Finally passed my Class 2b after 2 tp tests..

[hownowbrowncow]

Get a YBR or CB125 or kup...suits your budget and no need to spend a bomb for maintenance...comfortable and easy to ride

 

Do not advise you get a phantom as it is really easy to skid if you are new license...difficult to maneuver out of tights spots and heavy weight...plus pillioning no power

[Cellardoor]

Have to consider your priorities too. Low maintenance+ good fuel economy ..etc etc Most 2b 4-stroke bikes have these qualities. I've heard good things about pulsar's fuel economy. Don't know about maintenance thought.

 

others like kups, ybr or cb and cbf also not bad. See your preference.

[yuze90]

THanks alot for the advise really... Yea i think i should go visit bike shops instead of just looking at the bike marts in the forum here.. (Yea, i will do more research and look at the diff categories.. Btw Im 1.8m, 75kg..

 

If I want to go down to 2nd hand bike shop to test drive and see see look look, do you guys have any recommendation of shops please?

 

Thanks alot!

 

 

 

Ahh i see.. Actually i did not know that i can pay installment for 2nd hand bikes.. Thus the budget.. Say if it's 2.5k excluding COE/insurance, what kinda bikes can i get?

 

Thanks alot!

 

 

 

Hi im 180cm 70kg.. GTS 200 scooter best fits me.. The size of the scooter not consider small and not as light compare to other kup..

 

 

I considered compartments / comfort and music for me....Not SPEED!

 

 

 

Its is good to pillon someone with this bike.. As partner could lean on the rear box and the seats is big and comfortable ..

 

Lots of my friends said the experience seating on my bike are totally different than seating from others!

[drift]

get a 200cc one since your license can go up to 200cc reason being most class 2b bikes are underpowered

and it will get scary when u get sandwiched by an 18 wheeler, an SBS bus and a 3tonne truck so a more powerful

2b will help u run away from all these problems if it is nimble and fast enuf. Lesser time u spend in such situation due to your underpowered bike, the lesser the chances u get yourself into an accident cos of that situation.

 

I suggest a gilera VXR 200, seen them to be quite nimble and fast on the roads. Since u are going for a maxi scooter in your 2A,

so might as well just get a 2nd hand 2b gilera n later u pass your 2a can think of a brand new bike to buy.

 

I wouldn't spend too much time riding a 2b for too long or spend so much money on a 2b bike. Save it for later much more worth it.

Well that's my 2 cents, hope its useful. Cheers

[r1der]

Phantom is cheap to maintain and good for long run. Go for it...

 

Dun worry too much about the fish tail thing. As long as u ride steady and know how to avoid danger, it shouldn't be a big concern.

[Jehuty]

get a 200cc one since your license can go up to 200cc reason being most class 2b bikes are underpowered

and it will get scary when u get sandwiched by an 18 wheeler, an SBS bus and a 3tonne truck so a more powerful

2b will help u run away from all these problems if it is nimble and fast enuf. Lesser time u spend in such situation due to your underpowered bike, the lesser the chances u get yourself into an accident cos of that situation.

 

I suggest a gilera VXR 200, seen them to be quite nimble and fast on the roads. Since u are going for a maxi scooter in your 2A,

so might as well just get a 2nd hand 2b gilera n later u pass your 2a can think of a brand new bike to buy.

 

I wouldn't spend too much time riding a 2b for too long or spend so much money on a 2b bike. Save it for later much more worth it.

Well that's my 2 cents, hope its useful. Cheers

 

 

You would only get sandwiched if you're stupid enough to squeeze through two massive trucks, they have alot more blindspots, alot less manueverable than cars and you can easily go under, something I won't do unless they are stationary even on a more powerful bike.

[drift]

I do wonder why some riders will follow behind a long SBS bendy bus on the 1st lane whilst an 18 wheeler is behind him and on the 2nd lane beside him is a 3 tonne truck trying hard to take over the bus but to no avail. He did not enter the first lane to filter out of the expressway, it looks as if he is comfortably following behind the bus and being sandwiched by the 3ton truck n the 18 wheeler.

 

So i wonder, does it not come to the rider's mind that the 3 tonne truck might just swing into the 1st lane pushing him out into the road shoulder or even worse smack him where he ends up underneath those tires when the truck gave up on overtaking the bus and the traffic in front of him suddenly slowed down n he does not have enough time to brake.

 

I really wonder what type of mentality such riders has on riding a bike?

 

THis is the situation i am talking about, not about lane splitting situations.

 

If u are driving a car, being in such a situation is inevitable n u have to wait it out till either the vehicle in front of u

filters out or u get a chance to pass. THis is never the case when u are riding. As i said earlier, the lesser time u spend in such situation, the safer u will be.

 

 

The power of the bike is to save u from such hairy situations described above if u ever get into one.

U don't just chill and hang back and adopt a "let's see what happen lah" mindset, u look for a safe opening and then SIAM! I've known riders whom think a slow bike is a safe bike n end up with so many accidents in their 2b years.

Edited June 30, 2013 by drift

[hownowbrowncow]

the power from a bigger bike can save your life in unexpected situations

[drift]

the power from a bigger bike can save your life in unexpected situations

 

Exactly! Buy a powerful one so that it can help u in those unexpected situations and do not have ideology that "I buy a slow bike so that it is safe" This is totally WRONG!

 

I had a colleague once who decided to get a bike license n change to a bike cos his car's COE is ending and he has no money to renew the COE or get a new car thus a bike is the best solutions for him. The whole of his road experience was as a car driver and never on a bike n he never even tompang before cos his family members all either drive or take public transport.

 

So when he was passing his 2b he asked me for advice about bikes since he knows that i ride a class 2 scrambler n he knows that I passed my 2b back when i was 16 years old and when practicals were only 5 n then straight to TP test.

 

So i asked him what types of bike he is interested in, like scramblers, scooters, road bikes, sports bikes, cruisers etc

and he says he has a penchant for cruisers since they look comfy for him and his pillion.

N since he is over 100kgs and he is going to tompang his gf who weighs about 60kgs totalling 160kgs or so, i adviced him to get at the least a 200cc bike that is powerful enough n at that point of time the best choice for him was a 200cc Phantom. I've ridden the bike before n i think its not bad for a 2b cruiser, has a good pickup n u could pin the throttle up to 130-140 if there is a need to but overall its a good bike for his heavyset n his gf.

 

His response was "no lah, i see too many phantoms on the road and i want to get this korean or some taiwanese cruiser" I looked at the specs since he is buying it first hand and it has 125cc power plant and its a 4 stroke engine from some manufacturer that is really not heard of and It looks like a huge harley and it's damn heavy when compared to a phantom.

 

Firstly i then asked him, are u planning to get 2a which he answered yes.

So i told him, just get a 2nd hand 2b bike cos you'll only use it for a year or so n change to another bike and don't spend too much on a 2b bike unless u are going to ride it for a long time.

 

His reply was "No lah, i rather buy 1st hand so i don't have any mechanical problems" Which is kinda true but if u have a good eye and ears for an engine, you'll more or less know how much problem it could get u into and phantoms have been known to be bullet proof and a damn simple engine so it is a reliable bike.

 

I then adviced him that the cruiser he is buying is be tooo underpowered for him cos he is already very heavy and he is going to pillion someone n still carry his stuff in his top box so it will be very difficult if he needs to overtake someone or get away fast from other vehicles.

 

His reply back to me was "No lah, i am not a fast rider, i ride slow so it it is safer"

 

Well i told him good luck then, since he doesn't want to listen to someone who has been riding for much more years than he does. So he made the purchase.

 

To make the story short, in that year of his probationary 2b license, he was in more than 5-6 accidents. Once breaking his leg, another breaking his arm, another dislocating his shoulder and the other 2 or 3 were skidding incidents cos of hard breaking. His gf too suffered from some of these incidents.

 

I had the chance to listen to his story of how the accident happened and most of the time he is telling me he is riding slow and not more than 80km/h along the expressway or less than 30km/h on some small road and some truck, bus, vehicle swing into him or swerved onto his lane etc. N i personally saw how he rode back from work, whilst i blast my throttle running away from busses n heavy vehicles n try to be ahead of all the traffic after the traffic lights, he slogs n waits behind these vehicles n move along with them at their pace.

 

On his last accident, i reminded him that riding a bike is not like driving a car, you do not wait around n hang around with other vehicles to wait for them to move. You make the move to the front if u can n get away from all of them. Cos if your path is clear, then it would be safer and a slow/underpowered bike does not mean it is safer than a powerful n fast bike. The power is to be utilised to get u away from traffic as fast as possible so that u can be cruising at a safer spot at a safer distance.

 

Well i dunno whether he took my advice or not but he just nodded n listened n say that he'll try to get his 2a n get a super 4. For his longevity I hope he does.

[vinho_16]

Exactly! Buy a powerful one so that it can help u in those unexpected situations and do not have ideology that "I buy a slow bike so that it is safe" This is totally WRONG!

 

I had a colleague once who decided to get a bike license n change to a bike cos his car's COE is ending and he has no money to renew the COE or get a new car thus a bike is the best solutions for him. The whole of his road experience was as a car driver and never on a bike n he never even tompang before cos his family members all either drive or take public transport.

 

So when he was passing his 2b he asked me for advice about bikes since he knows that i ride a class 2 scrambler n he knows that I passed my 2b back when i was 16 years old and when practicals were only 5 n then straight to TP test.

 

So i asked him what types of bike he is interested in, like scramblers, scooters, road bikes, sports bikes, cruisers etc

and he says he has a penchant for cruisers since they look comfy for him and his pillion.

N since he is over 100kgs and he is going to tompang his gf who weighs about 60kgs totalling 160kgs or so, i adviced him to get at the least a 200cc bike that is powerful enough n at that point of time the best choice for him was a 200cc Phantom. I've ridden the bike before n i think its not bad for a 2b cruiser, has a good pickup n u could pin the throttle up to 130-140 if there is a need to but overall its a good bike for his heavyset n his gf.

 

His response was "no lah, i see too many phantoms on the road and i want to get this korean or some taiwanese cruiser" I looked at the specs since he is buying it first hand and it has 125cc power plant and its a 4 stroke engine from some manufacturer that is really not heard of and It looks like a huge harley and it's damn heavy when compared to a phantom.

 

Firstly i then asked him, are u planning to get 2a which he answered yes.

So i told him, just get a 2nd hand 2b bike cos you'll only use it for a year or so n change to another bike and don't spend too much on a 2b bike unless u are going to ride it for a long time.

 

His reply was "No lah, i rather buy 1st hand so i don't have any mechanical problems" Which is kinda true but if u have a good eye and ears for an engine, you'll more or less know how much problem it could get u into and phantoms have been known to be bullet proof and a damn simple engine so it is a reliable bike.

 

I then adviced him that the cruiser he is buying is be tooo underpowered for him cos he is already very heavy and he is going to pillion someone n still carry his stuff in his top box so it will be very difficult if he needs to overtake someone or get away fast from other vehicles.

 

His reply back to me was "No lah, i am not a fast rider, i ride slow so it it is safer"

 

Well i told him good luck then, since he doesn't want to listen to someone who has been riding for much more years than he does. So he made the purchase.

 

To make the story short, in that year of his probationary 2b license, he was in more than 5-6 accidents. Once breaking his leg, another breaking his arm, another dislocating his shoulder and the other 2 or 3 were skidding incidents cos of hard breaking. His gf too suffered from some of these incidents.

 

I had the chance to listen to his story of how the accident happened and most of the time he is telling me he is riding slow and not more than 80km/h along the expressway or less than 30km/h on some small road and some truck, bus, vehicle swing into him or swerved onto his lane etc. N i personally saw how he rode back from work, whilst i blast my throttle running away from busses n heavy vehicles n try to be ahead of all the traffic after the traffic lights, he slogs n waits behind these vehicles n move along with them at their pace.

 

On his last accident, i reminded him that riding a bike is not like driving a car, you do not wait around n hang around with other vehicles to wait for them to move. You make the move to the front if u can n get away from all of them. Cos if your path is clear, then it would be safer and a slow/underpowered bike does not mean it is safer than a powerful n fast bike. The power is to be utilised to get u away from traffic as fast as possible so that u can be cruising at a safer spot at a safer distance.

 

Well i dunno whether he took my advice or not but he just nodded n listened n say that he'll try to get his 2a n get a super 4. For his longevity I hope he does.

 

I agree a bigger cc bike is much safer on the road rather than a less powerful one. Then again it is really very subjective. It depends too on the person's riding style.

You may ride a big cc bike but with a careless riding style, it can go awry as well.

I guess it takes experience on the road as a rider to really understand the character and habits of other road users.

 

A lion never considers an opinion of a sheep

[drift]

I agree a bigger cc bike is much safer on the road rather than a less powerful one. Then again it is really very subjective. It depends too on the person's riding style.

You may ride a big cc bike but with a careless riding style, it can go awry as well.

I guess it takes experience on the road as a rider to really understand the character and habits of other road users.

 

A lion never considers an opinion of a sheep

 

true!

and there's an old saying amongst bikers,

"Better have the power even though u don't need it rather than don't have it when u need it"

[elephant]

My advice and reflections:

 

1) Dont spend too much $ on your first bike since you want to take 2A.

2) Dont COI or do any of that money sapping ways to 'own' a bike

3) Get a bikes which is similar to the type you used during your TP. dont be too adventurous for your 1st bike. You are getting used to riding outside the safety of the riding center, so you need some familiarity.

4) Dont get a new bike, y? (see 1 above)

5) You will fall and hurt yourself when you start riding, so do not pillion your spouse till you can confidently ride weaving in and out during peak hour traffic. If and when you fall, dont bother about damage to you bike, your and pillions lives more important.

6) For sg traffic, low cc/powered bikes are not safe. You will eventually want/desire a higher cc bike so as to ride away from heavy traffic bearing down on you.

7) I would not go for a scooter, something abt their small wheels doesnt give me a sense of safety.

 

Stay safe and ride safe and congrats in joining the fraternity

[Jehuty]

I agree a bigger cc bike is much safer on the road rather than a less powerful one. Then again it is really very subjective. It depends too on the person's riding style.

You may ride a big cc bike but with a careless riding style, it can go awry as well.

I guess it takes experience on the road as a rider to really understand the character and habits of other road users.

 

A lion never considers an opinion of a sheep

 

Bigger CC safer is subjective, bigger CC = easier to wheelie, easier for the rear wheel to lose traction, easier for you to go beyond your limits. None of these are really a problem for smaller CCs.

Just watch American vids on beginners who began riding on literbikes.

[keyxblade]

Bigger CC safer is subjective, bigger CC = easier to wheelie, easier for the rear wheel to lose traction, easier for you to go beyond your limits. None of these are really a problem for smaller CCs.

Just watch American vids on beginners who began riding on literbikes.

 

last time i went defensive riding at CDC the instructor say 2A and above bikes safer and the accident rate much lower. but i think may be is bec big cc bike population smaller.

 

why bigger wheel easier to loose traction? i thought bigger surface area more traction?

[hownowbrowncow]

Had been in a few hairy situations while riding 2b bikes, namely phantom and sp.

the weaker brakes and lesser power make overtaking and stopping more difficult especially if it is to avoid danger.

however, riding a smaller cc bike hones your skills and develops your situational awareness and I'm glad to have ridden smaller bikes before moving on to a super 4.

key is...get some road experience on a smaller bike...then move on to a more powerful bike if you can afford it...for the power and the better brakes to siam danger more effectively :thumb:

[keyxblade]

Had been in a few hairy situations while riding 2b bikes, namely phantom and sp.

the weaker brakes and lesser power make overtaking and stopping more difficult especially if it is to avoid danger.

however, riding a smaller cc bike hones your skills and develops your situational awareness and I'm glad to have ridden smaller bikes before moving on to a super 4.

key is...get some road experience on a smaller bike...then move on to a more powerful bike if you can afford it...for the power and the better brakes to siam danger more effectively :thumb:

 

yeah super4 can brake fast compare to small bikes. and the engine brake is powerful. I think most ppl in singapore will have rode 2B bike first and only few start from class 2A or class 2 bikes, but riding bigger bikes can also build road awareness, the only thing that I learn from small bikes is squeezing skills, it is much easier to squeeze and do the salom maneuver on a 2B bike, bigger bikes can do it also just need more strenght.

[Jehuty]

last time i went defensive riding at CDC the instructor say 2A and above bikes safer and the accident rate much lower. but i think may be is bec big cc bike population smaller.

 

why bigger wheel easier to loose traction? i thought bigger surface area more traction?

 

Try cracking open the throttle in a corner on a super 4 and a class 2 bike without traction control, nothing to do with tyre size.

[keyxblade]

Try cracking open the throttle in a corner on a super 4 and a class 2 bike without traction control, nothing to do with tyre size.

 

okay will try it out soon. have only rode a class 2 bike in circuit.

[Jehuty]

okay will try it out soon. have only rode a class 2 bike in circuit.

 

Ok bro, give the throttle lots of love, mash it open when exiting corners, feel the power.

[Heathx]

Had been in a few hairy situations while riding 2b bikes, namely phantom and sp.

the weaker brakes and lesser power make overtaking and stopping more difficult especially if it is to avoid danger.

however, riding a smaller cc bike hones your skills and develops your situational awareness and I'm glad to have ridden smaller bikes before moving on to a super 4.

key is...get some road experience on a smaller bike...then move on to a more powerful bike if you can afford it...for the power and the better brakes to siam danger more effectively :thumb:

 

Personally i disagree with the SP part. I myself ride an SP, and i find that it is very capable of getting out of hairy situations, PROVIDED, you are riding at the powerband, which is roughly 4-5k rpm onwards, even better if you ride near to valve opening rpm which is roughly 6.5k rpm.

 

I can't say the same for the 2b 4-strokes though. Most of my friends and acquaintances tell me that 2b 4-strokers are not powerful and top speed only 140+kmph and riding at 1-6k rpm feels lao hong no power blablabla. Case in point cbr150r, where power comes in at 8k rpm. I have rode on R15 and Cbr150, i found that although R15 was slightly better in terms of linear power, but both were still lacking compared to my SP.

 

I do however agree on the weaker braking on SP. I always live by a rule, you can go as fast as you want, as long as u can stop in time when the need calls for it.

[r1der]

Personally i disagree with the SP part. I myself ride an SP, and i find that it is very capable of getting out of hairy situations, PROVIDED, you are riding at the powerband, which is roughly 4-5k rpm onwards, even better if you ride near to valve opening rpm which is roughly 6.5k rpm.

 

I can't say the same for the 2b 4-strokes though. Most of my friends and acquaintances tell me that 2b 4-strokers are not powerful and top speed only 140+kmph and riding at 1-6k rpm feels lao hong no power blablabla. Case in point cbr150r, where power comes in at 8k rpm. I have rode on R15 and Cbr150, i found that although R15 was slightly better in terms of linear power, but both were still lacking compared to my SP.

 

I do however agree on the weaker braking on SP. I always live by a rule, you can go as fast as you want, as long as u can stop in time when the need calls for it.

 

ya agreed. even though 2b bike is slower n less powerful, it's suffice enuf to ride safely from point a to point b in spore. however, i'm referring to those 2 strokes (100cc n above) and 4 strokes (150cc n above). anything lesser than that is underpowered, especially if under heavy load condition.

[bunny_hui]

TS get something u r comfort with.

[MR BIKER]

Hey Guys, we can stop already. TS has gotten a sym gts 200. guess he is so happy that forgot to check we still advising him.

[ki113r]

Hey Guys, we can stop already. TS has gotten a sym gts 200. guess he is so happy that forgot to check we still advising him.

 

Lol!

[Rubbermouse]

Wow.. thanks for all the awesome replies guys... Really alot of valid points about horsepower and needing the power to siam danger...

 

Really appreciate all you guys de constructive inputs.. Gum sia!!

 

I have gotten a 2nd hand GTS 200. Loving it! haha..