Advice on "first bike" comparison

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I'd go DAS too for reasons previously covered but .....

There's another way of coming at this:

Put buying *anything* on hold.

Go and do an off road day. Once you get used to having the bike squirm and
slither underneath you you learn when to hit the power and when not and its
big fun. Its also a softer surface so though you *can* be hurt you're less
likely to be so you're less worried. This will do more for your confidence
than *anything* else will.

Kawasaki school up in Newmarket run by an Ausie exMX star is very good. The
others I dunno. KTM in Devon is said to be OK but costs a lot more. BMW do
a softer Enduro style thing in Wales but costs more still and lacks the same
impact I suspect.

If you wanna see what you'd be letting yourself in for read 'Pro Motocross &
Off road Motorcycle Riding Techniques by Donnie Bales & Gary Semics ....
It has the bonus you'll arrive with an idea what you're trying to do too.

--
Nidge
ZX6R J2 Stunning in zit yellow. KX 125 MX 'I'm snot green -fly ME'. A few
bits of CB500S in Norwegian Parrot blue. BOTAFOT#63 BOMB#5

'Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand'.
Homer (Simpson).

 

Nidge says...

What's a Yamaha DL125 look like?

 

I just passed my CBT and the scariest thing is the weak/non existent
headlights on a 125, inspires confidence riding in front on pitch black
wet country lanes. I've booked my DAS as

*anything* is better than a Honda CG125

 

Heh.. <MSOHPR>

 

snip

Buggritt....It *looks* OK from here. Obviously its not.

*How* do I fix it?

Nidge

 

snip

Quite a lot like a Yamaha DT i25 but with a typo ;-)

Nidge

 

Either by using Quotefix, which has been mentioned here many times -
or by persuading Bear to use a newreader that recognises dodgy sigseps
- one like Agent, perhaps.

Or use Agent/Gravity yourself instead of OE - that's the way I'd go.

 

Bear wrote

I think you will find that the newsreader of choice these days is
Xananews. Built and designed with ukrm in mind.

 

Bear wrote

Dunno.

I have always been a Turnpike user but given; the author of Xananews
lives here and is quick to respond to suggestions for and criticism of
his product and no bugger who uses it complains and it is much more up
to date than other freebies, it seems a sensible choice.

 

That's a fantastic idea!

I think I may get a Kawasaki ER-5, though. I'm rather tempted. I'll
check to see if my "driving school" have one in-stock so I can at
least get on one before I make a snap decision and click BUYBUYBUY.

A track day on a Trail Bike sounds quite fun.

--Nick.

 

I can ride a 500cc beastie even when I do a restricted licence...

I just need some time to get used to it all. This time tomorrow,
after a full days zooming around everything may be a lot clearer.

--Nick.

 

DId my test on one. Admitedly not the greatest example of the breed, but I
loathed it.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Bear wrote

I feel exactly the same way about TP5 but sadly it has got to go.[1]


[1] Unless one of the windows expert types can tell me how to copy a
working installation from one machine to another and not have the thing
accuse me of being the hacker from hell.

 

Bear says...

I did close on 800 miles in a week on Jasmine's ER-5 in the south of
France. I thought it was a capable bike that did all you'd expect it to.
Yes it's heavyish, but well balanced and easy to manouver. The power
delivery isn't scary, but they trot along quite happily at illegal
speeds if needed and the brakes are well up to the job. The best bit is
they are dirt cheap and better built than the Italian built CB500s.

They are mechanically sound, but the Italian built ones[1] suffer badly
from corrosion.

[1] IIRC the wop-built ones are easily identified by a drum back brake.

 

Bear says...

 

Way too short for me too.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

You missed out the dead guy with the eyes.

 

Hoho!

--Nick.

 

Are 125s really that much 'wobblier' than anything else? I've been
riding a 125 for 5 months and have never ridden anything bigger. I am
likely to find a more powerful bike easier to handle? I'm genuinely
curious about this as I'll be doing my DAS in the summer and always
assumed that a more powerful bike would be likely to be more of a
handful to maneuver.

 

Yes.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk