New biker

[sue2112]

Hey all, I'm new to this forum and looking for any guidance...please

I'm about to do my CBT in just over a week, and hopefully will start looking at bikes 🏍 soon  

Could anyone recommend a decent 125 to start out on, I'm a short female 5ft 1, so nothing too high, I'd like to touch the floor lol? 

 

[Bender]

Welcome and good luck

 

Any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

Bike size answers will be along soon I'm sure  

 

I would stick to anything used and Japanese, it will hold its value well.

 

Do the CBT see what bikes they have and see what you think of them.

[onesea]

Sit on as many bikes as you can you will soon work out what you like.

Suzuki VanVan and cruiser style 125s tend to be low seat height.

125s can be a nightmare to find good ones are like hens teeth, hence the Chinese ones are so readily available.

Much depends how long you plan on being on a 125 for.

 

Bike gear for females is hell, you might find yourself going up 2 clothing sizes before you even start riding.  Don’t be conned into buying the best of the best there is some good cheap mid range gear out there.

Being female you will have lots of choice on EBay and Facebook, just don’t buy a second hand lid.

 

Good luck with your CBT we expect you back to say how you got on.  Don’t worry if you don’t make the grade first time, you will be joining the best of us.

[ChrisBiggsUK]

Echoing what everyone else as said so far (and as a relatively new rider myself), get yourself down to a local used bike dealer that has a good reputation and ask them if you can sit on a few bikes to get a feel for what will be the right fit for you.  Size, shape, weight, you need to get one that fits you just right.  You can also get your mitts on some gear to try on, see how it fits, and have a good chat to them in person.  Decent dealers will look after you and truly make you feel part of a dysfunctional family rather than a customer.

If you can find one, get a good used 125.  Might be difficult to find, but I can heartily recommend a CG125 if you can find one that is in good condition.  They are very simple, reliable, easy to maintain, forgiving of an inexperienced rider, will do 100mpg and if you look after it will hold its value well.  If not a CG, then as others have said, a similar good condition used Japanese bike will do you right.  

Try on helmets!  Don't just buy one that you think will fit on the internet because it is cheap.  Believe me, I made that mistake.  I was just lucky that it did fit!  Could have been so much worse!

And with the CBT itself, as onesea has said, don't be worried if you don't nail it first time.  Took me three attempts as I was not only new to biking but also new to driving a vehicle of any kind and so the start of this motorcycling adventure was a bit rocky.  Now though?  A couple of thousand miles later, nothing can stop me!  I'm zooming all over the place at all times of day and night and in all weathers and have even taken up being a god-like super mechanic too!

And finally;

Welcome to the best forum and best community you will ever find!

[Steve_M]

1 hour ago, ChrisBiggsUK said:

Try on helmets!  Don't just buy one that you think will fit on the internet because it is cheap. 

100%

 

I’ve bought a Shoei Neotec off the internet for myself as it’s a like for like replacement. Looking for a helmet for my good lady we couldn’t find a like for like replacement - and the new Neotec is way out of our sensible budget. We’ll be looking at other options (Schuberth seems likely). We will be visiting Infinity motorcycles in Glasgow to try on options. It’s a two hour journey each way to get there but we trust their advice having used them several times before.

[_amw_]

> Try on helmets!

 

I can only second this (and the other good advice given above), although I can share a story: 

 

I've been riding a bike for a good while and like you I started with a 125.  At that point I got a cheap-ish Caberg helmet... I kept it for (probably) too long, it was great, but eventually I decided to get a new one... went to Bike Stop in Stevenage (a nice shop with lots of choice btw) and tried on various things - I eventually settled on a rather more expensive Arai Axcess II - it looks great and a I like the helmet, however after about 60 - 90 minutes of wear one side of the front of my head (one of the front 'corners') starts to hurt.

 

Obviously, other than wearing it for 90 minutes before purchase, I'm not sure how I could have found this out.  It's not *awful*, but I think if I was regularly riding for stints longer than 1 hour then I would probably buy another helmet.

 

Anyway, my two points were this:  1. Make sure you try it on for as long as possible; 2. If there's a choice between one that looks nicer and one that feels more comfortable, then you know which one to pick

[sue2112]

Thank you all so much for the advice so far looking forward to start riding, I may visit some bike shops over the week, we have a couple good ones here  

[V650]

Also try get yourself a good lock and chain 

You don't want it getting stolen on first day 

[bonio]

I'd second a suzuki vanvan. Nice low seat and comfortable too.