Must get a licence and bike, must be a thundercat, my journey begins.

Hi all, I'm new, I'm 25 in a few weeks. Coming up to my last year of a uni degree. I had big plans for my current car but have decided to sell all the bits, sell my other car and a couple of othe belongings (hard decision) and try get my licence and a Cat within the next year. I've never been on a bike before but I have a feeling I know what it will feel like. I want the freedom, speed, fuel economy (more freedom), I wanna go for rides with people (I have a few mates with bikes, my brother has his licence and is close to getting a bike) and get into it all. I love the gratitude and respect involved with looking out for bikes and letting them by; If you can't keep up with it don't hold it up.

Seen a direct access course in my area inc CBT etc for £700, is that reasonable? Any encouragement or advice would be welcomed, I've lots of other things to save for but it'll help keep my dicepline and I'll be able to afford to do it!

Nice thought and aim. I suggest you try out biking first. A pillion on a friends bike might help to give you an idea. It would save some money if you dont end up liking it. Plus try it out in the wet as well, as most of us do have 4 wheels when the heavens want to give us all a bath!

I cannot give you an idea of the cost as i passed my bike test back in 1982 when they had only just introduced the two part test. Heck was it that long ago....

Hi & welcome, bloody great brain wave you had there, just as i did start of 2009, good choice of bike to start as well, damn beautiful, forgiving when required, and very naughty when required, altho not on public highways of course, ahem!

Sounds like a reasonable price, but as mentioned i would get CBT done as stand alone to start off with just in case to see how you fare with it all, and would check that price includes cost of tests, if it does then sounds approx. what i paid all round last year to complete DAS.

Other than that i'd also say yes it is worth the hardship as seperated single skint dad i too had to save like billy-oh to get up and on road and best thing i've done in long, long time, world takes on much more fun appearance, good luck!!

welcome to the forum,

i did my das never having been on a bike before (well, apart from the Sydney Harbour ride but that was on the back of a Hardley so it doesn't really count!!!) did my cbt one week and started my das couple of weeks later and didn't get on a bike between times
My course was about £600 plus the cbt which at that time was £75 so that sounds like a reasonable deal.

Suzie

Hi & welcome. Sounds a fair price for the course to me, i would recommend doing the cbt first & make sure the 2 wheeled life is for you. A friend at work made the decision to start biking but gave up after the cbt, it just was not for him. Anyway welcome i am sure you will love it & great choice of bike. Paul.

Welcome to the forum

Try the get on campign, it's FREE

Hi Beavy69 & welcome to the site.

No idea about prices but always worth shopping around.
Sounds like you've got you're head screwed on.
Hope it all works out well for you.

Cheers
Rosco

Hi again, thanks all for all the positive comments! The wet is a concern as I've seen on bikes (and felt in cars) how easily grip can be lost. But I'll just take more care and hold back a bit as I'm sure most do in the wet. Plus I'll be keeping my car as I do love it and its good for carrying stuff including SWMBO (convincing her to pillion may be harder than saving for the bike in the first place!).

I've had a go on a moped a couple of times in a carpark and enjoyed that but obviously that not enough to see if two wheels are definately for me. Separating the CBT from the DAS only adds a tenner so I'll definately take that advice. Plus it means I'll be able to afford to book the CBT soon; first step on the ladder and a taste of riding should keep the motivation up.

Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the get on website too, there's lots of good info to read on there until I take my CBT, after which I'll update on my progress.

In the mean time does anyone know of any Southerly meets or members. I live in Bournemouth. I see there appear to be a lot of people from round Lincolnshire, and Scotland that meet and I'd certainly head up for that once or twice a year, just wondered if much goes on down here?

Tim.

Id never been on a bike in my life till i did my CBT two years ago and its great fun, easy to pass and teaches you the ropes.....But be warned.....This motorbike lark is addictive

The BC (Wales) rideout is ace and a bit more your direction? But all the rideouts are worth travelling too!!

Even at slow speeds in the wet an 'off' is crap - as i discovered! I was only doing 15 miles per hour-ish and I knackered my boots, scraped my lid, scuffed my leathers, broke a fairing, scratched the rear panel and scraped the engine guard!!

I hate the wet!! Thats why I stick to the puddle jumper when its wet as I cant see the point in being wet and cold.

Take Care!!

Ellie

beavy69 wrote: The wet is a concern as I've seen on bikes (and felt in cars) how easily grip can be lost. But I'll just take more care .

Take it steady you'll be fine and if you do get a cat you'll find them very forgiving - neil had a go on mine in the wet and couldn't believe how steady and easy to handle she was - never worries me riding in the rain - my IAM observer was an ex-traffic cop who was on the bikes too and he said i rode exactly the same in the wet as the dry (i don't go fast enough to go slower ) which was a good thing - if you have the confidence in your bike and your tyres it works wonders. The DAS is a great starter point but as with all things the real learning comes when you pass the test and you're out there without someone yelling through a headset at you - there are plenty of things you can do like bikesafe, Rospa, IAM which'll help you get the best out of your bike and help you try and avoid some mistakes that are made but one thing at a time - once you get your das under your belt you'll be off and away.
Plus there's a wealth of experience in the chaps on here so take advantage of it.

Suzie