I am nearly 17 and therefore going to be doing my full test, but because im 17 i will obviously be restricted to 33bhp for 2 years. Just a couple of questions:

1. I have looked at many bikes and dont like the 125 race replicas because they cost a fortune to repair and buy and i think they sound horrible. I have finally decided upon a Yamaha XVS 250 Dragstar, it is a 250 cruiser with 21 bhp. Does anyone know anything about this bike and have any comments or reviews on it?????

2. When it came to insurnace quotes i went on the internet. When i put quotes in to begin with on sites such as "ebikeinsurance" the quotes for third party fire and theft with the bike worth £1500 were around £900. But i was shocked when i went throught "bennets" with the same details and i got a quote for £378 with "AXA Insurance" does anyone know anything about this company? Is this quote too good to be true?????

your best bet is to phone around as many insurers as possible - they differ vastly
Good luck

No idea, when I was seventeen back in 1996 I could insure my MZ 125 for about £170 TPO (about the value of the bike!) - wouldn't have bothered with fire and theft though as the value of MZs doesn't really warrant it. I'm currently paying £50 a month to cover two bikes (one 125/one 250) on a courier policy with Ebike insurance, although this is more than I wanted to pay for third party insurance they're still about half the price of anywhere else for this cover and are a lot more flexible. Bennetts seemed to be the cheapest company to me until Ebike came along, one thing I dislike about Bennetts though is their high cancellation fees - £50 to cancel a policy worth just £10 a month to them! With Ebike you can halt your insurance any time you want to without fees as well as changing details/bikes/riders as you wish. If Bennetss are offering TPFT for £378 then I'd say that's probably worth it if you think the value of the bike warrants it.

Bennets have been good for me pricewise in the past. Check all the details you gave them to be sure they got it all right. Bennets for me this bike were 700notes more expensive than who I am with now. Different circumstances different quote!

Sounds like a fair quote for a new rider. Axa are a well known company (pretty sure I was insured with them last time - this time Equity Red Star were the winners

The main bike insurance brokers (Bennetts, Carole Nash etc ) have their reputation to think of, so would be unlikely to deal with a company that doesn't comply. They know they'd be slated in the bike press if they sold a bad one.

Thanks!!!!!!

Anyone got any reccomendations for a bike while im on 2 years probation with a maximum of 33bhp?????????????????????????

Get a naked or semi fared 600 and have it restricted, then after your 2 years you can remove the restrictors in stead of buying a new bike.

yes mate a 650 dragstar, the restriction wont take alot of it and it will be a torquey nice bike even restricted.

agree with others get a bigger bike and restrict it my wife has a suzuki 800 marauder restricted and it does 85 no problems and after 2 years we just deresrict it a, alos the bigger bikes are more comfy ( but thats an old people thing )

No idea. I've been riding bikes below 33hp for the last 11 years so wouldn't have a clue what's best for someone new. Just make sure you enjoy it, whatever you get. Oh, and ride safely.