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Bikes .....all things bikes

Our current bikes are. PC50 in a box all others on the road and used.
1972 Honda PC50
2005 Honda ANF125
1972 Honda CD175
!972 Honda CB350 Four
1992 Honda CB400 NC31 Super Four
!982 Honda CBX550F2
1976 Honda CB750 F1
2005 Kawasaki Z750S
 
Holy Molly thread resurrection !!!!!
Unfortunately not pinball but i believe there are some bikers out there?
My lad who will be 17 in about 6 months wants a 50cc motorbike to go to school etc on, now I can see the point but I’m out of my depth as I’ve never owned a motorbike. We seem to be all over the place at the moment as to what he wants/needs? There appear to be some new things like Yamasaki? For about £2k? But the ones a few years old seem to be rust buckets? That seem to have had or need a lot of parts changed? Are these throw away bikes? Is buying a cheep one and spending lots of time & £ worth it?
He likes the look of the racer types like the old Aprilla rs50 ( yes I know they are only 50cc) but they don’t seem to make a modern version? The other thing he likes is a wk colt 50?
No rush just after some general advice what’s anyones thoughts are there good ones? Or ones to avoid? any pitfalls to look out for? Anyone got one coming up that someone might be upgrading from? These seem just to be for the 16-17 year old period? Then they go on to 125cc etc?
The bad bit here is he now wants some room in the garage to store / maintain / build this? So something has got to go! 1st world problems?
Thanks
 
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Try and convince him to stick with 50 and go to car. I am a biker for many years and the roads are just not safe enough any more for new bikers at a young age. So in MHO the sooner i can get him on a car the better.

Horses for courses though.

We bought him a brand new 50cc scooter for about £1.5k taxed this time last year ish. It is likely to hold value well when he sells it in a month or so as milage is low and we have full service history, assuming he passes his car test next week. It =has also had a pully derestricted, but not the engine so can go over 30 down hill.

Model | Lexmoto Motorcycles and Scooters

www.lexmoto.com www.lexmoto.com

Lexmoto dealer in Wisbech.

It has been fine, no issues at all.

If you have the 2k cash get him a brand new scooter.

JB
 
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If older than 16 - do CBT then get a 125cc
He will outgrow the 50 real quick and will want something better.
Work towards A1 license.
Oh, buy anything Jap, stay clear of Chinese.

Get him a copy of this, make sure he reads it too:

Also, good for beginners and advanced, get him to watch the following:
 

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Not sure if its changed recently but a while ago it became pointless for anyone under 19 to take a test except to get rid of L plates and be able to take a pillion.

Need to check again but pretty sure you would then still have to take another test once 19 to be able to ride a bigger A2 limit bike, and then another test at 21+ for the full unrestricted Licence.

All brought about by EU policy at the time I believe.
 
Yes, provisional Licence and CBT and then 50cc max until he is 17.

If he really wants to ride proper bikes later on it might be better to get something with gears instead of a twist and go.
 
Yep we started thinking about a twist & go, but are probably at one with gears? I think a car as soon as possible too! Would be the way to go? But he has somewhere to park a bike for free?
Thanks everyone
 
I wasn't allowed a bike at 16, so just did it when I was 18. Luckily, I was then forced to do it properly by my folks or get cut off.
If he is set on it, help him have good motorcycle gear, sensible training and even join in and do it as well.

Roadcraft, actually being able to read what is going on and apply the safe path, is a key skill and it is separate to being able to move up through the gears and be a good motorcyclist. Get the first right and you can then move through the power and types of motorcycles. At the beginning, being overwhelmed is a main cause of accidents, alongside doing something stupid.

I do agree, let him go 125cc, the 50cc stuff is either underpowered or going to be rung to an inch of its life and need work to keep it running. And Jap bikes for reliability and resale. But i do try to get people to dial in the roadcraft over 6 months before changing the bike to something they now know they want.

Now to talk safety: https://www.gov.uk/government/stati...ies-great-britain-motorcyclist-factsheet-2023
Averaged over the period 2019 to 2023:
  • an average of 6 motorcyclists died and 102 were seriously injured (adjusted) per week in reported road casualties
  • a majority of motorcycle fatalities (59%) do not occur at or within 20 metres of a junction compared to 41% of all seriously injured (adjusted) casualties
  • almost half (37%) of motorcycle fatalities were in 2 vehicle collisions between a motorcycle and a car
  • 67% of motorcycle fatalities occurred on rural roads compared to 40% of traffic
  • the most common contributory factor allocated to motorcyclists in fatal or serious collisions (FSC) with another vehicle was ‘Driver or rider failed to look properly’
  • ‘Driver or rider failed to look properly’ was also the most common factor allocated to the other vehicles involved
I share these because there has always been a saying about being safe on a motorcycle "it isn't just you, it is the other driver", which I believe to be a myth or at least one the reduces the responsibiility of the rider to get good training and make better decisions.
  1. 9% of accidents involve a HGV, highest category. Next is 2 or more vehicles (6.4%), followed by 1 Other vehicle (4.4%) which is not a car or HGV or LGV.
  2. 18% are aged 30-39, 14% are 50-59%
  3. Peak accident time is a Sunday 12-14:00 or Weekday home commute
It still seems to hold up that the majority of accidents are still older males going out for a ride at the weekends for fun. The worst time for it was April-May, when the sun first gives a warm weekend that rusty people decide to get their bikes out and ride them like they did back in September.

My last preach from the saddle. Get them to do a track day, wheelie school, off road riding or any 2 wheel related activity. They all teach you a skill that can transfer back to the road which is the most dangerous environement to ride. When I was at my best, riding 12k miles a year on the bike during the week and weekend, I was at a point where I was using only 60% of what I could do on the track, and when I needed a bit more, I knew it was there. Pushing 100% on the road, with 10% of the skills is the quickest way to get hurt.
 
Calimori said:
I share these because there has always been a saying about being safe on a motorcycle "it isn't just you, it is the other driver", which I believe to be a myth or at least one the reduces the responsibiility of the rider to get good training and make better decisions.
Click to expand...

I have to say I disagree slightly on this, if anything that statement shouldnt take responsibility off the rider and instead get training to be more aware and treat all vehicle drivers like they havent seen you.

I drove for 13 years before getting a motorcycle Licence and if anything I think its made we more aware of other road users even when in the car now.

Ive seen calls for all car drivers to have to take a CBT as part of their licence test and personally I think that is a good idea.
 
Glad to debate this over a beer.
I have heard too many bikers not taking more training, almost fatalistically saying that they won't be the cause of their death. It doesn't stop them riding, but stops them improving.

And yeah, every junction with a car is going to pull out. Every corner has ice or diesel on it. Every person is going to step out....
 
Calimori said:
I have heard too many bikers not taking more training, almost fatalistically saying that they won't be the cause of their death. It doesn't stop them riding, but stops them improving.
Click to expand...

Sadly I think this applies to car drivers as well, lots out there that need more training but clueless to how bad a driver they actually are, I think ego can play a lot into this.
 
I've been riding full time all year round from my 16th birthday and still at it today. 70 in July and I can't imagine life without one I rarely drive a car. They have given us so much. Our lass has also been riding for nearly 50 years so we have seen all the good and bad sides of motorcycling.
At 16 despite all the training he is going to thrash it and chances are crash it. SH 50cc bikes are nearly impossible to find without some accident damage unless from a dealer where they will have put new panels on so that should tell you something, or you find one that a girl has owned. Girls seem to respect life a little more than boys.
As a rule all mothers hate them.
As for Chinese bikes why not they are cheaper and it will get thrashed and crashed within an inch of its life and Honda, Yamah, KTM, Triumph, BMW and even Harley have bikes made in China, Thailand and India.
The hardest part will be stopping it from being stolen.
 
Paul said:
I completely believe that ALL drivers should be forced to ride a bike for 6 months before they can drive a car.

Controversial - however it would save SO many lives..
Click to expand...
I have ridden 1000s of miles all over Europe and find car drivers to be far more aware and courteous to motorcycles than here. I've always put it down to far more teens start out initially on mopeds.
 
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