I'm new to the forum and pretty new to the world of motorbikes. I have passed my CBT and want to get a 125cc bike, the only problem is my mother is dead against it. I am 21 and I know her opinion should not sway me too much but it has given me a guilty conscience. I was just wondering if anyone knew if I needed a different licence to drive a Trike or can I do it on a car licence. I thought a trike might put my mothers mind at ease a little before getting a bike.

What do you think, bike or trike?

Random

It's quite complicated, but a car license is fine as long as it carries entitlement to group B1 (trike under 550 kg) or group B (550 kg+). If it's under 410 kg, it can also be ridden on a bike license. If it's a provisional license, normal L-plate rules apply except for single-seater trikes, when they can be ridden solo. Depending on weight, it may need to be MoT'd as a car or as a bike.

That said - wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. In terms of gaining motorcycle roadcraft, you might as well buy a car: they don't handle or behave like bikes, or give any of the traffic advantages of a bike. Plus you still get wet when it rains and have to wear a seatbelt. Insurance can be a big problem: quotes are generally high, if you can get cover at all (it's particularly nightmarish for any trike built on a "Q" plate).

In matters of biking, the only real way forward is to accept that you will be some kind of social leper to many. Parents will drop hints about "nice little cars". Smug know-it-alls will harp on about the dangers and the way they'd "kill themselves on one of those things". Old blokes will bore you to tears about the Ariel Square Fours they used to own and hip young things will sneer at your baggy, shapeless Michelin-man waterproof outfits. And then you ride off and realise that none of that matters a damn because, frankly, there is nothing to beat the experience of a good day on two wheels.

If it makes your mum happier, there are a lot of (ahem) people of mature years out here who've been riding in all weathers for years and most of us aren't dead yet. There's no need to feel guilty - just do it.

>> ex silens nox noctis <<

I do trust I am not being the big bad dad here again!

Don't slide unless you mean too.

Be sure, ride safe and enjoy

Don't let any patronising salesmen flog you a "girly" bike, either. I gather things aren't as bad as they used to be on that front, but my sister still compains about it from time to time (wouldn't you like this tassely short-a*se Eliminator 400, love, rather than that big, scary KLX? Answer: No.). Sure, some bikes are bigger and heavier than others, but blokes aren't any more likely to stop them going over than girls are, if we're honest about it. As long as it's a comfortable riding position and you can get one foot down on the deck, that's all you need.

Any ideas what may be the bike of choice?

And - this is just a guess here - but either rebelman has some truly astounding psychic powers, or do you two know each other?

>> ex silens nox noctis <<

Be sure, ride safe and enjoy

I am not sure what bike I want yet but I think it will be a cruiser as opposed to a sports bike because I prefer that style. All I need to do now is sell my car  

Surely wouldn't argue - there are some lovely-looking trikes out there and some of the engineering that goes into them is absolutely brilliant. And I can understand people wanting one on those grounds, even if you do have to pay through the nose for a good 'un. As a way of getting on to two wheels, though, they're a bit of a dead loss both in cost-effectiveness and in learning bike-handling skills. Maybe those weird Piaggio trikes with the axle at the front'd be quite good - they do lean like a "proper" bike and I presume they don't fall over that easily! - but they don't look cool in the way a proper custom trike does...

Rain's okay - don't mind it, (which is just as well being a UK biker!), but I wouldn't want to sit in it in traffic in basically a roofless car. At least on a bike you can filter through and be home drying your nuts (if applicable) while the rest of the commuters are still out there wishing there was something better on the radio! Actually, my Gixxer isn't too bad for weather protection, knees and boots get the worst of it and waterproofs pretty much take care of that. There are some dreadfully thought-out bike designs out there, though, like the one you got the other day...

Good luck with the car sale random, let us know how you get on. Hope to hear your cruiser's in the garage soon!

>> ex silens nox noctis <<