save some of your budget, but all of those mentioned are good choices. You're wise to stick to decent brands, look after it and if you trade in a couple of years you'll get your money back.

 

A new helmet is wise. You don't need to spend a fortune to get a decent one. 

 

You can buy second hand kit and save a small fortune but keep an eye out for sales and you can buy some good new kit that isn't expensive. For all year commuting a set of textiles with some additional waterproofs will work fine. My waterproof overjacket is an Oxford from J&S and it's kept my dry through some terrible weather.

 

Don't skimp on security. 125 sized bikes are prone to theft so check where you can store it at home and at work.

[bud]

Yes stick to a Japanese bike if you can. Though they are not made in Japan anymore, the build quality is still much better than others.

You can pick up some good kit second hand. Don't be tempted by cheap imports that are not CE approved.

Have fun.

[dynax]

Don't disregard  everything chinese, the Sinnis Terrain could be exactly what you want, it's a big bike as in tall, comes with full luggage and is on the limit of 14/15 bhp for learner legal, check out some reviews by either the Chronicles of Mister Fish or Teapot 1  on YT

[MikeHorton]

There are some decent Chinese offerings like the zontes 125 but value for money I think the cb125f with the esp engine 180mpg yes may look a little boring but simple engine, doesn't even have a starter motor and good reliability. As for kit I have some 3 layer richa stuff which in winter let's nothing in 3 years on and a lightweight mesh oxford jacket with a weatherproof lining and some Oxford leathers around 5yrs old kept in fine fettle with renapur balsam. 

[Bender]

There are some decent Chinese bikes and there are a load that a crap, loose a fortune break down a lot and have prohibitive service schedules, Ohh I don't actually belive that first bit either  

 

Varadero is a good big bike but it's getting long in the tooth now, I think you need to sit on a few and get a feel for what your looking at. 

 

CBT will give you a better idea, I started on a cbf I'm 6ft found it fine the mpg was brilliant. 

 

I think you will find if you like it you will want full licence, you don't need to go silly after that there are some great small capacity bikes ie under 600cc

 

Kit, helmet and gloves would be top of list some good value lids have a look on https://sharp.dft.gov.uk not all lids are on it but plenty are, it's not a definitive guide but will get you started. 

 

Gloves again loads, how much protection do you want, you probably don't need handroid gloves but knox have a great range of gloves, palm sliders and wrist protection on most. 

 

Good luck  

[Pindu]

I recently bought a CB125F, cannot fault it. I'm 53, 6ft, 105kg and new to riding. Passed CBT beginning of June and bought the 125 a week later. Thought would ride around see how I feel before I did my DAS. As it happens, am now doing my DAS in the next few weeks so my 125 may be up for sale soon, if I pass that is. The reading on the bike says 174 MPG and that is about how many miles I have done since I bought it in mid June.

 

[Throttled]

For larger riders, a flatter seat helps. I could ride my Yamaha YBR125 sitting on the pillion part of the seat.

[Bender]

1 hour ago, Pindu said:

I recently bought a CB125F, cannot fault it. I'm 53, 6ft, 105kg and new to riding. Passed CBT beginning of June and bought the 125 a week later. Thought would ride around see how I feel before I did my DAS. As it happens, am now doing my DAS in the next few weeks so my 125 may be up for sale soon, if I pass that is. The reading on the bike says 174 MPG and that is about how many miles I have done since I bought it in mid June.

 

Good luck with the das  

[JustinW]

I'm 6.4 and started with a Yamaha WR125x. I bloody loved it, but they seem pricey at the moment unfortunately. Good seat height and position.

[Lumor_uk]

Problem I've found responding is it takes 5 minutes to put all my gear on, I now helmet, gloves and that's it. Been biking over 9 years now through several winters, passed IAM. On anything but town roads full gear for sure. With anything but injected 125s you'll be faffing around with the choke taking up your time. It's great though, I can overtake others also responding which means money in your pocket.

[bud]

10 hours ago, Lumor_uk said:

Problem I've found responding is it takes 5 minutes to put all my gear on, I now helmet, gloves and that's it. Been biking over 9 years now through several winters, passed IAM. On anything but town roads full gear for sure. With anything but injected 125s you'll be faffing around with the choke taking up your time. It's great though, I can overtake others also responding which means money in your pocket.

I was working overtime a few months ago. My boss let me go early as she didn't want to wait around to lock up. While I got kitted up.