Is a 125 any good?

davestar_delux

davestar_delux

davestar_delux

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I wrote my car off today so figured it's a good time to try and fulfil my ambition to get a bike.

But I need it for work everyday now and I do a 50 mile wind-y, hilly commute from the South coast of Devon to the North coast of Cornwall. Will I be able to do my CBT and batter on this commute on a 125 every day? That would give me the time to crack on with further training and maybe move up to a larger bike after the Summer/Autumn time maybe.
 
It's certainly doable off dual carrageways, a reliable Jap 125 will do 60mph. Wind may cause a problem if it's very windy, it will blow you around a little bit, bigger bikes carry more momentum and don't suffer as much.

A 250cc bike after you pass your test sounds perfect though for the task, or a CB500 etc.
 
Decent 125's nowadays will do 70-75mph (e.g. Yamaha R125, CBR125, XL-125)
It'll just take a while to get from 60mph to 75, that's all :P Plus in wind or uphill you'd lose 5-15mph.

But for 50 mile-a-day trips I would recommend DAS and getting a 250 or bigger.

You can do DAS for around £500-£600 which will enable you to ride any cc bike upto 33bhp.

What sort of budget are you on?
 
Personally, I wouldn't entertain the thought of 50 mile commutes on a bike, and I would expect to be sectioned for attempting it across country on a 125.

Yes some people do it and enjoy it, I love motorbikes, and have been riding since I was 16, so nearly 20 years and it's a big no no from me.
 
Is that 50 miles each way or 25 miles ?

50 miles on a 125 day in day out would do your nut in but 25 miles is well do able.
 
YarwoodUK said:
You can do DAS for around £500-£600 which will enable you to ride any cc bike upto 33bhp.
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Only partially correct, as this assumes yr under 21 (might be 25 never can remember, as its getting complicated to follow nowadays).....you pass yr DAS and you can ride what the heck you like.....although I would steer clear of a Hyabusa or the like for a first bike :D
 
I used to do 25 miles each way including a dual carriageway on my YBR125. Easily doable. The throttle was wide open on the dual carriageway but it was happy enough. Any overtakes you need to plan way in advance but overtakes are so rare that you don't really need to worry.

I'm not small (6' 2" and slightly podgy) but when the conditions were perfect for the engine and I tucked in behind the screen I got an indicated 78 out of it. Riding a 125 is fun in its own way. You're not going to break any speed records but you'll still have a lot of fun on it.
 
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YarwoodUK said:
Decent 125's nowadays will do 70-75mph (e.g. Yamaha R125, CBR125, XL-125)
It'll just take a while to get from 60mph to 75, that's all :P Plus in wind or uphill you'd lose 5-15mph.

But for 50 mile-a-day trips I would recommend DAS and getting a 250 or bigger.

You can do DAS for around £500-£600 which will enable you to ride any cc bike upto 33bhp.

What sort of budget are you on?
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I'm not really sure what is a good budget in terms of motorbikes? How much is one of the better 125s? Although I'm using this as a short-term solution and want to get up and running as quick as possible so probably quite cheap for now. Once I am ready for the bigger tests I can get a £3000 loan from work for training and bike purchase etc.

4T5 said:
Is that 50 miles each way or 25 miles ?
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It is 50 miles each way. But I only have to do this until mid-September when I am moving to the Midlands and will be walking to work.
 
If I was doing 50 miles each way on a 125 I'd get an old NSR & thrash the knackers off it twice a day till I blew it up then I'd rebuild it & do the same. The sensible option is a 4 stroke but that will only do 70'ish & will take an age to get there, A 2 stroke will rip up to 85+ & will handle & feel quick enough to keep you entertained & warm. My NS125F did a ton with me on it & I'm 6ft 5 & 15 stone but I did blow it up a couple of times before it got wrecked. :D
You could go for a pre 2001 Aprilia but they aren't half as reliable as the Honda NSR.
Do some research on them & try to buy an Italian one first an English one 2nd & a French one 3rd, You can tell which country it comes from by the Vin number but I can't remember off hand which one is which.
Go to Gumtree & search for Honda NSR125 there's plenty under 1500 quid.
 
Thanks 4T5 that is a good post and given me some stuff to look at.

In terms of speed, I'm not sure I need to hit 70 much, it usually took me about an hour or longer in the car and there's plenty of tractors, trucks and buses on the roads with not a lot of overtaking opportunities for much of it.

As for rebuilding... what does that involve? I have no idea if I would be capable of anything like that :D I am going to google 2 stroke and 4 strokes.
 
It's not about hitting 70mph mate it's about being able to hold a decent speed for a long time. If your bike does 85+ flat out it will sit at 60 - 70 All day long & will give you that little bit extra you will need to over take cars safely on A & B roads. On a 4 stroke you are flat out at 70 & it will do it All day long but if there's a heavy face wind or you want to pass anybody you are ******. ;)
 
Also
Rebuilding a 2 stroke is Childs play I could talk you through it on the phone. :p A Brilliant way to learn about engines/mechanics etc. Piston & rings for an NSR would be around 30 - 40 quid & would take you a couple of hours the first time you did it & less than an hour the 2nd.
Once you get into it you'll be stripping it down to polish the ports & tweaking the **** off it as it's Brilliant fun.
4 strokes don't need anything more than a regular oil change, You can death them all day long for 10 years & it won't need a penny spent on it apart from oil & the odd plug. They are **** boring though.
 
Mmmm, 100 miles per day on a 125... do-able in nice weather if you enjoy biking... I did a couple of 140+ little blasts on my CBR125 and really enjoyed it... however, when the weather and wind is ****... a 125 doing that mileage WILLNOT be fun trust me... you'll be thrown around like a bead of sweat in pamela andersons cleavage... that's probably not a good metaphore as that'd be awesome lol... however you know what I mean :-)

I'm 6ft 1" and weighing too much lately through lack of training but around 14.5st on the 125, really had a fantastic time and enjoyed it... but where it'll slow and grate is IMHO the following might be useful:

  1. Honda CBR125 cruises at 50-55mph perfect for A roads and slower duel carriageways... nice, feels good and it's enjoyable. Pick them up around £1k for a decent post 2006 one. It'll cost around £250 rips to insure as well dependant on age etc.
  2. Once you get around 60-65mph+, this is where slight crosswinds start having a big eefect on 125s, the wheels feel like you're going to have them taken away...
  3. Running costs perfect... 100mpg if you're sane, cheap to maintain and easy to work on yourself if you need to and they look good.
  4. As for running one 100 miles per day... I'd say that could be a bit much and a 250cc would suite better, but that'd mean doing the DAS in which case you'd just move straight out of that (if you're over 19 or 21 is it?) and go 600cc or above.
Just some random thoughts for you mate.
 
i used to ride a kmx 125 on full license,plenty fast enough 90mph on the motorway,id choose a four stroke for better reliability though,two strokes like a lot of two stroke oil which can cost more than filling up the petrol tank!!
 
davestar_delux said:
As for rebuilding... what does that involve? I have no idea if I would be capable of anything like that :D I am going to google 2 stroke and 4 strokes.
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Four-strokes do exactly what they say on the tin. The engine cycle has four strokes - suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Two strokes use the space beneath the piston as well and can do all that in two strokes of the engine. So a two-stroke engine will fire the cylinders twice as often and generate more power.

However, two-strokes also have some disadvantages. The engine oil is mixed in with the fuel so that will need to be added regularly. They aren't as fuel efficient as a four-stroke. They also generate too much power for a learner bike so have to be restricted which leaves them with no advantages over a four-stroke. I understand that lots of 125 two-strokes get derestricted - obviously I don't condone this and it may void your insurance in the event of an accident.

I would suggest that if you're not confident about your mechanical ability, then you ought to get a four-stroke. There are plenty of good learner bikes out there - Honda's CG125 or its replacement, the CBF125. The equivalent Yamaha option is the YBR125. If you fancy something sportier then there's the Honda CBR125R or Yamaha's YZF-R125. Personally, I wouldn't worry with a sportier 125 unless you're planning on keeping it long-term.
 
4 stroke with weather protection. Something like the Honda Varadero. Its not going to be entertaining but it will get you there and back in relative comfort.

2 Strokes are much more fun, but I really wouldn't want to hammer an old 2T 500 miles a week!

If you want some inspiration this guy went from Sydney to London on a 105cc Post office bike!

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=460631
 
500 miles a week on a 125.

Honestly, nightmare scenario.

You've really got to appriciate how slow a 125 is, especially a 4 stroke.
Like, a 11 second 0-60 even on the "sporty ones", and its on hilly terrain.
125's have NO torque and NO midrange.

A derestricted 2 stoke might do 0-60 it in the mid 7s, and MIGHT do 85-90mph but you cant ride a derestricted 2 stroke without invalidating any insurance and running the risk of 6 to 9 points for no insurances and 6-9 points for being in charge of a vehicle without the correct license entitlement.
 
hlxbravo said:
Only partially correct, as this assumes yr under 21 (might be 25 never can remember, as its getting complicated to follow nowadays).....you pass yr DAS and you can ride what the heck you like.....although I would steer clear of a Hyabusa or the like for a first bike :D
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Ah, my mistake, I was thinking of MOD 2 without DAS :p
It's 21yrs over for DAS.


Back to OP: If you're doing 100 miles a day, then either get DAS or get a full license as quick as possible.
 
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The 33bhp rule is more complex than most folk seem to think, the bike has to be more than 156.25kg for 33bhp/25kW to be legit.

The maximum power to weight ratio is 0.16kW per 1kg.

For example; a bike with a weight of 117kg would have to be capped at 18.7kW/25.42bhp or below.

As for no fun on a slower bike, that depends totaly on the rider. Easyrider seemed to enjoy his Vanvan a lot and they are far from the fastest 125's. What they lack in speed they make up for in having a nice seat, which for a 50 mile trip might be more desirable than having the extra 10mph of top speed.
 
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