I’ve had my cbr125 as a daily commuter for 3 years now. It’s a great bike to get from A to B. Cheap to buy (2k used), cheap to ride (insurance/gas), and cheap to maintain (parts/service). The people who are dissatisfied with it are probably accustomed to riding 600-1000cc bikes or are expecting it to perform beyond its intended capabilities. Most critics haven’t actually experienced riding one and are basing it on looks or what they’ve heard from a friend of a friend.

Definitely take a course. Then figure out what you’re going to be using the bike for and the type of riding you’ll do. This will influence what type of bike and gear you get. Test ride all the bikes that fit the bill and get the appropriate gear. Buy the bike second hand as you’ll probably add damage to it and you may not like the bike after all.

If I had car insurance, I wouldnt have a bike =[

I think a full year of car insurance for me would easily be in the range of 2.5-4K depending on the car. I used to own a 95 VW GTI VR6 and i remember a full years of insurance under my name would of been around 3.3K :crybaby:

That's insane, I wouldn't even get insurance other than basic and liability for a car that old.

My 2003 C230 is only worth $6-8K (very high mileage), so I don't have collision or comprehensive on it, saves me $800/yr. It'll suck if I have a serious at fault accident, yet otherwise 5 years from now I'll have saved more than the car will be worth.

I was considering not getting collision or comprehensive on the bike too, since the first quote was $1200 from ICBC. Beacon quoted me $325, so it was hard to say no to that. Those prices are ontop of $900 ICBC basic.

look into the newer ninja 250. Nicer looking bike and more long term

+1

Ya the Newer Ninja 250's are nice looking, Kawasaki's 2011 Ninja 400R's are decent too.