Good bike to start out on?

RoryCarroll

I'm turning 17 this August and I'm thinking of getting myself a bike to get around town and to school. Right now I'm just deciding what bike I want before I worry about lessons, the test and insurance. I would be ideally looking to spend no more then 700 euro on the bike itself and would like for it to be 125cc or lower but I have absolutely no motorbike knowledge so I don't know what a good reliable bike for cheap is. I am about 9 stone and 6foot if that changes anything.

I have been looking around donedeal and gumtree and there seem to be some decent priced bikes on there but I'd definitely have to get them checked out before buying to make sure I'm not being sold a piece of junk.


Thanks for any help in advance.

cantdecide

There was another guy in your situation posted just here yesterday. Looks like the best options are TDR125 or Varadero 125 for a tall guy on an A1 license. There are others but you'll find it difficult to get insured on anything sporty that appeals to you.

What kinds of bikes do you like? Sportsbikes? Harley type things? Adventure bikes like those big BMWs?

AgileMyth

Agree with the TDR or Varadero suggestion. I really wanted the Varadero when I was your age but they were making crazy money at the time.

I'll be selling a Honda cityfly 125 in a couple of weeks. Brilliant little bike if its your kind of thing.

As cantdecide said above, decide on what type of bike appeals to you and go from there.

RoryCarroll

cantdecide wrote: »

There was another guy in your situation posted just here yesterday. Looks like the best options are TDR125 or Varadero 125 for a tall guy on an A1 license. There are others but you'll find it difficult to get insured on anything sporty that appeals to you.

What kinds of bikes do you like? Sportsbikes? Harley type things? Adventure bikes like those big BMWs?

Nothing too big, Harleys and those sort adventure bikes don't really appeal to me, scooters and mopeds appeal to me because they seem to be cheaper and smaller which would make it a lot easier to store as I will be keeping it in the side passage of my house so there isn't that much room for anything too wide.

Those two bikes you mentioned look good but may be just a little too dear for me. The max I'm looking to spend is 700 but ideally would like to keep it around 400-500 so I can buy all the gear needed straight away so I wouldn't have to wait.

I have been looking at this bike recently - http://www.maxmoto.co.uk/gilera_dna_50_125_180.shtml - as a second hand 50cc seems to be cheap enough and I love the look of it.


Am I right in saying that a 50cc engine would be noticeably cheaper then getting a 125cc one?

AgileMyth wrote: »

Agree with the TDR or Varadero suggestion. I really wanted the Varadero when I was your age but they were making crazy money at the time.

I'll be selling a Honda cityfly 125 in a couple of weeks. Brilliant little bike if its your kind of thing.

As cantdecide said above, decide on what type of bike appeals to you and go from there.

Yeah the Cityfly looks like the type of bike I like, I probably wouldn't be buying anything for another good few months but out of curiosity what sort of price would you be selling your Cityfly for?

AgileMyth

RoryCarroll wrote: »

Yeah the Cityfly looks like the type of bike I like, I probably wouldn't be buying anything for another good few months but out of curiosity what sort of price would you be selling your Cityfly for?

To be honest I haven't even considered it yet, but I'd be surprised if its out of your budget.

That DNA is cool for a moped I have to say. Check insurance quotes on the 125 and the 50 before you buy if you do decide to go for one, there might not be much in it.

inchiuvatu

if you have picked a couple of styles of bike that you like then the next stage is to get the insurance quotes not sure what you had in mind for prices but they wont be cheap, best of luck

cantdecide

One thing about the DNA you should have noticed... it's fecking tiny. I'd go for a straight up moped if that's the way you want to go. Just make sure that you're not making yourself like mopeds because they appear cheaper.

I would say too at this stage- don't expect miracles for your budget. You might be lucky and find the first bike is perfect. Be prepared to play the waiting game for the right machine. It mightn't come to that but bear in mind it might be necessary to walk away from some poor examples.

RoryCarroll

AgileMyth wrote: »

To be honest I haven't even considered it yet, but I'd be surprised if its out of your budget.

That DNA is cool for a moped I have to say. Check insurance quotes on the 125 and the 50 before you buy if you do decide to go for one, there might not be much in it.

inchiuvatu wrote: »

if you have picked a couple of styles of bike that you like then the next stage is to get the insurance quotes not sure what you had in mind for prices but they wont be cheap, best of luck

Thanks to you both for the help, I'll definitely get a few different bikes in mind all with different engines and get them all quoted for insurance.

cantdecide wrote: »

One thing about the DNA you should have noticed... it's fecking tiny. I'd go for a straight up moped if that's the way you want to go. Just make sure that you're not making yourself like mopeds because they appear cheaper.

I would say too at this stage- don't expect miracles for your budget. You might be lucky and find the first bike is perfect. Be prepared to play the waiting game for the right machine. It mightn't come to that but bear in mind it might be necessary to walk away from some poor examples.

Yeah it is fairly small alright but that doesn't really bother me. I'm going for a moped because they just seem like a good starter bike, I also don't want too big an engine since I'll just be going around town and up to school and also my dad would probably be happier with me riding a bike if it had an engine under 100cc.

CJhaughey

You know, if you can find a good Yamaha RXS100 they are a great bike.
Old school and 2t but next to indestructible.

RoryCarroll

CJhaughey wrote: »

You know, if you can find a good Yamaha RXS100 they are a great bike.
Old school and 2t but next to indestructible.

It looks good, on the classifieds though all I can find are ones that need some sort of work on it and I'd rather buy one that is in good working condition so I don't have to shell out more. I think the next step is to get quotes on different bikes and see what sort of engine would be the best, then decide what bike to get.

Del2005

RoryCarroll wrote: »

It looks good, on the classifieds though all I can find are ones that need some sort of work on it and I'd rather buy one that is in good working condition so I don't have to shell out more. I think the next step is to get quotes on different bikes and see what sort of engine would be the best, then decide what bike to get.

Your not going to get a €500, or any sub €1000, bike that doesn't need work unless you're very lucky. At that price range, in this country, you're generally dealing with ex courier hacks or low initial cost learner bikes neither type will have had an easy life.

What amount of work that's needed is how you'll have to sort them out.

CJhaughey

Nice RXS in Wexford for 600 http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/motorbikes/2238681
These are pretty simple bikes and are not hard to work on.