Van Vans?

[jackw72]

ok im going to look at a Suzuki Van Van on the weekend and was just wondering what the general consensus is on them and any problems to look out for etc!

Cheers for any help
____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed

[G]

Not very good as far as performance/handling goes but an ok alternative to a CG. Don't pay RS125 prices for one though.

[jackw72]

Ok thats fine by me

RS prices new like around 3 grand?? Wouldnt go near one but i think the on we are looking at is around 1400 somewhere from a dealer which isnt bad
____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed

[Keen]

they look pretty funky in that 70's sand bike kind of way, but I think if I was after something like that I'd be more drawn to the Yamaha TW125... similar style but they've been around a bit longer and you could probably find a cheap one
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"he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"- Dr. Johnson

[G]

Erm, I was thinking over £1k.

Personally, I wouldn't pay more than about £750 for one - yes it may be actually /worth/ more, but I don't think it would really offer anything more over other £750 bikes.

What dealer?

[Bomberman]

They look wierd.
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'Allo! My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!
'89 TZR 125 - '94 GPZ500s - ZK3 GSXR600 Alstare

[jackw72]

the TW does look a little better cheers for that

on the price front umm i havent seen one for less than a grand where ive looked. (bike trader)

i havent checked ebay but will do now!

I think of it somewhere in the middle of a commuter that looks like s*** and a sports bike that looks the s***, price tag being in the middle would reflect that

The dealer is in high wickham i just gave my dad a bell but hes having lunch so ill get back to you on that 1 altho i think its a large dealer!

Cheers,

Jack
____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed

[lilredmachine]

They are VERY slow. They have about 12hp (both the Van Van and the TW) and really struggle to make decent headway. That big rear tyre really does drag. There is a third option, the Hyosung Karion, essentially they are all pretty similar but the hyosung is supposed to be a bit peppier.
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[LeeR]

Jack,

Hi, I bought one in Nov 06 a 53' reg with 1400 miles for £1600 (inc. service, 12mths tax, new MOT, and Givi screen) and just traded it in, I can honestly say I was very happy with it as a bike per se. I liked the riding position, large seat, luggage rack, and big fat tyres. The bike had some nice features electric start (only), lights on with ignition, hazard lights, catalytic converter, and 2-pot calliper on the front disc.

Fuel economy was variable, initially I was getting 110-120mpg, then as I got more confident I'd average around 100mpg, and the worst I ever got was 88mpg but it had been in the dealers that week so god only knows what they did to it!

Performance wise it was sluggish as you'd expect of a 125, however with an experienced biker mate riding 2-up with me as pillion he got it up to 62mph through some 'S' bends on the dual-carriageway close to home. I eventually got it up to 62mph on the day I took it back to the dealers, through the same bends which was nice! It was hard work though to get it up to speed, you really need to get the most from each gear before you change up. Sixth gear was almost next to useless and in a strong head-wind I was lucky to sustain 35mph at times, and I had a small screen fitted!

Negative points from my perspective were: small fuel tank 7L inc. 1.5L reserve which meant 100 miles to the tank, and no centre stand (on the bike I bought). My bike developed a feature where by it would slip in sixth gear, the dealer said they couldn't put their finger on it and wouldn't change the clutch, so I asked them to take it back px when I passed my test with no quibbles, they agreed.

I tinkered about with it just a bit to see how easy it would be to service myself and all the basics were pretty straight forward, oil, oil filter, plugs, air filter easily accessible. The only tricky bit was refitting the left-hand side panel hex-head bolt, after using the tool kit.

I used the bike every day throughout the winter (except in the snow as I was off work that day) it never let me down, started first time every time, and was a lot of fun.

I did find towards the end though that I had out grown it, and was really looking forward to having a bike that could make 70mph in reasonable time, and stay there with some to spare. The Van Van isn't that bike, but it's suspension will soak up everything the road can throw at it and lets you get away with learner mistakes, as soon as you close the throttle it's stationary.

There are some good reviews on the web www.motorbikestoday.com/reviews/Articles/suzuki_vanvan.htm but ultimately it's your choice, if you choose the 125 route then I think you have to be prepared to accept it's limitations, and the associated flack; do your time, pass your test and then get what you really want.

A quick national search on bike trader for Suzuki RV 125 reveals around 40 bikes many of them £1400 approx.

If you need to ask anything please do.

Lee

[jackw72]

well that was extremely helpful

Thanks mate!

35mph in headwinds that sounds embarassing lol

The dealership is called Pro Bikes

anyone heard of them???


____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed

[LeeR]

Oh it was a b@stard of a head-wind it was that day a month ago when all those trucks got blown over, I knew I should have got the buzz but I wanted a ride

[Visitor Q]

Get a hartford legion.

Ride it into the ground!

£500 tops.

Kickstart, eleccy and they wheelie (just about)

Also very good in a spill. I binned mine, took out the brake hose completely, bent up god knows what, repaired everything for 35 quid and sold it on about a week later for a 5 quid loss.

And cos fuck all to run/insure.

Cant go wrong mate.
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China traffic/travel bike vid - When I make a sweeping statement, please add the word 'statistically' in to the sentence before you bitch...
From September 2014 to January/February 2015 I will not be using any English, nor reading any. As such, I won't be on here. PM at will, but I won't be checking/posting unless in emergencies. Certainly not for the first couple of months. Please berate me savagely if I break that rule...

[jackw72]

hahahaha

trucks were blowing over so you decided to take a ride

a hartford legion eh???

looks a bit dodgy to me mateyy

does it have a black and white website?

Jack
____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed

[Visitor Q]

[jackw72]

something like that would be nice yes but i also dont want to get potatoes thrown at me for looking like a knob

omg i cnt believe im actually thinking of one


Jack
____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed

[veeeffarr]

[Steve M]

A guy I work with has one (for sale) ... I tried one out when he went to buy it from CJ Ball ... I thought it was a bit of fun ... but not a serious bike. Good enough for use around town, not bad on unclassified roads where the lack of performance wasn't an issue ... but useless on the open road (possibly unfair - I'm accustomed to my VFR, and my son's NSR125 [also for sale elsewhere on this site!!!]).

Would I buy one? No

[G]

[jackw72]

good points all of you!

yeah the problem is is that my dad wants something new or near new and reliable but he doesnt want to buy me a CG so im kinda stuck at the moment!! (its not really a problem)

id rather a four stroke just for the better economy and not paying for oil! So a CBR looks good! but my dad doesnt want me to look small and one of those will!!

So i need someting four stroke, big and faster than a snail!

Jack
____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed

[G]

Is your dad paying?

[Speedy3]

Try a Hyosung GT125R, they are BIG bikes, and supposed to be good for 80mph-ish....

[LeeR]

Jack,

Hi, sorry to pry but what's wrong with a CG? Also are you old enough to skip the 125 completely and do a DAS or AAS?

Lee

[G]

[sandino]

Buy a new VanVan! Suzuki are giving away insurance on their 125s at the moment, its something like £2200. If i had have known i might have waited, and got that insured instead of my YBR with the same deal.

And i would like to remind some people that not all of us can afford DAS, and that everyone has to start somewhere. And in 125 terms, as much as i would like a TZR or NSR (i might still pick up a cheap one to mess about with), some of us need a bike that isnt liable to blow up on the commute to work.
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YBR125 - My bike's current land speed record - 74MPH (indicated)

[jackw72]

too young for a DAS/AAS!

Looks like a getting an XR nice!

insurance group 4 so yay! =]


____________________
08/11/2007 A2 Passed.
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3
Rapid Training passed