Buying a 125...

[Oneear]

Hello all, long time lurker etc.

I took, and somehow passed by CBT last week on a 'just turned 40' whim last week (at Newcastle Rider Training, who were excellent) and have decided that rather than go straight into big bikes (cruiser style, yeah, I know!) I feel that I need to build my confidence and skills by getting myself a cheap, relatively reliable, 125. The idea being to tootle around for a couple of months and then punt it on for not much of a loss. It'll be rides out by myself when the roads are quiet, and then maybe some commuting if things go to plan. I need to improve my brake use, and some practice NOT target fixating on long, fast bends!


Learned on a Honda CG, and was looking for something similar - the idea of a sports style bike really doesn't appeal. Having read through these forums, various reviews and looked at availability in my price range, it's looking like a Yamaha YBR or SR. There's a few pop up on gumtree and ebay around £600-£1000. I've used ebay quite a few times, and am happier with that, but never used gumtree although there are more bikes that suit me on that site.

Any thoughts on the bike? I'm leaning towards Japanese, however, this may be unnecessary and maybe I should be cutting a couple of hundred nicker off the purchase price and consider a Chinese copy. I'm literally only going to have the bike as for as short a time as possible, but i'm not wanting to run into problems.

The bike is probably going to be kept in my back yard - it has a high wall surrounding it. I'm sceptical spending £200 on a chain and ground anchor for this bike, but could be persuaded if the wise heads of BCF feel otherwise.

I'm also going to be off buying some gear at the weekend, helmet first, and some gloves. A jacket with armour is on the list, as are some Kevlar type (fully lined) jeans. Those two items can be debated though, i'm not going to be horsing around just yet, mainly 30mph pottering. I realise it's all subjective, but what would you do with regards the jacket and jeans? Would a non armoured Barber and a pair of Levis do the job for now?

Anyhow - thanks for any responses, and for the information and entertainment during the past couple of months.

[Reservoir Dog]

[CaNsA]

Most CG125's will see you right until you get a full licence.

It doesn't have to look great, just be in good working order.

If you get one that looks perfect you will only cry when you drop it.

[Andy_Pagin]

[linuxyeti]

Hi

Also, based on my own experience, a second hand chinese 125 fits the bill perfectly, could even get yourself a well respected baby cruiser, the HN-125-8 Vixen, branded Lexmoto Vixen amongst others. I personally haven't had one of those, but there's a pretty active owners forum, and the bike has pretty good reviews.

I believe Rogerbourg has 1, so, he''l be able to give you a better idea.

Failing that, look for a 2nd hand Lexmoto or Sinnis branded bike, and you should be fine, although, you might want to avoid the Lexmoto Street, if for no other reason, the manufacturer of that bike no longer exists, but if you do get one, most Suzuki EN-1252A spares will fit.

The key with chinese bikes if keeping it for a while, is working out who the manufacturer actually is, that way, it opens up many more options for getting hold of spares, and if, it's a clone of a Jap bike (this is slowly getting less & less the case), work out what it's a copy of.

Also the Honley supplied 125's seem to have a good reputation as well.

Cheers

Tony
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Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[Rogerborg]

Yup, the Vixen / HN125-8 is a reasonable enough bike, if you get one that's been looked after. You need to buy cheap though - some chancers are starting to ask near enough what they cost new for used examples. You can pay that, but don't bet on anyone buying it from you for that money.

A CG, YBR or YBR Custom is probably a smarter choice for a short ownership though. Don't buy a Custom unless the exhaust is pristine. You could even consider a CBF125 if it's not riddled with rust-worm and you nip any signs of it in the bud.

If you're planning to get into biking then a ground anchor and 19mm Almax / Pragmasis is an investment, and far cheaper than the consequent losses from the theft of any bike.

I never ride in unarmoured jeans. Not any trip, no matter how short. Your skin, your choice though.

Insurance is an issue. You could find yourself stuck with a policy on the 125 that you can't transfer to a bigger bike, and then get nothing back if you cancel the policy mid term. That's truly money down the drain. Forget about short term policies, you'll get rinsed on them.

It's not a daft idea to ride around on a 125 for a while, plenty of us did it. But it might end up costing you more than you expect to do it for just a short while.

You're going to have to do your big bike training and tests sooner or later. I'd come down mildly on the side of sooner.
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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

[alanstott21]

[NJD]

[alanstott21]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mammoth-Motorcycle-Square-Security-Chain-10mm-x-1-8mm-Shackle-Lock-/141768817603?hash=item2102147bc3

[tom_e]

[Reservoir Dog]

[vanderbale]

Definately don't skimp on protective clothing, especially gloves and boots and obviously helmet.

Most of us will fall eventually, when I did the gear I was wearing helped a lot to minimise damage.

[Rogerborg]

[tom_e]

[Reservoir Dog]

[Rogerborg]

[tom_e]

Like I said I've crashed in my Hoods and there was no damage to me and very little to the jeans and I've not found anyone that has said their Hoods have failed them in a crash.

It's about balancing risk with comfort and therefore the chance of you actually wearing the kit in the first place.

Decent aramid jeans achieve that, I'm not sweating to death, I can jump off my bike at my destination without having to carry around and change out of leathers and I find their protection acceptable.

My initial argument was against your statement that they provide no more protection than normal denim which is complete bollocks, I'm well aware my leathers will provide more protection but they're also not as versatile and therefore only come out for track days or nice summer blasts.

People are free to wear whatever they want, I wouldn't berate someone for going out in shorts and tshirt on a bike but neither would I ever consider doing it myself.

While I'm at it Cordura is just a trade name of you guessed it ballistic nylon.

[Reservoir Dog]

[andyscooter]

ive crashed in normal jeans


most damage was caused by cutting them off to sort broken leg

knee rubbed on inside of jeans causing friction burns but no holes in jeans
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gilera runner vxr200 (chavped)
if its spelt wrong its my fat fingers and daft auto correct on my tablet

[Reservoir Dog]

[tom_e]

[Reservoir Dog]

[tom_e]

[Reservoir Dog]

[tom_e]