What would you recomend as a decent 2nd hand beginers bike?

I'm 31, and about 15st, reasonably strong but never ridden a motorbike bike before, been thinking about it for ages and decided to give it a go.

used to do bmx to a decent level years ago so should be ok with balance etc so hopefully will pick up the basics pretty easy (famous last words)

Budget of around £1000, idealy less than this if possible as seen some bikes on ebay going pretty cheap

But if this is only gonna get me a piece of junk then I can spend more if I have to, just dont want to spend £££££'s and then trash it, lol

Based in wolverhampton so if anyone round here knows any decent spots to learn please let me know? Dont mind traveling within reason.

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks

Sparky

Hi Sparky

Just started trials myself, had MX bikes when I was a kid, then road bikes from 19 until I wrote my last one off in October.

I wanted to buy a Scorpa SY250 since I had heard good things about the Yamaha engine reliability.

Unfortunately the only one even close to here was a dog and on sale for £1300.

So I took some advice from my local trials club who said that really any of the good makes were worth having - Beta, Sherco, Montesa etc. Was steered away from Gas Gas due to reliabliity.

Finally bought a 2002 Sherco 250 for £890 off ebay from a local guy. Seems solid enough, chucked some coolant out on my first ride which I need to resolve but overall I am very happy with it.

Good luck and enjoy.

Welcome. I started this trials lark way too late but it's really enjoyable. When you look at buying a bike consider that tyres, sprockets plastics cost just as much to replace on an old turd as they do a modern machine. A beta rev is my favoured machine as they are very robust and An 02 onwards machine is a great tool.

Always lots of help on this forum.

Montesa or Beta will be the best bet for a cheap old bike. Scorpa is flimsy easily damaged when dropped, Sherco never sound nice when old and early models had crank issues. Gas Gas early pros were trouble.

£1000 will buy something old, but £1500 should but something like an 07-08 model and £500 can be easily spent on an old nail of a bike if you buy cheap.

a montesa 315 is a great first bike very strong and reliable and easy to ride

And maybe don't get too caught up in engine size

Horsepower is not as important as you might think so even a 200 would do you well for a couple seasons

I would echo the response from 0007. Condition is far more important at that end of the market and this stage in your riding career. I am a great fan of the Beta 200 as I think its a great allround bike for the majority of riders, especially when starting out. (John Lampkin used to ride one - so that shows they are not just for the lower echelons of the sport!)

In fact there is a Beta 200 in the classfieds at the moment (nothing to do with me - I just noticed it in there this morning) - that is the sort of thing that would do you well. Ideally you want something that has been looked after, not thrashed and preferably with a bit of known history. What can seem like a 'cheap' can soon rack up bills if it needs tyres/chain/sprockets - or worse still some engine work.

Get along to a club trial and have a look around, people are always willing to chat.

007 and enrico, if the beta 200 is such a good bike, how come you aint riding one? jus' sayin.

there are a couple of those 200's on ebay too if he OP is interested in one.

one of them in particular looks very nice indeed too, but you wont get a 200 for on or less than his £1000 budget that he says in his first post

thanks for the replys guys, some interesting points to think about.

Where else is a decent place to look for bikes, ive looked on here and ebay, auto/biketrader doesnt have much and seem expensive, am I missing anywhere else thats worth a look?

Don't rule out a TY250 R or a TY250 "pinky". Consider a pre Pro Gas Gas and judge it on condition, rather than age.

Try looking at club trial results - often decent cheap bikes advertised there.

Cheers

Montesa or Beta will be the best bet for a cheap old bike. Scorpa is flimsy easily damaged when dropped, Sherco never sound nice when old and early models had crank issues. Gas Gas early pros were trouble.

£1000 will buy something old, but £1500 should but something like an 07-08 model and £500 can be easily spent on an old nail of a bike if you buy cheap.

When you say early Gas Gas pros were trouble, how early do you mean? is an 02/03 going to be trouble?

Thanks

Thanks for the advise guys, ive gone for a 2006 Beta Rev-3 270

All I need now is to get out and learn to ride it

Let the wheelies and looping begin!

You will get the hang of it in time. Just take your time to suss the basics.

Thanks for the advise guys, ive gone for a 2006 Beta Rev-3 270

All I need now is to get out and learn to ride it

Oh nice going!