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Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new

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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 10:17 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Well, 2 months in from buying the bike new, apart from trapped wires under the seat causing the fuse to blow when braking (I easily fixed that & rerouted the wires myself), the bike seems just fine.

With 2600 km (approx. 1600 miles) now on the clock I'm averaging around 107 mpg including a mixture of commuting 6 miles to & from work & occasional pleasure riding on open, uncongested roads & I'm not particularly gentle on the throttle.

The engine does seem quite noisy when running at higher revs though (8500 upward), but as I haven't ridden any other 125cc bikes at all apart from on the day I did my CBT & my only other bike was a FS1-E some 40 odd years ago, I have no other experience to compare against.
Maybe the valve clearances now need adjusting or the noise is to be expected for a 125cc bike?

It has been left outside in the rain a few times & no signs of rust yet.
I will be getting some ACF-50 for over the winter period though.

As the bike forces an upright seating position (my preference anyway) I have now added a screen that really helps to divert wind away from my chest & it also seems to have added around 5mph to the top end speed.
Wind noise at head level has increased a bit though (not too much to consider it a problem though).

I weigh a bit over 14.5 stones & speedo indicated top speed on a flat road with no wind is just over 75mph, but it does take a while to get to that speed.
Comparing speed indicated by a sat Nav, the top speed is probably more like 68 to 70mph in reality.
A roadside speed indicator I pass frequently states 27 mph when the speedo on the bike indicates 30 mph

When/if I get a full licence I wouldn't really feel too uncomfortable on a motorway, acknowledging I'd be spending most of the time in the nearside lane with the lorries.

The bike seems very happy to run for extended periods at speedo indicated speeds of 55 mph to 60 mph, which suits me on the sort of roads I generally ride along.
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Ste
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PostPosted: 10:22 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Your avatar will cause offence so fix it before a mod fixes it for you. Razz
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 10:23 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Cool Thumbs Up
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 10:30 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ste wrote:
Your avatar will cause offence so fix it before a mod fixes it for you. Razz


Question Question Question
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Ste
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PostPosted: 10:31 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's animated.
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 10:48 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ste wrote:
It's animated.


Didn't realise that was a problem.

Sorted now. Smile
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 13:01 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
mpd72 wrote:
A strange one this. I thought the thread was about a district on the outskirts of Huddersfield and it's postcode.
Although that would be Honley HD9

I wonder of they have any other models in the range?

How about a Slaithwaite HD7? Wink



For those who don't know (I didn't until I bought the bike) Honley is a large village in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield, and on the banks of the River Holme in the Holme Valley. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 5,897.

The dealer & UK distributor of Honley bikes that I bought it from is Earnshaws, in Huddersfield postcode HD1 3LE.

The Honley range includes 125cc Classic (CG125 clone), HD1, HD2, HD3, based on Yamaha YB & YBR 125cc models, a scooter named Oliver & a 250cc 'adventure' bike named Venturer.

https://www.honley.bike/



At least one of the brothers who own Earnshaws does indeed live in Honley village & one of the children or grandchildren of one of the brothers is named Oliver.

So your question isn't actually as daft as it may have first appeared (to some readers). Smile


When viewing the bike, I was informed that they are made in the same factory in China that makes the Yamaha YBR 125 & that it is basically a Yamaha YB 125, branded as Honley to include subtle changes & quality improvements as requested & monitored by Earnshaws.



I live on the proper side of the Pennines (Lancashire), but I spotted Earnshaws when taking Mrs. Eagle to work in Huddersfield
a few times when her car was off the road.


PS. are you local to Slaithwaite & therefore know how to pronounce it properly Question
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 13:28 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
mpd72 wrote:

So to answer your question, yes, it's pronounced "Sloughitt" Wink


Well done that man!

There's a decent chippy there that still does scraps in a bag free of charge (the tasty, crunchy spare bits of batter off the fish), but they laughed at me, the bar stewards, when I also asked for a buttered muffin.
Apparently that's something different to a Yorkshireman than a Lancastrian. Laughing
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 13:38 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Bald_Eagle1 wrote:
When/if I get a full licence I wouldn't really feel too uncomfortable on a motorway.

I think you're getting 'too uncomfortable' mixed up with 'occasionally scared shitless' Laughing

If you'd ridden anything larger than a 125, you'd appreciate how much better it can be and for not dissimilar money.
Pretty much everyone here would recommend doing your full licence asap (the disagreement would probably be about how big to go when you've got it).
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 13:54 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Bald_Eagle1 wrote:
Well, 2 months in from buying the bike new, apart from trapped wires under the seat causing the fuse to blow when braking (I easily fixed that & rerouted the wires myself), the bike seems just fine.



Is this what modern 125/young/Chinese bike riders find acceptable nowadays. A brand new bike that needs its wiring rerouted but thats OK, the bike seems just fine. Evil or Very Mad

When I first started riding in the early days of Jap machinery (which some people are comparing with nowadays being the early days of Chinese machinery) you wouldn't tolerate basic fuck ups like that.

get so annoyed when I read statements like that.
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 14:53 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:

Pretty much everyone here would recommend doing your full licence asap (the disagreement would probably be about how big to go when you've got it).



The plan is to get the full licence at some stage, but it's not my highest priority at this stage.

As it's a bright, sunny day today, I'll be out on the bike for an hour or so this afternoon but TBH, as I'm getting on in years & I do suffer from some arthritis, I'm highly likely to be a mainly fair weather rider, using the car for colder wetter weather.

I do intend to keep the 125 anyway for commuting, possibly/probably also having a much bigger bike for playing out on at weekends/touring etc.

Mrs. Eagle isn't a big bike fan, but she does fancy touring around somewhere warm (France/Spain/Italy) on something like a Gold Wing or other similar beast.
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 15:10 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Bald_Eagle1 wrote:
The plan is to get the full licence at some stage, but it's not my highest priority at this stage.

As it's a bright, sunny day today, I'll be out on the bike for an hour or so this afternoon but TBH, as I'm getting on in years & I do suffer from some arthritis, I'm highly likely to be a mainly fair weather rider, using the car for colder wetter weather.

I do intend to keep the 125 anyway for commuting, possibly/probably also having a much bigger bike for playing out on at weekends/touring etc.


Without knowing what your commute consists of it's difficult to make a definitive comment, but as an older biker (My FS1E-DX time was nearly 40 years back) that also suffers from a bad back and 'some arthritis' I can assure you that a bigger bike shouldn't be anything except better all round.
I'm not fussed about the temperature too much (unless it's seriously cold) as you can dress for it but I hate the wet weather and use a car instead of a bike when that's an issue.
But a larger bike is IMO much more stable.

If I hadn't commuted by train/tube I'd have used a 250+ sized bike rather than a 125 which IMO is just that bit too small to be safe unless your journey is from one side of central London to the other side of central London where you spend more time at traffic lights than actually moving.

Find a training school that will let you have a ride of their larger bikes and you'll understand exactly what I mean... and you'll be signing up for your DAS before you leave them Laughing
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 15:32 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Polarbear wrote:
Bald_Eagle1 wrote:
Well, 2 months in from buying the bike new, apart from trapped wires under the seat causing the fuse to blow when braking (I easily fixed that & rerouted the wires myself), the bike seems just fine.



Is this what modern 125/young/Chinese bike riders find acceptable nowadays. A brand new bike that needs its wiring rerouted but thats OK, the bike seems just fine. Evil or Very Mad

When I first started riding in the early days of Jap machinery (which some people are comparing with nowadays being the early days of Chinese machinery) you wouldn't tolerate basic fuck ups like that.

get so annoyed when I read statements like that.



I'm not actually a modern, young rider. Indeed I had my 59th birthday earlier this month.

I did say apart from trapped wires................

That wasn't really acceptable as you say, but the fix only took me a few minutes to find & fix , which was much quicker than taking the bike in for repair under the warranty.
Had it been something more serious such as failed brakes, gearbox, steering etc. I would have had a much different opinion.


I don't consider cheap Chinese copy bikes in the same league as early Jap bikes that despite all the doom & gloom merchants I recall hearing back in the 1970's, were actually designed & were built to be better quality & more reliable than British bikes such as Triumph, BSA etc.

Back then, as with the car industry, British bike manufacturers were too complacent to see Jap cars/bikes as any sort of threat & we all know how things actually panned out.

As I've not been at all interested in bikes for the last 40 years or so, I wasn't really aware that Triumph were making bikes again until very recently.
I can only assume that their piss poor reputation for leaky, smelly unreliable bikes back in the 70's has now been addressed. Question
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 15:52 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:

If I hadn't commuted by train/tube I'd have used a 250+ sized bike rather than a 125 which IMO is just that bit too small to be safe unless your journey is from one side of central London to the other side of central London where you spend more time at traffic lights than actually moving.


My commute is only 3 miles from my semi-rural home location to the centre of Oldham.
In the car during rush hour, that journey can sometimes take almost 1 hour.

Due to now being able to filter past most of the stationary traffic when on the bike, it only takes around 10 to 15 minutes.


Any other riding I have been/will be doing has been at weekends and in the evenings after the traffic has died down again.

From my reading since I got the bike, the consensus does indeed appear to be that a bigger/heavier 250 cc bike would be more stable etc.
I'm not completely ruling out getting one, but I do actually enjoy riding my little Honley.
I'm sort of O.K. now, but I was as wobbly as fook at low speed on it for the first couple of weeks. Embarassed
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 18:26 - 26 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Bald_Eagle1 wrote:
Polarbear wrote:

Is this what modern 125/young/Chinese bike riders find acceptable nowadays. A brand new bike that needs its wiring rerouted but thats OK, the bike seems just fine. Evil or Very Mad

When I first started riding in the early days of Jap machinery (which some people are comparing with nowadays being the early days of Chinese machinery) you wouldn't tolerate basic fuck ups like that.

get so annoyed when I read statements like that.



I'm not actually a modern, young rider. Indeed I had my 59th birthday earlier this month.

I did say apart from trapped wires................

That wasn't really acceptable as you say, but the fix only took me a few minutes to find & fix , which was much quicker than taking the bike in for repair under the warranty.
Had it been something more serious such as failed brakes, gearbox, steering etc. I would have had a much different opinion.


I don't consider cheap Chinese copy bikes in the same league as early Jap bikes that despite all the doom & gloom merchants I recall hearing back in the 1970's, were actually designed & were built to be better quality & more reliable than British bikes such as Triumph, BSA etc.

Back then, as with the car industry, British bike manufacturers were too complacent to see Jap cars/bikes as any sort of threat & we all know how things actually panned out.

As I've not been at all interested in bikes for the last 40 years or so, I wasn't really aware that Triumph were making bikes again until very recently.
I can only assume that their piss poor reputation for leaky, smelly unreliable bikes back in the 70's has now been addressed. Question


This wasn't a dig at you, it was a dig at what people seem to find acceptable from Chinese bikes or more to the point, what Chinese bike makers deem acceptable.

And yes, Triumphs dont leak oil anymore. You need an Enfield if you want that nostalgia. Laughing
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 14:13 - 27 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Polarbear wrote:
And yes, Triumphs dont leak oil anymore. You need an Enfield if you want that nostalgia. Laughing

Bah, mine's oil tight at the moment. I'd gotten used to it marking its territory.

That "Honley", is that a Jianshe made bike? If so, it might be a perfectly decent ride, if looked after.
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 17:32 - 27 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
Polarbear wrote:
And yes, Triumphs dont leak oil anymore. You need an Enfield if you want that nostalgia. Laughing

Bah, mine's oil tight at the moment.

Are you sure?
May be wise to check the oil level before you use it next Laughing
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linuxyeti
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PostPosted: 18:13 - 27 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Polarbear wrote:

And yes, Triumphs dont leak oil anymore. You need an Enfield if you want that nostalgia. Laughing


To be fair, I don't have any oil leak issues with my 350 Bullet either .
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Bald_Eagle1
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PostPosted: 21:50 - 27 Nov 2016    Post subject: Re: Honley HD3 SE - 2 months of ownership from new Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:

That "Honley", is that a Jianshe made bike? If so, it might be a perfectly decent ride, if looked after.


From the bike's VIN, it is confirmed that it was made by FOSHAN NANHAI ZHONGMO SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD

From their website:-

"Foshan Nanhai Zhongmo Science and Technology (TIANDA MOTORCYCLE) Co., Ltd. is one of the most important Chinese motorcycles offers and exporter bases of JIANSHE Group.

Our company has a well-equipped assembling plant with two international advanced lines, engine plant, coating plant, technical center and testing center with standard testing lines and top-grade packing lines. The annual output has reached 300,000 pieces of motorcycles and 500,000 pieces of engines.

We have already passed ISO9001 and obtained China compulsory certification (3C). "Jianshe", "Tianda" are our brands."


Poking around their website, I found that my Honley HD3 SE is listed as a YAMAHA Corporate Chopper.

The Honley HD1 & HD2 are listed as YAMAHA corporate K series bikes, which as far as I can tell are, for all intents & purposes, rebranded YBR 125s.

Yamaha YBR 125 & Yamaha YB 125 bikes are also made in the same factory.

My bike seems to be basically a Yamaha YB 125 SP, with some slightly different features when branded as a Honley.

So, should it really be classed as a Japanese bike made in China, a British bike made in China for Earnshaws of Huddersfield & branded as a Honley or an out & out Chinese bike?

Whatever it is, it only cost £1495 on the road (less that 1/2 the price of a YBR 125 Custom & still cheaper than a 6 year old YBR 125 Custom), with 2 years warranty (year 1 parts & labour & year 2 parts only).
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linuxyeti
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PostPosted: 23:10 - 27 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi

Reading reviews, Honley seem to have pretty favourable reviews. I have the Venturer (RX-3), and upto now, I've had no issues, and it's getting ridden in some pretty cack weather !!
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 09:56 - 28 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Your RX-3 is a Zongshen bike though. There's little point in making collective statements about Honley, Lexmoto, WK or any of the other multi-marque rebadgers. It's the individual model that matters.

Fortunately, both your Zongshen and OP's Jianshe seem to be pretty decent examples.
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linuxyeti
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PostPosted: 15:53 - 28 Nov 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
No, I know it's a different manufacturer, I was using it to show that they appear to source their bikes well
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