First bike

[csn]

Hi evryone, I'm about to do the CBT near Bristol and I've been seeing some 125cc online, I've seen a Huoniao HN 125-8 for about 500£ online with about 7000 miles.

For your experience, would it be a good bike to learn/practice and commute before trying to take the DAS for A license?

All the best, good rides.

[Rogerborg]

If you're going to get a 125 (I wouldn't - just go straight to DAS), you could do worse. It's a very basic bike, not quick, but very easy to ride and service. There's a helpful owners' forum too: https://www.huoniao-owners.co.uk/forum/

I imagine it'll be 7000km / 4500 miles.

Things to look out for:

Flaking chrome, particularly on the fork stanchions.
Rusty exhausts.
Check for cracks on the RHS exhaust hangar, where the brake pedal pivot goes through it.
The sidestand switch wiring runs via a connector block placed right under the bike. It will corrode: grease it, bypass it with a straight run of wiring, or just remove the switch.

Other than that, just the usual issue with any 125, that of being Barried by previous owners to try and eke another 5mph out of it, or neglected.

Haggle every penny off the price and check insurance prices before committing through - you may find yourself paying more than a YBR or CBF, which will quickly eat into the savings over a Japanese branded bike.
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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

[MahatmaAndhi]

Most will say don't touch Chinese. Stick with Japanese. A lot of Chinese bikes have questionable quality and parts are often difficult to come by as the factory who manufactured it probably won't exist tomorrow. That said, I had a Zontes and it was quite good. I ended up selling it for more than I bought it for after 8 months.
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2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250

[Ste]

Do your DAS rather than wasting time wobbling around on a tiddler.

[Val]

Friend of mine got Huoniao HN 125-8. He keet it outside and ride it all year. It starts every day and rides fine. What more you can ask from 125?

Huoniao HN 125-8 have the reputation for one of the best Chinese bikes.
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Adrian Monk: Unless I'm wrong, which, you know, I'm not...
Yamaha Fazer FZS 600, MT09, XSR 900

[csn]

Thanks for your replies, I'm still looking for other bikes, geared ones, for what I've seen will always be from 600£ up.

I want to try the DAS in the future, but at least for now if I've searched well, getting something like a 500cc to ride in the city traffic to the work, would spend more fuel when comparing to a 125cc, and it would deteriorate faster. Also, I don't have enough money for the bigger bike insurance

The best price I could get for the bike, legal and ready to ride was 550£ (it was missing the MOT). Finishing the deal, I'll have to take really good care of her, like everyone does.
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Just love bikes

[Ste]

I'd expect a £550 125cc to deteriorate much faster than a 500cc commuter. And that £550 bike hasn't been MOTed for a reason.

You might find that insurance on a big bike is cheaper than insurance for a 125 because 125's are frequently crashed by kids on L plates and insurance is all about statistics.

[csn]

[Ste]

Having only ridden a bike once isn't a problem as DAS courses are intended to take someone from never having ridden a motorcycle before in their life to having a full big boys license.

Big bikes are easier to ride than tiddlers.

When you've done your CBT have a chat with the instructor about the time and costs involved with getting a full license. They might be willing to let you try riding one of their DAS bikes around the carpark to give you an idea of what bigger bikes are like to ride and to show you that they're not harder to control.

On the basis that you'll be getting a full license at some point, there's nothing to gain from putting it off.

[MahatmaAndhi]

I feel so much safer on my bigger bike than the 125. I wobbled all over the place in wind. It was scary at times. On my Kawasaki, I feel much more grounded. There's less wobbling, it's easier to handle. The insurance is cheaper by around £30 a year. But the tax is £43 more expensive
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2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250

[Rogerborg]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[csn]

Thanks for all your comments. Guess I didn't searched that well about the fuel saving.

About the feeling of the bike, I assume that riding from start a bigger bike scares me a "bit". I'll try to do as Ste told, and ask if I can try riding a DAS bike after passing the CBT.

Nonetheless, I still have to save some money for the DAS course, now I have enough for the CBT, bike, etc.

As trevor saxe-coburg-gotha said, I prefer to start with a smaller bike, and get some experience. Better than nothing

Meanwhile, I'm gonna do my best to save enough money to be able to take the DAS and buy a 500cc before the CBT expires.

Rogerborg, about the bike I saw online, I'll try to know the name today, the seller is Peter. Do you know about any problems with the bike if it's from Vincent?
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Just love bikes

[Rogerborg]

You're OK, I'm just checking that it's not from Bike-Onic or a similar dodgy dealer.

I wouldn't jump at an HN125, and certainly not before you've done your CBT and tried something bigger.

Bigger bike are really not a problem. I actually swapped my HN125 for a GPZ500S, rode there on the 125, rode away on the 500, and I was feeling comfortable on the bigger bike within minutes.
____________________
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

[csn]

[Azoth]

Everything about motorbikes is like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNb6qFZ3PSw

The video shows stick (of a certain length) techniques and strategies vs sword (of a certain type). One has the advantage of being sharp and needing less force to be deadly. The other has the advantage of having more reach and being grippable in both hands along its whole length. With basic training, both would be sufficient to deal with an angry dog. That's the level of 'not being a hazard on the road', i.e. test standard. But pitched against each other, they are approximately balanced, as long as the wielder fully understands the strengths and weaknesses of his own weapon. That's the master standard.
No matter whether you start with one or the other, you start at the basic, test-worthy level. But to fully master your weapon takes time and commitment and a lot of practice.
As mentioned in a different post, there's a German called Schaaf on Youtube who can make his Honda CB500 pelt around everywhere, as fast as anything. Likewise, there's someone called Harys who can do the same with his Kawasaki ER5. That's the master standard, where the choice of weapon itself isn't a factor at all - only the skill of the wielder with that particular weapon.

What's your ultimate goal? Is it to be basically competent and not a hazard on the road, to get to work fast and to visit new places occasionally? Then you don't need the master standard. It's like a big class full of people. Some will just want the basics, so they can fend off wild dogs when camping. Others will want to push themselves to the limits. But, as beginners, they both need to train to the get to the basic standard, first. However long they take to get there, or how much it costs, varies according to the individual and it can't be one-size-fits-all.
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Safety in numbers

[Alpineandy]

If you're old enough to do your DAS then you really should as soon as you can. It opens up a world of bike options rather than limiting you to the usually overpriced 125 market.
As for insurance, 125 is very expensive for what it is. I guess doing a training course (CBT) isn't as good as passing an actual test (DAS) so you'll be surprised how cheap a 500cc (or less) is compared to a 125.

As for maintenance/running costs, drive a 250/500 at similar speeds/acceleration as you would a 125 (if you can ) and you're stressing it much less.

Obviously the temptation is to pass your DAS and buy a supersport, but if you can control that impulse then a big bike makes a lot of sense financially (provided you don't buy it on finance).
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The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me.

[csn]

Tawny, my objective for now, it's just for commute to work, nothing extreme, and to get experience with gears. In the future I'd like to have a bigger bike, that would allow me to do some weekend tours to know new places. I'm not seeing myself speeding with the bike or pushing it (that I feel a bit safer doing on a car).

Alpineandy, I'm 31, I've seen the DAS, but for now it's too expensive for me.

Like someone told on a previous post, I feel more comfortable practising first and, as soon as I can, get the full license to avoid paying 120£ every 2years for the CBT, and to be able to carry pillions.

Now I just have to do my best to pass the CBT and ride a lot to get some experience.

I'll have to see if I can take some time in the weekends to meet some more bikers in Bristol area after buying a bike, and learn some things.
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Just love bikes

[Rogerborg]

Fair enough, it's a perfectly viable route. I had a laugh on a 125 for a year before moving up, I even got some (sedate) touring done on it.
____________________
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

[csn]

[csn]

[Rogerborg]

[csn]

[csn]

I should have the deal made on the Huoniao...and now I have a doubt about the registration and tax.

Do I have to go to the DVLA to get the bike in my name and pay the tax or can it be done online?

Can anyone please enlighten me about how it works?
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Just love bikes

[Fizzoid]

I thought you had to send documents off to the DVLA to get it registered?