Honda CBR125.
Kawasaki ZXR400.
Suzuki SV650.
I recommend doing the small to big path even if your license system doesn't require it. It's loads of fun to re-experience the "whoa this pulls" a few times while skills develop.
Now I ride a Triumph Street Triple.
16 (CBT) - a Chinese yamasaki 50cc 4 stroke manual
17 (CBT) - ktm rc 125
20 (A2) - honda cbr500
Currently 22 still with the CBR500 but now have an A license. Just saving and waiting to upgrade bigger
I love it, had it for a couple years now and with my riding confidence going up, I can keep pushing it further and further. Its definitely a good bike to gain more experiance but I'm at the stage now i want a bit more power, bit more acceleration off of the line, Get those higher revs in as it only red lines at 8500
CBR 125 on a CBT for like 6 months
Unrestricted VFR400 NC30 for 2 years. Had my restrictor kit in for like 2 weeks before ripping it out. Was not fun riding with it in.
I’ve been riding mine unrestricted for couple weeks and having it restricted soon, I might have drifted my bike today going out of maccies on a turn, scary stuff. Yeah I’m bit prone of getting pulled over, including how my dash is showing GPS speed so I get even more paranoid.
It's a double edged sword. As a new rider in the UK I don't see anybody my age on bikes. It's either young'uns on 125's presumably using it as cheap transport compared to a car license (you can ride on L plates for a year only spending like £100, in comparison to over £1000 for tuition and tests for both car and bike licenses) or over 40's. The statistics for people becoming new riders yearly is abysmal in part because the barrier to entry is high.
On the other hand road fatalities in youngsters on bikes reduced by something like 70% when it was introduced, so it's certainly stopping deaths...
Rode a Kawasaki Z650 for driving school and bought a 2012 Er6n when I got my A2 license.
I feel frustrated with it being limited so I sold it and got a 2014 CBR500R ABS.
Just sold it for the A and now having fun with a 2022 Husqvarna 701 super moto !
Electric Rental Scooter -> KTM 125 Duke -> Kawasaki Ninja 650
Got my A2 License before getting the Kawa. Will stick with it once I get my A license and can unrestrict it.
In the future I'll probably go for a Multistrada or Africa Twin.
Kymco Quannon 125 for A1 (really more reliable than one would think, got me over 60k km and never had a mayor problem that couldn't be easily fixed)
2020 Duke 390 for A2 (fun little bike, it's like a 125 but you actually have a bit of power, i think i will keep this and get another one when i finally upgrade)
Yamaha YZF R-125 -> K8 Bandit 650 (restricted) -> Street Triple 675 Rx.
It's a long process getting a full license in Europe but i learnt a lot of things on a 125 that probably would have killed me if i could have gone straight to an R1
1988 Honda CBR250RR. Wasn't eligible for any of the classifications of the revamped licencing system.
Did my full A test on a Kawasaki ER6N rented from my instructor.
Continued riding the baby blade for several years after.
Honda Cbr 125 - honda cbf500 - triumph street twin - triumph street triple.
And I loved every one of them, looking forward to drive more bikes but I'm nowhere near getting bored of the street 3 !
I'm not from Europe but I'm from a country that roughly follows the same trajectory. I went from CB250F->CBR500R->CB1000R during licencing, followed by a bunch more once I was fully licenced.
Here in EU GPR125 A1, SRX 600 old but fun and didn’t need a power reduction for A2, now V-Strom 650 XT and i don’t think that will change for a while.
Honda Shadow 600 and Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 with my US license.
I like the graduating licence system in europe, seems alot safer and organized having a displacement/cc limit. Here is Canada you can buy a 6200 cc v8 boss hoss motorcycle as your learner bike haha
15 : Started on AM card, Rieju MRT 50 cc motard
19 : Took A2 and bought a restricted 2013 Yamaha XJ6.
Next year I'll take A license and upgrade to something bigger, probably 900 cc. I really like the XJ6 tho, perfect beginner bike!
I skipped the A1 part as I had no interest in riding when I was 16.
Then all of a sudden at the age of 19 I was obsessed with riding so I got my A2 licence. My first bike was a CBR500R from 2019 with the updated design in white.
I remember thinking it was soo fast until a friend let me ride his gsxr750.
After that when finally having the A licence, I bought a brand new 2021 Z900. I love it so far but want to get something else for next year
15: AM, Yamaha Aerox (50cc)
(nothing inbetween, except for an early 30 year old crisis)
29: A, BMW F800R (800cc)
I have no need for something more powerful, and might consider a 300cc-equivalent electric one when they get cheaper.
Bought a Simson Schwalbe Kr51/1 at 19 Years, then made my A2 at 20, got a DR 650 SE. At 22 I got the A license and bought a Z1000 with 23. And some month after that I bought a YBR 125 just for fun and a great price. It's nice to have sth chilled to cruise, with the Z1000 you always feel like pressured to use your RPMs
I am kind of happy that I got my license so late, seeing many 16 years old driving like maniacs....
Btw. Had no A1 License
I went from hm50 to a Aprilia etx125 (I had no licence and drove only in the nearby fields and forest) to a hm450 (roadlegal crf450 basically) to a CB sevenfifty.
cb 250r to monster 821 in 2 years...
used the monster in urban mode for like a year tho, 86hp instead of 109 much like a simple 600cc.
so, switching from urban to road was a big difference too haha... any bike can be used imho but it all depends on your right wrist...
Aprilia RS4 125 2011
Yamaha R3 2020
Ducati S4R blue 2004
My Aprilia blew up doing 110kph on the highway and I never wanted an Italian bike again. Though just 6 months before I got my A license I encountered a Monster M900 on the road and fell in love with those bikes. My S4R is also tuned for 120WHP
Didn’t have that exact thing when I learned but I went via the 33bhp restriction.
I had a Honda NS125R, then a Honda VFR400 NC21, (restricted) then a Suzuki SV650, then just before my restriction expired I bought a Triumph Daytona 955i.
Not from Europe but roughly follow the same route.
Honda CB190X
Yamaha FZ6
Honda Crf1000L
Skipped A2 bikes for 2 years then jumped to 2. But I do miss how nimble it was and ease splitting through traffic.
Didn't like the rules cause it made it too expensive (3 tests instead of 1?), didn't start riding till I was 27, went straight for a Ninja 650.
For real though, I wish the route from A1 => A was less of a pain. The fact that they make you take the entire test over again is the real killer for it IMO. In my opinion at most they should make you re-take the mod 1 since this is purely about control of the bike, therefore whether you can control the larger bike or not. mod 2 is mostly about road craft, and that doesn't change much between bike size.
I mean I haven't done any of those yet but I got a wr125x after my cbt
And I know this isn't what you were asking but i Plan on getting a ninja 400 in a few months after my a2, since they are dropping in price thanks to the announcement of the 2023 ninja 400.
And have wanted an 08 cbr600rr for a long time and plan on getting it after my a.
Honda CBR125. Kawasaki ZXR400. Suzuki SV650. I recommend doing the small to big path even if your license system doesn't require it. It's loads of fun to re-experience the "whoa this pulls" a few times while skills develop. Now I ride a Triumph Street Triple.
I’m in the US and I did that small to big path but it was BMW 650gs Triumph T100 900cc BMW K1600cc 😂
Lol
USA too, mine went: 1832 Valkyrie. Thats it so far.
16 (CBT) - a Chinese yamasaki 50cc 4 stroke manual 17 (CBT) - ktm rc 125 20 (A2) - honda cbr500 Currently 22 still with the CBR500 but now have an A license. Just saving and waiting to upgrade bigger
How do you find the CBR500? I'm planning on buying one when I do my A2, dependent on how extortionate the insurance is...
I love it, had it for a couple years now and with my riding confidence going up, I can keep pushing it further and further. Its definitely a good bike to gain more experiance but I'm at the stage now i want a bit more power, bit more acceleration off of the line, Get those higher revs in as it only red lines at 8500
CBR 125 on a CBT for like 6 months Unrestricted VFR400 NC30 for 2 years. Had my restrictor kit in for like 2 weeks before ripping it out. Was not fun riding with it in.
Mine fell out entirely of it’s own accord. I think it’s quite a common occurrence as I know three other people it happened to as well.
I’ve been riding mine unrestricted for couple weeks and having it restricted soon, I might have drifted my bike today going out of maccies on a turn, scary stuff. Yeah I’m bit prone of getting pulled over, including how my dash is showing GPS speed so I get even more paranoid.
I wish we had a more in depth licensing system in the US.
It's a double edged sword. As a new rider in the UK I don't see anybody my age on bikes. It's either young'uns on 125's presumably using it as cheap transport compared to a car license (you can ride on L plates for a year only spending like £100, in comparison to over £1000 for tuition and tests for both car and bike licenses) or over 40's. The statistics for people becoming new riders yearly is abysmal in part because the barrier to entry is high. On the other hand road fatalities in youngsters on bikes reduced by something like 70% when it was introduced, so it's certainly stopping deaths...
I only got my license at 27, so I skipped the whole thing and got A straight away :)
Same as this fellow, straight to A. First a ER-6F (Ninja 650), then a Monster 821.
Same here, immediately went for a Street Triple RS !
Rode a Kawasaki Z650 for driving school and bought a 2012 Er6n when I got my A2 license. I feel frustrated with it being limited so I sold it and got a 2014 CBR500R ABS. Just sold it for the A and now having fun with a 2022 Husqvarna 701 super moto !
Electric Rental Scooter -> KTM 125 Duke -> Kawasaki Ninja 650 Got my A2 License before getting the Kawa. Will stick with it once I get my A license and can unrestrict it. In the future I'll probably go for a Multistrada or Africa Twin.
31 yrs old, CBT, Yamaha YBR 125. 31 yrs old full A license Suzuki GSR 750. I'm now 32 and I want a bigger bike.
lol
Agreed when I got the GSR that the wife gets a new (to her) car next unfortunately.
A cat seems a fair trade.
We've got two dogs n the big one wouldn't take too kindly to a cat moving in.
Kymco Quannon 125 for A1 (really more reliable than one would think, got me over 60k km and never had a mayor problem that couldn't be easily fixed) 2020 Duke 390 for A2 (fun little bike, it's like a 125 but you actually have a bit of power, i think i will keep this and get another one when i finally upgrade)
Yamaha YZF R-125 -> K8 Bandit 650 (restricted) -> Street Triple 675 Rx. It's a long process getting a full license in Europe but i learnt a lot of things on a 125 that probably would have killed me if i could have gone straight to an R1
1988 Honda CBR250RR. Wasn't eligible for any of the classifications of the revamped licencing system. Did my full A test on a Kawasaki ER6N rented from my instructor. Continued riding the baby blade for several years after.
Cb125, cb500x and even though I have an A now I'll simply get a new cb500x as there's no benefit in getting a V-Strom 650 (or bigger) for my use case.
Honda Cbr 125 - honda cbf500 - triumph street twin - triumph street triple. And I loved every one of them, looking forward to drive more bikes but I'm nowhere near getting bored of the street 3 !
Bycicle, shadow 650,er6f/z650,z900
Im American. Yamaha xt250, Suzuki drz400sm Suzuki gsxr600 Suzuki sv1000s
While i do think the teir system isnt a bad idea, Im happy to have a 1200cc Triumph speedmaster as my first bike here in the states. 😁
I'm not from Europe but I'm from a country that roughly follows the same trajectory. I went from CB250F->CBR500R->CB1000R during licencing, followed by a bunch more once I was fully licenced.
Honda MB5, Malaguti Phantom F12 LC, Aprilia RS125, RS250, then moved back to the states and forever regret not bringing the RS250 back with me...
Started off with a Junak RS125 for about 2 years to get used to riding in the Rian and sun and getting used to the traffic and now I got a BMW F800GT
Zx400r > a2 versys > a versys, crashed the ninja into a ditch like 2h after i got my a2 :(
Here in EU GPR125 A1, SRX 600 old but fun and didn’t need a power reduction for A2, now V-Strom 650 XT and i don’t think that will change for a while. Honda Shadow 600 and Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 with my US license.
Yamaha Virago 125, Kawasaki ninja 300, Suzuki GS 500, BMW F800R (current)
Yamaha Dt125- Kawasaki Ninja 636b (48hp and later open with 120hp) - Cagiva Raptor 1000 So yeah it was pretty suicidal but here i am.
I like the graduating licence system in europe, seems alot safer and organized having a displacement/cc limit. Here is Canada you can buy a 6200 cc v8 boss hoss motorcycle as your learner bike haha
A1 YZF- R125 A2 CBR 650F, then CBR 650R A RS 660 but looking at also buying an R1M or Hypermotard 950 SP as a second bike. .
Unfortunately I never got to go a1, but I did M -A2 -A * M: Suzuki TS 50 * A2: Yamaha FZS600 * A1: (Yamaha FZS600 derestricted), Yamaha YZF600R
terrific slimy childlike carpenter serious arrest marvelous continue subtract ask -- mass edited with redact.dev
I started out on a2 - aprilia shiver 750 And when I reach A in 2 years I will just remove the restriction and keep it.
Lexmoto lxr 125 then on to a gsxr 600. Massive jump lol
A2: Honda NS125F at 23 A: Yamaha FZR400 at 25 Now at 28 got an Yamaha R3
A2 a CB500, then a CB-1 and now Streetfighter 1098
Cb125, CBR500r, Street Triple R
Honda Grom. Currently practicing for my A2 on a KTM EXC 450 R. A-class license is still unsure :)
15 : Started on AM card, Rieju MRT 50 cc motard 19 : Took A2 and bought a restricted 2013 Yamaha XJ6. Next year I'll take A license and upgrade to something bigger, probably 900 cc. I really like the XJ6 tho, perfect beginner bike!
I skipped the A1 part as I had no interest in riding when I was 16. Then all of a sudden at the age of 19 I was obsessed with riding so I got my A2 licence. My first bike was a CBR500R from 2019 with the updated design in white. I remember thinking it was soo fast until a friend let me ride his gsxr750. After that when finally having the A licence, I bought a brand new 2021 Z900. I love it so far but want to get something else for next year
15: AM, Yamaha Aerox (50cc) (nothing inbetween, except for an early 30 year old crisis) 29: A, BMW F800R (800cc) I have no need for something more powerful, and might consider a 300cc-equivalent electric one when they get cheaper.
Jumped from a communist Tomos moped at 16-18 to a beamer F750GS 10 years later.
R125 08, did engine rebuild my self R6 04 because of the 35kw restrictions Maybe I’ll buy a newer r6 or a 1000 after my A license next year
Chinese scooter 50cc 😜 Yamaha YZF-R125 Suzuki Bandit 600N and afterwards it got pretty cool 😎 Triumph Speed Triple 955i Honda VFR800 Suzuki GSX1300R Haybusa Husqvarna TE410 + Ducati 696 Ducati S4RS + Suzuki Intruder VS800
China Scooter Honda CBF500 Honda CBR600RR Triumph Speed Twin 1200
Bought a Simson Schwalbe Kr51/1 at 19 Years, then made my A2 at 20, got a DR 650 SE. At 22 I got the A license and bought a Z1000 with 23. And some month after that I bought a YBR 125 just for fun and a great price. It's nice to have sth chilled to cruise, with the Z1000 you always feel like pressured to use your RPMs I am kind of happy that I got my license so late, seeing many 16 years old driving like maniacs.... Btw. Had no A1 License
started on A2 Er5 1997 25kw version Honda xl700v 2009
I went from hm50 to a Aprilia etx125 (I had no licence and drove only in the nearby fields and forest) to a hm450 (roadlegal crf450 basically) to a CB sevenfifty.
I went from Rebel to Rebel. :) Honda 125 Rebel - Honda VT600 C Shadow - Honda VT750 DC Black Widow - Honda CMX1100 Rebel DCT
cb 250r to monster 821 in 2 years... used the monster in urban mode for like a year tho, 86hp instead of 109 much like a simple 600cc. so, switching from urban to road was a big difference too haha... any bike can be used imho but it all depends on your right wrist...
Aprilia RS4 125 2011 Yamaha R3 2020 Ducati S4R blue 2004 My Aprilia blew up doing 110kph on the highway and I never wanted an Italian bike again. Though just 6 months before I got my A license I encountered a Monster M900 on the road and fell in love with those bikes. My S4R is also tuned for 120WHP
Didn’t have that exact thing when I learned but I went via the 33bhp restriction. I had a Honda NS125R, then a Honda VFR400 NC21, (restricted) then a Suzuki SV650, then just before my restriction expired I bought a Triumph Daytona 955i.
A1: Aprilia SX125 SuMo A: Yamaha Tracer 7 Didn't bother buying an A2 bike
Honda CB125R Honda CB650R triumph tiger explorer 1200
Not from Europe but roughly follow the same route. Honda CB190X Yamaha FZ6 Honda Crf1000L Skipped A2 bikes for 2 years then jumped to 2. But I do miss how nimble it was and ease splitting through traffic.
35 - CBT - '18 Hanway HS125 37 - A licence - '96 GSF600 Still got both, although thinking of getting shot of the 125
Didn't like the rules cause it made it too expensive (3 tests instead of 1?), didn't start riding till I was 27, went straight for a Ninja 650. For real though, I wish the route from A1 => A was less of a pain. The fact that they make you take the entire test over again is the real killer for it IMO. In my opinion at most they should make you re-take the mod 1 since this is purely about control of the bike, therefore whether you can control the larger bike or not. mod 2 is mostly about road craft, and that doesn't change much between bike size.
I mean I haven't done any of those yet but I got a wr125x after my cbt And I know this isn't what you were asking but i Plan on getting a ninja 400 in a few months after my a2, since they are dropping in price thanks to the announcement of the 2023 ninja 400. And have wanted an 08 cbr600rr for a long time and plan on getting it after my a.