Bike for less than £2000 that looks good and goes 65mph+

[AlexD1990]

A question i posted from a previous thread, any suggestions?

[nowhere.elysium]

I've already covered this.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[AlexD1990]

Hardly

[nowhere.elysium]

Ok, then. I'll bite.
Most 4T 125s will do ~70mph, tops. So far, all you've told us is what you don't like, not what you do like, apart from some pile o' crap Chinese bike that won't outlast your CBT.
If you're willing to put in the work to keep the Chinese thing going, then so be it; it's no skin off my nose. It will, however, depreciate faster than you can believe.

Are you going to give us any information as to what sort of bike you do like the look of, or are we simply to engage our psychic modules, and hope for the best?
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[_Troy_]

Well if you're starting the same thread again, i'm just going to paste the same answer here -

If you've got £2k why are you even considering chinese? Surely they are there for people who want the ultimate in cheap transport.

There are so many japanese 125s out there, and so many that look half decent, hold their value, and will actually see 65mph.

I bought a 125 to commute on, it was a Honda CityFly. It was excellent, comfy, didn't look much like a small bike. But, and it's a big but, it was slow and boring. Judging by your attitude you're more than likely going to want to go silly speeds very soon. So why not cut out the middle man and get a big bike? A cheap 500 twin will cost half of that and will go all day long, oh and will probably cost less to insure than a 125 as you'll have a full license.

Or just do what i did, get bored of the 500 twin and get a Ninja to commute on!
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Current bike: ZX6R J1
Previous bikes: CLR 125 | GS500 | ZX6R G2 | SV650

[Alpha-9]

Errr CC?

125?
500?

I may not be able to answer your question, but i'm sure the people who can will need more info than under £2000

because i'm sure there's a lot of choice... and that a decent 125 should do 65 (although probably not IRL)
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Fzr-600 1999

[P.addy]

CBR125s may be skinny, but they handle well.

TW125
DR125
EN125
GS125
AR125
BN125
CG125
TDR125
TZR125
XR125
CLR125

Honestly...just type 125 into ebay bikes and take a look at the jap stuff. MOST will hit 65, the gay cruisers may not.

[Teflon-Mike]

£2K?
Tests Cost £121.50 more than training.
Bit of training? Prep lesson for each mod, maybe £30 each, up t a full course at maybe £300.... £150 'loss' on buying almost ANY 125 that will let you get tests on, maybe another £50 to cash in the insurance to upgrade....

That's roughly 'about' £250-£500 to 'comfortably' get a FULL LICENCE

And can be 'done' 'Comfortably' in maybe three to six months....

AND you have the use of the 125 in the meantime, to get about and practice for tests.

And leaves you £1400 ish to go look for something with AS MUCH style, or performance as your balls and your budget will allow.

Being Budget Conciouse; Suzuki GS500; 'nice' one could be picked up for around the £800 - £1000 mark, and insurance on them is likely to be within a few quid of 125 premium; fuel ecconomy withing a nadgers, and the maintenence, possibly a bit 'more' than long term running a well looked after 125, but likely to be lower than trying to keep a hard worked 125 money pit in service.

For something slightly more inspiring; sportier SV650. Likely to still be less to insure than an RS125 'prilla on L's, be faster, than a de-restricted one, and infinitely more reliable, while being a much better 'all-round' motorcycle.

But these are merely a couple of more 'sensible' suggestions for you in budget.

Motrcycling offers a veritable shmorghus board of bikes to choose from and sample; from the humble super bus-fare beating Honda CB200 Benley, the Honda Gold-Wing, super-tourer, with all manner of cruisers, dirt-bikes, street-bikes, and sports-bikes in the middle.

Why think so 'small' as to not look beyond a 125...

Which at the end of the day, is a bike that only does two things; provide a training & test tool, to get the licence that lets you have anything you want, or is a super-cheap bus-fare beater for the really econnomy minded, who wont ride at more than 50mph, becouse saving pennies is more important than going quick.

Bottom line, for a 125, the Yamaha YBR125, ininspiring as its specs and styling may be; represents an optimum, as a training & test tool.

£1250 +/- gets you something three or four years old with a nice fresh MOT, and a buy price half the show-room price tag, but still with more than half the expected service life still in it; ready to ride, and nice enough to ride nicely, and prove reliable and hassle free. That makes no compromises in being easy to ride and do all you need by way of motorcycle gymnastics to get your licence, for any daft ideas of style or speed, and which, licence in your pocket, least hassle, least risk, least cost; will sell very readily for as close as is possible to what you paid, and let you go get something FAR more inspiring or useful to ride.

THINK BIG

And don't limit yourself by some daft idea that you HAVE to get a 125 that will do ALL you ever want a motorbike to do.... nope... ALL a 125 has to do is help you get a licence, so you can ride the bike that WILL do all you ever want a motorbike to do.... better still, sample the shmorgus board and have some fun!
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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?'

[pinkyfloyd]

[Rogerborg]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[LordShaftesbu...]

[pinkyfloyd]

Thats a short post in Mike terms.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[bLiXeY]

£2000?

Buy yourself a chinese bike for £1100 and then spend £900 on a nice TW125 for when the other bike breaks.

[Scootaloo]

Bought a brand new CBF 2011 in white, it will hit 65 and stay there, but that's about it! If the elements are in your favour you might see a "real" 75 out of it, but its a commuter 125 4T.

Been riding the CBF125 for just under a year now, and its just starting to get boring, that's why I'm getting rid of it (btw if your interested in a CBF 2011 white model with 2.5K miles on the clock for about £1000, PM me)

I think riding a 125 for at least a year is a good idea, the Americans seem to be very good at jumping on large CC bikes and wreaking them (as countless youtube videos will prove) Although I have not "dropped" this CBF I did on my old 09 model one so a cheap 125 second hand commuter is the way to go in my experiences.

In terms of looks, once its been through a clean and WAX the white really shines and It does not look like a bad bike, just not a stand out ether. (that's my excuse for not washing it, I swear )

Honestly I wouldn't worry about top speed and looking good on a 125, just use it to get a feel for things and don't fret when its likely to get dropped once or twice.

But an ol CG in good condition or a CBF is my recommendation.

If you want something to de-restrict once you passed your test, grab yourself a RS125, but be prepared to maintain by da book!

Regards, Scootaloo
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(CBF125 - 09) (CBF125 - 11) (CB-1 - 89) (CBF500 - 06) (Push Bike) (CB-1 - 90) (XL125 - 01) (VF500 - 83) (GPZ500 - 94) (GPZ500 - 95) (GPZ500 - 87) (XV535 - 94) (XV535 - 94) (GPZ500 - 87)

[WannaBeDude]

[Rogerborg]

[Scootaloo]

It's so true!

Every-time I see a video of some prick about to wreak a beautiful machine it makes my blood boil, they could of sent it to me at least, I would of been more than happy to trade them for my CBF125

Regards, Scootaloo
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(CBF125 - 09) (CBF125 - 11) (CB-1 - 89) (CBF500 - 06) (Push Bike) (CB-1 - 90) (XL125 - 01) (VF500 - 83) (GPZ500 - 94) (GPZ500 - 95) (GPZ500 - 87) (XV535 - 94) (XV535 - 94) (GPZ500 - 87)

[Im-STiG]

[arry]

[dungbug]

As posted on the last thread, Yamaha XT125. arry is right, it's meant to be purposeful & dependable. Once you've got a full license you can then find the 'look' of bike that floats your boat, same for alot of people when they start driving. Get something affordable that'll work and build your confidence, further down the line you can then be selective.

To be honest if I had a £2k budget it would be full license all the way, wouldn't bother with a 125 at all. The money left over will buy a descent, 500/600........Reaching 65mph will be no issue.

[_Iain_]

Odds are if you think it looks cool so does every other 17 year old. And they've probbably ragged the F*ck out of it.

Off out to look at a YBR just now...
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[Im-STiG]

[_Iain_]

Meh.

Derbi senda DRD 125. Looks cool. Upon viewing it, wouldnt tick over at all, kept stalling out, throttle was stiff, chain rusty, sprockets rusty, battery had to go on charge and the idle whacked up to about 3.5k to even get it to stop stalling out as soon as the clutch was pulled in, scuffs all over, Custom exhaust (blowing like crazy as the inlet on the can was 5mm bigger than the downpipe outer diameter) no tax disc, rust in the frame, fancy mirrors.

Looked the part, sounded the part. Nice riding position. Full service required, new chain and sprockets required, full carb stripdown & rebuild required, repaint of rusted areas required, and even then get greif 24/7 from it breaking down cause its been thrashed. Maybe sell it on for 600-700 quid in 6months time due to spending all my DAS course money fixing the f*cking thing up.

Asking price 1,700.

YBR 125, 3000 miles on it, showroom condition, garaged all its life, surface rust on the downpipe is the only possible fault i could pick with it. Even chucked in a decent bike cover with it. Started first touch of the starter, from stone cold.

Looked a little dull, wont be the quickest, but fuck it - if i get my road experience, do the DAS in a month or two then the other half can use it exactly how i have. Sell on, and probbably loose a few hundred quid on it, if that.

Asking price? 1,600.



I can honestly say, that for the loss of 5mph top speed and a smidgeon of cool factor the positives outweigh the negatives on the YBR...Even if the riding postion made my knees ache on the CBT halfway through the road ride. Obviously not everythings going to be as bad as the derbi, but every "quick" 125 i've come across usually looks like its just survived a nuclear holocaust...

Plus L plates definately aint cool. Whatever fancy looking thing they're strapped to!

In summary, CBF/YBR either or, whatevers most bike for the least money, practice, take test, sell bike, loose L plates, get proper bike.
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[Sako]

personally i would recommend getting a CG or similar to get you're confidence and slow speed skills up to scratch, then looking at sitting your full bike test, there is NO bike that is going to look good with L plates on it, and even if you were to buy an RS125 or the like - think it'll look cool when a lad of similar age parks his R6 next to it as he's got his licence...