buying 125cc bike for commute

[stranger12]

Hi Guys,
This is my first post in here so hello everyone,
I own a full UK license and am looking into doing a CBT course so I can ride bikes upto 125cc with L plate on.
During the 2 year period, I will look into doing my theory test and practical test.
I need some help with buying a bike. It is mainly used for commuting and save on travel cost. I am traveling into congestion charge zone so a bike should be free to travel into there .
Although I want a cheap/reliable bike I also want it to look nice .
I have found the following Chinese skyject
https://www.learnerlegal.com/125cc-sports/skyjet-sj125-24/prod_9.html
it looks nice and is cheap but I don’t think it is reliable. Considering it is brand new that is another bonus as there are no mots for 3 years.
Do you guys think the above bike is ok and if not what do you suggest to buy with a budget of 600 max for second hand that is sport and reliable.

Btw, what is the mpg on bike ?

Thanks

[J D]

Wouldn't touch a skyjet , better off getting a cg or ybr , may be bit tatty and older for your budget but will last you a lot longer.
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m0l0t0v wrote: Chris, just so you know, JD is a nutter

[stranger12]

thanks for the reply, I am not very familiar with bike,

by cg do you mean honda 125cg ? how much do they cost
what is the ybr stands for?

[J D]

Sorry yes Honda cg 125 and Yamaha ybr 125 , same sort of bikes , good mpg cheap to run parts plenty available. I run a ybr all year round as well as having a zx10 .
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m0l0t0v wrote: Chris, just so you know, JD is a nutter

[stranger12]

i live in north london, can you suggest anywhere that may sell them if you are from london?

what is the cost to buy them and what year will it be, they are not sport though just looking at google image


for instance would u get a 2003 honda for the same price as skyjet 2012?

[Alpha-9]

[Marcg868]

Got a Hyosung Gt125R for sale, which is Korean. Now its cosmetically crap. However apart from a few minor niggles is very reliable, just been serviced, oil change, spark plugs, Valve clearances checked, air filter.

Has a few months left for MOT but the only thing it might need is a chain and sprocket set but they can be picked up for £40 for a cheap one or £80 for a fancier one.

Excellent fuel economy 280 miles to a £22 tank of fuel. Sits nicely at 60 mph.

£500 its yours. £600 and I'll MOT and tax it for the year.
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JACK, MISS YOU LOADS YOU LEGEND.

[Alpha-9]

[Marcg868]

[Rogerborg]

Hi stranger.

You're not going to get a learner legal 125 for £600 that is "sport[y] and reliable". Sorry, it doesn't exist. You can get sporty looking but risky, like a used Skyjet, or you can forget the sporty bit and try to find a used Japanese branded commuter: CG125, YBR125, EN125. The Hyosung GT125 is a fairly popular choice too, you might be able to find one for around £600.

But no bike at that price is going to be an entirely safe purchase; you'll have to cross your fingers and hope for a good one. Look for one with a year's MOT on it, from a private seller.

MPG will be around 100, probably a bit less on the Hyosung; it'll largely depend on your commute and riding style.

If you're under 24 (note, 24, not 21) then you'll want to get a bike license before next January, since the rule are changing then, and not for the better.
____________________
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

[G]

Just because it's got fairings doesn't mean it's actually sporty - it's actually mutton dressed as lamb.

From what I've seen it'll be a good chunk slower than the CBR125 that it's copying - and that's still basically a commuter compared to the NSR125 it replaced, which was actually a "sporty 125".

[Walloper]

[Andy_Pagin]

[Rogerborg]

Oh, I missed that. If your budget is "600 max", you can probably forget about dealers. eBay, Gumtree, local rag small ads.
____________________
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

[stranger12]

thank you ,
I most likely will go for 125 cg, what is the normal outgoing costs on bike( it may sound silly but I never had one before thus why asking)
I think it will be mot, tax, chain, oil, spark, air filter if they have one, tyre .
What is the mot like for bikes, is it as hard as cars? ( by hard I mean it is detailed and most of the time costly)
Finally with what budget do you think I can get a decent cg and what model will it be
I know car dealers are stealer, not sure if that is the case with motorbikes thus will it be better to look at private buy?
Any other ideas are very welcomed. For instance if you think I should buy Yamaha as opposed to cg

Thanks once again

[Walloper]

[Rogerborg]

[stranger12]

thanks Rogerborg

really informative.
what do u think about
sym 125cc

it has 3 year warranty and 0% apr on finance for 1.5k

[bikertomm]

https://www.fiscalfizzle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/frustrated-man.jpg
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[stranger12]

i didn't mean to be funny, i saw the three year warranty and 2 year interest free and thought why not if it is good.
is this another chinese bike?

i felt that if they are able to give 3 year warranty then they should be slightly confident in their product

thanks

[Teflon-Mike]

[Rogerborg]

[OnTheRoad]

Hi stranger12. Been a bit of a 'lurker' on the forums but decided to join after seeing your post about Skyjet bikes.

I bought an SJ125-23 last year (a bit cheaper than the one you're looking at, which I think is a new model as I don't remember seeing it) and would have no problem recommending it to anyone.

After I bought it and was waiting for delivery I did come across of the "you should have bought a Jap" comments on reviews, but kept my fingers crossed as it was too late by then anyway. Have had no problems with it in the 8 months I've owned it (not exactly a long time I know, but everything seems to be in working order). I upgraded to a 2 year parts and labour warranty for an extra £66 just in case so should be no problems there either.

Looks great and is well built, also came fully made except for needing to put the mirrors on. I think a lot of the bad experiences people have is just when these bikes haven't been put together properly! With new Jap bikes, they have been put together by dealers but some people put these cheap Chinese ones together themselves making things go wrong and potentially dangerous.

You shouldn't have a problem buying it from that Learner Legal website as mine came ready to go and safety inspected so I wasn't left struggling to put things like brakes on. Do be careful where you buy from if you're getting a cheap new bike online as I've heard a lot of horror stories like this one on Watchdog -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2008/11/direct_bikes.html

Hope it helps.

Tom

[Rogerborg]

[stranger12]

Hi,

after a bit of research and haggling with my self, I think the sym 125 is ok for the following reason
I get 3 year warranty or 30k in kilometre so around 16k miles
No mot for three years
All part and labour included and any sym dealer will do the warranty and there seems to be quite few in London .
It is tiwan and not chinese so finger crossed it should be slightly better .
The price depreciation is after 3 year around 600 which is not too bad, I got this figures from looking at autotrader and number of bikes put on sale for 1.2k for 2010 model


the only thing is that they told me that i have to service it every 3000 miles after the initial service at 500 miles. the service costs 80+vat and can be done at any sym dealer or professional bike repair garage.
i am mechanically sound on car and think the bike shouldn't be hard to work out considering it is a 4 stroke engine air cooled , as I can not do the service my self , do you know what normally garages charges for service?

what does the service normally include


I may buy one soon and will post back with the results

Thanks again for all of ur suggestions. Any more suggestion is very welcomed