I wish I saw this last year, true words spoken. I purchased a Harley Sportster S when I got full licence, the bike after a 20 min test ride sold it. As a few weeks went by, I knew the bike wasn’t for me as too lively and the ride was back breaking. Chopped that in and lost a fortune, got a Triumph Bobber, lovely thing, found it too heavy in town, not experienced enough. Chopped that in got a Yamaha XSR 900, lovely bike, all the functions to tame it and help me. Still got it and love it but looking at a Z900 now, this rate, I’ll get through a lot of bikes before I find the ‘one’.👍

Awesome video, only just done my cbt for first time, been riding a couple weeks now and love it, will do full test in a year not rushing anything need to build confidence still on 125

My Triumph Street twin ticks all those boxes, I absolutely love it. ❤️❤️❤️👍👍😷

Cheers buddy comforting stuff I needed to hear 👍

Just passed my MOD 2 today in the pouring rain- thanks to all the help from your videos. This is really useful to think about what bike to get next! I have a Honda cbr 125 at the moment . Thanks so much

Good to hear your opinions. Good recap on test & license routes of the past.

Thank you for the advice given in this video. I'm 68 and just passed the bike test a month ago. Actually at under 5' 5" the idea of getting on a 1000cc machine - well I just wouldn't so I'm probably looking at 500's.

Thank you for uploading thism we need guys of your experience and occupation adding to the conversation

Excellent videos, thank you. Very educational and just what I was looking for. I have had a full licence for about 15yrs. Started riding late in life and now 70yrs old. I stopped riding about 4yrs ago for various reasons but I miss it very much and am looking to start again. But, I'm going to look for some additional training before I go out on the road proper. I went from a 125cc straight to a VTX1800; always wanted a cruiser. I also bought a smaller Guzzi Breva 750 shortly after to compliment the bigger bike and allow me some choice depending upon how I was feeling and what I was going out for. Having seen this video I can say I fully understand your comments and agree entirely. While I was quite happy with the 1800 from the start it was a very big bike, took some time to get used to and needed to be ridden in a completely different way to the Breva. And it did not lend itself easily to tight turns whereas the 750 allowed me to practice the tight turns and improve my handling. That was essential. Having had that experience I will probably now be buying something in the 650/900 range and look for an upright riding position to take the strain away from the wrists, it all depends upon how a bike responds and how it suits me on a test ride. A bike weight of about 220/240kg will suit me perfectly; the Breva was 240kg and the VTX was 350kg. Just have to find the right bike now; perhaps another Guzzi. Loved them both. Thanks again, Peter, Stevenage

Very truthful and helped me as a 1980’s biker. Now returning to it so bought a 125 and thinking of my next bike. Need to test ride some to decide - spot on

Hi. Interesting video! Having reached 40yrs old, then found an old RF900 that had been sat for a few years. Bought it for £300. Taken it to pieces, learning as I go.. It’s now running. Just got to get tyres then MOT. I have my CBT booked for 23rd July. I’ve done my theory a couple of weeks ago. Then I’ll be pushing on for my DAS. THEN I can finally jump on my RF!! Can’t wait!

Im 45 passed my test. Bought I a GSXR 1000 for first bike. Got to respect the bike. Which i have no issues or accidents. Stay safe & respect what you ride and you will be fine.

Great video. You answered a lot of my questions as a soon to be new rider.

Very informative video! I've been riding my 125 for a year now and I have passed my A1, 1 month after buying the 125 and I have only 1 year left and I'll go ahead and do my A2 license and most likely pass it my first time around since I'm quite confident with my riding up until now. I'm looking to buy an MT-07 as it's the bike I've fell in love with from seeing it and wathing a lot of KZfaq videos with it, however, I haven't thought of doing a test ride until having watched your video since I bought my 125 without doing a test ride and have been very happy with it and probably will be. Anyway, I'll be back next year after I've passed my A2 license and let you know about my progress and what bike I end up buying. I'll definetly take into consideration this video :) Much love for the video, take care!

Passed DA test at age 41 three months ago and first bike is a Yamaha Tracer 9 GT. Love it! Get a taste for it on the 650cc bikes during lessons and the different driving modes makes it adaptable for new riders. Planning on additional training to ensure I stay safe. Great video and excellent rationale as to the "old" advice 👍

Very informative video! I have my CBT tomorrow and luckily I'm old enough to do Direct Access. I'm looking at getting a Yamaha MT-07 once I'm passed.

Great Video, many thanks. I Plan to watch lots of your videos before my CBT later this month, then hopefully onto my full licence soon afterwards!

When I bought my vfr800 4 months ago I wasn’t too keen on the positioning and where my feet were. After a trip to matlock bath I loved the bike. Especially how my back and bum felt afterwards.

Coming off a 125cc,i got a er5,cheap to buy,cheap to insure/tax and great on fuel,not the best looking but for a year/18 months will do to gain road expierence,,good video👍

Just the sort of advice and info that I came here looking for. Trying to weigh up what machine I think I want, versus what I actually require and can likely handle - not all one and the same! I'm Currently going through DAS after a few years practice on a 125.

Got my A license last winter. Bought a v strom 650 to commute. Love the bike although admittedly the weight and height affects my confidence, especially as a shorter rider. When it’s moving, it’s fantastic, when slow… it’s a bit of an effort. I’d love a sports bike in the future though.

Thank you for your wise advice. Stuck choosing between bikes and I think you have helped me.

Excellent video, thanks for sharing! I am hoping to do my CBT training sometime this year, so am looking at all sorts of videos on KZfaq and asking questions to riders. My wife used to ride motorcycles many years ago, but we both want to do the CBT test and buy a bike, or bike each eventually - I love camping, so I will probably go for a touring bike when the time comes. Take care, and thanks again for sharing this video!

Good to know the licensing history

I’ve bought a Yamaha xsr700. Would love to add a Triumph Speed Twin, and a scrambler of some sorts

Thankyou for this, great inspiration an priceless experience.

Excellent advice. Thanks for sharing.

WOW what Great Advice, I did things the wrong way round. I am just over 50, Rode bikes when I was a young lad. Passed my car test bought cars a lot of cars. A neighbour was selling a 20 year old ZZR600 the bike of my childhood dreams, I bought it and take my Mod1 in a weeks time can`t wait to get on it.

Great advice..and yes, my first big bike will be a CBF 1000, however, I believe it will be the bike for the purposes I need from it and it is a great looking bike.

Got my Mod 2 soon, but for people over a certain age should be able to ride up to a 250cc with a CBT. After spending a year riding on dual carriageways on a 125cc has shown me that it's more dangerous on the slower bike than a slightly more powerful one

Thanks ....I have listened to you & others I consider sensible & realistic. When getting 1st bike for after DAS I want something to allow me to develop, to help build confidence & importantly to allow me to practice & develop slow speed control work. A well maintained semi-faired version of a naked 600, (bandit/hornet etc), with maybe a few marks, decent tyres, non knackered suspension/brakes & crash bobbins my likely choice.. I want 1st bike to have normal bars, predictable, forgiving handling & tame ego's etc. Watch this space

From where i stand, a lot of what you say does fit into my dynamic, i currenty drive so at least i have a fair amount of years of road experience, yet we always learn more, I have watched plenty of videos about bikes, and to be honest if i wanted just fun i could just get a MSX 125 as they are adorable and adaptable to so many scenarios, yet im not going to get a ninja 636 and take it off the beaten track, even if i had the skills to its not clever, I want to pass my licence and have a bike i can just enjoy and not worry about other bikes for a good while, see where i stand with how it fits with my lifestyle, i may use it every day, maybe every weekend, or i might just be someone who wishes to tour europe every now and then without the hinderance of a car, I may even find out after all this, Its just something i wanted to check off my list and not revisit, Seems unlikely, but we shall see. I feel like creating a bond with a motorbike is extremely important, My personal choice is kinda routed at this point, Ducati Scrambler 800, to me its a minimalist bike, It doesnt look too much and not too little at the same time, i could have it in cafe racer spec or some type of touring spec, its a rather stubby bike compared to many and i really like that, it has a bit of power but not too much, and from what im told that is very important to me is linear throttle response, for what i want in a motorbike everything lines up Yet on the personal side of things, I like the bike anyway but i feel like there is additional attachment to a friend i knew who had one who just simply quit the motorbike life as the rest of her personal life took over, She misses it and well, I miss her being around as a friend, Yeah im probably hoping i can fill in a gap in my life here, but if that works then im also happy regardless.

As a scooter person I am having to ride something more powerful with gears so I can ride something very mild with no gears.

Very useful video would like to thank you for you addressing the right spot to choose the very first bike once we pass mod 2 currently I’m riding 125cc KTM duke I’m 38 years old once pass I’m look between Harley sportster 883 which lot my friends call it girl bike 🏍 but I don’t agree with them and Triumph bobber as second option finally the Yamaha bolt they call it in state here in the uk it’s know as vx950 .

Would help to have time stamps. Sorry to say I gave up as the commentary didn't seem to get to the point. Sorry.

Love your videos. Very helpful. I did my cbt last year. I have disabilities and can't ride any of the training schools bikes. I can only ride cruisers because of the leg position. My bike is an unusually heavy 125 with an 18 litre tank. It had its MOT the other day and weighed in total with all my gear on at 250kg. I deliberately trained on this bike as I wanted to get on to the bigger bikes. I'm used to a heavy weight cruiser now, and have bought my DAS bike. (Kawasaki VN900) Its 35kw with 50bhp and weight 281kg. Is this classed as an A2 bike? The DVLA say that for your cat A licence your bike must exceed 35kw. The training school recommended the vulcan 650s (44.1 kw with 61 bhp) for me but it was extremely uncomfortable for my legs, (as was several other cruisers) Their attitude was to train on the bike your are going to be on for the next couple of years that accommodate your needs. I hope I've not done the wrong thing in getting this bike, but I have to have something with enough power and torque to accommodate my mobility chair to get to my hospital appointments and days out. Now that I'm nearly 50 you sober up to the way you think about things. I want make sure that I can be the best rider I can be. I so agree that you never stop learning. You are always the student. After I've got my A licence, I am definitely interested in the enhanced rider scheme or some other advanced course to keep my skills up to date.

Fantastic advice! Many thanks. I am starting my DAS Mod 1 & Mod 2 training on the 5th February and I have been riding a CB 125F for the last to gain experience and knowledge. I had a Honda SS50 moped when I was 16 (1981!) and passed the government test and RAC Graduate test on it. I passed my driving test at 17 and didn't fall out of love with bikes but never seemed to get round to getting another bigger bike. I took several IAM drives which is a huge fountain of knowledge for road craft. When I pass I'm hoping to test ride and buy a second hand Triumph Street Triple 675 or 765 S or R. I sat on the new 765R at the NEC Bike Show Birmingham last December and it fitted like a glove (I'm only 5'8") and fell in love with its looks. I wondered whether you have ridden any Street Triples and what were your thoughts as a first bike. I've read and seen a lot of reviews and it seems that maybe the 765RS is a step too far for a first big bike?

Excellent advice m8 👍 Im 43 i had no previous bike experience Iv currently had 2 lessons at bike school on 125 ,400 , and now sv650 which out of the 3 i liked the most . I will have cbt then A test hopefully when all is done i wouldnt mind an sv650 . I hope its nt too muvh power as a beginner .

A 650 parallel twin or V-twin is a completely different beast than a 600 in line four. No new riders, in my opinion should ever get in a 600 in line four superbike as a first ride.

I've gone the other way, my bike is in the garage waiting for me to pass my mod2 hopefully next week. It's an enduro, beta 350rr as I wanted to do some green lanes etc however, after doing my training on a trident 660 I'm in love. But it's going to be a hard sell to the wife.. as 'i only really want to ride off-road dear' and I now have an enduro and a van to move the enduro... Oh well you are only middle aged once.

I'm doing my A2 next year got my eye on the ninja 400.

Hi, I've been looking into getting into biking and really wanted either the Honda CB650R or the Aprilia RS660, and as a 24yr old, driving since 17, 6yrs no claims (not that that matters) with what I'd like to think is a sensible head not out to kill myself, there's no way I'd be able to get insurance on either, I think it's a bit mad. 1 out of 29 would insure me and it was a 5k quote! still 1.9 after 1yr! My TT is only 500 pounds to insure

Just found your video and it really talks to me! I managed to lose confidence om my Tracer 9,.even though I love the bike in many ways. I am wondering if I should trade it for a smaller lighter naked bike to restart training.....hmmmm, decisions ...?!?....

Im not sure if this would be a 'teaching someone to suck eggs' situation but what sort of things should i look for, or try to gauge during a test drive with how limited the time on it is?

Test riding a bigger more powerful bike for the first time is a bit of a waste of time. You need to try a number of bikes before you can really understand what you want.

Bandit 1250 naked for me ?, but it's not a keeper, adv bike nxt year

Just got a VFR800. First big bike. Passed mod1 on it. Hope I pass mod2 because iv not used it on road yet. One day to go until test. The pressure is on because the insurance is very expensive as a provisional rider and as I can't use it legally on road it's a lot of money to just sit there in the garage. If I pass the premium should be reduced by quite a bit. What bike are you riding in the video please?

Kawasaki versys

I been riding a ktm 350 for 3 years now on and off road decided I've had enough of going off road and want a road bike but don't want to lose the excitement the dirt bike gives me on the road been looking at a cb650r mt07 or mt09 can find any to test ride so stuck on how fast these bikes are as watching acceleration videos doesn't mean jack to me. Any help would would great

bro i rode 125 for 1 year, 15k miles and just passed das on bandit 600, waht should i do? i can ride that bandit good but it was trash and i hated it. instructors cb1000r feels like a small bike like my 125, but bandit feels like a weird shape and dont like it much. i thought i wanted something small, but i wana go 75mph+ on motorway. i think i want flat seat and maybe dirtbike, but idk, i never rode one. i think crf300 too slow and small. aprilia sx 125 looks to tall tho. do i buy a cb1000r? is that too much bike for me. it didnt feel like it riding instrcutors bike. felt nicer than bandit. lots of people in comments seem to be car drivers who passed later and got on big bikes. idk what to do man i dont know any bikers. only old ones with these tales of bad stuff, but as u said you changed ur mind once u become an instructor...

i dont think in my whole life ive come across a process as long winded, needlessly over complicated and poorly resourced as getting my full bike license. its taken me over two entire months to get from theory test to mod 2 and thats still three weeks away. i phoned round every training school in my county and none of them can get a mod 2 in this side of september. its a total fkin joke. what are the dvsa playing at? why dont they staff up to meet demand? its been like this for years accordingly to my instructor. im paying a fking fortune for tit as well. good insight into the license history by the way. god knows why its not been properly streamlined but yeha....

Hi...so,i Pass my CBT 2 monts ago and driving now with Sym Get x 125.What is Your recomendations for me as next step for Get Full license and how much that cost me?

I'm 33 and doing my full A licence looking at getting a ninja 600 for my first bike does anyone know how much I'll be looking at to insure it?

Do you know when the new rules on taking A2 test on 250cc come into force? Thx

which bike are you riding please

All I got from this video is the Suzuki Hayabusa is the best first big bike ✅