First bike , thoughts on buying something as old as me?

[Charloam]

Hello BCF people,

I did my CBT two weeks ago and I've been counting out my pennies trying to work out how much to spend on gear/bike.

So I'm looking at the cheaper side of the scale and am thinking about picking up and old CG - this caught my eye:

Honda CG125 Brazil 1993

In particular to note is the fact it's an old bike which looks like it's been put back into action by the owner by replacing and doing up the engine, along with battery, clutch cable, front and rear brake shoes, rear tyre and chain and sprockets. Though note it has a 12month MOT.

Is this worth seriously looking at? I don't know much about bikes and don't want to end up having to spend £100s on repairs in a couple of months replacing the forks or whatnot, but basic repairs I'd be happy to learn to deal with.

My other thoughts were on waiting a couple of months (or maybe longer to get through the winter) to splash out on something a little newer, like a 2005+ version with fewer miles, but I'm not hugely bothered about cosmetics, I just want something to start riding!

Anyone have any words of warning/wisdom?

[Quornholio]

My first bike was older than me.

It all depends how it's been looked after, rather than the age of it.

[Charloam]

From the sounds of the replaced seized engine, there was a point in the bike's life where it definitely wasn't being looked after, but then from the sounds of the rest of the ad, a lot of time and effort was put into getting it running again, by someone who presumably knows their bikes.

Does that count as well looked after? I'm not really sure.. how can I tell? What kind of questions would I ask?

[blurredman]

Difficult, sometimes the previous owners could have treated it badly, sometimes on other bikes the bike may have been treated softly.

You can't always tell, it's not like you can open the engine up in front of them and start inspecting wear.


As for me, I have a 31 year old bike as my daily ride. It's had problems of course, but maybe a little engine work might give you better knowledge on troubleshooting, fixing, and possibly having a better eye on possible purchases in the future?


Even the lay man can detect an improper noise from an engine most times. Inspect it cold, listen to it, does it make knocking noises etc, does it smoke when you rev it? etc.


View it, and make your decision on what you see and hear, that's all you can do. Don't ignore something odd and get carried away with the thought of having your own motorcycle. There are so very many 125's about.
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 52k.

[GPC]

I would agree, the only way to judge such a machine is to view it, ideally with someone who knows something about bikes. But do remember that there are plenty more out there too!!

[Quornholio]

[Charloam]

Hmm ok that sounds pretty sensible.

I can't really go view the bike I linked, I'd barely be able to get to it to after looking for some bloody trains! I think I'll just keep an eye out for cheap old bikes around the London area and go have a little view if I spot something well looked after at a nice price.

The wait for my ride is getting painful!
Keeping my eyes peeled on ebay|gumtree|mcn|autotrader...

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Honestly there will be literally squillions of old used bikes round the London area. Probably more there than anywhere else in the known universe. Bide your time and you'll get something half-decent. Yes it will be over-priced and yes it will be under-powered. But that's 125s and their market.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[The Disapproving Brit]

My current bike is 30 years old, and after I bought it I discovered it had been stood in a yard for 2-3 years before the bloke I bought it off got hold of it (saw the bloke *he* bought it off on a rideout, and he was amazed it actually moved)

It's needed a bit of work - like yours, it had a full MOT, but had obtained it by removing any parts not required for it, so no indicators, mirrors or speedo, half the electrics didn't work, and it was generally a bit shoddy. The front brake seized solid a few months after I got it.

I've spent about £100 and a couple of afternoons on it since paying £400 for it earlier this year, plus there's another £200 going on new tyres for it this week.

There's still quite a bit left to do on it - it has potential to be a real cash sink if I let it. However, it runs great for its age, and for a cheap runaround you can't go wrong.

If you're willing to get mucky and learn how it all hangs together, an old bike can be great fun - they're often easier to do your own work on than a newer bike, and they're a good place to learn the basics. However, you need to accept that you ARE going to have to put more money into it, and there's a strong chance that it'll spend time off the road fairly regularly, so it's not always ideal to rely on as your only transport.
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Current Bikes: 1983 Honda VF400FD / 2003 Honda VT750 Shadow
Bike Test Passed 18/03/09, Car Test Passed 14/05/13

[RhynoCZ]

I think most of the novice riders started on something older then they were. It's money related, less money = older bike.

Mine was '88 GPz, great bike.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor