A few months ago I tried getting a 125 motorbike for the summer. I was going to look at a Yamaha YBR125 but when I phoned up it had been sold. I got annoyed and looked around for another motorbike. I figured if I was going to get a motorbike I might as well spend decent money and get a good motorbike. I found a second hand KTM Duke 125 nearby but when I phoned them it had been sold too.

I went to a KTM dealer to talk to them about their bikes and got to sit on some. I looked at the Duke and RC 125 and 390s. The 390 is only £500 more but a bigger engine. After talking to them and my friends I came up with the plan: Do my direct access test at the end of the summer and then buy a brand new KTM Duke 390.

As the end of summer nears I’ve been thinking more and more about doing my test. And the more I think about it the more I feel that I am not ready. The accident in March knocked my confidence a lot and I think I was trying to do too much too fast. I need to learn at my own pace and be confident riding a bike before I attempt my test again.

I went onto the KTM dealer’s website to get the address and speak to them about getting a new Duke 125. Whilst on the website I found out that they had a second hand model for sale with lots of upgrades. So I went down with my friend and looked at the bike. The second hand model was the easiest one to get out to show me and it’s loaded with extras. Sitting on it it feels much more like the big Kawasaki ER6n 650 I rode rather than the little Honda / Yamaha 125s.

I went away to think about it a bit and talk to friends and family. I decided to put a deposit down on a Monday to stop anyone else from buying it. There was a little back and forth as I tried to figure out money and I decided to go for it. So on Saturday my dad and I went to the garage to pay for the bike and sort out the paper work.

So this week I’m getting my own KTM Duke 125 with lots of nice extras on it. I’m excited and looking forward to it but I’m also nervous. The last time I rode a motorbike I broke my elbow. I just need to get on it and learn at my own pace. I’m sure my confidence and skill will soon build up.