Just starting my journey

[JTDG]

Hey all,

 

Just wanted to introduce myself and seek out some advice, recently hit 30, and wanted a bike all my life. However recently moved out of the city and live quite rural so no time like the present!

 

Planning on doing my CBT as soon as I can, but need some advice!

 

I am a big(polite way of saying fat haha) guy, 6ft and 18ish stone, so as you can imagine when looking for a 125 I’m looking for something that will be comfortable. I’ll mainly be using the bike as a commuter twice a week (10 miles each way) will also be driving it once a week outside of this to build hours up. In term of the road 60mph, but it’s more bends than straight so can’t imagine I will ever get close to 60. So any bike recommendations would be amazing. Not looking for something new or super fancy, something to earn my stripes on is perfect. 
 

My next question is gear. The only thing I really plan on spending decent money on is helmet, everything else I’m pretty flexible. I don’t need to look the part, again more stuff that will do me a turn. After all I can slowly upgrade gear as I go. 
 

I have looked around my local Facebook marketplace listings, but with my build and being a fatty can’t really find much. 
 

I know I should be looking for a jacket, helmet, gloves, boots. Friend said thick jeans will do a job initially. 
 

I don’t plan on riding in terrible weather, so can look at all weather gear further down the line. Literally the basic essentials to get me on a bike learning! 
 

Cheers,

Jordan
 

 

Edited July 6, 2024 by JTDG

[AstronautNinja]

I'd go to a place in person and see how things fit tbh. I'm also new and wouldn't describe any of my gear as "normal" fitting in a high street clothing sense. I'm very glad I went in person as I now know anything I bought wouldn't of been great.

 

£300 from my weeks shopping experience will get you the basics to a reasonable degree.

 

I'm sure there will be suitable fits for you, bikers as a whole are not known for their slender, nor petit build.

[muldoon74]

1 hour ago, JTDG said:

Hey all,

 

Just wanted to introduce myself and seek out some advice, recently hit 30, and wanted a bike all my life. However recently moved out of the city and live quite rural so no time like the present!

 

Planning on doing my CBT as soon as I can, but need some advice!

 

I am a big(polite way of saying fat haha) guy, 6ft and 18ish stone, so as you can imagine when looking for a 125 I’m looking for something that will be comfortable. I’ll mainly be using the bike as a commuter twice a week (10 miles each way) will also be driving it once a week outside of this to build hours up. In term of the road 60mph, but it’s more bends than straight so can’t imagine I will ever get close to 60. So any bike recommendations would be amazing. Not looking for something new or super fancy, something to earn my stripes on is perfect. 
 

My next question is gear. The only thing I really plan on spending decent money on is helmet, everything else I’m pretty flexible. I don’t need to look the part, again more stuff that will do me a turn. After all I can slowly upgrade gear as I go. 
 

I have looked around my local Facebook marketplace listings, but with my build and being a fatty can’t really find much. 
 

I know I should be looking for a jacket, helmet, gloves, boots. Friend said thick jeans will do a job initially. 
 

I don’t plan on riding in terrible weather, so can look at all weather gear further down the line. Literally the basic essentials to get me on a bike learning! 
 

Cheers,

Jordan
 

 

I'm 49, 5'11" and 19 st (maybe a smidge over)..

 

My CB125F  does the job. 

 

10 miles each way twice a week no bother for you mate.

 

I find I get the butt ache after 60 miles or so. (standard seat). Regularly do 80 mile days at weekends and commute when weathers decent (20 mile round trip so similar to yours). 

 

 

[RideWithStyles]

125s can reach over 70 even with 8bhp- some require a very cheap transmission gear change (front or rear spocket change £20).

300-500cc bikes will be more than enough- A2 bikes with 46hp nakeds will still push well over 110mph easy.

id stick to twin engine configuration over 4cly as they require thrashing and high revs to work especially if weight is considered.
smaller and lighter bikes are very cheap to run and maintain.
avoid Chinese brands at all cost! 
 

Helmet fit it the most important thing, go to local bike clothing store sportsbike direct, j and s accessories, ghost bikes etc, they will help you in showing what you need to look out for and when trying them out keep it on your head for at least 5-10 mins to see if any pinching or pressure points develops.

not a dealer as their range is very limited and costly. 

Edited July 7, 2024 by RideWithStyles

[JTDG]

16 minutes ago, RideWithStyles said:

125s can reach over 70 even with 8bhp- some require a very cheap transmission gear change (front or rear spocket change £20).

300-500cc bikes will be more than enough- A2 bikes with 46hp nakeds will still push well over 110mph easy.

id stick to twin engine configuration over 4cly as they require thrashing and high revs to work especially if weight is considered.
smaller and lighter bikes are very cheap to run and maintain.
avoid Chinese brands at all cost! 

thanks for the reply. 
 

I am mainly looking at; KTM Duke 125, Honda CD125F, Yamaha XSR125 & Yamaha R125. Budget is around £3,000. 

 

A shop I went to suggested the Lexmoto LXR125. But they also didn’t stock any other 125’s. 

[JTDG]

15 hours ago, muldoon74 said:

I'm 49, 5'11" and 19 st (maybe a smidge over)..

 

My CB125F  does the job. 

 

10 miles each way twice a week no bother for you mate.

 

I find I get the butt ache after 60 miles or so. (standard seat). Regularly do 80 mile days at weekends and commute when weathers decent (20 mile round trip so similar to yours). 

 

 

Thanks for the info. Puts me at ease!

[KiwiBob]

I'm 6ft and 95Kg and found the Honda cg125 perfectly adequate .. My son  (6ft 4in and 115kg) had a Honda cbr125 and could get up to 70 with a tail wind.

 

If you can find one the Honda 125 Varadero is a good fit for a big guy.

[JTDG]

33 minutes ago, KiwiBob said:

I'm 6ft and 95Kg and found the Honda cg125 perfectly adequate .. My son  (6ft 4in and 115kg) had a Honda cbr125 and could get up to 70 with a tail wind.

 

If you can find one the Honda 125 Varadero is a good fit for a big guy.

Amazing cheers!

 

I have seen some bikes on auto trader, some from private sellers. Bur no idea what really to look for with a bike, other than service history. 

[AstronautNinja]

I second J&S accessories. Great staff imo, very helpful and chilled

[JTDG]

4 minutes ago, AstronautNinja said:

I second J&S accessories. Great staff imo, very helpful and chilled

Sadly my closest one is around 75 miles away, however might try and pop in, if I find a bike in their area and go view it (Newcastle/Edinburgh are similar distance from me) since no bikes that I can find on auto trader in my local area! 

[JTDG]

Picked up a Honda CB125F. Getting delivered this week. My CBT is in 3 weeks. I am lucky enough to have a large enough garden that I could easily practice slow riding on the bike. Never been on a bike before. Does anybody have any YouTube suggestions for basic stuff? Just hoping to have a rough idea of the basics when I show up and hopefully not stall!

[husoi]

My go to channel would be the ride like a pro guy.

Excellent advice on slow riding although not 125s but would be similar skills

Edited July 11, 2024 by husoi
Stupid f corrector 😡

[AstronautNinja]

8 hours ago, JTDG said:

Picked up a Honda CB125F. Getting delivered this week. My CBT is in 3 weeks. I am lucky enough to have a large enough garden that I could easily practice slow riding on the bike. Never been on a bike before. Does anybody have any YouTube suggestions for basic stuff? Just hoping to have a rough idea of the basics when I show up and hopefully not stall!

There's absolutely loads on YouTube to pick through. I generally watch the least annoying guy 

[Dombo]

My advice for the slow stuff, having stalled enough times on CBT and managed to drop an MT07 on DAS, is to keep the revs up, around 3k, and slip the clutch. Bike clutches are wet so don’t mind being slipped, unlike car clutches. Also keep your head up and look where you want to go.

A mate showed me a neat trick, he put a glove on the ground, told me to look at it and asked “can you see the top of the  tree?” I could. Then he told me to look halfway up the tree - “can you still see the glove?” I could. “Then you don't need to look at it and you won’t hit it will you?”

[muldoon74]

On 07/07/2024 at 11:55, KiwiBob said:

I'm 6ft and 95Kg and found the Honda cg125 perfectly adequate .. My son  (6ft 4in and 115kg) had a Honda cbr125 and could get up to 70 with a tail wind.

 

If you can find one the Honda 125 Varadero is a good fit for a big guy.

Sadly discontinued and 2nd hand are like hens teeth (actually found any decent 125s 2nd hand to be like hens teeth!)..

 

Would've taken one if I could get one but my CB125F doing just fine for me.. 

[muldoon74]

On 07/07/2024 at 13:12, JTDG said:

Sadly my closest one is around 75 miles away, however might try and pop in, if I find a bike in their area and go view it (Newcastle/Edinburgh are similar distance from me) since no bikes that I can find on auto trader in my local area! 

Infinity motorcycles in Glasgow are good.

 

Ordered a few bits online from them. Recommended to me by my brother who is in Yorkshire . They have branches all over. 

 

I'm sure you have but have you tried these guys?

 

https://www.dgmoto.co.uk/motorcycles 

 

No idea what they're like but they are local to you.

[muldoon74]

On 11/07/2024 at 09:04, JTDG said:

Picked up a Honda CB125F. Getting delivered this week. My CBT is in 3 weeks. I am lucky enough to have a large enough garden that I could easily practice slow riding on the bike. Never been on a bike before. Does anybody have any YouTube suggestions for basic stuff? Just hoping to have a rough idea of the basics when I show up and hopefully not stall!

You'll stall plenty on the CBT as you're meant to. 

 

That's the place where you get the expert instruction on what you're doing wrong from someone trained and qualified to watch and guide you.

 

The CBT isn't a driving test as such, it's training to give you the basics to get out and practice on your own.

 

Although you can fail it you'd have to do something pretty dangerous to do so. 

 

If you're that bad in the enclosed section they wont let you on the road. 

 

I've done 2 CBTs.. First was in 2003. Passed it but life, marriage etc got in the way  so biking dreams took back seat. 

 

Then last year took it again and was more nervous than the first one! First time I set off I nearly crashed into the tyres surrounding the training area!

 

I wanted to go from CBT to DAS but the instructor said buy a cheap 125 and get out on that for a while as he reckoned it will make me a better rider in the long run. 

 

Bought my CB125F in September last year, couldn't ride it for 3 weeks (ish) due to Storm Babet, never looked back after getting on it. Hit 1900 miles on Sunday. 

 

You've got some cracking roads down in Dumfries area.. (I have relatives in Sanquhar) so know you've got the Lead hills, down into Englandshire, across to Stranraer, the Dumfries and Galloway Forest Park and loads more to keep you interested and amused.. 

 

Some of the nicest most pleasant riding I've done is on back roads at sub 45mph.. The CB125F excels at quiet contented smile inducing efficiency (Wait till you see the fuel economy!) ...

[JTDG]

On 16/07/2024 at 22:50, muldoon74 said:

You'll stall plenty on the CBT as you're meant to. 

 

That's the place where you get the expert instruction on what you're doing wrong from someone trained and qualified to watch and guide you.

 

The CBT isn't a driving test as such, it's training to give you the basics to get out and practice on your own.

 

Although you can fail it you'd have to do something pretty dangerous to do so. 

 

If you're that bad in the enclosed section they wont let you on the road. 

 

I've done 2 CBTs.. First was in 2003. Passed it but life, marriage etc got in the way  so biking dreams took back seat. 

 

Then last year took it again and was more nervous than the first one! First time I set off I nearly crashed into the tyres surrounding the training area!

 

I wanted to go from CBT to DAS but the instructor said buy a cheap 125 and get out on that for a while as he reckoned it will make me a better rider in the long run. 

 

Bought my CB125F in September last year, couldn't ride it for 3 weeks (ish) due to Storm Babet, never looked back after getting on it. Hit 1900 miles on Sunday. 

 

You've got some cracking roads down in Dumfries area.. (I have relatives in Sanquhar) so know you've got the Lead hills, down into Englandshire, across to Stranraer, the Dumfries and Galloway Forest Park and loads more to keep you interested and amused.. 

 

Some of the nicest most pleasant riding I've done is on back roads at sub 45mph.. The CB125F excels at quiet contented smile inducing efficiency (Wait till you see the fuel economy!) ...

Any suggestions on where to put a front L plate on it? Looking at it there really isn’t anywhere to put one. Only one I can think of is a stick on red L on the windshield part. But been told that’s not legal. 
 

Never seen a learner bike with an L plate on the front, but apparently they are legally required. 

[muldoon74]

1 hour ago, JTDG said:

Any suggestions on where to put a front L plate on it? Looking at it there really isn’t anywhere to put one. Only one I can think of is a stick on red L on the windshield part. But been told that’s not legal. 
 

Never seen a learner bike with an L plate on the front, but apparently they are legally required. 

Affixed with two wee bracket things by dealer...

[Shepherd]

Mine was a self adhesive one stuck to front mudguard. 

They're more to satisfy the rules than actually doing any good.

[KiwiBob]

3 hours ago, JTDG said:

Any suggestions on where to put a front L plate on it? Looking at it there really isn’t anywhere to put one. Only one I can think of is a stick on red L on the windshield part. But been told that’s not legal. 
 

Never seen a learner bike with an L plate on the front, but apparently they are legally required. 

Who told you that? .. I've never heard that one before!!

 

As long as its a proper L plate its OK on the screen!

 

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=fb1f3832679b05a9JmltdHM9MTcyMTI2MDgwMCZpZ3VpZD0yNjhjZmUwZS0xYThiLTY5NDQtM2MxNC1lZmJkMWI0MDY4MTcmaW5zaWQ9NTI1Nw&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=268cfe0e-1a8b-6944-3c14-efbd1b406817&psq=l+plate+motorcycle+windscreen&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9iZWdpbi1tb3RvcmN5Y2xpbmcuY28udWsvbW90b3JjeWNsZS1sLXBsYXRlcy8&ntb=1

Edited July 18, 2024 by KiwiBob

[RideWithStyles]

Kiwi is correct it’s all legal as long as it’s the correct size, colours and doesn’t cover the light or riders vision if it was a big proper screen, not the clock shield that you have there which is black and not visible through it anyway so you might aswell but the L plate there, must better, secure and safer.

Wifes had it stuck on the screen/cowl on the cbf125f.

Edited July 19, 2024 by RideWithStyles

[JTDG]

10 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

Kiwi is correct it’s all legal as long as it’s the correct size, colours and doesn’t cover the light or riders vision if it was a big proper screen, not the clock shield that you have there which is black and not visible through it anyway so you might aswell but the L plate there, must better, secure and safer.

Wifes had it stuck on the screen/cowl on the cbf125f.

That was my plan, the one the dealer provided was just a red L. Was told it was illegal as it has to be a red L on a white background.

 

Will try and find a stick on one and pop it on the screen. As you mentioned, can’t see anything through it anyway. 

[AstronautNinja]

Just now, JTDG said:

That was my plan, the one the dealer provided was just a red L. Was told it was illegal as it has to be a red L on a white background.

 

Will try and find a stick on one and pop it on the screen. As you mentioned, can’t see anything through it anyway. 

Amazon, be with you tomorrow or Halfrauds

[Capt Sisko]

When you're trying clothing on, particularly trousers, remember you'll be wearing them in the sat position and in that position your tummy tends to spread out a bit compare to when you stood up. With that in mind a little loser with braces is better than a little tighter that digs in.