125cc for 18 year old - help please!

kae2

kae2

kae2

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Hey Everyone,

This is very much a thread of noob that knows nothing, :eek: so I apologise now!

My friends son has had a 50cc twist and go moped thing (Kymco ZX50 IIRC) for the last 14 months and it has now died a death. Two weeks ago it had an engine rebuild, now the transmission is apparently fubared due to a previous owner using non-standard "performance" :rolleyes: parts, and the garage are advising that fixing this thing is going to be a never-ending money pit as it's difficult to get parts and ageing (I'm inclined to believe them, they don't sell bikes and seemed fairly knowledgeable).

So, with a budget of £1000, which 125cc would you recommend (as he's now 17, nearly 18 and 6ft 2 and probably the best part of 17 stone)? The garage recommended "any Japanese bike", but I'd like some recommendations from you guys that actually ride/have ridden them.

I can strip and rebuild a car, but having never ridden petrol-powered two wheels, I'm rather at a loss here!

Thanks for any help :cool:


Andy.
 
For his size I'd suggest a Varadero but you'd need to double your budget unfortunately.
 
I'd be looking at non sports style bikes such as CG125's and the like then.
I'm 6'1" and was heavier than he is at the time I did my CBT and I fit on one.
 
Hmm handy with spanners, may i suggest an italian 2 stroke ^.^? Aprilia RS125/Cagiva Mito 125, very nice if they are looked after and a nice size for someone around 6ft. Or Japanese theres the Honda NSR 125, a lot smaller/thinner but a tad more reliable or maybe a Yamaha TZR 125.
 
I'm handy with spanners, but he isn't!

He has only ridden "twist 'n' go" bikes until now. Are any of these bikes based on that transmission or are they manual?

Thanks for all your help,

Andy.
 
They are manual, if its twist n go hes after then he is probably better off going with another scooter, or if its a bike "look?" hes after then a Gilera DNA 125 is the only automatic "bike" i know of, not much of a looker imo but not a scooter. Hope this helps :P
 
kae2 said:
Are any of these bikes based on that transmission or are they manual?
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There manual.

Learning to ride a manual is so easy to do, hell, it's the kind of thing you can pick up just farting around in a field.

Ide also go with the CG 125 recommendation, they can be picked up silly cheap, theres no body work to mangle when the inevitable "off" occurs, mechanically there bomb proof & uncomplicated to work on.

Honda CG 125's on ebay
 
If he wants to stick with Twist & Go then a Gilera 125 scooter is what he/you want, They do 75 flat out so will sit at 60mph all day long & need very little maintenance.

The so called sensible options are the Honda CG125 & the Yamaha YBR125 which can all be had in varying states but are pretty indestructible due to the under tuned (:() 4 stroke engines, They really are crap though & thrashing the knackers off one gets you to about 65mph so 50-55mph is there real cruising speed. I have a 11 plate YBR125 for hire bike & it's complete crap & dismall to ride.

If you want your Son to have something he will love & learn on/with then you cannot beat an Aprillia125RR a Cagiva Mito or an HondaNSR Foxeye all 2 strokes though so he'll need to learn about top end rebuilds & will need to stay on top of his fluids/maintenance. These bikes will top 85mph & will go up to near a 100 with illegal tuning but for reliabilty you want a Bog standard one that's been run on the best 2 stroke oil money can buy.

Summary.
For instant riding & minimal maintenance & ease of use & riding then go for a well looked after Gilera 125 Scooter.
Forget about the 4 stroke 125's as the are dismal & absolutely no fun at all.
Or get a 125 2 stroke that will not only look superb but will handle up there with the best of them & will have the brakes to stop quick as well.
There is no argument as far as I am concerned the Cagiva Mito Evo I or II 125 is the best looking 125 on the road. There is also no doubt that the Aprillia is the fastest 125 & to finish it off I'd say although the Honda NSR125 is the slowest & ugliest out of the 3 it is the most reliable.
 
Hyosung GT125, I had one and my friend now has one he is learning on, great first bike :)

Might not find a great condition for £1k though....
 
4T5 said:
If he wants to stick with Twist & Go then a Gilera 125 scooter is what he/you want, They do 75 flat out so will sit at 60mph all day long & need very little maintenance.

The so called sensible options are the Honda CG125 & the Yamaha YBR125 which can all be had in varying states but are pretty indestructible due to the under tuned (:() 4 stroke engines, They really are crap though & thrashing the knackers off one gets you to about 65mph so 50-55mph is there real cruising speed. I have a 11 plate YBR125 for hire bike & it's complete crap & dismall to ride.

If you want your Son to have something he will love & learn on/with then you cannot beat an Aprillia125RR a Cagiva Mito or an HondaNSR Foxeye all 2 strokes though so he'll need to learn about top end rebuilds & will need to stay on top of his fluids/maintenance. These bikes will top 85mph & will go up to near a 100 with illegal tuning but for reliabilty you want a Bog standard one that's been run on the best 2 stroke oil money can buy.

Summary.
For instant riding & minimal maintenance & ease of use & riding then go for a well looked after Gilera 125 Scooter.
Forget about the 4 stroke 125's as the are dismal & absolutely no fun at all.
Or get a 125 2 stroke that will not only look superb but will handle up there with the best of them & will have the brakes to stop quick as well.
There is no argument as far as I am concerned the Cagiva Mito Evo I or II 125 is the best looking 125 on the road. There is also no doubt that the Aprillia is the fastest 125 & to finish it off I'd say although the Honda NSR125 is the slowest & ugliest out of the 3 it is the most reliable.
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pretty much sums it up, but im pretty sure the mito is a tad faster, and as far as illegal tuning to hit 90-100, all that is needed is a simple de-restriction(most of them already done). The gilera runner is a popular 125 scooter but i think most people bung a 180cc kit on them therefore making them illegal.
 
Thanks 4T5, that's a great post and plenty to mull over (but he isn't my son!!! - just thought I'd clear that up, you're giving me palpitations! :p)

Unfortunately he's as mechanically minded and forgiving as a brick, so something bomb-proof is definitely preferred.

Thank you to everyone for you posts :).

Andy.
 
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4T5 said:
The so called sensible options are the Honda CG125 & the Yamaha YBR125 which can all be had in varying states but are pretty indestructible due to the under tuned (:() 4 stroke engines, They really are crap though & thrashing the knackers off one gets you to about 65mph so 50-55mph is there real cruising speed. I have a 11 plate YBR125 for hire bike & it's complete crap & dismall to ride.
Click to expand...

Was yours run in properly? Mine would cruise at 60-65 with 70+ being the top speed. I'm not exactly svelte either.
 
SamPazz said:
pretty much sums it up, but im pretty sure the mito is a tad faster, and as far as illegal tuning to hit 90-100, all that is needed is a simple de-restriction(most of them already done). The gilera runner is a popular 125 scooter but i think most people bung a 180cc kit on them therefore making them illegal.
Click to expand...

yep, my old 2002 RS125 would do 95mph with my 14 stone on it standard. Although it might have been over reading?

New models are slower than the older model too. my 2002 only had a 28mm carb, whereas earlier models had 34mm carbs. I suspect the later models have even more restriction to pass emissions etc.

Full top end rebuild kits used to cost me £200 (good quality japanese kits - Mikita i think?), and it was a 2-3 hour job tops once you know what your doing (I had a 160cc big bore kit at one point so ended up taking it to pieces a lot - stick with standard 125cc top ends).

Only had the bottom end rebuilt once, and don't recall the cost, but i'd imagine the cost would be similar to the cost of the 50cc bike in the OP, part prices may be slightly higher.

Had the bike just over 6 years i think....Miss it to be honest.

And as mentioned use top quality oils, think i used to use Castrol TTS @ about £10 a litre.
 
If you're after a jap bike it'll be second hand for under £1,000.

Honda CBR / CBF 125, Yamaha YBR 125, Suzuki Marauder 125.
For £1,000 new you can pick up a Huoniao 125-8 on a 61 plate it's "chinese" but it's a damn solid bike based on a Honda CM125 or you could get a Sukida (based on suzuki 125)

Don't get a 2 stroke.
 
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