Fuel Economy (Dont laugh!)

[Gow87]

I plan on going to university, and i'm on a very tight budget bike wise. I wanted to get an NSR 125 preferably a 2000+ supersprint... jus cos theyre so damn sexy. anyway, would there be noticeable difference between a 125 and a 400 for fuel economy. I was thinking of doing my full test and getting a 400 or derestrict an NSR 125, and maybe tune it a bit. Also The NSR is cheaper so i could get a newer one.. Im just a noob really and i need all of your experienced help. Is it a waste to pass my test and get a 125? will it last a couple of years? should do if i get a decent one right? i just dont want many problems, because i am far from a grease monkey, i really want to learn how an engine works, how to fix one etc. but i dont have the time, or anyone to teach me. Thanks for your time
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[mr jamez]

I would say get an old NSR125 for about £800, it should teach you how to ride a bike and keep you entertained until you buy a 400 or something. Lots of people have spent thousands on little learner bikes, then totaly regret it when they lose a lot of money on it....or crash it. If you spend smaller amounts now you will have plenty for a test and a 400cc which is worth spending more money on

In my opinion shiny little 125's are not worth the money, yeah they look nice, but who cares because big bikes sound, go and look a lot better

It has been said so many times on these forums, the people who say it here know what they are talking about, listen to them!

(I am not one of those people, buy you may want to consider what I say )

[Gazdaman]

an NSR125 won't be great for fuel economy. If you want economical (which you'll need on a student loan) I'd suggest a cheap small 4 stroke, a cg125 for instance will do 100mpg.

My 2 stroke 125 is very economical, about 60-70mpg.

Gaz

[Gow87]

well thanks for the help. Just to mention whatever bike i buy now i plan on keeping until i leave uni. and it gets me kinda depressed anyway, if i restrict a 400. will it perform as good as an NSR? or will it be sluggish with it being a bigger heavier bike? i love the naked bike look, but i want performance.. the suzuki bandit looks nice, but might be out of my price range. Im getting annoyed by all of these forums saying which bikes to get cos they arent relevant to me,. thats why i seem to post similar posts to others. it makes it a bit more personal. anyway, any help?
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[mr jamez]

It will probably still be quicker than an NSR and when you derestrict it you will have a whole new bike to play with, of course it will also have better brakes, suspension and reliability (well hopefully ).

[Gazdaman]

Take a look at the honda bros, for about £800 you'll get one with a decent MOT, and they're under 33bhp as stock anyway.

they look nice, I think you'll be suitably impressed with that.

Gaz

[Gow87]

Ive heard about the honda bros, the only thing that put me off is that i want a bike with a pretty good kick to it, would it give me a decent ride? ill tell ya im only 5'8 kinda slim so i dont want anything huge. jus basically looking for a bike which will perform as well as a derestriced NSR.
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[mr jamez]

Have you ever been on a bike before? the NSR125, being a two stroke, will give a nice kick when it hits the powerband but it isn't stupid fast. The bros will have a more sedate power delivery, but will be faster.

[Gow87]

thats all i wanted to know. i ahvent been on a "proper" bike before, but i do understand the concept of a two stroke being more powerful, but i just ahte that sound... like a cat having a seizure, but apparently its a desired taste.. like marmite... all i want to know is how can your enjoy the sound of a 5 year old screaming in your ear? lol i had an RS50 behind me today... now that was funny, it was screaming its balls of at 30! HAHAHA
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[mr jamez]

Yes small capacity two strokes do not sound great (well I don't mind em, infact I quite like the sound of a 125cc two stroke)

They sound good when you are on the bike and you wind the throttle open until you are in the red

[Gazdaman]

personally I don't mind the sound of my 125 2 stroke. depends how you ride it aswell. my MZ 125 gives a really nice kick up to about 40-50. It really lacks top end speed though. you might like a derestricted cagiva mito. Although that is fully faired.

Gaz

[Gow87]

Dont get me wrong i like 2 strokes for the power and speed, could even put up with the sound thats why i want an NSR , but the mito is unreliable, i need something which is sounds mechanically. so a mito or RS arent my cup of tea
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[Gazdaman]

don't force me to suggest a CG125 again...

I seriously suggest looking into something like a bros 400, possibly a restricted vfr 400, they go very cheaply if you get an import.

insurance won't be pretty though.

grab your local copy of loot from tescos, it's a pink paper, also take a look on www.biketrader.co.uk and ebay.

Gaz

[Gow87]

lol anything but the CG well ill get looking... think it might be a bros or an NSR, gonna weigh up the pros and cons... probably come down to fun.. which is probably gonna be won by the NSR
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[Nath]

Have you done your CBT yet? I was totally against the idea of a small bike, but i really enjoyed the ride out on my CBT on a CG125. When i realised i'd be waiting another couple of months at least before i could get a bigger bike, i started looking locally for a CG.

I paid £700, and my insurance is £235. I'm going to have to spend a bit more on mot/tax, and a new chain and front sprocket, and i also had to replace the dipstick... However it still wont be any more than a grand in total - Try getting on the road with a fast bike for that much.


An other thing to bare in mind, is that you might spend a fair while looking before you find what you want. I found my bike a week after i decided i wanted one.
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[iCraig]

If your on about passing your test then I can highly recommend the 500's as a first big bike.

I have owned most of them now and I like them and still have one, I always get about 60MPG or more depending on how I ride.
And IMO the GPZ500 looks sporty too, and its comfortable and cheap to insure and run.
And it even has a powerband at 7000RPM up to 10000RPM, I bloody love my GPZ, so much so when I ride it to work I don't want to get off of it!

There is a link to my 500cc FAQ that I compiled in my sig.

[ProXimaCore]

Answering the original post. I had an NSR125 and got about 120miles for £7. I now have a 400 sports and can get 120 miles for £12.
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[stryker]

It sounds like you will be keeping the bike a while (uni is what? 4 years or more).... I'd be thinking after a year or two you'd be thrashing a 125..... hell its human nature, so it would be no good on economy, also prone to break down under those circumstances.

[Gow87]

yea thats what i was thinking. The bikes ive been looking at are the CBR RR 400, the gsxr 600 (dont worry ive heard all the bad reports of too much power) had a look at the gpz500, and im very superficial... i hate that front light. i like things that look modern, or atleast sporty, now i dont deny it looks a nice bike, but for me the headlight design is terrible. Although it might just be the model im looking at, the older variations seem to look nicer hmm bit strange. Anyway. I would really ove the gsxr but im jus a bit cautious, and after buying a moped, i wanted it derestricting after a week, i dont wanna get stuck with a bike which doesnt have enough power to please. For the previous posts, i did my cbt for my moped, do i need to do another for a 125, ive heard different things from different people
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[The Tot]

I'd say go and get a 4 stoke 125 cc - my XR puts in 160 miles to a 7 quid fill, although that was on one instance where i had to utilise my reserve tank + caning it through the revs - insurance is 400 quid usually.

NSR's are quite good and my friend gets about 120 miles for 5 quid.

Titot.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[The Tot]

I'd say go and get a 4 stoke 125 cc - my XR puts in 160 miles to a 7 quid fill, although that was on one instance where i had to utilise my reserve tank + caning it through the revs - insurance is 400 quid usually.

NSR's are quite good and my friend gets about 120 miles for 5 quid.

Titot.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[swampy]

Hey there, you do not need to do another CBT to use a geared bike if you already have one for a moped. Might be worth having a practice on a mates bike or something around tesco's car park if you can, just so you can get used to gears without the imminent danger off driving into someone whilst looking down at your gear pedal first time out on the roads. My first bike (after a ped) was a GS 125, and that did me when I was at uni, cheap as chips to insure and run, though that was a long time a go now (retires to stroke beard and grumble about the youth of today... )
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"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." Hunter S Thompson
"Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death..." Hunter S Thompson

[Gow87]

well the only thing is, i thought of a nice 4 stroke 125, but i have a 3 grand budget... ish, thats for the insurance bike and the tests. so i could splash out nicely on a cbr 400. just so i dont get so bored on the weekend, also i like a bit of kick to my bikes... so a nice 400 should do me. BUT, and i realise im going off subject here, is there a huge performance difference between a honda bros and a suzuki bandit? also compare the best of the two with a cbr. i dont want something like a gsxr that could scare the shite outa me, id like a gsxr but i know id hurt myself. and i love naked bikes, but im not sure what kinda speeds and acceleration times you can get outa a honda bros or a bandit (400cc) anyone have any ideas
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"Is It Just Me Or Did Everything Just Taste Purple" - Fry

[Kickstart]

The Mito and RS are not really much less reliable than the NSR, but they do require more maintenance and they are also less able to put up with abuse.

I would say go for one of the 500s as a first bike. Light, easy to ride, cheap on petrol and cheap to buy.

[gavking]

I know they will never set the world on fire (they probly wouldn't even warm it up) but my GS 125 does 310km before hitting the reserve tank which takes it to around 350-60km. All on £10 of Optimax (to make the bike last a bit longer, not performance). It's a dream to keep maintained and running through the winter, because i don't know about the rest of you guys (yet) but i hate spending hours freezing my mits off in the middle of winter maintaining my 2-stroke!

Gav