Another New Biker

[Blackduff]

Hello
Yes, I'm another new biker and I've already a lot of posts. This looks like to be a good forum to read.

Although I'm a new biker, I really am an "old" biker. I bought my first bike fifty years back. This was a BSA Gold Star~this was a big jug which required a lot of horsepower to crank this bike. Eventually I got older and bought a Triumph, still many years back.

Now I'm thinking of buying another bike to give some fun. I have zeroed to a Yamaha YRB 125 - maybe a Custom. So far the people on this forum seek to think it's a good choice.

I've rejected to the Chinese bike for various reasons. The quality can be terrible and the servicing is a long ways from my house. There are a lot of nice bikes still within the 125 size but the amount of money limits what I purchase. So, it brings me back to the Yamaha bikes. They're close to my house, or at least within the nearest city.

I'll have to start to learn shifting, and a few other traits too. I have riden a lot with normal bikes (push bikes) so I have some balance. The YRB125 should be a good next step of bikes.

So, Hello everyone. I'll start to read a lot this year.

Blackduff

[SweenyT]

Hello and welcome! It's a great forum and there are lots of friendly, mad bikers out there who will no doubt shortly welcome you

I'm still essentially a newbie and love my YBR (not custom) and find it a good starter bike and would highly recommend it. Other's may recommend the Honda CG etc. Not sure what they would recommend to a returning biker though so you'll have to wait and see on that one.

All I can say is if you haven't already, go to a few dealerships, sit on some bikes and see which one feels right then take into consideration all the other factors that might influence you.

Good luck with the choice.
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Current ride - 2005 Suzuki GSX-R600 K4 - 2x 2014 Honda NC750s long term courtesy bikes - 2003 Fazer FZ6 written off as idiot reversed into me - 2009 YBR125 - still have from new

[blurredman]

Either the YBR or the Honda CG are the best options as many people on this forum would agree. I myself have a Honda CG, and many on this forum do also. But with those two bikes, it depends on what styling you like which also means you gotta look into what age bike you wish to purchase. Too old and you may have a bit of a wreck, whereas too new is quite expensive. Mine is 1991 CG and I really think my model of CG is the best looking model of all the CG's. The new ones look too feminine, and the old ones do also In my eyes


Of course, I'm only the second of many replies (I hope) to this topic so, have a look around really. Some say, the YBR is literally perfect in every way and that is always positive from a learner side, however boring once you ride it for a few months.


Of course, you as an older biker are more used to 250cc, or even more if you were riding around in the 50's (gramps learned to ride on 1000cc brough ) But, the power output of an really old 250 is almost equal to the output of a 125.
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

So you took until winter to get this idea
Also you want a 125..fair play if that's what you really want.

Oh. Hi BTW.

Pat
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Blackduff]

Hi Pat
The winter wasn't a choice. I am selling a Land Rover and the money will arrive next weekend. My wife agreed to let me buy the bike so winter or summer, I have to try it again.

I'm 71 years old and I'll be too old if I wait. I think I can handle a 125 but bigger might be a fools transportation.

Blackduff

[pinkyfloyd]

Buy yourself a super bike.... Be the oldest Kneedowner in the uk

Welcome to the forum
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[N cee thirty]

haha if i can even still sit on a motorbike in 50 years i'll be happy

welcome aswell
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[Rogerborg]

Hi, Blackduff. YBRs are great bikes. The only issue that I know of is a tendency towards rust on the chrome, on newer models, but nothing you can't keep on top of.

Here's some that have been round the world. Oh, and here's one still going round. Can't ask for more than that.

[metalangel]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

There are 2nd hand 250s for sale. The Honda CB250 was still being made 7 years ago...think they have another in the pipeline(silly looking exhaust IIRC)
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Rogerborg]

Or the YBR 250 if you can find one, Ninja 250, or - OH NOES HEER CUM TEH CHIENESE!!!!!ELEVEN! - the Lifan LF250-B, a Yamaha Dragstar clone, or Zongshen Storm ZS250GS (actually a 230cc single)

[waffles]

[SweenyT]

[neil.]

I've done nearly 34'000 miles on my YBR (bought it with 500 miles on). I will make it go round the clocks! *shakes fist in defiance*.

[Astridax]

Well I would say an old 2 stroke RXS 100. I can guarantee Beechbone and 27cows would say the same .
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beechbone: Oh crap...I'm turning into 27cows
Walloper: And giving up one's leg to save a falling motorbike is the stuff of leg-ends....

[Beelzebob]

Welcome Blackduff, and kudos for (a) coming back to biking and (b) being the most computer literate 71-year-old I have ever come across.

I've got a 2009 YBR 125, rode for 6 months and put a couple of thousand miles on it. No problems at all, comfy, light (perhaps a little too light on the steering sometimes, bit wobbly... especially after riding bigger bikes) but completely hassle-free, reliable, solid performance. Not fast, but (as Neil is demonstrating) will chug on to eternity
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'09 YBR 125 -> '92 XJ600 S Diversion -> '99 Hornet 600

"Stronger than your average female lifeguard"

[SweenyT]

[lmbo2]

new to biking my self , got a custom yamaha 125 sr , love it , 1998 20k on the clock starts first time , easy to ride , looks great and economical to run ,the main thing is condition , and servicing stay away from chinese copy bikes stick to the main 4. i got mine with full mot and tax +fully serviced for 600 quid. good luck and be safe.

[Mr Hammers]

Welcome to BCF, Blackduff!

As others have already said, kudos for getting back into bikes (especially now in this weather!) and when most people of your age are just sitting around watching tele and moaning about the kids of today..

____________________
A Guide To Powerbands

[Clanger]

Hello and welcome...have you been involved in bikes continuously, or had a break and come back??

My uncle is in his mid-60's and is still riding, he just sold his old British bike for a NTV so he can use it all year round. So I imagine he will continue riding for a long time forward too.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Blackduff]

I'm still looking for the bike that I want. I checked-out the Hondas but there was bad reports and to me, there's way too many plastic sections.

The Aprilia tempted me too but this is expensive and I don't want to spend so much.

I'm giving a pass for any of the Chinese bikes so it's back to the Yamaha YBR 125. This afternoon I decided that I want the Custom model too.

I have looked at a bunch of "used" bikes like this. I find that their prices are too near to the new bikes. And, the Yamaha dealer will give me some "extras" too, so the prices are workable.

Basically I was selling my Discovery and the guy who bought the 4x4 came to my house and gave me the check for the Land Rover. It's no longer mine but the amount can be turned into a new Yamaha YBR. What a wonderful thought. It will be put into my bank tomorrow (it's a bank check) and it should be cleared on Tuesday. I need to get insurance and start to find a helmet which will fit my old head.

I've decided to put the bike into my garage. My wife agreed I can put the bike into the garage, as long as I don't park this on my terrace. I'll have to buy some kind of lock but I think this will be a small lock which passes through the disk. This is needed when it's parked in the village centers.

I keep reading in this forum and there's a big mine of good information. I will go back through a lot of the ideas about leathers. I went through the pages about helmets but I plan on reading this again. I wear glasses so I'll have to find a helmet which allows me wear them at the same time.

Thanks to all of the welcomes and the good ideas. This forum is great.

Blackduff

[neil.]

You should be able to wear glasses with any kind of helmet. I assume you'd want a full face (safest)? It's just a case of remembering that you have to take your glasses off and put them on before you remove or put on your lid! It can be fiddly to feed them through over your ears as well. You can get flip-up lids but that is the same as having an open faced helmet, safety wise - not much chin protection. I personally switched to contact lenses as they suited me much better on the bike - better peripheral vision, no steaming up, no distortion of distance that you get with glasses.

Also you may be interested to know that the YBR is made in China, although by one of Yamaha's factories, but is is essentially Chinese. The paint job is poor in my opinion (doesn't look like surfaces are primed and they are just 'dipped' into paint) - a lot of paint has flaked off in places. Corrosion sets in relatively easily as well. The chrome/mild steel exhaust I had (2005 model) corroded within a few winters (I replaced it with a stainless steel Motad unit) and I have heard that the black heat-proof painted exhausts on newer models aren't much better. You need to keep on top of cleaning and treating the bike with a corosion inhibitor such as ACF-50.

If you're planning on keeping the bike for a long time, you might want to do a few things - fitting fork gaiters to protect against stone chips on the chrome fork legs/stanchions which will pit and damage the oil seals, meaning leaking fork oil - an MOT failure and dangerous. Also, the stock tyres on the YBR are pretty bad. You may want to fit a pair of Michelin Pilot Sportys - absolutely fantastic tyres. Not sure if the Custom takes them as my experiences are with the normal YBR, specifically the 05-06 model. You can also do stuff like fit a stainless steel braided brake hose as well - I found it improved the front brake a lot, after the original rubber hose was about 5 years old. You can fit a screen to help with the weather at this time of year - Givi make one called the A660 which I have read is a good choice. Yamaha also make their own small one for the original YBR (I have this - looks good and helps with handling but not much protection for the rider), not sure about later models though.

[Blackduff]

Thanks for all of the info Neil.

I have to look a bit at the helmets and understand what you say. I can see okay without the glasses but my drivers license requires I use them. I'll come back with more questions about the helmets soon.

I checked after you saying that Yamaha builds the bikes in China. I visited their site and I looked at the versions being sold there. Actually, they build a better looking model of the YBR 125 custom I want to buy. It's tough to find the way across the Chinese signs but there are numbers which give a good hint where to visit. Plus, I spent a lot time working in Taiwan and you learn to be good at guessing, if you want to eat.

Where I live the winter isn't as bad as the UK. I live on the Mediterranean, on the Pyrenees. We do get snow, once in awhile but not normally. Corrosion isn't a bad problem here~we do have very strong winds, so riding is going to be tough.

Again thanks Neil. This was a great post.

Blackduff