Bikes! Help!

[JWR]

I'm currently looking at bikes for myself for next year. I shall be 16 and I love bikes. I have had a look at some at the moment and I was wondering if there is any other bike lovers in the community and if they could help me out.

I am currently looking at two different bikes.

Yamaha WR125x-  £2,100-£2,500 - The bike also has some after market additions.
KTM Duke 125- £2,000-£4,050 - The bike has some after market additions.
Both bikes I love and would be very happy to have, I shall also add more after market additions to the bike.
If anyone has any other suggestions of bike that I can have a look at please tell me.
Here is a couple of pictures of the bikes.
Bike 1 (WRX125x): £2,100

Bike 2 (WRX125x): £2,200

Bike 3 (WRX125x):£2,500

Sorry for slanted photo.
Bike 4 (KTM DUKE 125): £4,027

Thanks for reading! Ride safe!
Lots of love
Jake X

 

[Saul Goodman]

What purpose will it serve? Will help in terms of choosing 

 

[JWR]

What purpose will it serve? Will help in terms of choosing 

Its just for messing around, getting to school and just having fun riding pretty much

 

[Drama Lama]

 

[Zeito]

More of a car person, but before I got my first car I was looking at getting an Aprilia RS125. 2 Stroke engine, capable of getting to 110mph unrestricted. I hard they were good bikes, but they require a lot of engine maintenance or the 2-stroke will seize up. I think 2nd hand they were going for < £2000

A friend of mine had a Yamaha YBR125 (Crashed into an ambulance of all things, spent a bit in hospital) which was good until said crash - they have a reputation for being nearly bulletproof. Unless you bin it into the back of another vehicle at 50+ mph.

Another friend of mine has a Cagiva Mito Evolution (2-stroke) for a while. He liked it because it was quick, cost about £500 to insure, and £15 to fill the tank. 

It was a cool bike, it was unfortunately stolen the one night he didnt lock it up in the back yard, theives just cut the lock and walked away with it. Unfortunately due to some insurance technicality - they didnt pay out on the theft.

Unfortunately I dont know much about bikes but i would say dont add any after-market mods until you talk to your insurance. Bikes are statistically dangerous, even if you're the safest rider, other motorists can be maniacs. At 16 with your licence and CBT, your insurance will likely still be quite high, even on a bike, and mods may make it too expensive to insure, or you'll not be offered any quotes, and if you add them on the  sly and then crash or something, you'll be driving with no insurance - £5k fine + 6 points on your licence, which as a new licence holder will get you an automatic driving ban.

I am glad I didnt end up getting the bike in the end and got a little hatchback car. The insurance was maybe 4x the price, but the safety and comfort factor was worth it to me.

Best of luck with whatever you decide on getting though!!

 

[S E S H H E A D]

thought you could only get a 50cc at 16

 

[Banci]

I like the second one.

 

[JWR]

thought you could only get a 50cc at 16

Yes this is true, but I am going to buying my bike around mid yea/end of the year and by that time I shall be turning 17, wow that sounds strange when i think about, things go fast.

 

[James D]

Nice to see that you getting into bikes. I am not really familiar with the bike rules in the UK but I think it is the same as where I live (the Netherlands). Just to make sure,

A1 11kw - A2 30kw - A unrestricted?

My personal opinion is that I find A1 motorcycles to dangerous for the highway. They can barely go 100 km/h/60 mph. The problem with that is that you inevitably end up between 2 lorry's. In my opinion this creates allot of danger. I don't know about the speedlimit there is in the UK but here in Holland it is 130 km/h or 80 mph. As you can't go faster than 100 km/h or 60 mph, if you want to overtake the lorry, there is allot of much faster traffic coming up behind you. You don't have the power to accelerate. That is why I would wait so you can get your A2 license. 

This is just my opinion about it. But if you really want to, who am I to say that you shouldn't get a bike. 

Anyway have fun finding your bike, and be safe

If I had to choose I would definitely choose the KTM Duke 125. I know someone who owns that bike, also A1 land she is very fond of that bike. But she also complains about the power (on the highway).

 

[LONG BEARD]

My Babette