New bike needed!

Crossover rider · L Plate Warrior Joined: 18 May 2015 Karma :

Hi guys - seeking for advices on which bike to buy

I would like to buy an entry level sport bike (125 cc) - which one is recommended in terms of price/performance ratio? I am very interested in Honda, Yamaha,Kawasaki - but up for advices!

Practical tips on what I should look at are welcome Smile

Thanks!

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

Try a follow up post on budget, how sporty is sporty? Full fairing?

New or used? practical or not? Learner legal or not? and do you want modern or old school?

Have you considered insurance costs or got quotes for bikes you fancy?

Teflon-Mike · tl;dr Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :

Why 125?
Where are you in the world? UK? EU? US? Other?
How old are you?
In the UK we have a legacy law that allows people to ride a 125 without passing a motorbike test, on L-Plates, if they do a one day training course called CBT... and 17-19 year olds cant ride anything bigger than 125 even if they pass a test; so 125's usually only relevent here, to teen-riders and folks who need 'cheap' get to work transport.
'sports' 125's tend not to be cheap transport... and while apealing to teen-riders, they aren't all that sporty; they are little more than sligtly hopped up commuters in an expensive set of cloths; and as most teen-riders tend to be penalized with ridiculous insurance, while frequently also being on a fairly restricted budget, the added expense tends to put a rather large price on simple vanity... so we'd tend to suggest a re-thing from the start, about what you really want, what you can really afford and whether a 'sports' 125 is really the best thing to do; THEN unless you are buying brand new; choices will probably be dictated not so much by what we, or the journalists / testers suggest, as much as whats actually for sale, where you can get your hands on it, and hand over cash! Only 1% of UK transport is bikes; there aren't that many around, and 125's is an even smaller fraction of what's on offer; restricting search even more by not just type, but make and model, could make it seem almost 'impossible' to get one.
But, bottom line is, we need to know more about your circumstances, needs, wants, and budget, to be able to offer even ANYTHING like useful advice, and it probably wont be on what bikes to 'short-list' looking at! Look-at em all! List'll be short enough to begin with!
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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?'

Fladdem · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 Jun 2011 Karma :

Honda RS125GP

/thread
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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

Val · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Nov 2012 Karma :

Fladdem · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 Jun 2011 Karma :

On a more serious note, you don't want a Moto 3 bike, I just couldn't think of a 125 with more performance. Laughing

I'm picking up a 1999 Mito 125 on Friday, because this particular example is £400, needs a bit of work doing though, but mechanically, my mate reckons it's sound, we shall see. Rolling Eyes

The reason for this is that for four or five years I've wanted a Cagiva Mito, I'm not sure if this is 7 speed or 6 speed, seeing as the change-over year was 1999 and my mate has never rode it. But it should go alright, with a manufacturers claim of 34BHP, so probably about 28BHP like Val says. I, however, will not be using it for commuting, well, maybe the odd ride in. It's just not very suitable, poor fuel economy, high maintenance, uncomfortable and small with a terrible turn radius resulting in bad filtering prowess. But it is a two stroke, absolutely beautiful, decent performance, fun and maybe in ten years time, I'm not one for selling bikes , may prove to be a wise investment. Laughing

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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

wristjob · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 Sep 2005 Karma :

Crossover rider · L Plate Warrior Joined: 18 May 2015 Karma :

Crossover rider · L Plate Warrior Joined: 18 May 2015 Karma :

Northern Monkey · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Nov 2013 Karma :

If you're over 21, pass your test and get a bigger bike.

125cc sports bikes are crap (unless its a non learner legal 2t)
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Fisty: after polishing the tank with the glistenng beads of sweat from my full hot scrotum, I filled the headrace bearings with 10cc of my manmilk

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

If your in Italy alot, then buy a home market 1990's bike from over there, and spend some of you time in Italy hunting down good spare parts as or before you need them.

You will never buy a better 125cc in any style than you can from Italy, it's the home of the best, smartest, most trick sexual and fast 125's on the planet!

Fuck me, if I lived there id have more bikes than Fladdem by now! Laughing

Tl:dr Best 125's and most fun are in Italy and so are all the parts for them!