WR125X + Tall Rider ?

[MarkG123]

Hey all

Im new to riding and looking for my first bike
im 6'4 with maybe 32/33 leg inseam + half tonnes and im struggling to find a 125 bike that can accommodate such a handful

i have only found 3 bikes that crop up each time i search and i would love some advice on them. they are :
Yamaha WR125X
Yamaha WR125R
Honda xl Varadero 125

i have been on the WR-R and size wise its a nice fit however i much prefer the WR-X Version but unfortunately i have never seen one since there are none in my area for sale right now. the seat height difference is only 45mm but im not sure if im kidding myself, has anyone here got the X model whom is the same height, or know of anyone who has one ? id appreciate all the feedback i could get about the size of the bike and if im going to be a decent fit. i just dont want to look like a huge dude on a tiny bike.
the Honda is my only other choice but i dont really like the looks of the bike so its kinda outta the question.
is there any other bikes out there that i have missed ?

[NJD]

Wouldn't really be arsed about looks, as a deciding factor, since it's a 125 and they're all built to a budget for a purpose with a set power limit. Pick one, do your time and move on.

The real answer is get a full license and take your pick of the bunch.

Anything over 6ft, IMO, will make any 125 a monkey bike.

I find that my ZR is a much better fit under me and feels more like a bike I'm suited to than my 125 ever did. Looks big and scary but once you get on it all falls into place and is manageable.

So yeah, get a license and find a bike that suits you.
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The do it all, T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶l̶u̶m̶p̶,̶ ̶C̶h̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶N̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶

[Dave_80]

Used to work with a lad who had a wr426 on the road and that was a tall bike and a beast too.do license and choice gets a lot better plus being a big lad you will get sick of a 125 in no time.
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Honda CB750 F2X

[Kentol750]

Any enduro/supermoto style 125 will be better suited to you. There aren't many bikes you won't make look small. Decide on 125 or test....once you lose the 125 restriction, there's a world of bikes for you to try.
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Some bikes.

[ThatDippyTwat]

I'm 6'3", 34" inseam, and ride a YBR125 at the moment. I get a numb bum long before anything else starts complaining, so I wouldn't worry overly much. Yeah, it's much smaller than I would like, but I'm not getting cramps or numbness in the legs . I'm way more frustrated by the fact it's a 125 than the position.

When you pass look out for Dual Sport/Adventure style bikes, as the seat on Supermoto/Enduro's is usually the limiting factor, being something fairly closely related to razor blades.

[Teflon-Mike]

Trail bikes, have high seat heights because the whole bike is jacked up from the floor on long travel suspension... which squashes when you sit on it.

So, the 'idea' that one will be a better 'fit' because you have long legs is a bit of an erroneous notion... and gets 'worse'....

They also tend to have rather short tanks, and put the rider up close to the handlebars, in order to centralise rider mass... now lift your size elevens onto the footrests.... Ah! yeah. the footrests are also quite a long way from the floor... to give the off-road bike ground clearance 'off-road'. So as you ride the thing, your arse is no further from the floor, your feet are scrunched up under your arse, and your knees? Scrunched up trying to find somewhere to be up under the handlebars.....

I'm 6'3" with 34" inseam... let me tell you, in the greater scheme of things, this idea that the 'tall' seat height is worth much, just isn't, really. As far as comfort goes, it's the overall ergonomics that count, and trail bikes, are not the most comfy, in general.

Bigger issue, I find is the bludy 'ankle gap'.. I struggle to find trousers with legs that reach my feet.... especially waterproof ones. They usually come in 'small, medium and large'.. which usually has more relevance to the waste size than the leg length.... so I end up with a gusset big enough for a pregnant rhino.. and legs that STILL doesn't reach my ankles!! that ride UP and increase the ankle gap when I sit on the bike and bend my knees to put feet on the pegs, and some more still when I scooch up and lift the bloomin gusset up from around my thighs!

Oh Kay... lets take a step back and ponder how we look.... first of all... who's looking?

Car drivers, those folk on the roads who SHOULD be looking at us, are famed for the excuse "Sorry Mate I Didn't See You".. when they pull out and knock us off.... and they are the ones who SHOULD be looking.... so if they don't pay attention, who else you hope will notice, let alone 'impress'?

If any bugger DOES, heaven forbid pay any attention; what will they see? I'll tell you; some strange being from another world; in some fort of head to toe environmental protection suit like a space man or deep see diver.. honestly, they don't actually see a 'person'.. we are some strange alien being. WHO, if they give that much credit, and even consider may be a real live 'person', is STILL just 'strange'.. because 'normal' people drive cars or catch a bus!

So, if they give you ANY thought at all, it is probably NOT "Oh cool!" or "Sexy!" It's "IDIOT!"... which, frankly is hard to argue with! WHY on earth are we out there, in the cold, in the wet, dodging SMIDSY twonks, on a motorbike, when we could be safe, and warm inside a car!!!!

Oh Kay.. lets round this up... If any one looks at you... you are doing well.. if they don't shove a pram or shopping trolley or drag a dog on an extender lead into the road across you, or drive a car into you, you are onto a winner... AND that's almost the best you can hope for! As far as how stylish you look? THEY DON'T CARE! If they give you that much conscious thought, at best, you are merely a slightly more colorful, wet, bedraggled, strange idiot on a motorbike....

Add the oversize clown suit begged by your physique to the bag, and it's really NOT going to add much to that style statement!!!!

A-N-D the bike? Do you think they are going to pay that any more attention? Honestly, most numpties don't appreciate the difference in aesthetic between a sports-bike and a monkey bike, and probably care even less. You could be riding a 55mph Sky-Jet or a 179mph Super-Blackbird.. all they see is 'plastic bike'. You could be riding a rather rusty Chinese YBR 'custom' copy, or a full on Harley dynarod.. all they'd see is 'shiny bike'... you could be riding a 50cc Pulsar or a 500cc KTM, all they see is 'Crosser'.... which IF unfortunately likely to get a bit more attention... but unfortunately probably not the sort you want.... it'll be "Now how can I nick it?!"

What they WILL see however is the L-Plate.... which whatever impression you may have made will tell them to dismiss as "TOY BIKER".. Nothing looks good with an L-Plate.

So.... re-calibrate your priorities..... you pick a bike to RIDE not to wear to a nighclub! Accept you are almost certainly going to look strange and daft and idiotic to 99% of the population on one {if you don't before!}, IF you are lucky enough they pay you one iota of attention in the first place!

So make your choice not on how it looks or how you think it looks, but how comfy it is to RIDE... which means how you sit on it WHEN you are riding it, with your feet up off the floor on the foot-pegs and how high the seat was from the floor when parked is of little issue; where your knees are, where your ankles are, and how scrunched up or stretched you are is....

And likewise onto clothing; few will care what you look like even if they look; so dress to ride, dress for comfort, to stay warm and dry and at least a little less miserable... and pay heed to that ankle gap opening up when you bend your legs to sit on a bike... same also tends to apply to the wrist gap between gloves and sleeve!!

THESE things are far more important than what you think you look like.

And moving down; remember the reaction to a 'Can I nickit' Crosser.... afflicts all small bikes but ones they can rip the lamps off and hack over the waste land and flog as a 'field bike' are top of their target list. SECURITY is a slightly higher priority than what the bike looks like... believe me, the 'space' where a pretty little bike was left does NOT look very good at all. Which begs knock on thought about 'insurance'.. which tends to be rather expensive, and even more so on usually more expensive bikes, and more still more expensive ones most likely to get nicked..

WHICH begs question of costs in general; where the cost of a notionally more 'stylish' 125, that's no more comfy, no more practical, or useful and potentially less so, than a more humble 'utility model'... that costs more to buy & more to insure.. IS that really offering you so much value for money, when that 'style' you are paying so much over the odds for, is probably wasted on almost everyone.... especially as long as there's a ruddy L-Plate hanging off the thing ruining whatever aesthetic you 'think' it has?

Bottom line; sod the style; worry about the important stuff.. like the ankle crack! SERIOUSLY... it's probably been the most annoying thing I have had to put up with on bikes over the last forty years!!!
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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?'

[berzerker]

My youngest son is 6'4" and had a Sinnis Apache 125, he raised the seat height by winding the shock up and it was a much better fit than his previous CBR125 (clown bike). Hundreds of them or the similar Pulse Adrenaline for sale at next to nothing.
Downsides are the bike was made of cheese and the engine won't be as nice as the WR's fuel injected, liquid cooled effort but it's a 125 so you won't notice.

[Rogerborg]

[Alpineandy]

[Dave_80]

I'm only about 6-6'1 and bought a hyosung gt comet as they are built around an old gs500 frame,was comfy enough and didn't feel cramped.what really made my mind up to go full license was the inability to get away from old biddys in micras.
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Honda CB750 F2X

[merquis00]

warning: reads like a review - I love the wr's, but, If you're only going to have the bike till you do your test, dont bother with the WR125x/r as its a lot of cash for little use.

If you want one for a commuter, it should be fine for someone 6ft+ - My cousin is 6"2, but with lanky legs, and rode mine (wr125x)

he hardened the suspension a few notches (im short, so it was on one notch soft) so it didn't drop so much when he got on it and scooched his backside further back (long seat)

the tank is small (8.5 litres?) and Its not fast (no 125 is ) on the motorway, especially with headwinds, so you may want to consider that if you do m'way-commutes.

TL:dr Not a good investment for L plates, "Fine" as a commuter for taller people
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Current: 2010 WR125X, Carrera crossfire-E.
Project's: '88 GL1500 Trike, Chinese 170cc Monkey
Previous: X9-500, XT125, DNA125, CBF125, YZF-R125, '98 K1200RS, '99 St1100, fantic245

[MarkG123]

thank you all so much for the advice and information, it helps me alot and i appreciate it

- Mark

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[Rogerborg]