RFC: CBR125

[G]

Seeing that this definitely does seem to be a frequently asked question, how about people (sensibly) list what they do/don't like about the CBR etc so that we can point all the 'gonna do me cbt next month' 16 year olds to it .

[Sparks!]

Good:

It's modern and new
It's fairly cheap for a new 125cc bike
It will be reliable and possibly cheaper to repair in an accident than a fully faired NSR

Bad:

It's ugly
Even though it's cheaper new compared to the RS etc, you'll still lose a LOT of money on it when you go to re-sell
It's a 4 stroke 125cc bike, performance will be on par with a CG125 or CB125 etc.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[carvell]

Good
Good for pottering around town.

4-stroke so doesn't have the high pitched noise of the NSR, also no problems with 2-stroke oil.

Will be a lot more reliable than the NSR - won't need rebuilds as often, if at all.

No risk of being over the learner limit for power.

Bad
Bad for motorways, but possible.

All the pitfalls of buying a brand new bike, you'll lose a lot on it.

Skinny rear tyre, like a pram wheel.

Low powered, top speed of around 70mph, bad acceleration.
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Yamaha TDM 850

[Sparks!]

The bike looks quite practical though, good for around town, short distance and riding to college.

But isn't it just over £2000?

I think it will be a good bike for beginners that have lots of pocket money or rich parents with no sense. But anyone reading this that wants to buy one, well, you'd be better of with something cheaper.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Robby]

I doubt it would be all that comfy.

By the look of it its not on 17" wheels, so it has a restricted rubber choice.

[Shaun]

I went down to the potteries bike show today and had a look at the CBR 125 and I really can't believe how small and cheap looking that little thing is. The wheels are extremely small, not much bigger than a cg's wheels, the tank is virtually non-existent and it just generally looks crap.

[McJamweasel]

It is indeed far too small to be comfy. They wheels are 17 inchers but very narrow (80/90 and 100/80 iirc) so rubber choice will be limited.
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[Kickstart]

Don't know, you can probably get hold of some cheap used race rubber for it, from your local BMX track.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[M1ke]

RIDE have done an article on the cbr125 in next months mag. They don't seem to rate it all that highly. They also say the gear box is crap making it not very ideal for around town use.

Tank size is 2 litres less than an NSR's but still has better range, which is good I suppose.

[Sparks!]

I'd imagine this will be good for rich kids who only want it to get to and from college. It seems like it'll do the job better than a 2 stroke NSR etc would do. The magazines don't seem to be rating it too badly from the reviews I've seen in the current Ride/super bike/Bike etc.

But then it's pretty much going to be the same performance as a CG125, but with better handling I guess. Then again the price tag will be at least twice as much as the CG.

And it's ugly.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[McJamweasel]

[Laura]

In my opinion unless you are 5'5 or under it would be seriously uncomfortable for any period of time its samll ugly really little tyres. Stick with the nsr or equals.
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Good girls ride motorcycles bad girls thrash them.

[Shaun]

If it tops out at 80 then I would imagine that running it in would make you cry for a week after every time you rode it!

[CBR CHIC]

why does everyone seemed so obsessed with the speed of the cbr125? lets face there isnt really a 125 on the road than it is extremely fast compared with the larger range of supersports bikes. i am getting a cbr125 in 2 weeks and i have decided to get it purley because its perfect as a learner bike and is a 4 stroke which isnt gonna break down every five minutes, it is much easier to maintain. ok so its not the best looking bike in the world but its not bad and as i said for a learner bike it is ideal, its light, menouverable and cheap. really looking forward to getting it.
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w.martin

[G]

The issue of speed is not really an issue of speed, but one of acceleration. The 2 stroke bikes will accelerate a lot better and good acceleration is one of the reason I like bikes. There is a speed issue also, in that the cbr125 will struggle at motorway speeds, ie very poor acceleration from 60/70, while a stroke starts to bog down at 80/90, this means that if you're going to do any distance or use big roads (before or after you passed your test) you're going to struggle.

While people have had problems with 2 strokes, rarely major ones with new 2 strokes. I would have thought it would be more complex to maintain. The 2 stroke design is a very basic engine, even doing things like piston/ring changes are pretty simple, while taking the head of a 4 stroke is a lot more complex (though you shouldn't need to as much).

Unfortunately I'm not aware of any cheap CBR125s out there. FOr the price you're paying you could be two older 125 2 strokes. That way you would have one in reserve when all the dreaded things you dread happen.
Also being new and having fairing is generally a bad thing for a learner bike in my opinion. Most learners do crash, at which point new fairings aren't going to be cheap, the alternative is to loose a lot of money when you come to sell.

Anyway, as I've said before... if you've got the money and you /do/ enjoy it, then good for you .

[kamperz]

i have a CBR 125, i think its been under rated, a lot. the top speed is around 80-85 and if you have just done your CBT motorways are a no no eny way. as for the acceleration, it depends on the way you ride it, if your keeping the revs low of course its going to be slow, iv kept up with a 600 fazer (all though he wasn't opening it right up) the acceleration was quick and we lost the nissan 350Z behind us.
the NSR was a great bike, but i spent ages looking at the cheapest i could find was £1900!!! (and it had a bent front fork leg) for the price of a CBR you cant go wrong, i got mine new for £2250!!

[John]

[Ste]

You talk shit kamperz.

The CBR125 is shit.

The NSR can be got for less than £1900. How hard did you look, because I don't believe you even looked on Bike Trader website.

You can keep up with anything if they don't try.

[Kris]

My year 2000 NSR125 went for £1750...

If you really wanted one you could have found one at a similar price...
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[ProXimaCore]

My 98 NSR will be getting sold very shortly. I don't expect to get any more than £1300 for it.

[mr jamez]

[murph]

hello all new to the scene,i've rode a cg and got hooked on bikes so i bought a brand new cbr. bty way i'm not a spoilt college kid i'm a 32 year old labourer.it's good around town it's light, corners brilliantly i've took mine from ireland to the lake district in england in less than a month i've done 1200 miles..it never fails to start don't even need to throttle from the start.one minor gripe is it's performance in town it may overheat just a bit because it's water cooled when idle in traffic air doesnt get to the radiatior quite enough..i hit a top speed of 80mph on the flat and 75 up a slight gradient..and it's still not run in yet!!but it's very very stable at 75mph how many 125's can claim that?..if anyone thinks that 125's can't be good out of town or used for long distances i am proof that anything is possible..one saftey note, if you feel confident enough to overtake a car do so..but don't try it on a 40 foot lorry if their doing 65 and you can't get the revs up enough just sit behind and wait!!..overall i could'nt be happier with my bike

[2wheeled freeek]

hi murphy im to a 30 something wanting to buy a cbr 125 have sat on one im not that tall so it feels ok to me whats it like on juice is it economical wts the clutch like on it i did my cbr on a sr yamaha 125 was bit dodgy first clutch control but got there again would ya say the clutch on the cbr would be the same on sr or a bit more jumpy at first new .

ya got any pics of ya cbr

be cool 2 see.

all the best

2 wheeled freeeek!

[2wheeled freeek]

hi murphy im to a 30 something wanting to buy a cbr 125 have sat on one im not that tall so it feels ok to me whats it like on juice is it economical wts the clutch like on it i did my cbr on a sr yamaha 125 was bit dodgy first clutch control but got there again would ya say the clutch on the cbr would be the same on sr or a bit more jumpy at first new .

ya got any pics of ya cbr

be cool 2 see.

all the best

2 wheeled freeeek!

[murph]

hi thanks for the reply to my post..it's ok for fuel consumption roughly i would say i have a range of about 100 miles maybe on a full tank that costs 6 pounds sterling or there abouts.i have done over 1200 miles in a month and haven't filled it 10 times to maximum so i would definitely say 100 miles range..and here's me on my bike i'm not very tall either 5'7 in height