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Which bike?

I cant praise the varadero enough. For the size of the bike and a 125cc engine it gets up to 70 MPH on a very decent time without taking it to the red line. I use mine for going to college on and its been very reliable and comfy which major points of a mode of transport yet you can take the bike on a nice country road and have a really good time. I have been riding my Varadero now for 11 Months and Buying a 600cc Fazer within the next few weeks, the varadero has really helped me to ride a bigger bike i feel confident now moving onto a Physically bigger bike like a fazer 600.
 
PyroboyUK said:
I cant praise the varadero enough. For the size of the bike and a 125cc engine it gets up to 70 MPH on a very decent time without taking it to the red line. I use mine for going to college on and its been very reliable and comfy which major points of a mode of transport yet you can take the bike on a nice country road and have a really good time. I have been riding my Varadero now for 11 Months and Buying a 600cc Fazer within the next few weeks, the varadero has really helped me to ride a bigger bike i feel confident now moving onto a Physically bigger bike like a fazer 600.
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but my point is that an RS125 will get you to 100mph just a fast if not faster, handle approximately 999999999999 times better, stop about 999999999999 times better and you will never want to get off it, if the RS125 is not your automatic choice, then you like bikes for a reason which confuses me. The only get out would be if you really have very little money to continue running the bike after you have bourght it, but it aint that bad, I had no help from parents, went to college full time, and paid for the bike, insurance, license and 2 stoke oil fuel and maintinence all on a part time job. they aint that bad! and as for comfort, thats for when you get old, and as a reference my R6 is less comfy than my RS125 was, (but do you think I care!)
 
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Thats up to him, if he wants to get a bike that sounds no better than my old 50Cc Aprillia then he can. I just like the noise of a V twin better to a nasty High pitched strimmer. The varadero does a great Mpg and you can pick em up for grate prices second hand and you got a better chance with one becuase most teenagers will have got an Rs125 tuned it and gave it hell.

The only way i would have an rs125 would be as a First track bike becuase of the tuning potential. Teenagers that go about my town think that there Rs 125 is faster than everything else which is un-true. everywere i have looked i can only seem to get a Quoted 74mph as the top speed of a standard Road legal Rs were as the varadero gets to 80mph easily. You have to modify em before you start getting anymore power than a varadero, i can keep up with a standard rs easily i have tried it and its easy
 
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It all depends on the rider and the type of rideing done. Being 6-4" eventually doing 2k miles a month whatever the weather (yes on a 125) makes you value comfort hence for me the CBR/RS/Mito were out and I ride some of Northumbria's most amazing bikeing routes to work each day - the kind that would have suited an RS down to the ground. For me the varadero was a more practical choice, my pillion loved it in comparison to the Hornet/SV/Fazer/R6/Bandit/Blade/MV F4/whatever else i've forgotten i've put her on the back of in the last few years. Nothing wrong with the CBR/RS etc but it's not a perfect fit for everyone in the same way if your shorter then a 'dero aint going to be for you.

One of the very good things about an RS/Mito or most 2 strokes for that matter is they force you to learn how to work the engine propperly due to the narrow power band. I certainly wouldn't want to do a full days rideing on one but it's all down to what the rider will be doing.
 
PyroboyUK said:
Thats up to him, if he wants to get a bike that sounds no better than my old 50Cc Aprillia then he can. I just like the noise of a V twin better to a nasty High pitched strimmer. The varadero does a great Mpg and you can pick em up for grate prices second hand and you got a better chance with one becuase most teenagers will have got an Rs125 tuned it and gave it hell.

The only way i would have an rs125 would be as a First track bike becuase of the tuning potential. Teenagers that go about my town think that there Rs 125 is faster than everything else which is un-true. everywere i have looked i can only seem to get a Quoted 74mph as the top speed of a standard Road legal Rs were as the varadero gets to 80mph easily. You have to modify em before you start getting anymore power than a varadero, i can keep up with a standard rs easily i have tried it and its easy
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get the old facts right man, they come in two forms restricted and unrestricted, 105 Mph I think you'll find, un tuned completly standard and road legal, the rider can ride it restricted power if they choose to ride it without a licence on a CBT only. it is easilly faster than a verado even in restricted form, there is not even a comparison between it and any other 125 speed and handleing wise unless it is a cagiva mito, which are chronically unreliable and still not as good.
This is one thing I dont like about these forums, you have views which are fine, but the you are posting facts about thing you dont know and you are trying to give them to the OP as facts, please dont even try to tell me a 125 verado sounds good! I have ridden one and they are exceptionally slow, handle very poorly and sound like a hairdryer. They are comfy and have their place for a particular type of rider, which it seems you are, but more people are sports riders and if he is or plans to be he will hate the verado. I gave a very good example of one a good ride (my friend had one, we used it as a joke and found it very comical until he got rid of it, my old gilera runner 125 scooter absolutely destroyed it for speed and handleing/braking and that was very comfortable reliable and great on fuel).

OP if you have any questions about the RS125, the honda NSR125 (loads better than the CBR 125 but no-where near as good as an RS125) or any other bike then feel free to ask/add me to MSN.

The bottom line is if you want comfort/reliability but very little performance or any kind - verado.

medium performance, just as much economy/comfort/reliability - 125 scooter (gilera runner/apprillia SR good bets CBR 125 performs the same as there, is just less practical with no luggage hold.

red hot performance with good reliability with regular maintenance - RS125
A restricted RS125 is exceptionally reliable as the engine is running less than half power and is not stretched at all.

All above is fact from personal experience, just so you know.
 
Oakesy2001uk said:
nothing wrong with build quality at all the finish on them is great in fact, really well put together, no skimping on materials, far better than suzuki, kawasaki which tend to look very second hand after a few moths if you dont look after them. Reliability is great if you look after them ie decent oil and follow the service intervals (you can quite happily service mostly yourself, just follow the intervals, electrics can be troublesome aparetny, but neither me or my mate had one warrenty claim with 20k between us over a year (his was 1 year old, mine was new, and in a year and 10000 miles, from brand new I lost £650 on mine, thats from new, so I'd class that as pretty good depreciation, I think my mate got back what he paid for his, but he got a pretty good deal in the first place.
I dont know where your getting your facts from but they are wrong. I have no reason to defend the bike I sold it a long time ago and have an R6 now, I just have experience of it, and know first hand having rode the cbr and A Lot of other bikes to boot, it is a very boring a to b bike. I really didnt enjoy riding it at all, and cant think of anything good about it really, apart from the fact that it is probably cheap to run and very reliable. You may as well get a £500 CG125, because that is what you are buying basically, same engine I think isn't it! They are not qualities I look for in a bike, you might be boring and want that and if so go for it.
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The build quailty is very poor, no where near the standard you'd expect from a £3500+ bike. I had a RS125 from new for 18months and did 22,000kms on it, in that time lots of bolts went rusty, the exhuast hanger rusted off, wheel bearings went and paint faded. This is only 1 winter..... imo even a <£2k CBR125 has a lot better build quailty.

So along comes a Honda VFR400 NC30, already 11 years old. Goes through 2 indentical winters, not a spot of rust, no faded paint work and done 20,000miles on it over 2 years.

Mine blew up at 18,000kms due to an incorrect electical item being fitted under warrenty, so mine was pretty relaible having said this they are VERY hit and miss. A few of my mates had them blow up under 5,000km and they looked after them much better than I ever did, always used the best quailty oil etc. Like I said, it's a minefield.

If it's a stop gap bike to get some experience before going onto much better things then it's pointless getting a RS125, If you plan on staying on illegal L plates for a while then get a RS125 but keep money back for £10+ bottles of oil every 1000kms and rebuilds fairly often.
 
DynaMight said:
The build quailty is very poor, no where near the standard you'd expect from a £3500+ bike. I had a RS125 from new for 18months and did 22,000kms on it, in that time lots of bolts went rusty, the exhuast hanger rusted off, wheel bearings went and paint faded. This is only 1 winter..... imo even a <£2k CBR125 has a lot better build quailty.

So along comes a Honda VFR400 NC30, already 11 years old. Goes through 2 indentical winters, not a spot of rust, no faded paint work and done 20,000miles on it over 2 years.

Mine blew up at 18,000kms due to an incorrect electical item being fitted under warrenty, so mine was pretty relaible having said this they are VERY hit and miss. A few of my mates had them blow up under 5,000km and they looked after them much better than I ever did, always used the best quailty oil etc. Like I said, it's a minefield.

If it's a stop gap bike to get some experience before going onto much better things then it's pointless getting a RS125, If you plan on staying on illegal L plates for a while then get a RS125 but keep money back for £10+ bottles of oil every 1000kms and rebuilds fairly often.
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try cleaning it over the winter mate, quick hose off every time you come in, mine looked like new after a hard year and thats commuting through a winter! I dont know if mine was newer than yours, but mine was faultless as was my dads RSV mille and my mate year old RS125 (at the time 2 years ago). I have had the R6 a vfr400 the RS125 and ridden countless bikies to compare it to. including all bikes in question in this thread, I think everyone is sterotyping the RS125 without knowing much about them, they are not unreliable if looked after properly, and I want to make sure the OP looks at all the options. a 13bhp CBR 125 or about the same in a verado with an age old engine and no extra power available (CBR, dont know on verado), will bore you very quickly, as you'll be changing bikes very quickly, the RS125 can be 33bhp which on a bike so light is genuinely quite quick. The decision is yours!
if you want any info let me know! Personally I think I would pass my test and buy an NC30 and a restrictor kit, then you have a reliable bike that looks great and still goes/handles, but I did love my year on an RS125, and would recommend them to anyone! No excuses you can do the bike test in a week, but a nice NC30 for the budget you have for a CBR 125 and they will never loose any money!
 
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Standard Rs 125 will not do 105mph thats de-restricted and on a CBT that is not Legal as you cannot declare it on the insurance so its then VOID. Standard Rs 125 at 14.8Hp will do tops of 75-80 MPH depending on weather conditions. Sure enough take the restrictions off and start putting exhausts on if needed and i am sure the little Buzz box will hit 105 but not standard.

So you think a V-twin sounds like a hairdryer, This coming from a person who used to ride a 2 stroke bike.
 
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PyroboyUK said:
Standard Rs 125 will not do 105mph thats de-restricted and on a CBT that is not Legal as you cannot declare it on the insurance so its then VOID. Standard Rs 125 at 14.8Hp will do tops of 75-80 MPH depending on weather conditions. Sure enough take the restrictions off and start putting exhausts on if needed and i am sure the little Buzz box will hit 105 but not standard.

So you think a V-twin sounds like a hairdryer, This coming from a person who used to ride a 2 stroke bike.
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I think a virago sounds like a hairdryer yes, it is a 125 FFS, regardless of confiuration they sound pants, I actually like the 2 stoke zing and smell yes, but both bikes sound very rubbish compared to any proper bike.

The bikes are perfectly standard and are designed to run at exactly 33bhp, the then can be if the rider so wishes restricted to 14.8 bhp for CBT riding. that is up to the rider, They are designed for 33 bhp and not for 14.8 therefore are not stretched at all when restricted, and if the rider were to pass his test then a simple procedure will see a reliable, standard and legal 33bhp in a bike which weighs nothing and handles/stops/looks amazing streets ahead of any of the competition, a virago is no-where near the same page evern against a restricted RS125 it is for a completel different purpose, definetly not for spirited riding.
I guarentee he will have a lot more fun on this than he would on any other bike mentioned. now stop arguing and let the OP decide what he wants from the bike, you are destroying the thread, you have said you peice about the virago, I have said mine abot the RS125 and all other bikes which I have experience of.
It depends how many miles he is doing and what type of riding he enjoys, if he has any sport riding pretences then a virago just wont cut it, thats from my experience, why buy something that is not designed for what your going to do with it. if he is a less keen rider, but still wants some fun I'm sure a CBR 125 would suit him with the added reliability and ease of use, but if he wants to enjoy riding the way I do, RS125 is the only choice. thats up to the OP, so stop arguing about it, he has all the opinions.
 
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each to thier own...

My advice for cbt riding is a sub 1k bike, ride it lots get your experience up and you your no claims.

Then pass your test and spend more cash on a bike with more cc's, there is replacement for displacement :)

But if cash is no object then buy an rs just remember the police take more notice of them as do thieves
 
Get a 125 two stroke for a few months of fun, then when you get bored of it, sell it on to the next person and do your test. Ok, 2 stroke is less reliable etc, but if you take care of it you will have hours of fun!
Alex
 
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