125 bike

Macky · 7 Sep 2011 at 22:05

I'm 16 a the mo on a 50cc hairdryer which I know you all love! (It is a 4 stroke though so not as annoying sounding) My Birthday is in March, a way off I know but just want to start looking for ideas for a 125 bike for when I'm 17. I'm not an idiot on the road so don't trying to start educating me etc. My moped is restricted and does 30mph which although is painful at times when travelling down a 40mph road, at least is legal.

Anyway, onto suggestions. I definitely want a dirt-bike style bike as well, they just look cooler IMO, more fun to ride, can go more places, lighter, higher up off the ground. I think the budget will be about £800 odd just for the bike, insurance etc doesn't matter at the moment. Any suggestions for a 125cc dirt bike for that kind of price range?

Cheers.

jon.bda · 8 Sep 2011 at 06:51

Are you wanting to stay four stroke or would two stroke be okay mate?. I'm thinking either DT125 or XR125, whatever you do...stay away from anything cheap and Chinese!!!

Macky · 8 Sep 2011 at 16:31

4 stroke definitely. Far less hassle and maintenance. You say stay away from Chinese but my dad's had a 200cc Shineray for 5 years (Chinese bike) and it hasn't failed him once so he tells me. Electric start has failed once he said and rear indicator needed replacing but other than that, it's still going strong.

How does something like this look?
Shineray GY125

PwnDirect · 8 Sep 2011 at 19:02

The main problem with the chinese stuff is although there very cheap, they dont hold there value at all ! and as most 125s are only bought for a couple of months, you lose quite a bit of money compared to the japense stuff.

A couple year old cg or ybr & you wont loose a penny on it as theres always decent demand.

Frozennova · 8 Sep 2011 at 21:05

In with a curve ball and a Honda City Fly? For me it'd be a DT125 as I love you Yamaha 2 Strokes still miss my TZR125 18 months on

VFR_KID · 9 Sep 2011 at 12:36

DT125 is a good choice. or if you want to go all strange check the Suzuki Van Van.

I had an 87 DT125 and have a decent height on them

Macky · 12 Sep 2011 at 23:37

Hmm thinking more towards a 2 stroke now as they definitely seem more powerful and both the Yamaha DT125 and Honda XR125 look excellent.

Macky · 13 Sep 2011 at 17:00

Which bike would be better do you guys think? A Yamaha XT 125 or a Yamaha DT 125? The XT is 4 stroke whilst the DT being a 2 stroke so I'd expect the XT to be pushing about 80+ miles to the gallon however MCN only says it gets 55 miles to the gallon which is worse than it's 2 stroke brother which gets 60 miles to the gallon according to them. Any thoughts?

Also would there be noticeably more power on the DT as it has 2-3 more BHP and is a 2 stroke. I think I'd be more inclined for the DT as there are more of them (cheaper) and it will have slightly more power and still have decent miles to gallon.

Morbius · 13 Sep 2011 at 19:08

On Fuelly there's one XT125R and it's averaging 80mpg. I think the 55mpg figure is wrong - it sounds too low for a four stroke 125.

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/russxt/xt125r

You won't notice 2-3hp. I'd get the XT because a four stroke will be less hassle and requires less maintenance. You won't need to keep adding two stroke oil.

atpbx · 13 Sep 2011 at 19:34

DT125r.

You can also twist the YPVS valve around in the head and derstrict it when you go off road.

Macky · 13 Sep 2011 at 20:18

I have a 4 stroke 50cc now and it's just hideously underpowered. I don't want that to be the case when I get a 125 too.

Morbius · 13 Sep 2011 at 21:14

Macky said:
I have a 4 stroke 50cc now and it's just hideously underpowered. I don't want that to be the case when I get a 125 too.

It's underpowered because it's 50cc!

If there's only 2-3 hp difference between the two 125s you are looking at, it's not enough to even worry about.

Macky · 13 Sep 2011 at 21:22

So you think the XT could reach 70 without much fuss? That's as fast as I want to go I think.

Apparently the DT uses 0.5-1 litre of fuel for every 100KM I think it was KM anyway compared to the XT. So won't be paying that much more for petty. Dunno how much 2 stroke oil it eats though and how expensive it is. Do you need to mix it yourself for the DT or just pop it in and it mixes itself?

meh? · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:08

Get a rs125 i had one and loved it.

Morbius · 14 Sep 2011 at 10:55

Macky said:
So you think the XT could reach 70 without much fuss? That's as fast as I want to go I think.

Apparently the DT uses 0.5-1 litre of fuel for every 100KM I think it was KM anyway compared to the XT. So won't be paying that much more for petty. Dunno how much 2 stroke oil it eats though and how expensive it is. Do you need to mix it yourself for the DT or just pop it in and it mixes itself?

My Yamaha YBR125 did 70. It didn't do much more than that though. Bear in mind that any learner legal two stroke 125 you buy will be similar because they are restricted in order to meet the learner bike regs.

As for the two stroke oil, I have no idea. Some bikes have a separate tank for it, some don't. You'd have to check.

buchtis · 14 Sep 2011 at 12:21

Don't mean to jack but if you get, say a RS 125 and have it de-restricted, would it fail it's MOT?

Morbius · 14 Sep 2011 at 14:31

buchtis said:
Don't mean to jack but if you get, say a RS 125 and have it de-restricted, would it fail it's MOT?

No idea. If it was fitted with L plates then there might be an issue, but I don't know whether you'd fail an MOT over it or not.

Macky · 14 Sep 2011 at 20:41

Pretty sure it doesn't fail it's MOT as it is still road legal. Plenty of people I know have derestricted 50's MOT'd and passed.

Frozennova · 15 Sep 2011 at 01:04

Wont fail an MOT, my TZR was fitted with servo etc so ~30bhp, MOT never said anything, it did a ton side by side with a mates bandit.

Macky · 15 Sep 2011 at 22:21

How often do you think it would need maintaining other then regular oil and 2 stroke oil and cleaning etc? I've read you should get a new piston every year for 2 strokes, is this true?