I'm thinking of getting one for commuting to work as the road I'll be travelling on get's pretty congested, and the zed'll cost a fortune in fuel. Anyone recommend any decent ones please? I want to get something second hand where I can do most, or even all, of the maintenance myself.

Thanks,

Bart

Yamaha's DT125R is a good bet - not too pricey, looks quite nice, tough little engine.

 

If you're not bothered about looks at all go for Honda's CG125. It'll run forever and do nearly 100mpg.

 

To be honest scooters are quite good for commuting - Peugeot's speedfight is nice.

 

I guess much depends on how much you want to spend and how far/what roads your commute is on.

 

nb - all the motorbike shops in Cambridge are shysters. Cambidge Motorcycles on Cheddars Lane are ok for servicing etc but I don't think I'd buy a bike from them. Graham Jenkins used to be OK-ish. Allins (PH Allin in my day!) are thick, greedy piss takers. With a second hand 125 I'd buy privately if possible then you can check out the owner - some are utterly cluless and buying a bike from them is not wise obviously.

 

RD 125LC I had one of these at 17 and loved it

I have probably got my rose tinted glassess on But it was great fun

Still I am restoring a FS1E like I had when I was 16 so these are the mad ramblings of a serious Mid life crisis sufferer :rofl: :rofl:

you can't go past the honda nsr, or the aprilia

Dont bother with 2 stroke for commuting. Gotta top up with oil all the time too. noisy, smelly.

 

As said, if you dont care what you look like, get a Honda CG125. mpg is amazing!!!!!

Yamaha TZR125 or Suzuki RGV125.

Thanks for this. Plenty of ideas there... and I totally agree about 2 strokes Rodders, can't stand the sound of them for one thing. That DT125R looks pretty made though... 30-odd bhp from a 125cc engine? Daft question, but why don't they make car engines the same way... or just put a couple of those engines in your average commuter car? I guess the answer I get back is going to be torque related. There must be some sound reason for doing it.

 

Annoyingly I've just found out I need to take my CBT first before I can ride anything on the road, so that'll be the next step. I always thought that you used to be able to ride anything up to 125cc without bothering with any of that? Guess not, but fortunately it's not too expensive.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled over the next few weeks.

 

 

Cheers,

Bart

Two strokes tend to make better 125s than four strokes as they're lighter and more powerful.

 

The DT's a good bike although most only make 12-15bhp as they're restricted. You can de-restrict them by moving the power valve (which makes them peaky) or getting a servo motor that moves it at certain revs (hard to get hold of - ebay might help). It's a two stroke but it should do 60mpg odd around town plus consumables are virtaully free. You'll need a lock as thieveing kids love them.

 

RD125s are all antiques now I'm afraid.

 

Aprilia's are mainly very (VERY) expensive to run (I'm just selling my Aprilia 1000 - it's my second Aprilia as I has a 125 years ago and I'd never have another). (I've had about 30 bikes not including 'long term test bikes' from the manufacturers!)

 

Honda NSRs are expensive / getting old now. The NRS125R was a fine piece of kit in its day.

 

Like I said, it all comes down to money / what journeys you'll be doing.

 

 

The CBT's very easy - get it done! Then get your full licence.