The age old question! Chinese vs Japanese

[SopskiBot]

Hi guys, long time lurker here.

I've been riding 50cc scooters on and off for the past 6 years or so, quite happy to just zip around town and get to work.

I've finally seen the light and am looking to get my first 125 motorbike. I'm really torn between a brand new Lexmoto Arizona or a new / 2nd hand Yamaha YBR Custom. Now, I know you're thinking it's a no-brainer, right?

Well, that's what I thought BUT, here's the thing. I went to the dealer yesterday and sat on a YBR custom. It's a lovely bike, felt solid in my hands, but I could only just tip toe (well maybe an inch of my foot, with both feet down).

I was able to flat foot on the Arizona, which obviously is a massive plus for me (I also think it looks a little nicer!)

Now, the main reason I am going for a Custom Cruiser is because I am tiny. I'm literally 5ft1, inside leg approx. 29" and I want to feel comfortable on the bike.

I have read a lot of advice saying "don't buy chinese, don't buy new, save for your test!" I do have plans to take my test eventually though it will be on a 125. I have zero plans right now to get anything bigger, mainly because a) my height and b) Bike weight (like I said, tiny!)

I also want to build experience first and if I'm honest, speed isn't really an issue for me, keeping up with traffic is the minimum but I'm a 25 year old female who really has no interest in "ragging" my bike for the sake of it.

I have to say I am leaning torwards the Yamaha (mainly because 0% finance) but I'm just worried about the height and if I spend £3k on a bike I ultimately won't feel comfortable on. Also, when trying with boots, was pretty hard to slip my foot under the gear lever. I'm not sure if that is something that can be adjusted or whether I'm just being silly.

So there you have it, do I go for quality over feeling just that more comfortable?

Tl;DR - Yamaha YBR Custom vs Lexmoto Arizona, Quality vs Comfort (Need lowest seat height as am a shortarse!)

[MaybeGuy]

Hardly an "age old question", more a case of some idiot asks which is better, and gets told.
You are that idiot.
An idiot who's already done the research, got the answers, yet still asks.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[SopskiBot]

[Teflon-Mike]

You don't buy a bike to sit 'on'
You buy a bike to RIDE
Issue shouldn't be about how comfy you are straddling it in the show-room, but how comfy you are on it, when doing 40mph up the road,,, feet on the pegs, hands on the bars, trying to tip it into a round-about.

NOW... the Lexmoto Arizona AFAIK is a generic Chinese 'copy-part' cruiser, built around the Copy Honda CM125 Rebel, frame, with a splay-port copy-CG engione, and then dressed with lots of more Cruisery accessories and cycle parts... and whiule it might have a low seat height, that makes you 'feel' comfy when you are stradling it in the show-room.. ON THE ROAD, you are likely to start finding where the recipe is less helpful to your stature.. as my O/H did with her chinky Rebel Replica.... foreward control foot-pegs, mean your legs likely to be stretched from the seat to reach gear and brake levers... she struggled to reach and put pressure on the back brake pedal... while high wide 'ape-hanger' bars, meant that to keep hold of the handle-bars when using more steering lock, she had to lean forwards and the 'wrong' way to leaning the bike, which convinced her it 'handled horribly' and she could barely do CBT manouvers on it, let alone Mod1 ones...

In short.. for short, cruisers often 'fool' with that low bum to floor dimension....

and this 'idea' you have that you 'need' that low seat and to be able to flat-foot, both sides the bike, to be 'in control', is taking you down an alley towards buying a bike that is likely, in use to offer you LESS control and confidence and make it more difficult for you to do test manouver's not easier...


But, hey, they are SHINY... and Ladies do seem to value this aesthetic.... so I will ask, how much of it is actually trying to find reasons to 'justify buying shiny chrome bling that you think LOOKs more the part, over the common sense of resale values, ease of maintenence, etc etc etc?

I think you'd be much better off with 2nd Hand YBR, even the regular one, both on comfort, control, upkeep and cash.... if you know enough to live hapily with a Chineese bike, you probably wouldn't buy one.... if NOT, well its your dollar... and learning has a price... the Arizona could teach you a lot.. but I suspect by bad example rather than good...
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[RhynoCZ]

Use your money to buy a used Japanese motorcycle.
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'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[delsol]

I would not mind either of these if I needed a low bike, but MEH!, that's just me.

Japanese for me anytime re China, Taiwan, Korea etc. options.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201507044899897?search-target=usedbikes&make=suzuki&cc-to=125cc&channel=bikes&channel=bikes&postcode=ka20ds&radius=1500&page=2&sort=default&quicksearch=true&logcode=p

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201507125140049?search-target=usedbikes&make=suzuki&cc-to=125cc&channel=bikes&channel=bikes&postcode=ka20ds&radius=1500&page=2&sort=default&quicksearch=true&logcode=p

[SopskiBot]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Someone's got to buy the new bikes to load the second hand market

I'm 5'7" with an inside leg of 29" (and an arm reach of 6' - yes, mostly orangutan) so although you only need to tiptoe a bike with one foot in order to ride it, I do understand the confidence flat footing a bike can bring. The main problem is that if you stick with that you'll soon convince yourself that you NEED to be able to flat foot it - unless you push the envelope you'll always be unable to break through that aspect.

Since you've been on 50cc bikes for 6 years, it sounds like you'd stick with a 125 for a while. I'd go for the new YBR Custom (gear levers are adjustable), and maybe get a pair of Daytona Ladystars, which drops the seat height of any bike by an inch

[edit] https://www.moto24.co.uk/daytona-boots-lady-pilot-gtx.html - Lady Pilot - cheaper than Lady Star
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Or just get the boots and go try out other bikes you haven't looked at yet because you thought you were too short
____________________
Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[azra3l]

https://imgur.com//a/SmbV9

Why not get one of these?

Suzuki Intruder vl125. You can pick one up for about 1300 quid. It's a proper v-twin, suprisngly quick and I put 12000 miles on mine over two years and still sold it for way more than I paid for it..

[Rogerborg]

Hang on, the Yamaha is a Chinese made Jianshe with flaky chromework, it's not a no-brainer.

Gear shift will be adjustable, no worries on that.

I see Tef has Teffed. If it was that cruisers = wank then I'd have to agree.

Thing is, you're not going to know until you've tried one. You can sell bikes as well as buy them, but it'll be easier if you buy cheap and not on finance.
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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

[Teflon-Mike]

Note I meant to add to original message.. (just had to take O/H to an appointment):- Remember, your CBT and the 'safety-position'.. on the road, you DONT sit straddling the thing both feet flat to the floor EVER.. you have feet on the pegs, when moving, and only ONE foot, the left one, on the floor when stopped, THAT is the only one you need to flat-foot.. other ought to be on the foot-rest covering the back brake.. aka the 'safety-position' taught on CBT... so being able to flat-foot both sides is NOT something that's of any real 'use' to you... except perhaps to 'paddle' the thing about.. which you shouldn't do either.. need to moove it without 'driving'.. get OFF it, do what you were toght on CBT; stand next to it, grab bars and or grab rail, both feet on the floor, bum off the bike, and MOVE it... it's actually often easier, certainly 'safer' and often quicker any-way.. so STILL being able to straddle & flat-foot, means little. It really is something that just gives you false sense of security.

[Kickstart]

Hi

If you can get both feet down (on a new bike on which the suspension will probably settle a touch) then you should be fine. There are boots available to give you a touch more leg length (eg, Daytona Ladystar)

To be honest you will be fine with a larger bike. Weight isn't really a major issue unless you need to pick it up!

All the best

K
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[The Shaggy D.A.]

[nowhere.elysium]

[DanRLee]

I stopped reading at ybr, go with the ybr.
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Six Strings & Two Wheels!

[Wednesday Biker]

I've said this in 3 or 4 other posts but I feel I have to warn others.
My girlfriend got a YBR custom and in 6 months it started to rust.After a year it looked rough.By 18 months when she traded it in, it looked a right dog.
We cleaned it and tried to look after it and it only did about 6k but I'd never buy one again.
Terrible monkey metal piece of crap for double what you can get a Chinese monkey metal piece of crap imo

[delsol]

Damn it, but I hope Tef keeps on writing, there is pretty much always something(s) of more than a little interest that comes out of his (sometimes ?) expanded posts, .

He is not the only person I would miss on here, but he is a bit of an institution on here.

There, I said it, and hard hat has been cinched down.

[stevo as b4]

I'd be happier with a nice and tidy late Yam SR125 than a YBR that's new or newer. The SR has everything you need, is allegedly 12bhp so more than the YBR, and has a strong front brake.

[Pigeon]

£900 for a new "YBR Custom". It's basically the same bike, it's made by the same people using the same frame and a mildly modified engine (same casings).

I would not choose a new YBR over that if planning on keeping for 3 years. The depreciation on the chinese bike will be less than that of the YBR over the same period, it will rust the same.

If you don't want the hassle of registering the bike and insuring on a VIN, then you could buy an AJS Eco Custom. Again, it's basically the same bike, but you pay a premium for the name, dealer network etc.

I'd happily go with the Arizona and just accept that it will require a bit of cleaning and the parts will wear in half the time of a 90's jap bike.
But it is a bit of a leap of faith over a second hand 90's jap bike in many respects. But so is buying second hand.

Whatever you choose, you'll bloody love it compared to the 50

EDIT:
Also, the Lexmoto Valiant (effort) is the same as the Sinnis Retrostar and a bunch of others.
Similar to Tef's thoughts, the seat is a touch higher, but the stretch to the pegs non-existent, might be worth a look:

[Wednesday Biker]

Having experienced old jap 125s and then having two recent ones I would go with a sinnis or something like Pigeon said.
They'll come with a warranty and just wash them and take your test as soon as you're ready.
Sell them at a loss but not as much a loss as buying a new YBR.

[Chuffin Nora]

[Taught2BCauti...]

Would I be right in thinking that OP has been riding 50cc Scoots on a car licence, and hasn't actually done a CBT yet?

If so, I would suggest that she visits as many local CBT centres as possible, and tries sitting on as many different makes and models of 125's as possible, for size and fit, on the pretext of finding a suitable bike before booking a CBT.

Riding schools would probably choose makes and models that have a reasonably long life and low maintainance costs, rather than something that is known to fall apart after 12 months, so talk to them about their reasons for choosing the bikes that they have available for learners.

Alternatively, see if there are any 'Get On' schemes in the area, as they usually have a variety of newish machines that anyone can ride around a car park to get a feel for the different styles available.
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[sutty86]

I had a ybr custom, its a rust bucket seriously,

Much better bikes out there

[SopskiBot]