best learner legal 125????

[dtmaster]

Im 17 in a couple of monthes and i ve been lookin a 125's. can ne one give any advice on the best ones? performance, reliabilty etc
would probably be looking at around a 1995 model as i m not exactly loaded. i ve been lookin at mitos's, nsr's and rs's anybody got anything to say bout them or others like that????

Cheers Ross

[Kickstart]

Hi

Where do you live, what kind of roads will you be using it on, how far will you be commuting on it and how many miles will you be doing?
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Irdawood the 2nd]

I dont know about the other bikes, but the one i do have experiance on.. the NSR has never let me down. Ive had the odd problem but thats expected, and any other problems i have had really been my stupid fault.

I dont think its as fast as an RS or the Mito but then again its only a 125, Personally i think its the best looker in the range.
The way i see it, is go for what your gut feeling is telling you, and yeah its wise not to spend too much on the 125 just a starter til you get your first big bike

[Flip]

Has to be the NSR 125 surely. Looks great, doesn't sound to whiney and they're more fun than a sack of monkeys. Huge smile factor.

[ZaphodBeeble]

I agree, NSR 125 all the way!
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Current bike: VTR1000F Firestorm. Previous: Firestorm (written off) - XJ600 Divvy - NSR125 - DT125 and a load of offroaders.

[priller]

[Ian (GPX)]

Best learner legal bike....

This depends on your height ....

NS125R/F ....... it's a bit bigger than the NSR125 so would be better for those that are 5'10" or taller.

[1cyl]

What ever you get, don't get a cbr or cg, best bet is probably a NSR, RG, DT or RS, never owned them, but people i know people who have and they seem/seemed quite content. .
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Chase my Witch up, Catch my Snitch up.
The SMC | The Pit | Stable

[Ste]

Depends on what you want it for, and your plans for it. I'd say spend less than £1,000 on an older NSR125 or an NS125 if you want it for college/ commuting and generally getting around.

Nothing wrong with a CG125 for stuff, but will stop accelerating at around 70-75mph which isn't much at all. Don't get a CBR125 as it's essentially a CG125 with shiny expensive fairings to break when you drop it.

[monkeyman]

I know you said learner legal, but i bought my nsr about month ago and it was restricted the performance wasn't that great. So i derestricted it and now i have the biggest smile on my face when ever i ride it . I wouldn't go back to what it was. Anyway you should consider an italian import even though there de-restricted because there much cheaper and there are quite a few importers so you will get a warranty with your bike,and you will proberably derestrict a restricted bike anyway. The only down side is your insurance will proberably be a bit more expensive than if it wasn't import.

I'm sure most of these guys will tell you that the police don't really care if its derestricted and the only way they would be able tell if its derestricted is if they put it on a dyno.

If i had known how good they are derestricted i would have just got an import
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Im not the best, but im in the top one
RM 250, Husky TE610, K1 GSXR 750

[Ste]

Import bikes are hassle. Lots of hassle.

They might be "derestricted", but derestricting a UK bike isn't hard. Plus foreign bikes have strange electrical restrictions in the CDI and other places. Plus other annoying stuff like the clocks being in KPH and the lights being wrong.

UK bikes are a much better choice.

[monkeyman]

I don't think its really that much hassel. You can just put stickers on the clock so you know how fast your going. And i'm pretty sure that only the imported NSR that has eletrical restriction is the RR which has CDI restriction. I'm not sure what your talking about with the lights but if you buy it from a Uk dealer then its almost certain that light will be uk legal.

Anyway the point was that there cheaper in general than uk bikes

My friend has an import Cagiva Mito and he has had no problems with it.

i'm not really sure if I'm right but if you ring a dealer I'm sure they will clear it all up for you. (ITALIAN TRADE DIRECT 01827 717478)
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Im not the best, but im in the top one
RM 250, Husky TE610, K1 GSXR 750

[MarJay]

Monkeyman,
Be very careful advising people to go for derestricted bikes, don't forget that you are telling them to break the law.

If anyone wants to ride a derestricted 125 on L plates then they can... they just have to know what they are doing. It should be up to them.

Secondly imports are a nightmare because although you /can/ stick stickers over the clocks, they will not be illuminated at night and probably won't be all that accurate. The headlights will dip the wrong way and lots of dealers know this but do not change it. They don't have to worry because if the bike is less than 3 years old it doesn't need an MOT, but the owner will be in for a shock when it does come around to MOT time!

Also, as Ste said, Imports (especially 125's from italy) are often restricted in a more fundamental way than UK bikes. A new rider might prefer to ride a restrcted bike for a few weeks/months until they are happy, before derestricting it too.

Not having a go, you just seem to be arguing your opinion as if it should be gospel, when there are many sides to this particular coin.

In short, unless you know what you are doing, go with a UK bike.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Ste]

[cliff]

I am also 17 in a couple of months, i am going with the NSR125 for the reliability factor. It's all very well getting a nice italian quick bike on import, but italian engineering is the worst in the world in my opinion. I have owned a gilera dna50 for almost a year now, and i've had so much trouble with it its unbelievable, go with japanese, you cant go wrong............good luck with the search mate.

Cliff
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Sweet reggae music.

[cagiva gezzer]

My Cagiva supercity is official, but it might as well be an import.

KPH clocks - after 2 minutes with a calculator and a week or so riding it you soon work out 50=30, 65=40, 80=50, 100=60, 112=70, 160=100. For some reason i've never bothered about 80?!

Lights- Mine failed its MOT, but a couple of minutes with some sticky sheet cured that.

Yes they are cheaper, but also more hassle. No 125 is going to be hassle free, esp 2nd hand ones.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Fuddymumpster]

Gey youself a Gilera Coguar, cruiser style with a 4 stroke engine which makes them sound a lot meaner than any other 125.

[SARS]

I believe light modified 2 stoke 150cc bike may have better performace than 400cc 4 stoke original setting bike...

[MarJay]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Personally I would not be too worried about an import, but you need to have your eyes open. Most older Italian imports would never have been restricted (until recently it was pretty much only the UK that had a power limit for learners, although Germany had a 27hp limit for insurance purposes). It is only on the recent models that there have been quite nasty restrictions on some markets bikes. There are also the German market bikes restricted to 80kmh.

On the older round headlight NSR I think the headlights are fine as they do not dip in any particular direction. Kmh clocks have never worried me, but then I do have a car and several bikes with kmh clocks.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Ste]

[Bendy]

[bish777]

get a ratty old CG125, ride it around for six months and go and pass your test, dont waste your time on 125s!

Once you pass your test jump onto a good 400cc bike, i heartily recmmend the 400 bandit! 'Fast' 125s are great till you encounter a hill, strong headwind or you try to carry a pillion. No substitute for CCs frankly.

Two stroke 250 race reps are ok until they blow up and you have to take on a full time job to pay for all the two stroke oil, rebores, pistons, crank bearing and seals rebuilds.....

As for insurance, ride safe, get a few years no claims and its not too bad even for a 19 year old, i was riding a FZ750 Genesis at 19, 330 third party f+t. (Now 24, on a GSXR 1100 G)

[8316]

considering the thread title is "learner legal"- i would agree with bish777. a cg, or even a gs is a good "learner" bike to thrash. just make sure you quickly change it for some more speed and power like the others say, an NSR!
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Now own a Fireblade!! Speed Limits? Bah!

[JakeyC]

dont forget that the nsr 125 is not made in the uk any more so if you want a first hand one then it is going to have to be an import