New to the Forums, Hi to Everyone!

[Stoker]

Hi Folks, Hope you are all well!
Been nought but a lurker since I joined recently, thought I would give you a rundown of the bikes i've ridden.....

Honda PC50
Borrowed from girlfriend to get to work 18 miles away, was coated in pink hammerite, so obviously not a long term relationship with that bike, also experienced my first "arc-eye" stick welding the exhaust!

CZ 125
Pile of shit, although the fact that I had sprayed everything Nato Green did seem to attract some attention, esecialy from older people at Matlock who swore they rode summat similar during the war
(They are quite utilitarian, and boxy)

CD200 Benley
My first 4 sroke, was quite reliable, but used to fade on the M62 on the way to my (different) gf's in Hull. Easy to work on, cheap spares. Kept it mostly original, but painted it all black, as couldn't afford to do a restore, and anyway, they weren't regarded as classics then.

CB 250 superdream
Not much to say about this, it was rattling when i bought it and wasn't surprised when the camchain parted and fucked the entire engine. Still, brakes and suspension were crap, so....

CB360 G5
This bike was fukin wonderful compared to everything before, I still love and miss it, it's like how you remember your first great sexual experience, and compare back to it!

Since the time of the Benly, I have been painting everything black, and was feeling rather conspicuous riding round on my new

CX500
Which had rather large fairings, luggage, ect. all bright white.... modded it to change from the auto to manual cam chain tensioning... never loved it tho.

Did a stupid thing and rode whilst under the influence, ( one and a half pints), lost my licence, some 10 years ago

Just got a 'ped whilst i pass my cbt (next week hopefully, Thanx Aqua!)

Any Ideas please, for a cheapish 125?

[Wednesday Biker]

I've rode a few of those bikes too.
That was basically the progression most people did in the old days.
Now its just pay a grand,pass test and get an R1.
Seems you are a bit of a Honda man.
I like the cbf.See a few on here say its a rust bucket but tbh I think all the 125's rust like hell nowadays, except the sporty ones with mostly plastic bits instead of monkey metal.
If you are taking your test soonish then the cheap and cheerful CG 125 is probably the best bet.

[mentalboy]

Welcome to the forum.
I always fancied a naked cx500, they had a reputation for being indestructible!
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Make mine a Corona.

[MC]

One and a half pints? Your more of a lightweight than me

How come you never got your license back after your ban? Or was it revoked?

Cheap 125's; as already mentioned CG/CBF but also have a look at the YBR.
____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[Rogerborg]

[WD Forte]

We had a CZ125, briefly, utter shite
the kickstart cum gear change was truly horrible.

The CX500 cam chain tensioner down grade wasn't needed.
After the initial snags in 79, the only problems occured because
of ignorance and neglect.
People waited until they were chewing their way out of the case instead of checking and replacing them in time.
CXs are hard on cam chains and left to stretch too much/neglected they thrashed about shaving metal off the inside of the case and eventually either broke tensioner blades on the manual types or knocked the arse out of the auto types.
All quite avoidable.
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bikers smell of wee

[Wednesday Biker]

[stinkwheel]

I this instance, from reading around the workshop section of this forum, I'd suggest you avoid Hondas current 125 learner bike offering.

Still hard to go wrong with a CG125 in fairness. It's not going to be a flying machine but they still are what they always were. A cheap, simple, relaible stepping stone to something bigger.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Rogerborg]

[Stoker]

Hey Everyone!
Thanx for the replies, will take serious note of them.

My understanding is that I need to have 125 licence for two years before I can pass upwards, unless I have cash to bypass?

[MC]

[Rogerborg]

Lost license 10 years ago...

Did you ever actually have a bike license (i.e category A)? My hazy understanding is that when you get any category back after a ban, you get them all back.

If not, then sadly the automagic upgrade route is gone. If you ever want to ride anything bigger than a 125, you'll have to sit your tests on a 595cc+ 40kW (54hp)+ bike. You then get into the trickiness of finding a legal way to insure one and get it to the test centre which is why most folk go via a training school and pay about £500 for the privilege.
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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

[Val]

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