Older first bike?

[gager5000]

Hello all, I am new to both biking and forums so please forgive my ignorance . I passed my CBT a few days ago and have been trawling the net looking for a first bike. I've seen a 1980 Honda cg125 which looks to be in very good condition, is at a price I can afford and looks pretty nice as well. Would this make a good first bike or would a more recent example be a better bet? Am concerned about reliability and constant repairs being required as my mechanical skill is still in its infancy as it were. Thanks in advice and hello again, looks like lots of useful info is floating around on this site , cheers, Ben.

[Itchy]

How much is it?

The problem with an older bike is that it may well fall to bits and the time spent fixing it can ruin your experience of biking.

I had an awful winter on the NTV650 when it needed to be fixed every other day but this was partly due to the fact I kept on sticking 10000s of miles on it every other month.


It will however teach you to be a good mechanic, and CG125s are easy to fix anyway as well as the parts being plentiful.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[gager5000]

Hello, thanks for the reply, its £650 which from what I've seen so far is a bit less than a 10 year old one, the seller claims it to be reliable and its had oil, plugs etc changed recently. Wouldn't be putting anything like those sorts of miles on it, although with the summer this nice I might give it a go , it has just under 14000 on the clock which seems low for the age.

[Ichy]

On a bike that age I would ignore the mileage. More important is the number of previous owners and the general condition of the rest of the bike.

Unfortunately learner legal bikes really hold their price, unless they are Chinese or a bag of nails. At least you can be safe in the knowledge that unless your sold a duffer that you would be unfortunate to make a loss on it in the future.

Chains, plugs, oil, etc shouldn't be a selling point, they are consumables like petrol.

[gager5000]

Hello, its has 2 previous owners and looks to be in good condition, only a touch of surface rust on the front rim from what I gather.

[Moo.]

I have an older 77' cg, never missed a beat, always starts, and great build quality, go for it will keep going for yonks!
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[N cee thirty]

wow i got my perfect 92' cg for £650 and delivery of 100 miles was included
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[map]

On a bike that old you should get cheaper insurance too.
Depends on the company/broker obviously but there are some good old bike packages.
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[Dazbo666]

Only paid £400 for my 1991 GPZ. It was a great bike to build up my riding, and maintenance experience (as well as my no claims)

I was genuinely saddened to see it go, but I think it'll benefit the next owner in a similar way to me
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1st bike (Sept'06 - May'10) : 1991 GPZ500S / Current bike (since Nov 2009) : 2003 Suzuki Bandit 600N
Word of the day : DILLIGAF

[gager5000]

Thanks for all the replies, I bought her last night, love at first sight, even got a box of bits and haynes manual so think its a good deal. Starts first kick and it seems able to drag the skin off a rice pudding. Just got to get insured and get out, too nice a day to just rev her in the garage. If anyone knows of anywhere a handbook would be sold that would be great, I think it must have vanished into the ether.

[Ichy]

https://hondacg125.awardspace.com/

https://honda-cg.ifrance.com/Honda-CG-125-1976-1991.pdf


Sorry no idea where you can buy a manual from

[N cee thirty]

if you have a haynes manual you won;t need anything else
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[gager5000]

Cheers Marki, I think I know how my evening will be spent now, they look very useful, esspecially that dedicated website

[gager5000]

Thats what I'm hoping, there were a couple of things I wasn't too sure about regarding the fuel reserve and the choke but had a look at the spares and all became clear spent 5 mins worried the lights didn't work but then realised it needed to have the engine running brian was obviously disengaged this morning.

[russeleoin]

I bought an 82 YB100. 2 stroke is so simple and reliable. I am very happy with mine, it was £250 and came with 1 year MOT and Tax. Only Reigate hill is a problem and I can still get up there at 35mph which is just fine for me.
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I love classic merc's but bikes take up less space.
Current ride is a Yamaha YB 100 and I love it! Oooow and now a running GPZ400R!
Next stop, Direct Access hopefully by the end of summer.

[Ghost]

Nothing wrong with getting an older bike if you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty. However £650 is very expensive for a 30 year old machine, for not much more you could one that's less than 10 years old from what I remember.

[gager5000]

I thought it looked pricey at first but the condition isas good as if not slightly better than the 10 year old examples I've seen and a lot of them wanted a few hundred more than I could stretch to or afford, plus, like you say, getting your hands dirty is always fun. Was about to take it out for the first time but my dad decided to re-live his childhood and snapped the kick start leaver in half, 20 stone and used to a 42 harley just about explains it I think Also I'm glad to see so many people who have posted run older bikes, it sets the old mind at ease.

[N cee thirty]

[gager5000]

Thats what I've done to give it a little run around, couldn't believe it when I heard that "CLANG" of metal on concrete, makes up for when I broke his stereo as a child tho