Hello, and a few questions..

[_Iain_]

Hi,

First post and that...where to start. Basicly within the next week or two i will be going for my CBT and purchasing my first (well, technicly second if you count the C90 i bought for the other half a while ago...)

I've been working as a car/van courier driver for a while now, and whilst doing a delivery coming out of tunbridge wells, some dippy woman decided to not indicate, slam her brakes on and turn. resulting in me bumping the back of her micra at approximately 5mph. scratched the paint on the bumper & apparently that makes it a fault accident on my behalf and has written her car off. Apparenly 1k of damage?! definately wish i'd taken that panelbeating/spraying course at college now...they must be minted!

Anyway, this resulted in loss of my no claims and left me unable to insure my van, so i got myself a nova - as i'd insured one at one point for peanuts, to find that they want £3700 a year to insure that?? yeah. right. Pulled up a quote on a bandit 600 to find that even with the accidents i can insure said bike for half of that! Which has luckily been enough to persuade the other half to let me get on two wheels...I've been itching to get my hands on a wre125 for quite a while now if im honest!

I've been looking to do my CBT and get something reliable to do the courier work on - 90% of my work is quite local, so i've not got to worry too much about not being able to get on the motorway. At least then i've got some real road experience before going for my DAS later on this year, at which point the 125 will most likely be kept for work purposes, so its got to be something thats going to last a while! I've done some searching around and come up with the Yamaha YBR 125 as the best choice. Am i right on this? The 100+mpg figures are the main attraction, and the cheap insurance makes it that bit nicer. Parts dont seem to pricey either! Honda's CBF costs me £700 a year extra to insure...and the fairing section worries me as it's more than likely going to get dropped at some point. There's a few CG125's knocking about, but they're all fetching a simmilar price to the YBR's and have twice the mileage on them.

The YBR i'm looking at purchasing is a 2011 model with 4,700 on the clock. The guy is including a bike cover, and the top box (ideal for work) with the deal, and he's agreed to take around £1800 for it. Theres a slight scuff on the exhaust, and a few scratches on the tank which i'd guess have come from a zip on a jacket. Would you say this was about the right money to be paying?? Also, are there any issues i need to watch out for? I've heard exhausts rot out on theese quite quickly, however a rake around ebay shows i can get ahold of a full stainless system for around £250 posted which seems fairly reasonable if the bikes going to see heavy useage all year round...also looks quite nice IMO. Is this worth the hassle, or are there problems caused by aftermarket bits?


Anyway, now i've bored you all with my life story and asked a series of (probbably) stupid questions, i'll look forward to being a part of the forum. Diddent seem right coming in here posting about this that and the next without introducing myself first...thanks in advance for any advice people can give & i'll try and avoid writing essays in the future!

[defblade]

[_Iain_]

Tbh, im not convinced an exhaust alone would give anything to the bikes power output! well nothing noticeable anyway...i guess if the stock system has a cat in it somewhere it might be worth 0.0001bhp or something. Resetting the fuelling on anything EFI always seems to be serious ballache, or mega expenses on aftermarket ECU's/piggybacks. Im assuming bikes are the same as cars in that aspect?

Regarding the accident, the reason i consider it not my fault is due to the fact that she failed to indicate & practically did an emergency stop. It was pretty heavy traffic and i reckon had i hit said car at the same speed on a push-bike i'd have probbably slipped off the seat but not hit the deck. Currently having an argument with the insurance company over the claimed damage, as the car was covered in dings and dents. She even diddent want to take the witness details that were offering to vouch for her! Gave her my details just in case...Im betting she backed into a bollard or simmilar in tesco's and figured she could blag it off, though thats all guessing. If you cant prove it, it aint worth anything! Thankfully i've got photo's as evidence to prove my side of the story.

I know it wont get me my NCB back, however it'll give me a degree of satisfaction knowing that she's going to get a load of greif for making an iffy claim against me. The more i think about the whole affair the more i realise its probbably 50/50...Had i not slammed the brakes on quite so hard it wouldnt have locked up and slid! The irony of the whole situation, is that the van itself got written off in central london two weeks later when a taxi ran straight into the back of me sitting at a red light!

Bit off topic but totally understand what you're saying about the two second rule however. Done driving work for damn near three years now & the amount of accidents that's kept me out of is unreal. However i'd add that it'd be wise to extend that time a few seconds for motorway/dual carridgeway!

[arry]

[shereen]

[arry]

[shereen]

[defblade]

[ninja_butler]

I once had some chavvy young woman drive into the back of my car, it was only a very low speed shunt but when I offered her my contact details and asked for hers I could have slapped her when she said "What for? It's not damaged! That's what bumpers are for."

[Rogerborg]

Aaaaanyway, bikes...

[_Iain_]

Thing is, due to the Nova deciding it wanted a box of iron filings instead of gears, im out of work for a few weeks till i get this sorted so i realy cant afford to hold out get the theory etc. Id be looking at £800 for the das, cbt and theory on top of that running up to around 1k total? Which then leaves me with a £500 insurance deposit to pay, sitting me with around a £1500, thus about £600 to spend on the bike itself. And eerything ive seen for them moneys is quite old and "well used" reliability is pretty important!

Plus when running owner driver its all about the mpg. Dont think id see more than around 40-50! On what i can afford to buy...probbably less. The little yamaha is just intended to be a cheap reliable workhorse.

Trust me, ive considered going straight for it, But the bank man says no unfourtunately. Need to use my head and not my heart on this one!

[Rogerborg]

Fair enough, sounds like a plan. However, do bear in mind that all modern 125s are made in either China or India by peasants. You can only trust the Japanese quality control so far.

With your requirements I personally would be looking at a pre-2007 YBR with carbs, or a post 2007 Hyosung GT125. I'd actually rather gamble on Korean build quality on newer 125s.
____________________
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

[_Iain_]

Looked at both - however the GT125 is apparently quite weighty (although far better looking IMO) and this hurts the fuel economy, however i'd still have one any day of the week over a YBR if it wasnt for work! Shame they saved the injection system for the 250, else it'd probabbly be so close to the YBR i'd have to have it! This said, i've heard they can be prone to fork seal failiure & anything shiney rusts like nobodys buisness. Also nice that they're that bit bigger than most 125's, especially being 6ft 3!

With the YBR's, the older ones have got the same to give as a newer one at the same price - however the carb engine isnt sposed to be as good on the fuel economy as the newer injected motor. Less about, most have significantly higher mileages than the newer ones...and IMO the newer ones are a lot prettier. Amazing what difference a couple of silly plastic panels on the side of the tank do for it!

Might not count for much if you were using it as a commuter - however as an owner driver paying your own fuel & doing significant mileage its going to hack into the profit margin...I've racked up 25,000 miles in the space of three months when work was busy, so even small variations in fuel consumption make a massive difference when it comes down to monthly earnings!

And after all more pennies equates to more CC's

[Teflon-Mike]

[_Iain_]

I take it you've not worked for my company before?

Largely all i do is run blood samples between hospitals. Maidstone, pembury, sevenoaks, canterbury. On those runs i rarely exceed the 50mph mark in a car. Yes, a car. I started in a volvo 340, ditched that for a practical ford courier then returned to a car again. Get paid £9 a pop on those. Occasional computer hard drive, and thats about it.

Even at 70mpg it would be exceeding the cars 50 on a good day, and unleaded price compared to diesel etc.

Lets do the math. £750 for a car. £3700 a year to insure it. £140 for a years tax. £40 for an mot. And 50mpg at best (and belive me, thats even driving barefoot to get a better feel on the throttle) on a more expensive fuel.

Ybr £1800, tax £15, insurance £1200, no motfor a few years & 100mpg ridden likely 100mpg on a cheaper fuel.

£4600...on the car, £3015 on the bike. Before we're taking into account that itll half a currently £200 a week fuel bill? So thats a rough saving of £5200 on the fuel, so effectively boosting my income by £6700 a year by my math. And we're not even counting the various repairs that the mileage causes. Less cost on the service.

Yeah, so i had an accident. 3 years of driving 7 days a week. Couldnt say how many miles total as i always ran old bangers and got through quite a few. You never, ever had an accident before?

Its this, or the dole. You want me pocketing your tax money to fund my social life? Not my thing mate. Oh, and half the london couriers are running twist and go scoots anyway - so id be inclined to disagree that all couriers are running 500's!

Regarding the das, ive got to book the cbt do that, get a theory booked, wait a few weeks for my date, do that. Then 6-7 days on the course. So how many weeks off does that add to the existing week with no earnings? Meanwhile the £6-700 ive got left over a chunk of that gets consumed by the various bills..food. Stuff like that. So maybe at the end of it ive got £500 left at a push. And for that money am i going to get something low mileage that i can rely on to do all the day in day out work on? And is it going to make a decent fuel consumption with the wear on the engine? Doubtful. So i then end up with a full licence to ride a crap bike, that costs more than i can afford to run and breaks down all the time. Sounds like a brilliant plan batman! Or i can finance something new, get myself into debt & ruin it with all the mileage...and get fucked on the depreciation. Which also sounds awesome.

Seriously, i may be new to bikes however im not a complete mong & i've generally put in a shit tonne of research before posting up on a forum about something.

[Nick 50]

Hello _Iain_ welcome to the nuthouse.

I think the message the "Do your test" posters are trying to get across is there is often a misconception that a 125 is the "cheapest" option. In some regards like insurance, it is but in other departments it isn't.

You're doing the right thing getting a decent fairly new, low mileage bike. The thing is with 125's is the throttle is at a high percentage fully open a lot of the time which puts a lot of stress on what is a small machine (for what it does). To keep it running sweet it needs a lot of TLC and consumable parts which over time can be quite pricey. I have a 125 and have just spent £300 on mainly consumables and i've still got stuff to buy . Plus in your case, the bike is your wage generator so will have to be well maintained.
With a higher CC engine bike, there is less stress as the throttle doesn't needed to be opened as much.

You'll be hard pushed finding a 125 with 30K miles on the clock where as you'll find bigger bikes with that mileage which has been well maintained and going strong.

Apart from the actually bike, You haven't mentioned Kit. For being a courier I would envisage Kit being pretty high up on your list of priorities. Have a crap kit and you'll get cold and wet very quickly which will make your job utterly miserable.
Decent Kit doesn't come cheap so I think that is something you really need to have a good look into as well.

On a final note, passing you test doesn't necessarily have to be doing an intensive 1 week DAS to pass.
You can do your CBT and then spend the next few months having a couple of hours tuition a week to get you up to a level to pass Mod 1 & 2.

There are couriers and ex-couriers on BCF and i'm pretty safe in saying most would advice working towards passing your test and getting off a 125 for your job.

[Rogerborg]

Heh, we have a member (The999Kid) who would scratch your eyes out for that job.

I was actually going to suggest that you consider a scooter for your purposes. Less to worry about, you can concentrate more on the road.

It's not that you had an accident, it's your attitude to it that concerns us - and it is genuine concern, it's not mean to be a lecture.

It's probably not needed though, once you're on the bike you'll immediately become aware of how vulnerable you are, and why you should assume that everyone else on the road either can't see you or is out to kill you.

Your sums look good, but do budget for consumables. Bike tyres can run surprisingly expensive, and expect to go through a litre of oil every 1000 miles. An oiler (e.g. Loobman) might extend your chain and sprocket life.

The insurance is really the clincher, but have you got some insurance quotes for (e.g.) 250 or 500 bikes with a full license? You may be surprised.

Don't forget breakdown cover, and be sure that it covers 125 - some of them are funny about that.

Finally, do you have a plan for when it's snowing or icy? 6 feet of black ice is all you need to ruin your day and possibly your livelihood.
____________________
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

[Teflon-Mike]

Sorry, my humble apologies; I look forward to highly valuable contributions to the forum from you in future; because without ever even throwing a leg over a bike you ALREADY have ALL the fucking answers...
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[_Iain_]

Kit wise i've been getting bits and pieces for a while as i'd planned to do the das straight away and use the bike over the weekend...then got shit on by the insurance & the car eating a gearbox.

I picked up some spada enforcer gloves, everyone told me my hand would get cold. Plus they claim to be waterproof... Cant imagine cold wet hands being very safe at all. Jf pelle jacket, leather, various chunks of armoured stuff in the shoulders, elbows and back. Got ahold of some prison issue waterproof trousers which arent ideal, however it'll be okay for a week till i can pick up either something proper.

Helmet wise is the area of concern, as all ive got is an MX helmet - which will be great in the summer. However i'll need a full face for the shit weather. Can see the mx jobbie soaking up water like a sponge!
Footwear again, stick it out for a week and see whats what on payday.

My plan for snow consists of telling the boss man to jog on & sitting on the sofa with a cuppa. And if said snow sticks at in then getting a rental. Fuck trying to go up a steep hill in heavy snow...or worse, down the other side! Maybe if i'd opted for the WRE i'd been eyeing up for months, lol

[Rogerborg]

Footwear, I'm still liking my goretex lined army surplus boots, about £30 delivered, solid, waterproof, great on and off the bike. Some folk swear by proper courier boots, but they can run into the multiple hundreds.

Grab some thermal gear if you can, it's the right time of year to get a bargain. Better too warm than too cold.

Helmets, whatever you like, fit being the main issue, they're just a polystyrene bowl in a plastic shell. The SHARP ratings might be helpful.

I'd suggest looking at "helmet skirts", which do a great job of keeping the wind off of your neck, and also cut down on wind noise a bit. Oh, don't forget earplugs.
____________________
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