Hoping to become a regular (: But first...

[tk338]

Hey! I've been visiting these forums for a while now, but never actually joined, I passed my CBT a week ago (woop woop), loved it, did it on a little ybr 125 (Y).

However I've got myself well and truly tied in knots over which bike to get, I've been looking at just about every 125 there is, minus quite a few chinese makes, and wondered if anyone could assist with narrowing down these choices

Ultimately I need something reliable, can be used all year round through all weathers and although looks aren't amazingly important, it'd be nice :p. I do shift work and being late/not turning for a shift means lots of angry people so that is important to me, I'm going to rely on this, although there will be a lift in a car available most days, it will make me late :p its not ideal and I doo like my independence :p

My journey to work is an 18 mile round trip, theres a half mile section of Dual carriage way on that which can easily be avoided for a more small bike friendly way, and then especially during rush hour into the town centre a small bike will be nice to filter through the traffic .

On the subject of new and used, my reasoning is, a new bike will be reliable and I can get finance on it, which I am fine doing, as long as its not ridiculously expensive, and after looking at used for weeks,there just seems to be nothing I can find that I like .

Money wise I'm looking at spending £3000 absolute maximum bike wise, crossing off the yzf-r125 and the RS 125 (not a fan of 2 strokes anyways) off of my list. This leaves me with the YBR, which I did my test on, but the weather protection would be bad, right? The CBR which has been a dream of mine since I found out about this magical class of 125 5 years ago, and various used variations, or Chinese makes...

(I have also sat on a cbr and it felt nice too, I'm tallish, but it felt comfy )

Any advice would be appreciated, I intend on taking my full, restricted bike test within 2 years, and possibly keeping this 125 till the restrictions lifted, but any help would be greatly appreciated,

At the moment I'm leaning toward a new CBR-125, although with the 0% finance deal on the YBR I am also very keen :p

Thanks!

[Paxovasa]

Hello and welcome

For all year riding I would go for a trail bike and I would suggest a Yamaha DT125
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Suzuki GSF600 K3 (in the fastest colour, black).

[Pickledswede]

Hi there, welcome to the site! I'm sure you've heard it all before but I would advise against buying your first bike new, for starters it will depreciate massively as soon as you ride it away, and if you drop it it loses even more value obviously.

How about this (or something similar) https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=195974, nice clean little 125, obviously been well cared for, (craigs23 is well known for his meticulous cleaning and care of bikes!) It will surely keep going for long enough for you to pass your test at the very least, probably as reliable as a new bike would be but you don't have to worry about running it in. It'd be great for filtering aswell being light and tall, and is a fraction of your budget.

Again, I'd advise against the CBR125, it seems to get a lot of bad reviews, slow, overpriced and generally uninspiring, personally I think it's pig ugly aswell, barely related to its bigger brothers.

HTH, enjoy the forum and being on two wheels!

[Carl_steveo]

Quality post mate, it's nice to see a newbie thats able to write properly and have a good post at the same time.

Right, I have a 125 at the moment, it's an NSR125 and it would have been my recomendation but you don't want a 2 stroke so thats fair enough.

As said before I wouldn't get a new bike, you will only drop it or have an off and you don't want to do that on a new bike. A second hand bike would be a better option.

Some people are going suggest getting a CG125. They are a workhorse and highly reliable. They are a bit slow being a 125 4 stroke but it doesn't really matter.

All year round riding I would suggest something like the DT125. I decided to go out in the icey conditions on my NSR and got as far as the end of the street before I was on my arse.

I wouldn't suggest getting the CBR 125. I know you said you sat on one and liked it but it is tiny. It's stick thin and in my opinion looks horrid. Each to their own though.

There are dealers that have second hand 125's knocking about where you can go up and look at different models etc and they will do finance.

A few suggestions.

Yamaha YZF R125.

https://www.yamaha-motor-europe.com/Images/2008-YZF-R125-static-07_tcm26-208747.jpg

Not sure on the price of these second hand might be a bit out of your price range. (I'll go look now.

Edit: Just had a quick search on the internet and they are knocking about for around £2000 - £2500.

Honda CG125

https://rsty.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/22471_0_1_2_cg-125_image-credits-honda.jpg

Hyosung GT125R (Again not sure on the price of these)

Edit: These are knocking about for £1500 - £2000.

https://www.bikez.com/pictures/hyosung/2007/25047_0_1_2_gt125r%20ttc_Image%20credits%20-%20Hyosung.jpg

Theres loads of different bikes you could buy depending on what you like. Theres loads of different versions of the off road type 125's. I would suggest finding somebody who has one near you and having a sit on to get a feel for them.
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Current: Honda Nsr 125
Live: Sunderland
Luke "cant be arsed to read your post, but suck my balls anyway."

[Clanger]

This is quite an informative post about 125cc's and what not to buy. https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=195212
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[crowe]

Sorry to disagree with Pickledswede but I found my cbr125r completely fine for the year i rode it.

You mentioned your commute involves a fair bit of filtering? Well like Carl_Steveo mentioned above, it's a relatively 'thin' bike which i found great for filtering.

I agree that you would be better off buying second hand. You know with a Honda the engine will be bulletproof. Personally i'd get one for arround £1-1500 and use the extra cash for gear/lessons

I'm sure most 125s will be fine though, just stay safe on windy roads!
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Kawasaki ER-5

[caveo]

Iv just picked up a brand spanking CBR125R for £2499 OTR and I love it , Im 30 and this is my 1st bike and I,m learning myself to ride at the mo and in my opinion its the perfect learner bike.
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Street Triple with an highly illigal can !

[Sam_Y_93]

[neil.]

Get a CG or YBR and put this screen on for weather protection:

https://hondacg125.awardspace.com/givi_a660_review.htm

The YBR also has a small aftermarket screen that Yamaha make which helps with stability on those fast A roads.

Both the CG and YBR have Haynes books so you can service the bikes yourself too.

Om nom nom.
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CBT February 2008 | A2 June 2008 | Yamaha YBR125 (written off) | Honda CBF125 (current)

[caveo]

[Alexio]

As mentioned above, the CG (or YBR / GS if you must) will probably be the most reliable in the very long term, but if you've got the money and are going for something new I'd be very, very tempted to try a new CBR or YZF r125

I hear that the new Honda CBF 125's are pretty good too! As they are supposed to be the replacement to the CG (which I currently have) I'd like to have a go on one as I would probably consider one when my CG has finished been smashed up by me.
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will never give up his CG. I look at my fuel gauge more as a progress bar than a fuel gauge.
G: With my GSXR I do often effectively use it as a scooter with a clutch in town.
ms51ves3: why does it need 500 miles? Are you teaching it how to be a piston?

[Clanger]

[caveo]

[FURBAR]

Quality post mate, it's nice to see a newbie thats able to write properly and have a good post at the same time.

2nd that notion ...

For peeps willing to spend upto three grand you have to consider :

Cagiva Raptor 125

https://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e53/covdude/From%20feb%20ten%20ten/mediaCAJ2BAAK.jpg

Or the RS125, because it at least goes half as fast as it looks ...
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Fuk um !!

[Sam_Y_93]

[FURBAR]

If you know for sure that you will go bigger in cc - as most do, then the safe bet on here always tends to be the CG 125, it will fulfill all your shortterm needs at a great price, then when you have passed your full test, hornet and fazer type bikes or the cbr come into play ... amongst others ....
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Fuk um !!

[tk338]

Woah! Can't complain for lack of replies :p

Thanks everyone who replied

I'd love to reply to every message individually, but I'd be here all night so I'll make it a little more general

First off the DT125 and similar styled bikes, sound like the sort of thing I do need, winter months wise, but its just not my kind of bike I do prefer a more... Road looking bike :p

However as i think someone mentioned (but I cant find it ), any 125 is going to be underpowered and a sports 125 has the looks but no go, and a pet hate of mine is people who do mod their 'vehicles' completely cosmetically and then they are just SO SLOW, its almost embarrassing watching them, and I'm not saying a 125 is snails pace, but I'm going to accept that a 125 with R6 looks, while it looks amazing, with my height and weight its going to take a while to reach the higher end...

Also on the money front the yzf, I had a good long sit down with a sheet of paper, pen, calculator and the last 6 months wage slips, and I can afford it, but not comfortably, especially with the insurance quote I got

So then disregarding 2 strokes (sorry :p), and the afore mentioned sports bike I'm kind of left with bikes more like the ybr and cg, something I can afford quick and easy, and then lessons and a full bike test after that and move on with my life (Y).

I'm going to look at a YBR come Tuesday and will report back, but thanks for all comments, compliments, welcomes and suggestions, I think I'm going to enjoy my stay (Y)

[FURBAR]

You may, please make a controversial post early on though, so we can tell you off and ask for pics of your birds tits .. ta
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Fuk um !!

[tk338]

[panrider_uk]

[Alexio]

In which case the Honda CG, Yamaha YBR or Suzuki GS is what you need to get.

To be honest, the performance is nearly identical, there'll be about 5MPH in it so nothing to worry about.

I'm biased so I would say go for the CG (there's a mountain of spare parts for it, it's incredibly cheap to keep on the road) but all three ought to be very reliable if treated right.

Second hand they should be very reasonable prices. Do have a go on any of them if you can and report back
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will never give up his CG. I look at my fuel gauge more as a progress bar than a fuel gauge.
G: With my GSXR I do often effectively use it as a scooter with a clutch in town.
ms51ves3: why does it need 500 miles? Are you teaching it how to be a piston?

[caveo]

A CG will never let you down , thats what I did my CBT on
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Street Triple with an highly illigal can !

[northernmonke...]

What about:

https://finance.autoexposure.co.uk/classicdd.cfm?Account=AETA56347&VehicleID=AETV30352388&Image=https://images.autoexposure.co.uk/AETA56347/AETV30352388_1a.jpg

My brother in laws garage (sister's bike, she found it a bit big for a small girl!)

He could do delivery and finance too (good rates)

Call him if interested (ask for Jason), tell him Neil sent ya!

[27cows]

I'd buy an older CG125 for about 500 quid or less, and keep the rest of the money towards a bigger bike once I'd gained a bit of road experience. You're never more likely to go down the road on a bike than during your first year, so better to do it on a £500 bike than something that cost three grand.

Once the test is passed, you can use the remaining money to buy a bigger bike, using the CG as a trade in (or keeping it for commuting/runabout/touring the world duties ).
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[amrath]

Like a few people have said i would advise against buying a brand new bike as your first you may drop it etc and this is the problem with faired bikes to naked bikes, the drop damage will show more, so thats an up for the CG, YBR and all the other naked commuter 125's

However if you are planning on doing your full bike test you might want to look into a second hand Honda Varadero, it will handle all weathers, it looks nice, it has a good 600cc size to it, its quite nippy with its V-twin engine and you can probably pick up a good conditioned one for your price range however i would stay away from the fuel injected models as they have been reported to be a bit slower than the 2000 - 2006 models.

Mine is an 05 plate and i absolutely love it to bits and its such a comfy seating position for a 125 + you have the peace of mind knowing its a Honda so the engine is more or less bulletproof
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Current Bike: Honda Varadero XL125 V5