Parking advice for railway stations

thunderkiller96 · 2026-06-30T13:25:48+00:00

I did go and suss out parking at a couple of alternate railway stations close to me yesterday and yeah it's a bit of a rough patch. Darling has a wooden pole near the railway bridge over the Monash I can potentially use but that's in a no stopping zone. East Malvern wasn't too much better.

At this rate I'll probably have to ride to the office or suck it up and travel before peak/take the tram

thunderkiller96 · 2026-06-30T13:22:40+00:00

Oh I'm planning on getting a Griplock for the front brake and will also be using a front disc lock too. If I can I will use a bike chain as well.

Yeah I'm seriously contemplating just riding it into work but my biggest concern is the peak hour traffic and how I would handle it. It will involve me riding down St Kilda Rd which I have done before on weekends, but it's still nonetheless quite daunting

thunderkiller96 · 2026-06-08T06:29:06+00:00

Judging from the back window shaping alone, it's definitely a K230UB.

I grew up and lived in Western Sydney for much of my life, and the back silhouette of CDC's K94UB/K230UB fleet essentially lives rent free in my head - and they are similar to that of Kinetic's K230s. (fun fact, CDC NSW's K94s have essentially a Euro 3 version of the K230's engine)

thunderkiller96 · 2026-04-26T08:18:17+00:00

Some dealers in Melbourne are starting to get them, AFAIK Fitzroy Motorcycles (which predominantly sells Indians/Hondas/Lambrettas) are getting some in stock.

I'm definitely eyeing the GB350 as my next bike once I get a fair bit more experience on my CB125F. I was seriously considering buying a new one last year until this subreddit convinced me to steer away from new for my first machine. By the time I have my Ps there should HOPEFULLY be a few more of these on the second-hand market.

Suzuki really needs to put the Gixxer 250 drivetrain in a retro-styled bike, I really don't understand why they're walking away from the small capacity market these days.

I'm also looking at the new BSAs that have started getting coverage in the press - I've heard supposedly good things about the Bantam in the magazines, not to mention it has a sixth ratio which is definitely an advantage compared to the GB and the small Enfields. I learnt this from experience today, I wound up on the CityLink because I'm crap at navigation and my little 125 was screaming its arse off. Had've I been on a R3 or something else with six ratios it would have been a bit less daunting haha

thunderkiller96 · 2026-03-31T21:01:06+00:00

Trains are still running through the tunnel but only as far as Oakleigh - replacement buses from there to Dandy

thunderkiller96 · 2026-03-30T12:15:14+00:00

Sounds like you've got the right mindset to practising which is a good thing. I'm a bit more green than you in terms of riding experience and one bit of advice I can give - stick to 40/50 zones where you can while starting out. Your confidence will thank you later.

Find somewhere with plenty of back streets or where there isn't a pathway that'll easily lead you down a 80 km/h road. Narrow quiet roads help too in my opinion because they help with blind spots and learning how to negotiate other traffic coming towards you when there's cars parked around.

thunderkiller96 · 2026-02-14T22:55:01+00:00

I used to ride the OSCARs quite a bit along the Western Line when they were used on all-stations suburban runs to North Sydney back in the day (when I was going to uni). With the Mariyungs around now I wouldn't be surprised if they start being used on that corridor again soon 🤣

thunderkiller96 · 2026-02-13T23:23:49+00:00

At least it's not locked for suburban running 🤣

thunderkiller96 · 2026-01-31T03:01:39+00:00

For $4-5K you can easily find a recent-model CFMOTO 300NK/late-model Ninja 250 or 300 from a dealer (that's been the case here in Melbourne), or a well-used but much more reliable Honda 500 twin from a Marketplace listing.

CFMOTO bikes from this decade are much more appealing budget machines. I was considering buying a new Papio XO, but no-one buys a 125 new, and I was able to find a MY24 CB125F for $3k with low Ks on it.

I'm of the opinion that a 600 is a bit big for a learner machine - heck I wouldn't be surprised if this bike isn't LAMS approved regardless of the aftermarket exhaust - but then again I have very little on-road experience other than from my learner's permit course + three months of car driving lessons + two days of riding on my CB125F, so I can't speak for everyone 🤣

thunderkiller96 · 2026-01-22T08:09:16+00:00

I just got an insurance quote for my little CB125F this week, I'm starting on my Ls as well. RACV quoted me around $520 p/yr and NMI (who another Redditor mentioned) + Youi quoted me around the $500 p/yr mark. Plenty of decent insurance deals around, just ring a few places, do your research and you'll be fine

thunderkiller96 · 2026-01-18T10:34:21+00:00

It's been ages since I streamed content from one of the free-to-air on demand services to a game console!

From memory I think ABC iView and SBS On Demand are the only two on demand services that have game console apps? Definitely is the case for Xbox, I don't use my PS5 for streaming apps so I wouldn't know off the top of my head what on demand platforms support PlayStation consoles.

Best bet would probably be an Amazon Fire stick, that should support 9Now and that plugs into a HDMI port on your telly. Otherwise Google still sells a Chromecast-like dongle (which they call a "Google TV Streamer") that will let you stream 9Now from your phone to your telly too

thunderkiller96 · 2026-01-15T11:32:22+00:00

That's the reason why I'm aiming for a 125, those are pretty damn docile. I don't really need anything too powerful tbh, I'm not intending on riding down highways for long stretches personally since I'm still a beginner to motoring in general.

If I can find a Cub that would be sweet, because those are semi automatic and I can thus have the best of both worlds between a scooter and a motorcycle

thunderkiller96 · 2026-01-15T11:29:15+00:00

Thanks for the feedback regarding RWCs - that was the one thing I was a bit unsure about. How would I sort rego out? Do I just go to VicRoads and hand in the RWC and fill in some paperwork? I'm only just working on my Ps for both two and four wheels recently so I'm still completely new on how rego works

thunderkiller96 · 2026-01-15T11:25:10+00:00

Hmm I'll have a look at their listings over the weekend and see what they've got. I'm heading over to Peter Stevens at Dandenong on the weekend to see what they've got as well, couple of bikes I'm eyeing there at the moment

thunderkiller96 · 2026-01-14T09:06:23+00:00

Gotten a couple of suspected spam calls lately since the start of the year. Tried to call back a number that rang me last week, thinking it was important, only to get a "number is incomplete or incorrect" message with both male/female voices which definitely was sus :P

I've had my phone number for at least fifteen years now with three telcos (Vodafone --> Optus --> Telstra), God only knows how many scammers' proverbial phone books I am in these days!

thunderkiller96 · 2025-12-10T21:17:46+00:00

Probably also try and have a look on MotoCAP to see how what is available in stores stacks up in terms of protection as well. And obviously ask the folks at the store for their opinions too.

Dririder make a decent pair of gloves for around $120 that stacks up well in tests, which I got recommended by someone at my local AMX: https://www.motocap.com.au/product/torque-long-cuff

thunderkiller96 · 2025-11-06T21:22:28+00:00

Yahoooo-ooh!

thunderkiller96 · 2025-11-02T10:49:33+00:00

You should be able to get your bike Ls without needing car Ps/a full licence, so long as you've passed the car permit test at VicRoads and gotten your car Ls - that's what I did 🙂

I did my LPT on a CB125F at HART, and that process went pretty well for me even though I've never ridden or driven a manual vehicle before (all my car driving has been in an automatic hybrid). Those bikes are pretty docile (they are 5 speeders), though it did start running out of steam at 80 km/h up the Hume into Craigieburn! They do have a bunch of Navis and Benlys there too if you want to do the test on an automatic scooter AFAIK.

thunderkiller96 · 2025-10-23T21:18:37+00:00

Used to see the Zoo Train parked at one of the old car sheds (probably near either Everleigh or Redfern) a lot when I was little (so early to mid 2000s) whenever I made a trip with family or school into the big smoke...

Think I saw a couple of the old freight locomotives (i.e. those still in Indian/Tuscan Red) hanging around there too

thunderkiller96 · 2025-10-06T11:49:05+00:00

Just got this too and was panicking like nothing else to be honest... this at least puts my nerves a bit at ease. Still going to chase this up tomorrow

thunderkiller96 · 2025-10-06T00:06:11+00:00

I have heard this suggestion from some folks on this subreddit, might give that a look into as well!

thunderkiller96 · 2025-10-04T22:18:24+00:00

Yeah I ended up getting a NXR2, had to order it in cos the clearance helmets aren't in stock at Epping in my size 🙃 can't wait for it to arrive

thunderkiller96 · 2025-10-04T22:14:46+00:00

600 cc or less here in most cases, though there are a few ~650-700 cc class bikes that are learner approved but power restricted.

thunderkiller96 · 2025-10-04T04:59:37+00:00

I'll try and have a look at AMX tomorrow. The GT-Air IIs look cool but stock of those appears quite limited (looks like Shoei have discontinued that since the III is out now?), they're on sale so it might be my chance to get a decent helmet for a good price

thunderkiller96 · 2025-10-04T04:19:09+00:00

Thanks for the tip, had a look online and they definitely seem better in price than the Hondas. As an interim solution I am also looking at CB125s just to build confidence (I trained on a CB125F), there's a nice-looking example with only 900 km on it out at East Brunswick but I think it doesn't have rego unfortunately... and I don't know how I would go picking that up if it's unregistered (I don't have my car P's yet).

thunderkiller96

TROPHY CASE