I'm 18, just got my A2 license, turns out I can't insure any of the bikes I wanted to

zubair · 22-07-2020 11:46am

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

The chap I did my first IBT with said if it wasn't for insurance companies requiring newer bikes, he'd still be using the CB400s with learners.

Get a newer bike and they shaft you on value sitting in your garden.

Would the cb250f or cbf250 be options? Both are in a lower category to the ninja250.

galwaytt · 22-07-2020 12:21pm

zubair wrote: »

Get a newer bike and they shaft you on value sitting in your garden.

Would the cb250f or cbf250 be options? Both are in a lower category to the ninja250.

https://www.donedeal.ie/motorbikes-for-sale/benelli-bn251/25317113

https://www.donedeal.ie/motorbikes-for-sale/1999-honda-cb250-hornet/25380760

https://www.donedeal.ie/motorbikes-for-sale/honda-cbf250/24594089

goblin59 · 22-07-2020 1:41pm

zubair wrote: »

Get a newer bike and they shaft you on value sitting in your garden.

Would the cb250f or cbf250 be options? Both are in a lower category to the ninja250.

Thats more a thing for cars as far as im aware,
My insurance hates me having a 06 car, but the age of the motorcycle is less of a factor than the location you're keeping it in.

Damo_108 · 22-07-2020 10:08pm

galwaytt wrote: »

I disagree: my young lad has one, and the sooner he's off it and on to a bigger one, the better.

When we started, 125s were faster than local traffic: 1.0 Fiestas etc. Nowadays young lads are driving 2.0 Tdi and a 125 is a mobile roadblock, unable to stay out of and get out of, harms way.

There's bound to be insurable 250s out there.

OP - whats your budget?

Not much, 3000 max, but the smaller the insurance the better. I think it's wiser to just do as the others have said, get a 125 for a year or so, not worry about dropping it, and then upgrade. Also driving slow for starters isn't that bad, joke's on the lads who are going too fast and will eventually crash.

Damo_108 · 22-07-2020 10:14pm

zubair wrote: »

Get a newer bike and they shaft you on value sitting in your garden.

Would the cb250f or cbf250 be options? Both are in a lower category to the ninja250.

They look nice, but are a bigger investment, more expensive = more stress riding it. I think I'll do as the others have advised, do the time on a 125, get a no claims bonus, and only then upgrade.

Damo_108 · 22-07-2020 10:19pm

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

It'd be worth the OP checking to see though, they're not sexy machines so they might be insurable. Again I got it no bother as my first bike.

And OP, if a CB400 does interest you, let me know. Mine is for sale and I can vouch for it being a solid machine that'll see you well.

I could be interested but after doing the research, it looks like I can barely insure some 250s, not to mention the insurance cost is ridiculous. I've lost hope about getting what I wanted, for now. Then again, time flies, I'll be able to get my A license in 2 years, I hope that comes with some benefits.

Damo_108 · 22-07-2020 10:21pm

ForestFire wrote: »

I know everthing is gone metric now, but what's that in inches......!! ;-)......

Asking for a friend.....

XD

goblin59 · 22-07-2020 11:01pm

Damo_108 wrote: »

I could be interested but after doing the research, it looks like I can barely insure some 250s, not to mention the insurance cost is ridiculous. I've lost hope about getting what I wanted, for now. Then again, time flies, I'll be able to get my A license in 2 years, I hope that comes with some benefits.

Your wallet will thank you.
a 125 is a grand bike, look out for a honda Vandero, they're a seriously good bike.

if you want something fancy at that engine size, Mutt do a 125 scrambler bike.

zubair · 22-07-2020 11:16pm

Damo_108 wrote: »

I could be interested but after doing the research, it looks like I can barely insure some 250s, not to mention the insurance cost is ridiculous. I've lost hope about getting what I wanted, for now. Then again, time flies, I'll be able to get my A license in 2 years, I hope that comes with some benefits.

Make sure to go for the test on the A2 license if you plan on doing progressive. And remember, you'll have the same problem again trying to get insured on an A. But as I said before, you'll just have to serve your time, get some NCB behind you and it will get easier. You'll still have fun on whatever you get.

TheW1zard · 22-07-2020 11:19pm

Saw a learner on a gsxr600 what a joke. Way too much bike for them

zubair · 23-07-2020 7:33am

TheW1zard wrote: »

Saw a learner on a gsxr600 what a joke. Way too much bike for them

I'd say there's a lot of learners on them, just that one was wearing their vest.

goblin59 · 23-07-2020 5:01pm

TheW1zard wrote: »

Saw a learner on a gsxr600 what a joke. Way too much bike for them

I wanted to do mine on a CCM R30,
but the damn bike was too light to be A class haha.

Ended up on a 800CC Dual sport.

Figured If im to get an A class bike get one that will last me a long time.

OhToBeByTheSea · 24-07-2020 5:11pm

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

They've a surprising amount of pep to them for a 400, and physically they look bigger than you'd expect from a 400.
Quick acceleration does start to run out of steam after about 80km/h, but I did a year commuting up and down the M1 at 120km/h on mine.
It's not ideal for longer drives due to the lack of wind protection, but they're absolutely savage for city driving and non-motorway roads.

The fact I was happy with mine for five years speaks to how good they are, so hopefully they're insurable for younger riders.
The chap I did my first IBT with said if it wasn't for insurance companies requiring newer bikes, he'd still be using the CB400s with learners.

I had one myself. I only retired her because the clutch cable kept snapping, left me stranded a good few times.

Jimmy Bottlehead · 24-07-2020 5:33pm

OhToBeByTheSea wrote: »

I had one myself. I only retired her because the clutch cable kept snapping, left me stranded a good few times.

Never had that happen, but the reg/rec did go on mine (typical 90s Honda!) so had that replaced and she didn't miss a beat after that.

TheWarChicken · 28-07-2020 10:23pm

Right, I'm in the same boat, 18yo looking for insurance after moving up from an A1. Doing a year on a 125 doesn't mean anything to the insurers. Liberty told me that I can't insure any 250 until I have a full license. I have searched far and wide for bikes I could actually insure and only came across one, and I'm 90% sure it's an error on liberty's system. For some reason the Honley Rx3 is learner legal, no idea why, and also no idea where you would go about getting one, or whether you'd want one considering it's a single cylinder Chinese bike with no spare parts market, but it's there.

I ended up selling my single cylinder 125 air cooled cruiser, getting shafted by insurance, and then buying another single cylinder 125 air cooled cruiser to get me through the summer, and more importantly to keep my skills up for the test in September. As far as the price of insurance is concerned, although I paid 1000e the first year, down from 1400e having done a liberty course, my renewal was only 240e, which is of course infinitely better than anything you'll be paying on a car, and that's not even bringing tax into the equation.

Carole Nash, AXA and principle are weird, because they will insure me, but they will only give me comprehensive cover, which is going to cost 3k or some kind of nonsense number. This number didn't change much based on the bike either, it was similar for a cbf250, dragstar 250 or a cb250f for example, even though those bikes perform completely differently to one another.

Put simply mate, this is just one of those things where it sucks to be young, go off and get a 125 and sit your test on a rental bike. The 125 market is ridiculous because of young lads doing the exact same thing as I did and what you will probably end up doing, so you can be nearly guaranteed to get your money back. Then go and get your ninja 250, your cb250 or whatever. The auld fellas on here will be bragging about their 600cc super sports and their "ability to actually exceed the speed limit" but you'll be able to get off the bike without pulling your bad back. You're just gonna have to live with it for the time being. And trust me, it's infinitely better than getting mammy to ferry you around the place.

Also worth noting, I only checked this with liberty and carole nash, but they won't insure you on a 500 until you've been on the road 3 years, so do with that information what you will.

TheW1zard · 28-07-2020 10:39pm

The answer to your problems are a msx125. I went from a rsv1000 to one and i love it lol

Jimmy Bottlehead · 29-07-2020 9:55am

TheWarChicken wrote: »

Right, I'm in the same boat, 18yo looking for insurance after moving up from an A1. Doing a year on a 125 doesn't mean anything to the insurers. Liberty told me that I can't insure any 250 until I have a full license. I have searched far and wide for bikes I could actually insure and only came across one, and I'm 90% sure it's an error on liberty's system. For some reason the Honley Rx3 is learner legal, no idea why, and also no idea where you would go about getting one, or whether you'd want one considering it's a single cylinder Chinese bike with no spare parts market, but it's there.

I ended up selling my single cylinder 125 air cooled cruiser, getting shafted by insurance, and then buying another single cylinder 125 air cooled cruiser to get me through the summer, and more importantly to keep my skills up for the test in September. As far as the price of insurance is concerned, although I paid 1000e the first year, down from 1400e having done a liberty course, my renewal was only 240e, which is of course infinitely better than anything you'll be paying on a car, and that's not even bringing tax into the equation.

Carole Nash, AXA and principle are weird, because they will insure me, but they will only give me comprehensive cover, which is going to cost 3k or some kind of nonsense number. This number didn't change much based on the bike either, it was similar for a cbf250, dragstar 250 or a cb250f for example, even though those bikes perform completely differently to one another.

Put simply mate, this is just one of those things where it sucks to be young, go off and get a 125 and sit your test on a rental bike. The 125 market is ridiculous because of young lads doing the exact same thing as I did and what you will probably end up doing, so you can be nearly guaranteed to get your money back. Then go and get your ninja 250, your cb250 or whatever. The auld fellas on here will be bragging about their 600cc super sports and their "ability to actually exceed the speed limit" but you'll be able to get off the bike without pulling your bad back. You're just gonna have to live with it for the time being. And trust me, it's infinitely better than getting mammy to ferry you around the place.

Also worth noting, I only checked this with liberty and carole nash, but they won't insure you on a 500 until you've been on the road 3 years, so do with that information what you will.

Apt username

zubair · 29-07-2020 9:58am

TheWarChicken wrote: »

The auld fellas on here will be bragging about their 600cc super sports and their "ability to actually exceed the speed limit" but you'll be able to get off the bike without pulling your bad back. You're just gonna have to live with it for the time being. And trust me, it's infinitely better than getting mammy to ferry you around the place.

We may be auld but we don't brag and we're too old for super sports... it hurts our wrists and back. Now that I've clarified that I can get back to my nap.

goblin59 · 29-07-2020 12:58pm

zubair wrote: »

We may be auld but we don't brag and we're too old for super sports... it hurts our wrists and back. Now that I've clarified that I can get back to my nap.

my auld fella hates super bikes,they were never his thing xD
He would brag more about having a Suzuki DR650, by far his favourite bike out of his collection.

lalababa · 30-07-2020 2:34am

Just stick to the 125 until options/quotes improve. Average 125 is fine for everything up to 100km roads. A Suzuki gn should do 100km but a varadaro or tdr 120+km,
The newer ybrs and cbf do 110+.
125 cruisers much slower 80kmph.

TallGlass2 · 31-07-2020 12:02am

I remember trying to insure and Evo 4 at 19 I think it was, I got it for 2500€ in the end. I remember people saying you'll get it for cheaper when your older. At around 30 now, they won't even quote it. I dunno what to say, I am still alive. Insurance companies would have you believe you'd kill yourself straight off the bat.

My first quote on the FZ after 1 year on a full licence was about 400€ in my late 20s. I remember riding the bike and saying to myself 'this is ****ing mental', riding this bike for 400€ insurance and the Evo at 2500€.

Moral of the story, insurance makes zero sense. It's all statistics and it works for them. Sadly.

galwaytt · 31-07-2020 11:52am

TheWarChicken wrote: »

Right, I'm in the same boat, 18yo looking for insurance after moving up from an A1. Doing a year on a 125 doesn't mean anything to the insurers. Liberty told me that I can't insure any 250 until I have a full license.

Question for you: I assume you did your year on A1 on an A1 Learner Permit ?

So, which test are you doing in September- A1 or...A2 ?

If its A2, did you resit all the A2 IBT modules and get a new A2 LP...or... ?

TheWarChicken · 31-07-2020 5:40pm

galwaytt wrote: »

Question for you: I assume you did your year on A1 on an A1 Learner Permit ?

So, which test are you doing in September- A1 or...A2 ?

If its A2, did you resit all the A2 IBT modules and get a new A2 LP...or... ?

I did my IBT with an A1 then did an A2 IBT when I turned 18. I turned in my A1 permit when I got the A2. So I did all the modules again. I don't regret doing it, it was a needs must situation at the time and I knew I'd end up doing the A2 IBT again. I'm sitting the A2 exam in September.
I would have had the whole lot sorted ages ago were it not for the bloody 6 month rule.

galwaytt · 05-08-2020 12:31am

TheWarChicken wrote: »

I did my IBT with an A1 then did an A2 IBT when I turned 18. I turned in my A1 permit when I got the A2. So I did all the modules again. I don't regret doing it, it was a needs must situation at the time and I knew I'd end up doing the A2 IBT again. I'm sitting the A2 exam in September.
I would have had the whole lot sorted ages ago were it not for the bloody 6 month rule.

Thanks, my young lad is in the same boat.

I'm 18, just got my A2 license, turns out I can't insure any of the bikes I wanted to

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