Any scooter owners

Melly+2

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An ill say not the little ones kiddies have, the ones with engines lol. I wana get one to i can get home from work at nights, does anyone have one and could tell me how long it takesnto learn so any help would be great, fankoo :D
 
Ok I can help! Me me me!

You have to book a CBT test, try looking on http://dsa.gov.uk/AtoZATBINFO.asp?cat=295 for your nearest CBT centre. For that all you need is a spare day, a helmet and riding protection clothing (leather/bike jacket, gloves, jeans if you don't have riding trousers). If you are buying a helmet you can get one for about £40 for the cheapest one, but don't ever buy one second hand as - same as child car seats - you can't be sure if it has been in an accident before or not.

It costs about £60 (or around about that) and when you pass your CBT certificate allows you to ride on L plates for upto 2 years. If you don't do your full test before the end of 2 years, you must retake your CBT, which isn't much hardship really.

The day goes that you spend a morning learning basic theory, which lanes to take on a roundabout, etc etc basic driving safety theory. Then the afternoon they take you to a practice site (mine was a school playground on a weekend) and they show you the controls of the bike/scooter, how to hold it, start it, ride it etc. Then they test that you are happy with turning, indicating, pulling away from a junction, braking etc etc. When they are happy that you can safely ride it, they will take you out on the road for an hour or so with helmet microphones and take you for a practice ride, making sure you use all the things that you practiced and that you are safe on the road.

After that day you get your certificate! Easy as.

On the day you can choose to learn on a scooter or a 125cc motorbike. I personally have done 2 CBT's.. one on each.

Hope that helps?

If you need any more info on bikes/equipment/scooters/CBT's etc just let me know :D
 
thats awesome thanks shell, im gonna find out about this as i dont like the idea of driving a car and this seeems more like my kinda thing, is it eaasy to ride one??
 
A scooter, yes. A bike is a little more tricky but great to know how to do it. If you do a bike CBT instead of a scooter, you can ride either because you have learnt the gears and compared to a bike a scooter is a doddle.

Here's embarrasing photo of me 4 years ago on my scooter, the afternoon that I passed my CBT (before it got stolen :()

000_0149.jpg


And here's the bike I had up until the head gasket blew and then I found out I was pregnant

AAAA0017.jpg


I got both on ebay in top condition. The scooter was a Gilera SKP (£300) and the bike was a Yamaha SR 125 (£450).
 
hi hun we have just bought my son one for christmas, he took his cbt in a day and it cost us £99, we have bought him the pergeout speed flight that cost us £1.500 and the insurance was £438 third party fire and theft, we have also bought him the bike lock and helmet and safety suit and gloves they cost us £265
 
oooo you look well hard :lol: hehe i think im gonna stick with the scooter, seems easy enough for me, my biggest fear is falling off but really, its only for me to get to and from work as the person who drives me home at nights is leaving and i really like my job and this seems to be the best way for me, or im hoing so, woowoo im excited :dance:
 
You could always pop along to your nearest place, or give them a call to ask anything. Bikers/Scooter riders are a friendly bunch :) and you'll love it being a girl too, if theres another person learning with you who is a guy and you learn faster than him, he'll get such a ribbing :) it's a good laugh and doesn't have to be that expensive. Buying the equipment and doing the CBT does cost to start with but it's only stuff you have to buy once/rarely really unless you have an accident or retake your CBT.

I've had 2 accidents by the way, both on my scooter. Once I drove into a car because I wasn't looking properly when I pulled out of a junction, and the other was on a roundabout because it had oil on it. I wasn't seriously hurt though either time, just a few bruises.
 
Oh, my helmet was £60, jacket was £55, boots and leather trousers I got off ebay for not a lot (can't remember how much), gloves were £15 uber thick warm and protected ones, heavy duty chain and lock £5. My insurance has been round about £200 for both years I was on it, once with Bennetts and once with Norwich Union but use confused.com or something. As I said before my bikes were both on ebay too with nothing wrong with them. Only thing I ever had to buy was scooter 2 stroke oil, a new tyre (should have been £40 but they ripped me off), owners manual off ebay and a new spark plug.
 
I've had bikes and scooters in the past. They are both easy to learn, but the scooter is easier. Personally I never felt safe going back to something with tiny little wheels like most scooters have after I had been on a bike for a while. I passed my motorcycle test a long long time ago, before CBTs were invented! If you are going to go for a scooter I would recommend a 125cc rather than a 50cc. You are a bit quicker on a 125cc and it just means you can nip out of trouble a bit quicker when some numpty in a car tries to kill you :x .

The most important thing after your bike is your outfit - you will want to look cool (obviously!) but be safe too. You MUST have big padded gloves - the 2 times I have come off my hands would have been skinned to the bone had I not been wearing proper gloves. It makes me cringe to see motorcyclists without gloves on. Having shared a hospital ward with a girl who had been knocked off her bike by a Range Rover I would also recommend armoured jacket and trousers - yes, even for a scooter! Cars can hit you whatever you are on, and wil do damage to you, so best make sure you are protected as you can be.

Finally if you can get an outfit which has discreet relective bits on it that helps too. Car drivers always say 'sorry, love, didn't see you.'

As Leckershell says, bikers are very friendly, and it's a nice and easy way to get about. But wet sometimes, which is why I'm happier in my scuzzmobile these days :lol:
 
ive got a bike liscence too and love it, but have never used it here. we lived in Gribraltar for 7years and i did the test there, all it involved was 10 random questions for then theory then 1/2 hour driving around town and they give u a liscence up to 700cc :shock:

They dont worry at all about safety and i also slipped on oil on a round about and my bike ended up under a 4x4 and i was the other side of the road, was only wearing a vest top and cargo pants and all my clothes were torn to shreds :shock: (this was on a scooter)

then i brought a 125cc bike and i did feel more safer on it, they stick to the road alot better, i think the weight of them helps too. i will try and find a pic of my bike it was lush.... was the same as this.... (looks alot better then it sounded)

VT125_1_title.jpg



im been too scared to buy a bike here, its soo wet and windy.
 
leckershell said:

That looks so similar to one I had (except mine was dayglow red/orange. Was it a Gilera SKP by any chance?
 
Xena said:
That looks so similar to one I had (except mine was dayglow red/orange. Was it a Gilera SKP by any chance?

Yush :D

leckershell said:
I got both on ebay in top condition. The scooter was a Gilera SKP (£300) and the bike was a Yamaha SR 125 (£450).
 
leckershell said:
Xena said:
That looks so similar to one I had (except mine was dayglow red/orange. Was it a Gilera SKP by any chance?

Yush :D

leckershell said:
I got both on ebay in top condition. The scooter was a Gilera SKP (£300) and the bike was a Yamaha SR 125 (£450).

oh lol doh I didn't read that part :oops:
 

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