First Bike

[M3ntal]

hey guys, im sure there is a lot of posts similar to mine but i need help in deciding on my first bike

Im 18, and im looking for a 125 that will be reliable as well as quite cheap. I will be traveling to college every day (most probably all winter: unless it snows) as well as riding for pleasure.

I have my cbt, i have all the gear (helmet, gloves, jacket, boots and kevlar jeans) the only problem now is buying an actual bike.

My budget is around £1000/1200 as i am still a student and im not able to work full time, i have been saving up for a bike since January 2015 and im nearly there

But anyways, i am thinking about a Honda CBR 125, Honda CBF 125, Honda XR 125, Suzuki DR 125 or Yamaha XT125X, im really putting cbr and cbf in priority as i did my CBT on a CBF and the bike felt amazing.

The only thing that bothers me is that i will have to buy a CBR from 2004/2005 due to the budget, from that year most of the bikes have 15000/20000 miles on the clock and i feel a bit worried ?

I will keep the bike until im 19, so until September 2016, as i want to do my full license then

Do you guys think that i could get a Honda with around 20k miles on the clock that will last all the rain, cold, and moisture that will come to the UK very soon?

Thanks

[MCN]

Yes it will last but....

Expect it to need some TLC before you hammer it ahp an' dahn the road for a year.
The bikes you are considering are all fairly bullet proof and proven. There will be some better than others but generally better than anything Chinchong.co.Ltd

Look for a clean one NO DEFECTS what so ever. Wear is expected but everything fitted should work.

20k shouldn't require much major stuff.

With regards to rain. The bike will probably fair better than you.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Rogerborg]

I wouldn't choose to ride a CBF125 through a UK winter.

If you do, budget for a bottle of ACF-50 and apply it early and often.
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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

[Papa Lazarou]

2004/05 and 15-20K is no problem, so long as it's been well maintained (look for a service log or receipts for oil changes, etc).

Take someone who knows a bit with you. Don't travel too far to look at a bike, or you'll buy. You don't have to buy the first one you see.

[Vandervecken]

Why not go Chinese? I purchased a Lexmoto Vixen as an emergency runaround a few years ago, cost just under a thousand brand new, including tax if I remember rightly.

Did about 7,000 miles on it before selling for £500, no problems with ride or reliability, as I recall it would be quite a good bike for 'learning the ropes'
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CB600F Hornet.
Previously many a Fazer

[Papa Lazarou]

[Beehive Bedlam]

You could get a mighty Varadero within budget if you're willing to travel.

[Papa Lazarou]

[Val]

Welcome to the forum, £1200 is a very good budget for 125.

Not to mention that the worst is the weather the lower will be the prices. From now on to the end of the winter the prices will go only one way - down.

From the bikes you have listed I like most CBR.

Flebay search shows CBR125 on 7000 miles for £1200:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CBR-125-R-2006-HONDA-7700-Miles-12-months-MOT-Reliable-commuter-L-plates-CBT-/391249826510?hash=item5b184e92ce

When I buy second hand bike or car the first thing I do is change the oil with the best one you can afford. Even "expensive" oils are cheap. The engines are expensive.

Good luck
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Adrian Monk: Unless I'm wrong, which, you know, I'm not...
Yamaha Fazer FZS 600, MT09, XSR 900

[Teflon-Mike]

Motorbikes aren't exactly thick on the ground, littering our streets like autumn leaves and audi's in the UK....
It's as much a case of what you can get, as much as what you'd actually like... doesn't matter what's in the adverts; you still have to get to the bike in the ad, and see what it REALLY looks like; age and mileage does NOT tell you whether the thing has been used and abused or crashed to death.. you have to actually SEE the bike to tell that, AND interrogate the seller...
And you have to get to see the bike before some-one else with more enthusiasm and more money, buys it first.
It's a seller's market in the learner-legal world; and there are far too many older 125's that have been thrashed, trashed and crashed by know-nothing 'Learner' owners.. and too many new learners, eager enough to hand over good money for them, so long as they have the right badge on the side, look shiny and make a noise when they twist the throttle-grip!
Older they are, more likely they are to be more thrashed, trashed & crashed; more 'desirable' they are by way of having a big 'R' on the unnecessary body-work (that conveniently hides whatever sins lurk beneath, in the important bits), more likely they have been owned know-even-less newbies, more concerned with how they look, and wanting to go fast, than 'practicalities'... like maintenance.. ANd more desirable to you, so more desirable to all the others with money burning a hole in thier pocket.

My advice; re-think the 'posey' bikes' think YBR or CBF, the less-loved, 'boring' commuter-bikes... 'cos thats what you need, a 'commuter' you get you to and from for cheaps, isn't it? Still be 'fun' when you ride it for fun, fun is in the rider, and what you do with the bike, not 'in' the bike; you want a machine that delivers 'fun-on-demand' buy an x-box, not a motorbike! A 'boring' bike that works, whether thats cos its in a better shape to start with, for your money, or has less wrong with it for your to 'fix' and is actually cheaper/easier for you to fix, so it stands better chance of actually working when you want it to, can be a LOT more 'fun' in total, delivering maybe not so big a 'fun' when it can, but delivering at least a modicum of fun, most of the time, and saving you an awful lot of NOT-FUN hassle.

THEN, get off here; and get out there; pound the shoe leather and actually get your hands on some bikes really for sale, in the real world, and see if you can do a deal on one of the better examples after weighing a few of them up for yourself!

Pontificating the topic, prevaricating and procrastinating over OUR often irrelevant opinions of makes and models, is just wasting time; time when anything more likely to be a 'better' deal will be being snapped up by all the other teen-agers starting tech this month, nagging Daddy mercilessly with e-bay and auto-trader ads on thier smart-phones!

Stop Thinking - Start Riding.... Stop Googling - Start Looking!
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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?'

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[gonzo1]

Seriously consider a ybr,i've had mine a good while now,seen it through some horrendous weather,done over 11,000 miles on it and it has'nt missed a beat.It also comes equiped with a rack for a top box,does 100mpg is easy to maintain and is still about as much fun as you can have on a 125.
My bike is left out in the elements all the time but when I wash it,it gets an all over covering of sas spray,a ptfe based lubricant.This is as good as any official bike spray and less than half the price.
20,000 miles is naff all on a good quality well maintained 125 like a ybr....i'm expecting to have mine for many years yet......there are a lot of these bikes running around with high mileages so don't worry.Mine has done nearly 15,000 miles in total and seems to be running better than ever.
Good luck with whatever you decide to get.

[Polarbear]

Please do not consider Chinese.

Yes, they are getting better but you are not an experienced motorcyclist/spanner man and while you may be a quick learner you don't want to be learning on your get to college bike that has broken down. Also, when people say the YBR/CBF or whatever is built in china, remember they have the big boys quality control and dealerships to back them up.

Stay with the mainstream bikes you have listed (plus YBR). Check all the advertisers, ebay, gumtree, local paper etc. and don't be frightened to walk away.

My favourite 125 by a country mile is the Varadero, but you won't go far wrong with any of the others mentioned.

Buy 2nd hand Japanese, buy well and look after it and you will get almost what you paid for it when you come to sell.
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Victory Cross Country American tractor.

[Mark65]

Hi
Should be able to find a 07-08 CG with low miles for that or a good YBR, ask the seller has it been crashed, is it a cat c or d, in a private sale they don't need to say unless u ask as I was told. Polar bear is right, I paid£975 for my CG and put 15k on it in two years and got £950 back, it was very well looked after though.

Mark
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07 Yamaha YBR125, 07 Honda CG125 , 15 CBR300R (Chocolate Crank, Deaded), 16 CB500FA, 19 Honda Forza 300, 70 Suzuki SV650

[Papa Lazarou]

[M3ntal]

Thank you guys for your replies

It's a difficult thing :/, I talked to my dad and he said to wait until February/March and get a cbr from like 2013/14. that seems pretty good thinking about it but I don't think I can wait anymore.

[Rogerborg]

Why wait? (Just about) any bike is better than no bike.

[thx1138]