Hi,

is there a go to bike for beginners?

my son is 18 and I’m looking for a bike for him. He’s never ridden a motorbike before so I’m expecting something easy to look after also.

You are now asking the question that could also be asked with, " what's the meaning of life".

In part answer, you need to answer several questions, what's your 18 yr olds build, if he's 6'5" and 22 stone, I wouldn't recommend a 125, but if he's 5'8" and med build a125 would be ideal for him to start on, forgiving and not overpowering, never muscling your son around and able to build confidence on. Forget 280s and 300s.

Whats your budget. Less that a grand, a grand to two or more ? Lots of bikes in this range, some great, others not so for a beginner. 

Personally I'd seriously look for a beta Rev3, 125 or 200, if your budget is Evo bracket, even better, loads of dealers stock the parts at reasonable prices and it'll need spannering, but not after every ride!

Gas Gas 125 or 200 and Sherco 125s also good, but I'd look at Beta first.

There are some good aircooled monos out there which are quite placid com paired to really modern stuff, and lots of riders have honed their skills on a TY mono over the years, it does really depend on your lads build, budget, his taste, (he'll have to like it), and  parts back up or clubs in your area that cater for the bike he chooses, i.e beginners mono class, instead of all in together.

 

Good luck choosing, let us know what you get with some photos of his progress. ??

 

Edited October 23, 20205 yr by jonboy883

Thank you, 

The Beta’s are what I was looking at, I want something forgiving whilst he susses out a clutch. He’s 5’10”  11 stone with good bike handling skills from racing bmx. 125cc sounds good and I’m looking around the 2k mark, is this realistic?

Is price relative to bike age across the brands or are some makes better value than others.

I haven’t ridden any modern bikes so don’t know what to look for. My last bike was an air cooled gas gas 270 20 years ago. 

A Scorpa SY250 with the Yamaha engine would be perfect for a beginner as it is nice and forgiving. Bonus is you should get a nice example for less than 2k

The Scorpa is a good bike and yes, ideal smooth power, but at your budget get a Beta Evo 125 or 200cc, slow action throttle fitted, you'll have the ideal bike for your lad and at his build, either sized Evo will be perfect.

loads available as they're still being made so loads of choice. Get the best looked after one you can find.

good luck.

19 hours ago, Col5 said:

Is price relative to bike age across the brands or are some makes better value than others.

The popular two strokes all depreciate due to age for about the first 3 years then their value becomes almost entirely dependent on condition.

The desirability of particular brands on the second hand market waxes and wanes depending on what is happening with spare parts availability, or the expectations of spare parts availability in the future.