Hi all! New Biker here so.... are Lexmoto still a nogo?

[Dogon2wheels]

Good evening all.
Thought i would stick something in here to say hello.
New to biking. very new, doing CBT on 23rd. its been good to read all the great topics on new riders so thanks for all the input.
i suppose im in that classic situation where im desperate to get on a bike but also know that the buzz of a 125 might quickly fade.

How many of you chaps are around the 16st mark and ride a 125? or even better went through a similar mindset and quickly went to a bigger engine.

also.. lets talk lexmoto. still shite?

Note: i do not plan by any means to draw out the process of getting my full licence i want it asap. but just weighing up all the options on getting on the road, going through the initial cock ups i will undoubtedly fall into. i will drop it. i will unintentionally abuse the engine ect so want something cheap to have on the side while i either go DAS or take lessons on the side.


Cheers

Martin
____________________
Dogon2wheels

[CaNsA]

buy a cheap, battered cg125/ybr125.

run it into the ground

[Rogerborg]

Lexmoto sell models from a whole bunch of different manufacturers. It's hard to keep track of what they've currently got on offer, or the differences between them.

The Arrow is really slow. The Vixen is slow, but otherwise not as bad as the low price might suggest. I quite enjoyed mine for what it was.

A local lad that I keep meeting Platonically likes his Venom, because it has an mp3 player, nyahahahahah. It sold well last year and actually looks pretty sharp in 'SE' trim with the crash bar kit on it. Would I pay £1450 + OTR for it though? Would I bollocks.

The thing is, any new Lexmoto (or KSR or Zontes or AJS or anything else off-brand) is going to depreciate sharply regardless of their new price. Buyers are unlikely to care that it's the "premium" model of a budget brand. Best if you let someone else take that hit.

A used YBR or CBF for the same price is a much better bet, if not a much better bike. Check the condition carefully, buy low, enjoy, sell high.
____________________
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

[Dogon2wheels]

Thanks chaps.
my intention was always to go for a Honda or Yammy but i saw a few lexmotos inside a service station near Donnington coming home from a Engagement party down south. Got to have a sit on them, have a good look and it got me thinking. spotted a few Honda CGs for around the 6-700 mark. my mind will be made up when i finish CBT and see how it all feels. but now the missus is thinking she want a crack as well so would be good to have something in the garage as a back up, take apart ect i love tinkering!!
____________________
Dogon2wheels

[Rogerborg]

I got an HN125-8 / Lexmoto Vixen partly for something to work on when it went wrong. It didn't go wrong.

Lexmotos begin to make more sense if you keep them for a while. Three years without an MOT, and even if you throw it in a ditch at the end of that, it won't cost you more than the depreciation on a new YBR or CB125F.

That said, mine passed its first MOT with no advisories, and in near-mint condition despite being used over 3 winters. ACF-50 really is marvellous stuff.

I'd still reckon that a used YBR / CBF is where the smart money goes, but if we were smart then we wouldn't get on bikes in the first place.
____________________
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

[NJD]

edit; Erm, bit lengthy, sorry, tldr at bottom.

Lexmoto Arrow owner here, just over a year.

Lets start at the begging, of which is not to talk about lexmoto, put all the funds into getting your license if you don't need a bike to commute with or to get around and can cope without one and then once you've got your license you'll have the skills already embedded in your head to enable you to then ride on the roads on your own and improve on your skills, forward planning, filtering, slow control etc etc. You can, and I did, as many others have, do your CBT and then 125 then DAS but it's not essential and I'd say it's a dangerous route because you can get set in your ways and pick up some bad habits that will cost you time on money on DAS to remove and adapt to a new style of riding in the way that the training school instructors want you to, in reality once you've got your license you can ride how you like providing it gets you from a to b with both you and the bike in one piece, or not, whatever floats your boat. But DAS first and everything else after.

I can't say if a Lexmoto would suit you because you're not standing in front of me, in regards to if you'd be comfortable riding one or enjoy it or find it a complete pain in the arse and kill the joy of riding altogether. Might be worth nothing that you cannot test ride a Lexmoto bike, well, unless you know someone in person who owns one or find one on Gumtree or alike and ask for a test ride before buying, a risk to say the least. I'd say avoid the Arrow based on how slow it is, in my experience it struggles to reach an indicated 50mph most of the time and is high in the revs when it's there, but I ride it like a soft lemon and rarely take it to the start of redline so there's adjustments to be had in the way you read this and interript it's speed.

If you're going to buy a Lexmoto look at the second hand market as there seems a ready supply of second hand Arrow's at anywhere between £500-600 or similar, there's a few higher than that but that's because there "in showroom condition" and are lemons purchased by people who don't like them after their gamble with the whole no test ride rule didn't work out, if you're buying new at £850 + OTR then go to a dealer for the warranty and first couple of services in the event anything goes wrong, not second hand.

I'd say Lexmoto bikes, or at least my Arrow, are suited to Town riding at under 40mph and you're never going anywhere in a rush. You have to really understand what it's like to have a bike that isn't capable of overtaking slower cars in front on exposed A roads and alike because the power isn't there, my Arrow isn't fun at times and I'd say it takes a certain type of person to be able to cope with such an incapable bike for extended periods of time. If you're looking at say six months or less until you pass your test and then will just part exchange it or sell it on then I'd say go second hand and you'll be in and out for a bargain price, be aware they don't sell at resale very high because they're so cheap and rust from new anyway so bee prepared if you do buy one to be selling it for cheap.

On the whole 125cc's are slow, Lexmoto's even more so and there's probably faster scooters out there than my Arrow. 8-9 bhp (from memory) from standard spec, there's no point attempting to upgrade that.. it is what it is.

As for bike I'd say if you can avoid the whole tiddler lark and just get something cheap on the second hand market with more power, sufficient brakes etc.

Once you pass your tests or ride a bigger bike, I rode a GS 500, and then got back on the Arrow I laughed in my helmet at how much of a childs bike it is and really wasn't for me, I had to adapt to riding it again and it just felt pants.

Just to keep it short, well, the worst thing I've had happen was one breakdown due to the way a poor PDI and crap factory assembly, the rest has just been small niggles. I'd say from memory I've had more bad rides on the bike than I have good ones and have hated it more than I have loved it. You have to take into account though that a poor ride when I started out could have been something like a clutch needing adjusting and I was a total lemon and went straight to the shop and said it felt funny while riding. My earlier memory's are not happy ones at all.

TLDR; Avoid 125's on the whole and get something with more power that you'll enjoy riding long term.

I'll probably add some more dependent on your response if any to this one but the above is just my initial ideas that spring to mind in things that need to be said.

But as above, if it's a tiddler get something better than a Lexmoto and then upgrade and if you can avoid all together do so unless you find that you're unable to afford the running costs of a bigger bike.

[Pigeon]