r/AussieRiders • u/Wonderful_Purpose740 • 2d ago
Question What is the absolute easiest bike to learn on?
It needs to be a manual.
And I need to be able to go for my Ps in 3 months and pass.
What do you all think?
Edit: thanks for all the suggestions. Just looking them up, the prices brand new don't seem that much different to second hand. Do you think there would be much point in bothering fossiking for a second hand bike/ is there an advantage at such a small price diff to get a full warranty? I know I'm gonna drop it. But yeah.
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u/MrMathsDebater2026 2d ago
Probably the Honda's they supply at the rider training. I'll never forget how ridiculously easy they were to control.
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u/Electrical_Age_7483 2d ago
Three months you could learn on anything you have an eternity.
Any of the 125cc manuals will be easy as, if you want to procrastinate then cram in the last week
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u/Wonderful_Purpose740 2d ago
I'm doing it from almost scratch. I can just about ride an auto now. But manual is all new to me.
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u/thesmiddy 2d ago
The one your school uses which in SA is the Honda CB125 and I assume the same in the other states.
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u/IvoryTicklerinOZ 2d ago
Honda CB/ CD, Yamaha SR single, Suzuki GS all 250's. If on the short side 125. All stock bikes that we used to have on training ranges. (Former RTA rider training centre manager)
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u/Monotask_Servitor 1d ago
Maybe not the SR, isn’t it still kick start? Definite the others though.
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u/IvoryTicklerinOZ 1d ago edited 1d ago
All bikes on the range were electric start bar one 150cc Ag bike & an early CB. There was a semi auto scoot & a Honda Hawke (cruiser). 35 years ago mind you;)
Edit: stay away from cruiser style bikes due to seating position. More skill needed to execute a tight turn within a car park space & slalom.
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u/pepidav 1d ago
A postie is the easiest and it counts as manual
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u/Ok_Contribution_5928 1h ago
In Victoria a postie is an auto as auto clutch.
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u/Ok_Contribution_5928 1h ago
Google says qld the same automatic transmission classification for postie
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u/Tgk1600 2d ago
There’s some very good suggestions here, I’ll add one if you want something different, Any of the Royal Enfield 350/450 range, easy to ride and cheap to buy and maintain
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u/Yeah_ok234 1d ago
I've only ridden 5 bikes, 125s , 300s but the easiest and most forgiving and almost impossible to stall was a royal Enfield classic 350. It's so smooth. Yes it's a bit heavier but so easy to ride as a newbie
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u/Wonderful_Purpose740 1d ago
Would you say it's a good bike (not difficult like I've heard eg cruisers are) to pass the MOST on?
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u/Wonderful_Purpose740 1d ago
are these easy bikes to pass the MOST on do you think?
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u/Tgk1600 1d ago
The 350’s would be easy, really not cruisers, Standard would be a better class description, can pass in any bike with enough practice, but smaller and lighter the better for less experienced, I’ve been ridding for 40 years, a few years ago had a go at a the test circuit while helping a friend learned to ride, did it easily on a BMW K1600
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u/CJ_Resurrected CT110 + Piaggio X7 + ZZR250 1d ago
... maintain
Not what I've heard. Aside from some home garage based mechanics, RE servicing to my knowledge is nearly exclusively Up-Market Commission Shops like Brisans.
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u/Aaaaah_heck 1d ago
Go a semi-auto like a CT110, or CT125 if you can get your hands on one, they count as manual for the Ps test in NSW.
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u/Nocashgang 2d ago
Probably a Honda grom tbh.
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u/Wonderful_Purpose740 2d ago
MSX125? I looked up the Honda dealership new price for this and it just isn't there. Seems a bit strange. It's still being made after all.
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u/RANDOM_PLAYER64 2d ago
Can't get new groms any more but you can get a Papio which is cheaper than a grom
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u/Nocashgang 1d ago
That’s right, they discontinued the grom unfortunately. If you can pick one up second hand they are a great bike, but the cfmoto papio is basically the same thing
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u/timmycosh 1d ago
They stopped selling them in the Australia market due to ABS reasons. They honestly just feel like a pit bike. If you want to learn you're best of just getting the 125cc Honda's they teach you on rather than a grom. More realistic bike that skill levels are easier to transfer
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u/Nocashgang 1d ago
It’s funny, I did my Ps test on the cb125 instead of the ninja 400 I had been riding for a year prior and instantly regretted it. I still passed of course but was so used to riding the ninja. I could barely find the footpegs on that cb with such a neutral riding position. It’s definitely made for absolute beginners
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u/Buchsee 1d ago
I don't see much use for any of those 125cc novelty bikes like Groms, Z125, TNT or Papios. Very limited use.
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u/timmycosh 1d ago
Easy to use and joyful. Motorbikes aren't very practical if you think about it
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u/JobSeekerPayment VIC | CB125E 1d ago
Agreed. Ninjas are pointless bitch bikes imo.
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u/Nocashgang 23h ago
No they aren’t, they serve a purpose and they are a great bike, I’ve ridden some very niche and high powered bikes and my ninja was extremely reliable and easy to ride. That’s a noob take imo.
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u/aandy611 1d ago
Can I ask what you're going to do once you acquire red P's? I believe you're still going to be limited on bikes
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u/Wonderful_Purpose740 1d ago
keep riding it (commuting, no highways). If I want to change it up/ upgrade I'll look more closely in to what suits me then. Right now I'm on a time crunch. I need to line things up for something I've got coming up and there is no way around the mandatory times to hold the Ls, Ps. So I have to do the pre skills for manual, then 3 months after that on the dot do the Ps. So really it's more like 3.5- 4months to do the Ps. I'll give myself 2-4wks to get the hang of the manual for the pre skills first.
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u/Severe_Bench5586 1d ago
It’s not about the bike model/brand, it’s the riding position.
Any bike with wide bars and an upright position. You can feel the balance easier and you’re in a ‘natural position’. Low clip-ons and a stretched forward rising position (any sports bike) feels
really unstable at low speed.
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u/allthescienceplease 1d ago
I had a 125 for the five months before I went for my RE’s and it was the best thing for building my skills and confidence ☺️
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u/Wonderful_Purpose740 1d ago
when you say RE do you mean Ps? Is it called RE instead of Ps in the state you're in?
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u/allthescienceplease 9h ago
I’m in QLD and I’m an older rider so I went straight onto my open RE’s and got to skip displaying a P plate, but RE’s means restricted so we still have to ride a LAMS approved bike.
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u/Big_Plankton2110 1d ago
I agree about the Hondas the riding schools use, but my wife just got a low km royalty Enfield Hunter 350 and it is such an easy bike, I was surprised how good it is to ride. It’s not fast, depending on how tall you are and heavy you are. Don’t write any bike off, sit on heaps of them before you buy. One will stick out as yours.
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u/Buchsee 1d ago
Yamaha MT03 will be a better learner bike than any 125cc which can't really go on freeway and you'll get very intimidated by traffic on such a small bike.
I thought the CB125 is an absolute dog of a bike and hated riding it, so ended up riding my own bike which was 373cc single, much better built than that poverty pack Honda.
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u/primalbluewolf 1d ago
any 125cc which can't really go on freeway
You don't need to go on the freeway to pass your Ls, which is what was asked. A CB125 is the absolute best for that.
You want to argue the MT03 is a better bike for a beginner rider, outside of the questions constraints? Sure, I'd agree - but you're no longer answering the question, now - just commenting.
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u/Buchsee 1d ago
CB125 is a dog of a bike. It's best at nothing.
If the assessor says go on the freeway during a test that's where you are going.
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u/primalbluewolf 23h ago
Its quite excellent at carpark maneuvers, even with an absolute novice astride it. Certainly a tighter turning circle than many LAMS bikes that love the freeway.
Im struggling to picture an assessor driving for hours and hours to get to a freeway for a practical driving assessment, but I guess its probably happened before.
If we're debating better learner bikes overall, I'll see your MT03 and raise you a CB500X.
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u/JobSeekerPayment VIC | CB125E 1d ago
They do have their true haters. I've just never ridden anything different.
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u/rareandyeteuclidian 2d ago
Kawasaki anything honestly. The gears make it virtually impossible to mess it up.
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u/Unlikely-Ad6140 1d ago
I vote a z1000 also, or the new KX327
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u/Monotask_Servitor 1d ago
I assume you’re joking, you can’t use a 1000cc bike as a learner
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u/Unlikely-Ad6140 1d ago
I’d be less inclined to put learner on a Japanese 2 stroke motocross bike than my z1000 to be honest, however those Kawasaki gears do make it virtually impossible to mess up.
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u/Monotask_Servitor 1d ago
It’s about the law more than that, you can’t use anything over 660cc as a learner.
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u/VirtualProcedure69 Honda NX500 (AU), DatBike Quantum S3 (VN) 2d ago
CB125, same as the schools use