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ZogrodDion
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ZogrodDion
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 Posted: 20:58 - 25 Oct 2015  Post subject: |
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Yeah yeah, scoff at the learner with his little 125, please tell me about your bike and how quickly you passed your full test  |
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Ste
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Posted: 21:42 - 25 Oct 2015  Post subject: |
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| ZogrodDion wrote: | Yeah yeah, scoff at the learner with his little 125, please tell me about your bike and how quickly you passed your full test |
I did my early riding on the air-cooled competition trials versions, the TY's, which are still well regarded in the classic trials world as tough as old boot; simple air-cooled two-stroke engine basically has three moving parts; crank, con-rod and piston; and as long as you make sure you mix the oil and petrol properly; and the exhaust doesn't rot through, they can almost run 'forever' until the cylinder and piston rings and crank bearings eventually wear out... and the older air-cooled DT's are basically the same engine, with the advantage of an oil pump so you don't even have to worry about mixing the petroil properly; just keeping the two-stroke reservoir topped up! Which is why I like 'em! They also made around 15bhp as 'standard' which is more than most of the later water-cooled ones did when factory restricted to Licence limits, and were a tad lighter, while lower and on less extreme 'MX-Jump' suspension actually made a slightly better mannered road-bike (and trail tool IMO).
Later water cooled DT's, where not factory restricted to lower power outputs gained an awful lot of 'complexity', which also made them heavier. The water-cooled motors were still relatively 'tough'; but they are no where near the mechanics delight the air-cooled ones are; and with the 'potential' to make around 18bhp instead of the 13 or so they often came with from the factory to meet licence restrictions.... FAR too many have seen the rather less than helpful attentions of teenage tinkerers armed with little more than a set of push-bike spanners and the idea that they can make them a 100mph motorcycle just cutting a wire and taking a washer out the exhaust....
In my youth, (A couple of centuries ago!) armed with enough spanners to completely strip and rebuild a trials bike in a week-end; the number of times I was shown poor running DT's (Or RD's or TZR's that used the same engine), and asked to 'have a look' only to find the exhaust blowing like a bugger, 'cos teen-owner had taken out the sealing gasket believing it to be the 'magic restrictor washer', with the result that the piston crown had melted, is beyond count! Well, I think that the garage windowsill had a row of about seven or eight on it.. then I ran out of space! Used one or two of the more interestingly re-modeled examples as ash-trays! The addition of power-valves to the last of them, only increased the opportunities for more enthusiastic owners to fuck'em up, as far as I could see.
And THESE days; the cult status of the bike, and the two-stroke in general; there are an awful lot of thirty-odd year old 'heaps' out there that have suffered all the worst attention of teen-hooligan owners, and a diminishing pool of newer bikes still getting ragged to bits; ALL fetching inflated prices, from new teen-hooligans, as well as old duffers my age, wanting to re-live teen-hooligan fantasies in their Mid-Life-Crisis...
IF you are intend on getting one of these; it is NOT a 'cheap' and NOT a 'sensible' bike to go for; and you WILL be paying over the odds to get a bike, and you'll have to be pretty clued up on them to be sure it is a 'legit' bike, and to assess how hooliganised it might be; to then pay a lot more than you need to insure it; to maintain it, and to run the thing.
Fun, perhaps, and a lot of yoofs have cut thier teeth on small displacement two-stroke Yamahas... self included.. but it can be a frustrating & expensive teething experience..... so think long and hard about it!
Questions you are asking, suggest some slightly more 'sensible' consideration on the topic.... they are probably a little irrelevant in the greater scheme of things; BUT, you are asking 'sensible' questions.. about a very 'un-sensible' motorcycle! suggesting its probably not the best one for you!
In the 'stuff' that needs to be dealt with to get on your own bike, legally, on the public highway; the BIKE is actually often the last thing you need to worry about.. though the first thing most consider...
So where are you in the world? what's the bigger scheme? how long until you are 17? How much money might you have, then, to go get a bike, and put it on the road? What gear have you got? Helmet, gloves, boots, wise; Have you ever ridden a bike before? If you get the stuff you need to ride a bike on the road, when you come to go look for one; where will you look? How will you get to bikes 'for sale' to look at them? How might you get any bike you buy home? Who else might need to be involved / convinced to allow you / help you, do all this?..... and what might you have to do to win that 'favor' from them?
You need;
1/ Provisional Licence (Think it was about £30 I just gave my daughter to get hers) + Photo.. another £5 at the booth in ASDA
2/ Compulsory-Basic-Training course to validate provisional entitlement. typically around £120 ish
3/ Riding Apparel; Helmet, Gloves, 'sensible' footwear; water-proofs and or jacket & trousers. How much is entirely dependent, but a new crash-hat and gloves, and a set of cover-all water-proofs as basics the rest improvised from stuff you already have in your wardrobe or can pillage from elsewhere; you probably 'need' about £100 to get started. And you may consider getting some of that before your CBT if you don't want to be wearing a borrowed helmet!
4/ Locks? As said, get these before you get a bike of you wont have bike long! and don't cheap-skate. good lock and chain, and possibly a ground anchor to tie it down at home; budget at least £30 for lock and chain.
5/ Insurance will depend on the bike you get. For a 17 year old, it wont be cheap regardless. A five year old YBR125 valued at around £1500, third party fire & theft is likely to be in the order of £500 give or take the average wind-speed multiplied by the age in months of the under-writer's granny! Anything newer will be more expensive. Anything more expensive, will be more expensive; anything more 'appealing' will be more expensive. A brand new YZF-R125 is likely to be half the show-room price JUST for the insurance! Anything older, cheaper or less desirable is not likely to be much cheaper!
So, you may have to budget around £500, on stuff before you can even go bike shopping; and most of that will have to be bought cash upfront. Then hold back another £500 to get your insurance, again, cash upfront. THEN you can go looking for a bike.
But remember, that bike will need petrol and oil and other essential maintenance after; and if you are buying 2nd hand you should hold back probably £200 for a new-owner service and to de-niggle any faults you find in early miles. You'll be lucky if a 2nd hand bike doesn't need anything sorting. 125's can be pretty cheap to run; BUT, they ent FREE to run, and remember the risk you'll bend something is high... only thing worse than a bent bike is a bent bike you cant afford to fix!
The law takes the manufacturers claimed power output from the brochure.
What any-one else says doesn't matter;
If a bike is declared by the maker to produce more than 35Kw.. it makes more than 35Kw end off.... it could have a dead squirrel in the carburetor intake, two spark-plugs missing, tappets clearances bigger than the budget deficit, and no pistons rings.... as far as plod's concerned YOU shouldn't be riding it....
Unless YOU have done 'something' to ensure that it is DEFINITELY restricted to beneath licence entitlement limits.
What you do is up to you... law doesn't make any suggestions, let alone place any requirements on you, OTHER than its up to YOU to ensure that it is within licence entitlement.... and be prepared to justify if not prove that if required to do so.
"Well the fella I bought it off said" is not something YOU have done to adequetly ensure restriction..
"Well its old, y'honour, innit.... wont have ALL the power the book said... and they always make the claims bigger, anyway, dunt they?" Wont wash
"Well, I looked on the net, and bike-spex.com said the one they tested only had 42rwhp so I reckoned that was good enough" don't count
YOU have to do SOMETHING.. positive to make it less powerful... AND be able to show so....
Buying a restriction kit? - shows some 'precaution' to ensure licence eligibility.. but doesn't show you have ENSURED bike is within limits.. kit, receipt for kit; official certificate of restriction that comes with kit.. really only shows you BOUGHT a kit.. law expects you to show that kit has been fitted, and works.... so you need a paper-trail that shows you have done something TO the bike and it is definitely 'modified' so as to be in licence regs. Letter of Restriction from a recognized mechanic or the like, maybe backed by independent dyno run... how much 'proof' you may want is up to you.. but onus IS on you to prove a bike the maker says isn't within your licence entitlement has been made so by you.
Meanwhile, back to the manufacturers declared specs being the only ones the law is concerned with, and the no more than 1/2 original power criteria of the restrictions; if a manufacturer declares a bike to make more than 70Kw/92bhp.. then again, you should not be riding it at ALL, it cant be restricted... doesn't matter if Which Magazine have refuted the manufacturers claims and shown that 90% of the bikes they sell only make half the claimed power... LAW goes by what the makers CLAIM.. end-of.
Onto the subject of whether you might ever be challenged to justify your restriction... THAT is another matter.. and the risks are all your own.. but if you want to ride something that the makers say makes more than 45bhp... YOU take the risk of being challenged and the onus to show you have done something to make it complaint... you don't have to buy a bike that needs restricting.
Life is long and full of shit; so don't go looking for any extra shit to deal with, just deal with the shit you gotta deal with here and now.
You say you are doing car tests soon.... that's enough be worrying about for now.
But, I take it that having signed up to do driving tests, you have realised that typically £5K teen driver insurance premiums mean you wont be getting your own car in a hurry, hence looking at bikes... so, Oh-kay... heads up for WHEN you might be ready to chase this oe;
First step is CBT Compulsory Basic Training.. 'T' s for TRAINING not test; a competent qualified rider it makes you not! Does teach you a fair bit, though; but still. THAT's the first step biking wise; And you don't have to have a bike to do CBT, but you do need CBT to ride a bike!
And some folk, not many, but some, don't get further than CBT; they cant get the hang of riding a bike, or once on the road, just dont like it, so dont want to go any further. You could be one of them; so don't buy a bike till you have given it a go and got that cert in your pocket, so you can do something with it, if you DO get one.
THEN... 'kit'... more to riding a bike than just riding a bike! CBT can give you a lot to think about and a lot of good advice; but, just to get you started...
Before you buy a BIKE.... buy a BIKE-LOCK!
A 'good' chain, long enough to go round the frame, for preference, and something hard and unyielding, like a lamp-post, where you expect to normally keep the bike over night. (You can buy 'ground anchors' if you don't have anything convenient already) Or your chances of having your nice shiny new bike very long aren't high.
After that, you'll want a crash-hat, which could be one of the least expensive items on the list; gloves, boots, and at the very least water-proofs if no more dedicated riding wear like trousers & jacket.
Next, you need to check out insurance; It's still likely to be expensive, and there are a few 'nigglies' in there for teen-angers; one of which is if you intend to use the thing to go to and from school / college / job.. the normal private vehicle cover of 'Social, Domestic & Pleasure' doesn't cover it; and you need to opt in for "+ Commuting", and that little chceck-box can add 30% to what you might get out of a comparison site; Next up, at 17, you aren't old enough to take the offered 'monthly plan' for a premium; its not buying insurance moth by month, its buying a 12 moth policy on a credit agreement you aren't old enough to have; SO, you either have t pay the full premium price upfront (which could dent your bike buying budget a far bit) or hope to get some-one over 18 to countersign or stand guarantor on the monthly credit plan.
Now, with CBT in your pocket; an effoff lock and chain in your back garden; basic riding apparel in your wardrobe, and an idea of how much you need to set asside to get insurance.... you MIGHT, start fretting about bikes.
Long way to go to be in that position yet.... and yup, good to be a bit clued up.. B-U-T.. when you get to this point, what the web says about different bikes mean absolutely shit, if there are none to be bought! You can only buy bikes that are actually for sale; and making up less than 1% of road transport, there aren't anywhere near as many for sale as many suppose, AND you have to get to them, with money, to buy one... and before some other fella does!
There's another niggle for you to ponder on; how far and wide are you prepared to look for a bike? And then when you find one that looks promising, how you going to get to it, see it, and maybe do a deal on it? And get it home.... back to top and needing that CBT in your pocket before you can ride it...
BUT at THAT point; when you actually have a bike you COULD buy, in-front of you, money in your mitt to do a deal on it..
First chances are it wont be a CBF125; second, chances are even if it IS a CBF125, the 'known' problems with that model mean bugger all to the UNKNOWN problems the one you are looking at may have!
CONDTION IS ALL
Get clued up on basic maintenance; what things an owner should do to keep a bike in good condition.. a lot of it will be taught on your CBT.. so when you do CBT, listen! Make notes if you have to; but do THOSE regular safety and pre-ride checks on whatever bike you are looking to buy! If you want, play a it dumb; tell the seller you remember them from your CBT but would appreciate it if HE could show you how to do them on THIS bike.... see what he does! If he doesn't know where the oil filler is... GOOD chance he's ever checked the oil! for example.
Weigh up the 'value' of potential bikes an INDIVIDUAL basis, from what you can touch or see in the metal and rubber in front of you, NOT the specs in the sales brochure, or the reports in the mags, or peoples comments on the web... could all be interesting stuff... BUT, not really all that important.. and if you have learned all there may be to know about CBF125's... but are looking at a YBR125 or a Lexmoto 'cos thats all you can find for sale.... not particularly helpful!
So back to top... get your car tests done and dusted... THEN if you want to do any research, go look for schools to do your CBT with in your area....
How much? Does it include bike Hire? Do they provide lunch? How you going to get there? How you going to get back? How much will it cost if you don't 'complete' the course in a day.... and have to go back for 'further training'... you are paying for a Days TRAINING on a CBT course NOT a certificate..... you only get that, when you get up to the required standard, and not ALL students do, and not all i one day.
THIS is the 'useful' stuff for you to deal with here and now... not gleaning opinions on a model of bike, no-one might have for sale, if and when you get so far as to be ready to buy one.
Like I said at the beginning; Life is long and full of shit; so don't go looking for any extra shit to deal with, just deal with the shit you gotta deal with here and now. - so god luck with the car-tests! |
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ZogrodDion
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Rogerborg
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| Posted: 13:38 - 26 Oct 2015 Post subject: Re: Advice Wanted: Modifying/Upgrading a Suzuki Marauder 125 |
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| ZogrodDion wrote: | I know theyre slow but Id sacrifice some top end for its riding position |
Ride some other bikes before jumping to that conclusion.
| ZogrodDion wrote: | When I get one (used) I want to know what I could do to it to squeeze a bit more performance out of it. What could I adjust, modify or upgrade? |
Don't. I put a fair bit of time into fettling my 125. Any gains were illusory. Putting it mostly back to stock always made it run better.
The point of a cruiser is big lazy torque. You're never going to get that from a 125. It's lardy and low powered: you're never going to get high speed.
Buy one if you really must, enjoy it for what it is, but don't do a thing to it other than servicing. You'll only reduce the value, which will matter when you finally give up on it and sell it to get onto a worthwhile bike.
____________________
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 |
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WD Forte
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| Teflon-Mike |
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Posted: 23:57 - 26 Oct 2015  Post subject: Re: Advice Wanted: Modifying/Upgrading a Suzuki Marauder 125 |
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| ZogrodDion wrote: | Advice Wanted: Modifying/Upgrading a Suzuki Marauder 125 |
Don't bother. It's just not in ones nature.
If it dont do what you want it to out the box, then you bught the 'wrong' bike... there's plenty of others, even 125's and even 125 cruisers, that have more get-up and go than a Marauder ever will, no matter what you try dog to its engine... they just tend to cost more...
If you have the money to mess with a marauder, then don't.. use t to buy a one of the twin cylinder 125 cruiserettes or sacrifice the style and get a conentional street-bike that's not so lardy, as well as a bit brisker.
If you DONT have the money to buy a brisker bike, then enjoy Marader for what it is, a reletively reliable, low cost, low maintenance, cruiser styled commuter.. mess with it and t wont be reliable, or low cost or ecconomical, and chances are even LESS powerful than it is now....
But, week off CBT, makes no odds... learn to crawl, before you try and run! Eve with modest performance the thing has as standard, right here, right now, thing most likely to hold it back and stop you reducing journey times will be YOU, and your lack of know-how.
End of the day, its a 60mph motorcycle; that's still twice as fast as most roads this country that have a 30 limit on the, and still 'as fast' as anything is allowed to go on anything but a duel-carriageway... little reason than you cant make almost 'good progress' on the thing as any-one riding legally on ANY bike, of any capacity.
More power merely lets idiots break the law and crash faster; or better riders be a bit 'lazy'.
Learn to ride the thing, and enjoy it for what it is, how it is.
____________________
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?' |
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talkToTheHat
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| Posted: 11:40 - 28 Oct 2015 Post subject: |
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Early models with the megaphone exhaust have 10hp and taller gears from 3rd upwards. Later models with the cylindrical exhaust have an uprated engine with a mighty 11.8 horses. I think this is from the 2004 model year onwards. Don't mess with the engine, they run shit with a straight through pipe, and what you might gain from a performance pipe, overpriced air filter and a costly rejet with dyno time is marginal at best.
Strip any unneeded farkling that would be extra weight. Lower bars that help you get doubled over with your chin on the tank might help a bit with top speed, you might need to change the brake line for a shorter one if you mess with the bars too much.
A braided steel brake line might be just the thing, old brake lines get soft and the whole braking system can feel vague. Try flushing through fresh fluid in the brake line and bleeding correctly before you fork for a brake line. Check your front brake pads, i've disposed of both ferodo and ebc organic pads for being useless. Goldfren AD compound pads have a very consistent feel and aren't too snatchy. Fat front tyre and cruiser geometry means the front is easy to lock, and i found both cheap kyoto and a set of sintered pads to be irritatingly snatchy.
clean and lube the chain religiously. Check chain is correctly adjusted and that the cush rubbers arent fucked. If you can grab the rear sprocket and rotate it at all relative to the rear wheel you need new cush rubbers. About 15 quid for genuine ones and half an hour to fit. Well maintained drive chain will shift nicely and the suzuki gearbox is a highlight of the bike, clutchless shifts work well for even the most hamfisted rider.
Do a service, changing oil, spark plug and air filter. GZ/GN/marauder clutch feel is vastly improved by a decent oil, i found shell ax7 and advance ultra gave the best clutch feel in mine.
Check tyre pressures and make sure your tyres arent rotten/perished.
Finally adjust the nut between the handlebars and seat. 125 4 strokes are dog slow. Get over it. But you can throw a GZ about until you scrape pegs with relative ease, be careful though, as your boot heel might touch first. Find twistier back roads if you get bored of the lack of speed.
Or get a proper licence.
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 10 years, 127 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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