New Rider - Looking for advice

[Stephen Hawthorne]

Hi all, I'm both new to the forums and to riding in general; I've just passed my CBT a little over a week ago and am now looking to get a 125cc. However as I'm heading off to uni at the end of September (and wont be able to bring a bike) I was wondering if you had any advice as to whether I should hold off on buying a bike till the winter break/sometime next spring, or look to get a bike now but store it till I'm back from uni on break or on occasional weekends? I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter and apologies if this is a bit of a weird question.

[Bender]

You could be dead by spring, but it now  

 

Still get lots of nice dry days to ride in winter if you don't want the practice in the rain and gloom

[RideWithStyles]

Hi.

 

Personally for financial reasons in your statement but buy the bike winter time (dec/jan) for the cheapest bike…I’d say if you really can’t use or store the bike where your accommodation is, where can you store it sensibly to accumulate easy insurance coverage and time in the mean time of low risk it can sit there to earn it easier like Parents, guardians, trusted friends? If not then wait till Feb or march.

[AstronautNinja]

If you have a garage and money buy one. 

[husoi]

Bikes are seasonal items. Buy in winter and keep it safe.

 

You will have some nice days to ride if you don't mind the cold and you practice.

 

[Nick the wanderer]

Hi and welcome.

Motorcycles are cheaper to purchase in the winter when folks don't use them, especially around Christmas when folks spend too much money on tat, and even more so when they get their credit card bills in January.

As a side note not sure if this is possible but if you can insure a ghost 50cc it could build up your no claims, goes a long way as a new user. The morality people may have something to say on that issue.

[AstronautNinja]

35 minutes ago, Nick the wanderer said:

Hi and welcome.

Motorcycles are cheaper to purchase in the winter when folks don't use them, especially around Christmas when folks spend too much money on tat, and even more so when they get their credit card bills in January.

As a side note not sure if this is possible but if you can insure a ghost 50cc it could build up your no claims, goes a long way as a new user. The morality people may have something to say on that issue.

My insurance did mention they may ask for proof of ownership. I get the idea of a ghost policy although I'd much rather pay for a bike I was at least riding every blue moon then one that didn't exist. At some point the cost of insurance will outweigh the benefit of the NCB. 

 

https://www.msminsurance.co.uk/

 

Has offered me some dirt cheap TPO policies on a few dual sport kinda bikes which may be useful for new riders. Something like DT125 and a TPO policy sounds a cheap and legit approach. 

[ColinWB]

Hi Stephen, welcome to the forum. I'm a newbie too, did my CBT in July and wanted to go on to do DAS as soon as possible after that, but the places near me were all booked up until mid October. I didn't fancy learning on a big bike in bad weather so binned that idea and hope to do it in spring next year. In the meantime I bought a 125 to get road experience and it will help build up no claims, fingers crossed/touch wood etc. A mate recently did his full license and looked for insurance for a 600cc bike he wanted but it was horrendously expensive because it would have been his first bike with no previous experience. So that's my long winded way of saying buy a 125 if you can afford it and have somewhere to store it, get road experience and build up an insurance history. They should all pay off in the long run.

Edited September 16, 2024 by ColinWB
Couldn't spell "me"!!!!!

[AstronautNinja]

5 minutes ago, ColinWB said:

Hi Stephen, welcome to the forum. I'm a newbie too, did my CBT in July and wanted to go on to do DAS as soon as possible after that, but the places near me were all booked up until mid October. I didn't fancy learning on a big bike in bad weather so binned that idea and hope to do it in spring next year. In the meantime I bought a 125 to get road experience and it will help build up no claims, fingers crossed/touch wood etc. A mate recently did his full license and looked for insurance for a 600cc bike he wanted but it was horrendously expensive because it would have been his first bike with no previous experience. So that's my long winded way of saying buy a 125 if you can afford it and have somewhere to store it, get road experience and build up an insurance history. They should all pay off in the long run.

I ended up paying £850 TPO on a BMW F900R with a fresh licence, zero experiences if that's any use when the time comes? Lexham I went with 

 

I did have to go through many many possible bikes before I found something I could get a sensible policy on.