Learning about motorcycles.

To me, it is important that you do enough research on motorcycles before you make a purchase on a motorbike. Know the different types of bikes that there are. Between sport bikes, street bikes, cubs/underbone, dirt bikes, scooters, cruisers, etc. 

Also understand that there are 2 types of engines for bikes in this 200 cc category. There are 2 stroke engines and 4 stroke engines. There is a lot more to understand between these 2 engines but the major difference to know for me is that 2 stroke engines are more powerful but require more maintenance (you have to keep adding 2t oil to the bike every time you top up ­your fuel) and 4 stroke engines don’t have as much power but they are easier to maintain and generally have better fuel economy. Most of the old smaller cc sport bikes are 2 strokes, to name a few 125z,NSR 150SP, KR 150, RXZ,etc. These 2 strokes are known for being less eco-friendly due to the excessive smoke it emits and it's also louder compared to 4 strokes.

Next to understand for me is between a carburetted bike and a fuel injection bike. You can find out by yourself what these 2 do. What makes some people favour a fuel injection bike is that it is easier to start the bike when it is cold (eg. If you haven’t started your bike for a few days or if it was raining during the night). However a carburetted bike is cheaper, reliable and easier to fix if it breaks down. Fuel injection bikes have a lot of electronics involved in the bike making them more expensive to fix should a problem arise.

If you are new to the bike scene, you’d probably have no/very little idea of what different type of bikes there are and also the different model names. I’d suggest that you go to the different platforms (carousell, gumtree, singaporebikes.com, sgbikemart.com,etc) where people sell their bikes. This is for you to go and see what different bikes there are on the market and also the price of the bikes. Usually doing this will get you to set a budget, decide what type of bike you want and also decide whether you want a bike new or used. Well at least that was the thought process that I went through when I first went through them. 

Considering you've decided what bike you want, do ample research on the bike and browse through forums/fb pages or watch youtube video reviews on the bike to understand what it is good at and also where it lacks. Don't get a bike just because it looks really nice or just because it is cheap and you are itching to get a bike. Do thorough research on the bike so that you do not make a hasty decision and end up regretting getting the bike. Buying a bike is not cheap so be sure you don't waste your money because of an impulse buy. 

• It is important to equip yourself with knowledge on basic bike stuff like checking the chain slack, replacing engine oil and filter, plugging your tyres, checking your tyres to make sure they're still good to go, and a lot of other things. Of course you will learn as you ride but to me it's just better to know.