Buying a bike, need help

SeanW

Ok, I'm planning to buy a 2nd hand "learners bike" at some point in the next few weeks. Problem is I don't really know what I'm doing - this will be my first set of wheels ever.

My main questions are in relation to insurance. Being on a provisional license I know I'm restricted to bikes with power output not exceeding 25kW, or anything over .16kW/kg.

I don't know a whole ot about bike engines either. I'm looking for something that meets these conditions without restriction, and also something that will insure relatively cheaply.

I'm a 23 y/o M, 2nd provisional, no NCB. I can't afford to pay something obscene like €3000 for TPO insurance. So what should I be looking for in a bike? What questions should I ask any dealers etc?

a_ominous

Given your Longford location, insurance should be cheap enough. Don't know what the loading is for Dublin, but think about 40% would be approx right.

What sort of use do you expect for the bike? Short runs? 50 mile a day commute? A 250cc cruiser might be sufficient for both while keeping the insurance premium down. Something with fairing might be better for winter riding to protect you somewhat from weather.

Go to a couple of bike shops. Don't buy anything or commit to a purchase. Sleep on it. Some shops will be able to give you an insurance quote as well as they deal with AON. AFAIK this is slightly cheaper than going direct. At least it used to be when they dealt with Hibernian (no longer in the market).
When buying a bike and gear, most shops I've been to in Dublin will offer you a discount of 10-20% on the gear. Ask for one anyway, you've nothing to lose.

Pigeon Reaper

first bike get something without fairings or if you do get fairing put crash mushrooms on it. I've yet to meet someone who has not dropped the bike when starting out(normally happens when stopping or at low speeds). Fairings are nice in winter but can be ugly to some people. 250cc makes sense when starting if you can afford the insurance. Ask around and see what types of bikes a reliable, these are normally considered boring by some people but it will get you from a-b without fuss. something like a CB250 is bomb proof whereas a hornet250 etc can be fun but are a handfull for a complete beginner. some of the 125's can be good but slow. If you're planning on riding national roads you'll want a bit more speed.

Hotblack Desiato

SeanW wrote:

this will be my first set of wheels ever... 2nd provisional

Presumably that's a car provisional for driving the family car?
You'll need to get class A added to the provisional so you can ride a bike.
Check out www.irishridertraining.com also. Some can provide a bike for initial lessons so you can get a taste of what it's like (And run your potential purchase ideas past the instructor for advice!) before committing yourself.

SeanW

ninja900 wrote:

Presumably that's a car provisional for driving the family car?

Nope, have both A and B. I just never used the first one

Thanks guys, gives me something to think about.

Supercell

Buy what you feel comfortable with, in all my years of biking i never ever got checked about the restriction, even on my BMW F650 unrestricted that I did my driving test on, and only got two grade one faults on (less than my instructer mwahhaha!!).

The restriction stuff is a bunch of crap, learn to ride on a small 125cc bike with gears, the ride what you feel comfortable on.

Just remember - drive in front, only pass yield and stops signs on the side of the road without slowing on your driving test(always slow at all other times)..and you will be safe.

Bike restrictions - insurance companies don't ask, or care, your tester doesn't care either, just drive defensively..yield and stop have no meaning to the wary biker.

SeanW

One last question.

How do you ride a bike out a dealership legally, wrt tax and insurance?

I don't quite understand the sequence of events for taxing/insuring a new purchase. Since you have to have tax and insurance to go on the road, but have to have particulars of the vehicle to get these, which you may not have until you make a decision on the day, what is the normal sequence of events for this?

SeanW

Ok this question might seem really lame to you guys but I'll ask anyway.

I don't understand the "Group" system of classifying bikes, could someone please gimme the gist of it?

a_ominous

Bike Groups:
Carole Nash have 17 different groups or classifications for bikes. Similar are used for cars, but Irish insurance companies don't make them known. Seem to be more public in the UK.
Based on power to weight ratio of vehicle. A small CC bike like the NSR 125 is a 125cc bike but is very light and is classed as a group 5 bike. A restricted Bandit 600 (33 BHP) is a lot heavier and is in the same group.
Most of the bike shops can sell you insurance as well and will have the AON spreadsheet of bike groups giving prices, for example, for male rider, living in Dublin, grouped by age and licence.


Re requence of events in buying a bike
yes you do need to have insurance when you leave. That's your responsibility, not the bike shop's. It is possible for someone with insurance to walk into a shop, say <fx LB Andy voice> "I want that one" </fx>, phone insurance company and ride out there and then. In practice, that wouldn't happen much.
Bike tax for my 1300 is 67 euro for the year. Can't do the 3 or 6 month thing, so the bike will probably be taxed. If not, you need to get it sorted ASAP, like when you get back registration docs back after change of ownership.

galwaytt

My Aprilia Atlantic 500 scooter comes in under the .16 rule, so you can ride it unrestricted on a provisional too.
Being a scooter it's also only group 4 or 5 (I think). My wife's first quote, no ncb on it was 375 or something. And being a 500, it doesn't hang around or get caught holding up traffic.......

tk123

SeanW wrote:

One last question.

How do you ride a bike out a dealership legally, wrt tax and insurance?

I don't quite understand the sequence of events for taxing/insuring a new purchase. Since you have to have tax and insurance to go on the road, but have to have particulars of the vehicle to get these, which you may not have until you make a decision on the day, what is the normal sequence of events for this?

Alot of the shops have forms for Aon so you can fill it in and fax it over to them from the shop so you're insured for driving home. After a few days you'll get the policy details in the post..

subway

you can get away without tax for a week or two while waiting for the documents to come through.
youll pay back tax to the date you bought it.

ive been stopped twice on bikes i just bought and the garda was fine with the explantion.
might want to carry the receipt with you till you get tax sorted anyway.

if your going with aon,
the shop will give you a receipt for the policy,.
carole nash will take details over the phone and youll be insured straightaway.

bikes dont need to carry the policy with them so theres no problem with the gardai.
although if you are stopped and sont have docs youll have to present within 10 days at a station of your choice.
theyll be in the post in a day or 2 anyway, so again no hassle there