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motorcycle 125 or 250

karl pilkington

Anyone here got a motorbike thinking of getting a little 125 or 250 kawasaki or honda or maybe ktm

Reply 1

Juno

Original post by karl pilkington

Anyone here got a motorbike thinking of getting a little 125 or 250 kawasaki or honda or maybe ktm

I shall tag @Boristhethird and @Motorbiker for you, because they might have an opinion on this.

I had a 125 and loved him, but it was annoying lacking speed for things like motorways. I've never ridden a 250.

Reply 2

Digisirran

You need an A2 licence in order to ride a 250, and a CBT grants you a 125 for 2 years depending your age. Being 17 grants you a 125 and 16 grants you a 50cc.

Personally I'd go 125 on a CBT, and seeing how it fairs for you. I've been on the road for a year and a half now on a CBT, and despite being 21 and all, I won't be doing DAS anytime soon.

As Juno said, 125s aren't the greatest for motorways but there's still 125s that are capable at 70mph. My Honda S-Wing is 13bhp, but the small wheels make it lack some speed and sort of distorts the centre of gravity. It's a 160kg bike, and heavy for the engine size. Going Forza soon for the extra speed.

Reply 3

karl pilkington

Original post by Digisirran

do you have to use L plates if you have only passed your cbt? also was thinking of honda cbf125

Reply 4

Juno

Original post by karl pilkington

do you have to use L plates if you have only passed your cbt? also was thinking of honda cbf125

You need L plates if you're riding a 125 on a CBT. You then can't take pillion passengers or go on a motorway

Reply 5

ddrrzzeerr

I wouldn't go to the effort of doing the test. It depends what you want it for though. 125 is more than enough for going round town. If you want it for longer commutes or recreation, you will probably want a bigger one.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

Digisirran

Original post by karl pilkington

do you have to use L plates if you have only passed your cbt? also was thinking of honda cbf125

Yes, its a legal requirement. Doesn't bother me, though. If you do it on a 125 and do your theory and your actual bike test (with your examiner), you won't need them. But do the CBT, theory and perhaps an A2 if you're 19 and over if you actually want bigger than 125.

The CBF125 isn't a bad bike. There are other brands you could look into. I've looked at the YBR125 solely for its ease of use. But, since having my current bike fall onto my left ankle, can't change gears very well anymore.

Reply 7

Digisirran

Original post by Sternumator

For the basis of what I do on my 125. I have an 18 mile trip to college and 18 miles back to home almost daily. 125s are okay for certain A roads and B roads but dual carriageways I wouldn't.

Sternumator does have a valid point on longer commutes but I've kind of described how 125s are still okay for college commutes and town to town on A roads. It's not always down to the engine size, its how its built and how the engine + wheels cope.

I've seen KTM Duke 125s quickly overtake me and since they're 15bhp, it adds to their capabilities.

Reply 8

ddrrzzeerr

Original post by Digisirran

125s can struggle to keep up on the country A and B roads.

Motorbikes don't corner as well as cars so you have to take them slower. And then coming out of the corners, the 40-60 acceleration is slow on a 125cc so you end up holding cars up.

There is nothing wrong with that but I hate getting overtaken so I wish I had a bit more power.

Reply 9

karl pilkington

I only want it to work as a delivery driver it only needs to go a maximum of 40mph safety is the most important factor

Reply 10

Digisirran

Original post by karl pilkington

I only want it to work as a delivery driver it only needs to go a maximum of 40mph safety is the most important factor

50ccs are maxed at 30mph so perhaps a CBF125 or even a PCX125 would do as a starter.

Reply 11

Digisirran

Original post by Sternumator

I hate being overtaken too, but I just let them pass. I corner at 45-50mph on 50mph roads, so I don't always slow down. Again, its down to the bike and the rider's skill. Hell, got a buddy with a KTM Duke 125, and when we both went onto a dual carriageway, I signalled him to overtake me anyways and he was at least doing 70-75 as opposed to my 65mph cap on my Honda FES-125. So his overtake was nippy and he was able to speed up to 70mph faster than I could. The horsepower is about a 3bhp difference.

For A roads and B roads, mainly single carriageways are fine.

Reply 12

ddrrzzeerr

Original post by karl pilkington

I only want it to work as a delivery driver it only needs to go a maximum of 40mph safety is the most important factor

You definitely don't need more than a 125 for that. 125s are nippy under 40mph.

No motorbikes are safe. You are really exposed on a motorbike. No matter which one you get, you will come off worse in an argument with a car.

Sensible riding is the only way to reduce the risk but it is still a dangerous method of transport.

Reply 13

CAElite

Personally I went 125>500>250 :biggrin:

so I suppose I have been moving in the wrong direction :biggrin:

.

Although personally these where my thoughts :

125: at the time, I saw it purely as a means to an end, I had 2, my first a Chinese Sinnis, which I offered to my little brother when he expressed an interest in bikes (much to the dismay of our folks), my second, a low end Honda CB125, which if I'm honest was no better than the chink bike. It ran reliably until i sold it after my A2.

500: After passing my A2 at 20, I will immediately jumped to a Kawasaki GPZ500, which I had bought a few weeks prior to passing my test, loved it, scared the **** out of my self a couple of times. Decided at 22 I couldn't afford both the car and the bike, and being as I lived in the north of Scotland where we get a solid 2-3months of snow I decided to stick with just a car, sold both my bike and my hot hatch and settled for an Mx5, a best of both worlds.

250: Immediately decided at ~22 that selling the bike was a bad idea, just so happens my mate was selling a Hyosung 250, ended up with both that and the mx5, I found the 250 as the perfect compromise, didn't feel as Strangled as the 125,but at the same time didn't cost as much to insure or fuel the 500.

I ended up trading the 250 for a small 4x4 after getting the MX5 stuck in a few treatourous situations.

Now I've got an Mx5 and a Suzuki Jimny & yearn again for anothet bike, although I am now elidagble for my full A license, so who knows what lll pick up next.

Also the Sinnis I sold my brother, he had until February this year, it has since been sold to a family friend for £200 less than I bought it 3.5years ago (£700 to 500), he has since inherited our mums '02 RAV4 since she had given up driving.

Reply 14

laura5757

I'm getting a 125cc as i just turned 17, should i just ride on a CBT with L plates or should i also do my license? Also I'm mainly only going to ride to college and back and around the city (London) so is there any need to do more than my CBT?