I thought I'd post up a small guide with what to watch out for and what to do to get from having no bike, licence or gear to getting on the roads safely and legally.
This may be old news to most but I couldn't find anything when I was starting out so I hope to help some newbies
I've just recently started riding and this is what I went through and some of you may not agree 100% but it's the only way I knew how as I didn't have any close friends who rode bikes to guide me initially... Hopefully it'll save other newbies from having to go all over the internet looking for information and trying to make final decisions on what to do. If anyone has more advice on top of what I did, feel free to post up to correct/add.
Step 1
Getting some sort of lessons or trial to see if bikes are for you
Everyone around me was opposed to me ever getting a motorcycle, but I just went out and did it one day. Although it isn't the best idea to do that as it can strain relationships and things, you can't go your whole life wondering "what if".
Before that I had an uncle teach me the basics of riding and let me go off on his little 125cc bike. I loved it and knew I wanted one since then (2007). You need to understand there are considerable risks in riding and it is a steep learning curve compared to driving a car, I'd say I'm more than twice as alert on a bike than a car. I must admit I sometimes drive my car while txting, eating and turning with my knees. All that goes out the window with a bike. You must be awake, you must be observant of EVERYTHING. If you're the kind of person that thinks any of this while driving:
- "People always pull out in front of me"
- "People never merge correctly or never let me in and I run out of room"
- "Wow didn't see that till the last second, that could have been bad"
Perhaps it's not those around you but it's your own awareness when you drive that is causing these issues. You need to be more observant and look way ahead.
Take some riding lessons, (or what I did was buy a bike in the first place and ride around my neighbourhood late afternoon to get used to it) and/or do your basic handling skills test with the lessons included beforehand before you do anything else.
I went here, in Auckland: http://www.ridertraining.co.nz/594.html
I paid $200 for a 1 on 1 lesson on a Sunday afternoon and asked every question I could think of at the time and he was very patient, understanding and helpful. You'll soon see if riding is for you or not.
Step 2
Getting your licence
If you decide bike riding is for you and you want to go ahead with it. You need to do your basic handling skills test.
Basic handling skills test is to see if you're competent on a bike and you need the piece of paper saying that before you can attend the theory test.
Basic handling skills test in auckland: http://www.ridertraining.co.nz/594.html <-- This one is great because you can organise it all on pretty short notice, I hate waiting for stuff to get done!
Here is the LTNZ page for what you need to take with you for your theory test, you're looking for stage 1: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/fa...g-to-ride.html
- Basic handling skills test $200
- Learner licence application fee $48.70
- Learner licence test fee $47.40
- Total $296.10
The new licence test is done on computers and is actually quite a bit harder than the old lucky dip scratchy test.
Use this website: http://www.drivingtests.co.nz/
Click on bike tests, do all the individual sections with the specific questions first. Then do quizzes with 80 random questions over and over and over.
The questions in the real test are almost all the same but some are worded differently and you don't have to select multiple answers like you have to on the drivingtests website.
Do the quizzes online enough where you know all the answers before even reading the question fully! It's a very expensive test to fail and can be a real downer on your day!
For me, I sat my basic handling skills test on a sunday, walked into the AA on monday morning, got all my paperwork done and sat my test an hour later. Walked out with my cereal box prize licence in less than 2 hours!
Another thread for basic handling skills: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...Skills-testing
Step 3
Choosing a bike
Don't be "that guy" that buys a big bike because all your friends know someone who has a mean R1. Before you try be an Isle of Mann, you need to get the basics right. What's the point of stacking your 600cc bike into a ditch after a few weeks. Friends don't remember that you had a big bike, they remember you crashing. Forever.
I was constantly told to stay away from 125cc bikes as they're a glorified scooter, but I absolutely loved the look of the CBR125 and felt it would be the perfect weight and size for me. However after test riding one, I much prefer the bigger 250cc as I feel safer, bigger tyres and is still a good size and weight for me. 250cc bikes are always in demand from what I see, you'll never have trouble selling it off if you feel you've got the hang of things later on and want a bigger bike. So there's no need to start off with a big bike right away. The more you spend on one, the less it's worth when you come to sell it most times, especially if you drop it or damage it in other ways!
I also wanted to have a brightly coloured bike. As cool as something grey or black is, I'm just here to learn first. So I'll try make my life as easy as possible to start off with!
Have a look on trademe, prices shoot up for summer and bikes actually sell pretty fast when they're decently priced. If you want a particular type of bike, go inspect multiple ones so you know what to expect and what may not be right. There's a saying for some sports cars that even a shit one feels like a good one for someone who's never had one before. I don't doubt bikes are any different. But you're still too inexperienced to know, so go see as many as you can. A learner 250 bike will set you back around $3000, bit more or less. Set a budget and stick to it. Especially if you're very limited and you still need money to spend on gear!
You should take someone with you that knows his stuff to inspect the bike. I've worked on my own cars for a long time but a bike is a different story. Especially since we're dealing with carburettors and older technology.
I bought my bike before I got my licence or anything so I had to have a friend come and test ride and ride it home. It's a minefield out there and if a bike doesn't feel right, it probably isn't right! However if you choose to overlook certain defects that can be fixed later and won't cost much, that's fine too, it's a bargaining tool.
Here is a nice basic checklist for inspecting a bike: http://www.motorcycleforum.com/showthread.php?t=97790
Another site: http://www.clarity.net/adam/buying-bike.html
and another: http://www.visordown.com/features/vi...ips/19818.html
Step 4
Gear
The gear you wear will be dictated by the riding you are doing. I saw a good quote on here "Dress for the crash, not for the ride". You need to be aware that you're protecting yourself, how much are you worth? Yes we don't have infinite budgets, but don't you think maybe you could spend a little less on a bike and a bit more on gear? After all you're just starting out, you don't need an amazing bike.
I planned to ride around the north shore to work, friends houses and then later on commute to town for uni. As it is, I don't plan on doing any extreme sunday riding up in the hills or anything.
I did a lot of research into all this to see what would cover my ass (literally) in a crash and found the best combination for my riding in my opinion:
*Textile waterproof Jacket with foam padding (Not enough though, I may invest in some decent protection to replace the foam as my jacket can have it slipped in to place)
*Kevlar Jeans (Also have places so I can insert padding and protection)
*Leather gloves with double stitching on palms
*Helmet (Track use approved too so it must be decent?)
I also plan to buy a back protector and some decent riding boots with strong ankle support, for now I ride with some boots that cover my ankles and ensure my laces are always firmly tucked in/away. You need to be careful with what shoes you use as after a little while the top will wear away from changing gears and if they aren't thick enough it'll actually hurt your toes to change gears.
All gear is brand new and prices are as follows, I got all my gear from motomail and the guy there was really helpful and knowledgeable too:
- Jacket REVIT brand in black $335 http://www.motomail.co.nz/estore/style/rejaenergy.aspx
- Jeans BULL-IT brand $200 http://www.motomail.co.nz/search.asp...l%20it%20jeans
- Gloves R-Jays $60 http://www.motomail.co.nz/estore/style/rjgltorxl.aspx
- Helmet BOX $120 http://www.motomail.co.nz/estore/style/bohebx1.aspx
TOTAL: $715
Boots will cost about another $200
Back protector about $70
That is a very cheap spend on brand new gear. You can get much better stuff but price goes up accordingly. Yes you can get stuff cheaper from trademe, but it was so much hassle to get sizing and other logistical nightmares.
I've future-proofed myself by getting a jacket and pants that can have armour inserted into place. All my gear fits me beautifully and saved me the hassle of going around everywhere on trademe trying to get it all together. The gear is also under warranty for defects which is a bonus. You may buy second hand gear that has a tear or damage that was unnoticed and that may well be the place everything starts falling apart in a crash. Do you really want to leave it to chance?
There is an endless argument for textile vs leather gear. Leather WILL protect you better in a crash, way better by the looks of things. However unless you're being Isle of Mann on sundays, having decent textile gear will be just fine. Leather can be uncomfortable to wear all day at uni, can get hot and unless you have somewhere you can get changed at work or whatever, you're better off with textile.
I chose Kevlar jeans over textile jeans however as they can resist damage better from tests I've seen online and after some research BULL-IT jeans were a good mid-point between cheap chinese kevlar jeans and full blown Draggin Jeans.
One last thing, CNELL on trademe sells gear. Very poor quality when I went to see their gear in person. I wouldn't use it. If you're going that cheap (although their gear isn't that cheap, you can get good gear from other places for that price), then use that money to look for second-hand reputable brand gear instead.
Red Baron was average, didn't have much of a range and pretty pricey as well as the salesman being a bit of a tool.
Cycletreads also didn't have much of a range compared to motomail. However I've heard excellent reviews about them for their work and their gear is pretty good quality stuff.
Some websites for gear:
motomail: http://www.motomail.co.nz/
Cycletreads: http://www.cycletreads.co.nz/ (website is a bit of a pain to use)
1tonne: http://www.1tonne.co.nz/
Step 5
Insurance
Insurance for a bike is way cheaper than a car! In my case half the price! I did a bit of calling around first and settled on using Kiwibike. It was so much less hassle because they can find you the best company and prices for your requirements.
Third party fire and theft VS Full Cover
Third party is obviously cheaper as your bike is not covered in case of an incident. Your gear may not be either depending on what your policy states. Apparently bike thefts are really common too the kiwibike guy said. I've always just had 3rd party fire and theft on my cars but the difference with a bike is that:
1. It's already way cheaper than car insurance
2. The chance of someone hitting me, and my bike coming way worse off is really high.
3. Full cover was only $100 more than 3rd party fire and theft.
So I opted for full cover.
My premium price was dictated by the fact I had two incidents in my driving history- 1 loss of licence and another incident. However neither required insurance claims but they increased the price on my premium.
I pay $431.50 for full cover with $450 excess.
There appears to be a AA Roadside assistance also included in the cover which is great!
I believe my friend pays around $350? for full cover. So you're probably looking at around that much.
Motorcycle insurance thread: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...surance-thread
Kiwibike insurance: http://www.kiwibike.co.nz (Who I went with and saved me a lot of hassle)
NAC Insurance: http://www.nac.co.nz (Quoted me quite cheap for 3rd party fire and theft)
Swann: https://www.swanninsurance.co.nz/Pag...Insurance.aspx (If you're doing limited mileage for the year I'm pretty sure these guys can do cheap insurance for an agreed amount of KM)
Bits and bobs
Registration costs.
Way more than having a car, but who cares right!
Motorcycle 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months
Petrol driven - � 0- 60cc incl 99.14 198.03 395.85
Petrol driven - 61-600cc incl 102.01 203.78 407.35
Petrol driven - 601cc and over 130.54 260.85 521.51
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Originally Posted by Akzle
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