buying a 125cc bike for commute

linuxuk44

Hi Guys,

I own a full UK license and am looking into doing a CBTcourse so I can ride bikes upto 125cc with L plate on.
During the 2 year period, I will look into doing my theorytest and practical test.
I need some help with buying a bike. It is mainly used forcommuting and save on travel cost. I am traveling into congestion charge zoneso a bike should be free to travel into there .
Although I want a cheap/reliable bike I also want it to looknice .
I have found the following Chinese skyject
http://www.learnerlegal.com/125cc-sports/skyjet-sj125-24/prod_9.html
it looks nice and is cheap but I don’t think it isreliable. Considering it is brand newthat is another bonus as there are no mots for 3 years.
Do you guys think the above bike is ok and if not what doyou suggest to buy with a budget of 600 max for second hand that is sport andreliable.

Btw, what is the mpg on bike ?

Thanks

Trebor16

I would suggest you look long and hard before buying a Chinese made motorcycle. I have seen the Lexmarks close up and while they look ok new and are much cheaper than a Honda or Yamaha I suspect the build quality is not as good. The servicing requirements on a Lexmark are also ridiculous with three services being needed over a 4000 mile period, which will add to the running costs.

If you can get a Yamaha YBR125, Honda CG125 or a similar machine then that would be better for you. A Yamaha SR125 is not a bad machine either. 90mpg should be attainable on a YBR, SR or CG 125 without too much difficulty.

If you are going to be commuting into the congestion charge zone be aware that in the area covered by the City of Westminster they have introduced a pay by phone system for parking on motorcycle bays.

http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/transportandstreets/parking/wheretopark/vehicletype/motorcycle/


With regards to the motorcycle test, if you are under 24 the whole test regime changes dramatically from January 2013 and I would suggest you take your motorcycle test before then to avoid a new testing regime that I believe has been introduced solely to put people off buying a motorcycle.

pendulum

Only yesterday the guy in front of me grabbed the front brake going over a speed bump, locked the wheel and slid the bike and himself down the road at about 20mph.

Learners come off, it happens. Hence it's generally not a good idea to buy a new bike.
Plus, the Chinese bikes may have their place, but one thing they are not suitable for, is to be relied on to get to work. The electrics tend to be pretty poor and the engines don't seem to last. Look how many Chinese bikes there are on eBay with only 2,000 - 9,000 miles being sold as projects / non-runners... due to varying problems. AIUI they tend to be shipped in in parts and assembled by people in sheds to exploit some legal loophole with licencing/testing... one explanation for the resultant quality. Plus they don't look all that when your up close and you can feel the cheapness.

Sport and 125cc don't go together (apart from the Aprilia RS arguably, but that's out of your budget... get a sensible CG125 or something for the time being!)

14Westfield

I've never used any of the Chinese made bikes so wont comment on the comments made about them above.

If it were me i'd buy a second hand 125cc from one of the online sites. alot of new riders have a 125 for their 1st two years after passing/learning to ride and then sell it on when they buy a larger capacity bike. this means most cities have a good market for you to pick from. you cant go wrong with a YBR125 or CG125 - just make sure the oil changes etc have been completed inline with the mileage.

what ever you do im sure you'll enjoy becoming a rider and getting to work far faster and cheaper!

14Westfield

ps - very much agree with Trebor16's comment on passing your test sooner rather than later. ther euro rules are very restrictive for motorcycles so get on with your theory etc as soon as you can. i bought a DVD which had the course to learn and example tests off the DVLA website and found it really useful.

linuxuk44

thanks for the good suggestions.
I am almost putting a cross on chinesse made bikes as there seems to benumorous threads against them
What do you usually look for in a 125 cg and how much shouldI expect to pay for what model

I have seen some traders around where I live but not sure ifthey are like car traders so considerably more expensive
For around 700 what do you think I can get ?

slgkid

I bought a new sym 125cc motorbike last april after a fair bit of research against AJS-eco/Motoroma-SK/Yamaha-YBR/Honda-CG. The main sway for me was it has a 3 year/30000km warranty. It cost me £1550 OTR and has now done 12000km. I've claimed a couple of things on warranty (odometer broken) and the bolts holding the exhaust pipe to the engine exhaust have sheared twice! No problems with getting the repairs under warranty. Service costs do add up (just had its 4th service) and i bought kit too. It does an average of 89mpg (promoted as >100mpg) and saved me £1250 in petrol over using the car last year (used for three seasons 70miles round trip). The payback over using my car is estimated to be two years (after kit/service/insurance/tax/test costs) but paying £80 a month for petrol compared to £200 feels like a huge difference. In comparison i had a suzuki GS125 about 7 years ago. This was bought for about £450 and lasted for six weeks before it died (i didnt service it,only topped up oil, and/or it may have been a ringer). Sym seem to have a "decent" manufacturing track record (a summary can be found at ngales.com/news_info.asp?id=29) and they have the confidence to put a 3year warranty on their product. Hope thats of some help.
I have done my theory and am doing my module 1 next month. I plan to keep the bike for at least another year, probably two, due to the fuel economy unless a change of job takes me on motorways/long dual carriageways as anything over 65 is a struggle unless going downhill and wouldnt want to do it for miles and miles at a time!
Enjoy your biking and listen to the saftey tips on your CBT, they might save your life!

shortdog

Is there a local bike club near you? If so, go along to a meeting, make some friends, and they'll almost certainly know someone selling a decent second-hand bike. You'll probably find that a lot of them do their own servicing/repairs, etc, and will be more than happy to help you out.

Minted247

As I've just mentioned on another thread, I've got a Chinese bike for commuting and it's been absolutely fine for me so you should have no problems. Don't believe everything you read, as like with most things people generally only write reviews when they have had a problem (not many people go out of their way to write a good one when they're happy!)

There are bad reviews out there about import bikes but these will be the minority, as thousands of them will get sold every year. Buy one, it's the best decision I ever made and has paid for itself many times over in savings whilst my mates used Honda, Suzuki etc bikes have all needed repairs.

Trebor16

Minted,

Can you tell us a bit more about your bike such as the make and model? Would you be able to tell us the service intervals as the intervals mentioned on the other thread at 400km and 2000km are very onerous and far more frequent than those on Japanese and Italian 125's.

Could you also tell us how many miles you have done on your bike?

PS I'm not trying to interrogate you, honest:D but I would be interested to find out more about the bike you have purchased.

Minted247

Trebor16 wrote: »

Minted,

Can you tell us a bit more about your bike such as the make and model? Would you be able to tell us the service intervals as the intervals mentioned on the other thread at 400km and 2000km are very onerous and far more frequent than those on Japanese and Italian 125's.

Could you also tell us how many miles you have done on your bike?

PS I'm not trying to interrogate you, honest:D but I would be interested to find out more about the bike you have purchased.

Sure, no problem!

I've got a Huoniao HN125-8 125cc American 'cruiser' bike. It's a popular model and I bought it second hand after reading reviews on it here:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews161414.html

It had a little over 6,000 miles (not km) on it when I bought it, and I've since put on a further 7,000

1. First service was @ 400km
2. Second service was @ 2000km
3. Regular servicing is @ every further 3000km

I do the servicing myself though, so it's not a problem although I can't imagine a garage would charge much as it's pretty easy (the 12 month warranty had ran out anyway, so no need for me to get receipts).