Alreet....

[richie....]

Im Richie, from up norf, live in sunderland and im new to this biking.

passed my car test at 17 (23 now) but due to point, i have a honda lead scooter for work.

Ive now out grown this and im going to go and buy a new SYM XS125 in the new year.

Just learned how to ride a geared bike after owning a honda h100 which i had to sell for holiday spends to california in the summer, now the scoot isnt cutting it

i have no intention of doing my test (although the thought of no l-plates is a nice thought!)

basiclly, im after a cheap(ish) 125 for work untill my points drop off in another 2 years, i want to keep the bike for nice days in the summer aswell as own a car.

anyone have any input on these bike? cheers guys.

[P.]

Sym is chinese/taiwanese. If its a bike you want to just use ONLY in the summer, personally I think you are wasting your money.

CBT every 2 years at £100-£140.
You have to buy all the gear, get insurance, get the bike etc.

You would be far better off say buying it for 1 year of riding around, booking in with your experience to do your test, sell it in the summer, ditch the L plates, then if you think "Hey I dont want a big bike yet" you can just get yourself a nice japanese 125/250 to last you a lifetime.

The test is only £121.50 once you have a CBT

BUT
If you are insisting on staying on a 125..

Usual bikes Yamaha YBR125 / Honda CBF125 / Honda CG are good choices.

Depending on your taste you also have the Yamaha YZF R125 / Honda CBR125 / Honda NSR125 / Hyosung GT125R.

If your taste is neither of those then you also have Honda XR125 / Yamaha DT125 / Suzuki DR125 etc.

[richie....]

yes but then its, theory, mod 1 +2.

no the bike will be used in all weathers untill i get another catr and even then ide just keep it for nicer days..

[Matthew_Lee]

[The Artist]

[Rogerborg]

If you have a 125 capable of 100kph+, then you can book and sit theory (£31), mod 1 (£15.50) and mod 2 (£75) yourself, without paying a penny to anyone else. That gets you a full A license with a 2 year restriction to 25kW.

It's perfectly possible to pass without any lessons. If you can't, you should question whether you're safe to be riding on L plates in the first place.

Your insurance costs will come down, you lose the L plates, can take a pillion and ride on motorways, plus you get access to bikes that offer far better value for money and more capability than a 125.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[N cee thirty]

guy i knew had that sym,its pretty much a ybr,but without the fancy brand

he rags the hell out of it and crashes it,still manages to go..
____________________
'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

[mcfcbiker]

No personal experience but I went to a dealer before I bought my 125 and the guy there said they were fine for the price and if its the starting point for biking then there is nothing wrong with them. He advised going for one over the other 125's on the market as they were cheap, came with 3 years warranty and did everything a first bike should.
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Current Bike = 2011 Triumph Street Triple R
Previous Bikes = Yamaha YBR 125, Honda CBF 125, SYM XS 125K

[Matthew_Lee]

[richie....]

so i can do this off my own back, with no lessons and instructor?

im confident enough on the roads like having had a few scooters and a bike. i was under the impresion it was about 4-500£ to do my full test.

[The Artist]

[P.]

I know MANY people who haven't even bought a bike and passed it.

I used to loan my bike out, as long as they got cover and had a CBT i wasn't fussed. Most of them passed first time

[richie....]

after looking on the net, ive decided to go ahead and buy the bike and do my A2 licence, like i say, i cant see myself on a bigger bike as i want a car, it would just be nice to loose the l-plates.

[P.]

Im also 23, have since given up driving once I realised how much im saving with a bike (also cant park car anywhere near me)

Been driving about 4 years now, riding since 08 and its far better than the car, once you really get into it, its fantastic

[Rogerborg]

[Sherwood Bambi]

Hi Richie - I'm from Sunderland originally so welcome to the forum !

I'm also (almost) as big a newbie as yourself. Get into bikes and you'll love it. Nothing wrong with going to work in the car and keeping the bike for pleasure and fun !

Staying at just the L plate stage has it's disadvantages - get your test done mate and once done, you have no more worries about them changing the bloody learner regs again !

[carlosthejack...]

[Peterthepillo...]

I had the Sym as a first bike pre-test, it's now living with someone else as a learner hack. I came by it from a training school that was closing down so it must have had a difficult start in life

Nothing went wrong with it and it has passed two MOT's without any work. It's Taiwanese not Chinese, there are important differences.

The original tyres aren't great, they are the same size as the YBR's and putting the two bikes side by side they are very similar. The gearbox is not as good as the YBR but it works. The Sym is on the A2 list for test purposes so you could use it.

If I had to fault it spares are hard to get, even though there are UK dealers I had endless trouble with simple bits and pieces (bits I broke and consumables). It may be better now, or you may get better support. The three year warranty sounds good here.
Depreciation will be high, but it's only 1500 to start with.
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A passage broad, smooth, easy, inoffensive down to hell.

[richie....]

Cheers for the advice, im just ganna do me test and look at financing a used bike, like the ybr250.

Insurance is 40 quid diff between a 125 and 250 with usual cat one alarm a year, want rid of the l plates more than out, arsehole copper took me to the clearners for it eairlier in the year.