The quest for the perfect bike

I seemed to be getting nowhere fast with my bike search, and I was worried that the uncomfortable feel of the Marauder was something to do with me being quite tall and having stupidly long legs. Whichever bike I decided to go for really had to be comfortable, and my legs did cramp up a few times on the CBT, so I decided to do some research into which was the best 125cc for people with long legs. I decided to drop SMC Bikes a line to see if they could advise me. I got a call back from a very helpful chap called Tony who invited me to pop down and try out various models, which I did that very lunchtime.

Tony was great, very friendly and helpful, hoping to make a sale of course but not pushy at all which I very much appreciated. The first model I sat on was a shiny brand new Marauder. It was still gorgeous but still didn't feel particularly comfortable. I then tried some of the motocross style bikes, which Tony thought I might be a bit more comfortable on as they're pretty high up and ideal for someone with long legs. I tried the Yamaha WR 125 X, and whilst my legs definitely didn't feel as cramped, I really didn't like the look of the bike. You may say looks aren't that important, but when you're spending this much money on something, it's got to be something you want to look at! Next I tried the Yamaha YBR 125 which was ok, but it didn't particuarly grab me. Then I tried a second hand Honda Varadero 125, again a slightly bigger bike more suited to taller riders, and again it didn't particularly grab me, although it did feel pretty comfortable. The last bike I tried was a Yamaha YBR 125 Custom. You'll have to excuse the cliché, but pretty much as soon as I sat on it, I knew it was the bike for me. It's sort of a halfway house between a normal bike and a custom, so it had the comfort but the looks as well. I tried the Marauder once more just to make absolutely certain, but it was definitely the YBR custom for me. I had to go back to work, so thanked Tony for his time and told him I'd be in touch. 2 hours later I'd phoned him to say "I'll take it" and, having paid my deposit, had thus crossed the point of no return.

Decisions decisions...

So, the question was...what bike to get? Actually, that was one of many questions; new or second hand? Private seller or dealer? Cruiser or sports bike? The latter question was pretty easier to answer as I've definitely a cruiser gal at heart. A bit of Googling revealed that there aren't many cruiser 125cc's, and the first model that caught my eye was the Suzuki GZ 125 Maruader.

It's an absolutely gorgeous bike and a search on Autotrader showed there was a second hand one for sale at a dealer about 30 miles away. So, I jumped in the car and went to see it. The trouble is, with second hand bikes, cars or indeed anything mechanical, I don't really know what I'm looking for! It was a 2001 model and in pretty good condition, some surface rust on the exhaust and the wheel lock was broken, but with 30,000 miles on the clock. Then I came to sit on it, and I hadn't expected a cruiser to feel so...well...weird. The angle of the shift pedal and the foot break meant my feet had to be stuck in a funny position, and I'm sure it's something I would have got used to, but it just felt all weird. So I drove back pondering the Marauder and thinking that perhaps it wasn't the bike for me after all. The quest continues!

In the beginning...

I can't remember when my interest in bikes first started. My earliest memory of sitting on a bike is when I was about eight or nine up on the Isle of Skye. My dad bought me a book of custom Harley Davidsons when I was fifteen or so...perhaps he thought if I could read about them I wanted want to ride them :) Eight years ago I did my CBT whilst my parents were away on holiday. I didn't tell them I'd done it and needless to say they weren't best pleased when they found out. I'm not really sure why I did at as I couldn't afford a bike at the time, and before I knew it the two years were up and my CBT expired.

So now I'm finally at the stage where I can afford a bike, I have decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Having toyed with the idea of doing the DAS and going straight in with a bigger bike, I decided to start off with the CBT, get a 125cc and practice, practice, practice! I know I'll be a better rider if I do it this way rather than go straight in at the deep end, and as I'm not a speed demon when it comes to bikes (cars is another matter as some of my friends will vouch for!), I feel sure I'll be content with a 125cc for the foreseeable future. I decided to start this blog to keep a bit of a diary of my riding experiences which I will hopefully be able to learn from and be able to look back on with fondness when I'm an (hopefully!) experienced rider in many years time.