Motorbike finance

HELLFIREV1

Wasn't sure where to put this.
I NEED a bike for August at the latest as my place of work is moving about 10 miles away. I have a Provisional licence so after a 125cc bike.
Now i have very little if any savings (£150) and have a bad credit rating (been to many loans cmpany's) and was woundering if any of you guys/girls can give me some advice on where I stand the best chance of getting credit, card or loan. Plus I'm currently paying a loan of £130 amonth and have about £100 a month to pay towards paying back the money (bike).

neil_999

It really depends on a lot more...

If you spend £150 on a bike, then you already have it. I've never spent more than £450 on a car with a full MOT.

Also remember you'll need insurance out of that £100 too.

How bad is your credit? Best chance would probably be extending your current loan, depending on circumstances. They gave a loan to start with. Don't get in to a frenzied search - 6 credit searches a year is enough.

MEM62

The problem with 125's is that they are always in demand by learner-riders so values tend to stay high - even on well used examples. You might be better off looking for a scooter rather than a motorcycle. This will have better weather protection, lower running costs and is likely to be cheaper to buy in the first place.

I can't help you with finance options but would suggest that if you only have £150 in savings then you are unlikely to be able to afford £100 per month on loan repayments. If you think you can afford the £100 each month put it away in a savings account for a few months and you will then have enough for a scooter without borrowing money. Remember to take into account the cost of tax and insurance etc.

chanz4

scooter cost about £300-£400 on ebay

citykid5

I bought my son a brand new Yamaha yb125 last august.
no deposit then 60 p/m over 3 years. the bike does an average of 125mpg. he only uses it to travel to work around 20miles round trip. the insurance was a bit pricey as he is only 17, think it was about £650 fully comp. we bought the bike locally but there is dealer advertising on ebay based in wigan doing a similar deal
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-YBR125-BRAND-NEW-and-BEST-UK-PRICE-125cc-YBR-learner-legal-commuter-/151037332385?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item232a86cba1
and if you push them they will normaly drop the delivery charge

mcfisco

10 miles is a pleasant cycling distance, it may take you a couple of weeks to acclimatise if you're not a cyclist already.
Very little ongoing costs once you have the bike and you'll get fitter, £150 is plenty to get you started

MrsPBikerChick

You don't say if your provisional licence is car or motorcycle - I believe it's still the case that if you only requested car entitlement you will have to request provisional motorcycle entitlement. I don't think it costs but you'll need to send your licence off to the DVLA. No riding school should allow you to do a CBT without the correct entitlement.

Talking of CBT, unless you've done one in the last 2 yrs you will need to factor that into your costs, and the on either the cost of doing your test or of re-sitting the CBT every 2yrs. Mine was over 2 years ago and cost me about £100 - not sure how much now (I live down south so it might be cheaper if you live up north).

Insurance on a 125cc isn't too bad but if you're young (you sound like you are, but forgive me if I'm mistaken) with no car experience then it will still take a hefty chunk of your budget. My 125cc cost me about £400 to insure fully comp with CBT only but I also had 10yrs+ car experience and several years car NCB. Motorcycle (and scooter) MOTs are a smidge under £30 and tax on a 125cc is about £16 a year.

You will also need to factor in the cost of helmet (don't buy a motocross one for road use - you need a proper visor), protective gloves and at least a protective jacket. Please don't be one of those statistics who rides in trainers, jogging bottoms, a hoodie and wooly gloves!!! You can pick the latter up second hand on eBay, but helmets should always be purchased new. Used ones aren't worth the risk.

So, onto a bike. You can pick nice ones up on eBay - my baby Virago came to me that way - but you do have to hunt about. There are lots of Chinese imports of there which are cheap but there's a reason for that - they're cheaply made, often poor quality and most a garages won't touch them. I would steer well clear if you can. Go with a recognised name in bikes/scooters - Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki, etc.

If you're old enough I would also steer clear of a Moped. Yes they're cheap but they come with one major downside - they're utterly, utterly gutless meaning you can't get yourself out of trouble if an absent minded car driver starts veering towards you. My 1100cc Shadow can power her way out of most things but a 50cc moped, and its rider, would have no hope. A 125cc isnt massively powerful, depending on how the engine is tuned and how big you are, but the extra 75cc does help! I Don't mean to scare any parents out there but I've seen it happen. As a rider you can be the most careful in the world but it only takes one absent minded cage driver fiddling with their stereo or just plain not seeing you, and believe me there are a lot of them about!:mad:

This has turned into a bit of a lecture, for which I apologise, but biking is a passion of both mine and Mr P. Whatever you do, please be safe and sensible. Then save up, pass your test and get something more fun than a 125!!!

Oh and if you're in hampshire and you see a blue Harley Davison accompanied by a red and black honda shadow wave - that's us!