I can only assume you weigh less than 57 kilo's and shall be satisfied with no real power. An 250cc will save you money over the course of ownership and be more fun to ride or race.
I've only been riding for 40 years though so I'm too old to play with anything less than 1000cc.
Unfortunatly the legal law requires that I am only able to ride up to 125Cc on the CBT licence, before I go about doing my big bike test.
Had a look at one today, it's the full power version (Makes around 30Bhp, I weigh like 185 lbs, should be fine...)the people who owned it seem nice enough, and it sounds ok, not overly rattly or anything - It's been down the road but the damage is pretty minor, just a (severely) scratched swingarm. Also needs a new rear tyre, it's overly worn (we suspect burnout abuse >_>), and it needs a service (It's had the first one, it's done basically 3000 miles, and the service light is on, but overall however it's nice, so I'm *hopefully* gunna have it by next weekend
I think I've fallen in love with the XR125L, brand new is ~£2,200 OTR, when not going through Honda, I am so going to get myself one.
But I have seen 50cc scooters hauling ass with two men on them and by seen I mean I was one of those men, at the time I was ~60KG, the other guy was ~70KG. Admittedly it is not quite the power seen on a 1l bike, but 125cc is plenty of punt.
Kinda not worth buying new, unless you plan on keeping it for 3 or so years, they depreciate alot and unless you're either very lucky or very experienced you'll almost certainly drop it
I expect to keep it until it costs too much to keep going or it dies as it'll be for commuting and the odd dash up the side up a muddy hill and because the XR is such a learner friendly bike more often than not it has been ragged by a previous owner.
I don't buy vehicles as an asset, they are a tool so depreciation doesn't bother me.
AAhhh yes, sorry but I forget the governing by different countries. :sorry:
I assume they feel it's safer to hit something on a small motorcycle and less damaging than on a larger motorcycle but it's the body that suffers from the impact as the motorcycle does not feel a thing. 150km crash on a 125 must hurt as much as on a 1000.
Thank you for the compliment. Enjoy your riding but treat every driver in 4 wheels as if you are invisible to them, because you are! They always tell the police they never see you coming!
I had an RS125 for 2 years, and rode over 12000 miles on it. It never blew up. The only thing that did go wrong was the powervalve disconnected from the open/close mechanism. I took it to the dealer, they said "yep, manufacturing fault, free replacement".
Ran it on Putolene's finest, put sticky tyres on it, always made sure it had a temperature showing on the display (i.e. not "cold"), had great fun - including 400 mile round trips through the yorkshire dales.
That's reassuring to hear. By the way, was yours the ~1996 RS which the Rotrax 123 Engine, or the 1996~Present day Rotrax 122? (Heard the 123 was less reliable)
I would be running it on the Castrol 2T oil that you can buy in halfords or bike dealerships, it's around £12/liter. I'm assuming that this is good stuff for this bike? Better be since I haven't seen any others around haha
Was also thinking of replacing the 3000 mile old front tyre when I replace the rear, which does need changing (Currents are Dunlop D207's iirc, wanted Pirelli or Michellen, and can't mix different brands of tyres afaik), was thinking Pirelli Diablos or Michellen Pilot Sport 2's. The Pilot Sportys are what my dad has on his Tiger 1050, and he says they're great, and really grippy for normal to fast road use, and confidence inspiring in the wet, but 125~130 Bhp on his bike with such large tyres in comparison with the smaller tyres on the RS would affect this, possibly resulting in different performance?
What 'sticky' tyres did you put on yours, just out of curiosity?
I have an Aprilia SX50 (super motard) and i never have any problems at all, and im always going full throttle. Only when you buy them new the tyres are garbage. Mine only has an racing exhaust and it does 105 km/ on GPS, pretty fast for a stock 50cc engine
My RS50 did an indicated 72mph (Ok, it was down a hill) with a stock 49cc engine, in reality it was probably around 65mph. It was only derestricted and had a sports exhaust.
Haha, I can agree. But the thing that looks more stupid, in my opinion, is the size 900 writing on the side of the tyre , rather than the more common, and in my opinion better looking slight 'rubber text' you get on most tyres. Probbably got the stickers free in a mag and slapped them on
It's a Tetsuya Harada replica, I didn't choose the 'sponsors' neither did I choose the tyres. None the less, I was young, stupid and didn't really care at the time. They looked alright when they were spinning round with the tyre paint stuff on.
If thats the case, considering your size, I'd suggest a Honda Varadero 125.
Not a sports bike, but a big (and they are big) 125cc v-twin trailie, would be a much more comfy to ride than both the prila and mito, plus it'll last a hell of a lot longer and would have a better resale value.
However, it's a pure head over heart decision, and you'll probably end up getting a prila or mito!!!!, but it's good to have options
IMO, the only reason to get a 2-stroke these days is if you're going to race, in which case you're better off with a purpose-built 125 or 250cc race machine.