buying a 125cc bike for commute

Trebor16

Minted247 wrote: »

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).

Thanks Minted,

Your bike has slightly longer service intervals than the Lexmotos that I have seen which require a service every 2000km's. In your case you are able to do the servicing yourself which helps enormously but for someone who doesn't have the confidence or ability to do so the service costs could start to add up to the point the overall costs of the bike and servicing make it no cheaper than a Japanese or Italian bike.

linuxuk44

thanks slgkid for the detailed information

I am going to buy sym 125 on the 2 year 0 percent apr for £1599

the dealer told me that I have to service it after first 500 miles and after that every 3000 miles in order to maintain the warranty. They charge 80+ vat for major service and that is what is needed every 3000 miles.

He told me that i could do it at any sym dealer or any professional qualified motorbike service center. I am mechanically ok with cars and can do car so guess should be ok with bikes. are there any place that does cheap service ?

what does the servicing involve?

finally in regard to closing any suggestion is greatly appreciated . i need a close that protects me for city communte in case of crash or fall from the bike thus not cheap but at the same time not very expensive

thanks again

Trebor16

linuxuk44 wrote: »

thanks slgkid for the detailed information

I am going to buy sym 125 on the 2 year 0 percent apr for £1599

Is it the XS125K that you are buying? If it is the good news is that when you take your test it meets the requirements for the A2 licence.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_197021.pdf

linuxuk wrote:

the dealer told me that I have to service it after first 500 miles and after that every 3000 miles in order to maintain the warranty. They charge 80+ vat for major service and that is what is needed every 3000 miles.

Much better service intervals than some of the other Chinese bikes.

linuxuk wrote:

He told me that i could do it at any sym dealer or any professional qualified motorbike service center. I am mechanically ok with cars and can do car so guess should be ok with bikes. are there any place that does cheap service ?

As long as it is done to the manufacturers service schedule and OEM parts are used then it can be done at other motorcycle dealers.

linuxuk wrote:

what does the servicing involve?

The handbook will tell you that but the 3000 mile service should involve changing the oil and oil filter, possibly changing the spark plug (though it should last at least 6000 miles). As it is a single cylinder bike the service shouldn't take too long to do.

linuxuk wrote:

finally in regard to closing any suggestion is greatly appreciated . i need a close that protects me for city communte in case of crash or fall from the bike thus not cheap but at the same time not very expensive

thanks again

I guess you mean clothing. If you look for clothing made by a by Buffalo or Weise that is at the bottom end of the market. I would go for the textile stuff as it is more versatile than leather garments.

http://secure.buffalo.bifax.co.uk/buffalo_textiles/

http://www.weise-clothing.co.uk/

There may be other brands that are at the lower price. but it should be possible to get a decent enough jacket for the £80-100 mark and about the same for trousers.

Minted247

At a glance, that Sym XS125-K looks a lot like a Sukida SK125-5 (the other model I considered before purchasing mine) except for it's £1599 instead of £699 for the Sukida.

Seems a lot more expensive if the only thing different is less servicing? If you can service yourself (you would be able to do it if you can service a car - I can't even service a car, haha ) then it doesn't seem to make sense paying for a pricier bike. All my opinion of course!

forgotmyname

Probably the same bike with different labels. Double the price as they are taking the risk on the warranty expiring before the bike does.

If your going to need an everyday machine thats reliable for several years then you want a proper one. Not a chinese thing with different stickers.

slgkid

Another essay i'm afraid. I havent got the hang of posting in this forum yet. The speedo on mine is in km, not miles, and the service intervals are 1month/500km, 3month/3000km, 6month/6000km, 1year/12000km then in intervals of every 3/6/12 1000km/months (dont know why its 3,3,6,3,3,6 etc but thats what the book says). Services are mainly oil changes and inspection of chain / brakes / tyres / engine with tweaks as neccessary. My chain and spark plug has been changed now too. Services have cost me between £55 and £99. The cheapest one was the first one as its just a general check over / tighten up and oil change. I used a relatively new garage for that service and they werent charging VAT.
If you know your way around a car, a single cylinder bike is much simpler. I'd reccomend getting to know it when you get it; take the panels off (screwed on) and ID everything checking what might come loose. I carry a small adjustable spanner, a x-head screwdriver and a spare bulb in my topbox just in case of problems when out and about (fingers crossed, havent needed it yet).
The sukida SK125 looks a lot like the motoroma sk125 which i looked at when comparing bikes. TBH in the showrooms, the 125 commuter style bikes all look pretty similar whether japanese, chinese or taiwanese. The sukida is a smaller and lighter bike than the sym with a lower top speed and power output.
Clothingwise, as trebor16 said, textiles are more versatile and thats what i went for. I have buffallo trousers, jacket and gloves with Blitz boots. I had a helmet already. I got a topbox, stormex cover and an oxford screamer disc lock too. Have a haggle and see what you can get! Cashback and comparison site benefits all help too for insurance etc.
I got the bike when my car cost me £60 to fill up last spring purely to save me money on my commute.
I added the kit above into my payback calcs spreadsheet. I also figured that a properly serviced sym with 30,000miles on the clock isnt going to be worth £700 less than a japanese bike with the same mileage which was the difference to buy new. And if the bike isnt up to the job for the next two years and its not normal wear and tear, i have the warranty to fall back on.
Enjoy the biking and the moneysaving.

boyse7en

Minted247 wrote: »

At a glance, that Sym XS125-K looks a lot like a Sukida SK125-5 (the other model I considered before purchasing mine) except for it's £1599 instead of £699 for the Sukida.

Seems a lot more expensive if the only thing different is less servicing? If you can service yourself (you would be able to do it if you can service a car - I can't even service a car, haha ) then it doesn't seem to make sense paying for a pricier bike. All my opinion of course!

SYM are made in Taiwan, whereas Sukida is Chinese-made. In the motorcycle trade, Taiwanese scooters are much higher rated than Chinese ones.
I don't know the Sukida brand very well, but it may well be a styling copy of the SYM. Chinese factories see little point in spending money on styling when they can simply copy an existing popular product. I doubt the mechanical parts of the two are the same at all.

Cash-Strapped.T32

Indeed - Look at the innumerable Chinese Peugeot Speedfight & Gilera Runner or DNA clones out there; Look the same on the outside but you try swapping out any of the parts. :eek:

mikey72

slgkid wrote: »

................ The speedo on mine is in km, not miles.................

That's not actually legal in the uk.

slgkid

Quite right mikey72, i should have said odometer and not speedo so the service intervals are in km. The speedometer shows kph and mph. Thanks for pointing that out.