Chinese Whispers
Discussion
I would never buy a Chinese bike brand-new; the depreciation is massive.
Second hand they are a great buy, as long as you are willing to do a bit of spannering and preventative maintenance.
£400 will get you something that is only a couple of years old; that would only get you a 15 year old shagged out Honda CG125.
Keep it in decent condition and you will probably be able to sell it for the same money in a couple of years.
Second hand they are a great buy, as long as you are willing to do a bit of spannering and preventative maintenance.
£400 will get you something that is only a couple of years old; that would only get you a 15 year old shagged out Honda CG125.
Keep it in decent condition and you will probably be able to sell it for the same money in a couple of years.
I would be more than happy with a Lexmoto Venom as a first bike . Definitely up to the standard of bottom end Jap. 125s
Super cheap to run and maintain, and you have a shiny new bike for peanuts.
Personally I don't understand the rush to jump on a 600. All the new boys /men I have encountered that have chosen this route seem to be lacking in something (not confidence
)
I frequently will chose to take my smaller machines out and without fail they still bring a smile to my face ..even my 74 cb125s
Having worked on Ybs, yzfs, cbrs etc. and Lexmotos , I feel there is not much to chose when price is taken into consideration. If ypu can buy low mileage clean examples from an old fart then you're on a winner .
Not trying to upset anyone , It's similar to starting off with Suzuki Swift as opposed to Nissan GTR. It's easy to appear like a riding God on a modern 600 , when in fact the machine is flattering to deceive .
Edit to add the Swift relates to the 125 If there was any doubt.
Super cheap to run and maintain, and you have a shiny new bike for peanuts.
Personally I don't understand the rush to jump on a 600. All the new boys /men I have encountered that have chosen this route seem to be lacking in something (not confidence
)I frequently will chose to take my smaller machines out and without fail they still bring a smile to my face ..even my 74 cb125s
Having worked on Ybs, yzfs, cbrs etc. and Lexmotos , I feel there is not much to chose when price is taken into consideration. If ypu can buy low mileage clean examples from an old fart then you're on a winner .
Not trying to upset anyone , It's similar to starting off with Suzuki Swift as opposed to Nissan GTR. It's easy to appear like a riding God on a modern 600 , when in fact the machine is flattering to deceive .
Edit to add the Swift relates to the 125
If there was any doubt.Edited by freddytin on Friday 1st July 14:22
Just to add, you'll find a 125-size bike easier at maneuvering and town-speed riding but significantly less stable at NSL speeds than a bigger bike - where a 600 commuter bike will feel in its element at 60-odd a 125 will feel like it's pushing it. This will be even more noticeable if you're on the husky side, but less of a problem if you're a racing snake.
I did an A2 restricted license at 19 after 2 year's driving, so a week's intensive course on a 125 and a test before hopping onto a (33hp restricted) suzuki SV650. Beyond the first half an hour of initial shock/wobbling at the increased weight, seat height and power of the bigger bike over the 125 I realised quickly that the rest of the package (brakes, stability etc.) was much better suited to the road and confidence inspiring - I'd also have gotten bored with the 125, whereas the only reason the SV left my possession was because a thief decided he liked it too. That first ride after only ever being on 125s was absolutely terrifying though.
As far as chinese 125s go, everything's pretty much been covered. Sinnis and Lexmoto are arguably the best of the bunch but they're built to a price so as long as you're not expecting a bentley for dacia money and prepare for an element of spanner wielding and shonky plastics they're good. Regardless of how well a bike's screwed together it won't enjoy 15,000 serviceless miles being revved from cold by a 17 year old, so £1200 on a new chinese or a 4 year old japanese is probably about the same amount of risk.
Big bike-wise, depending on what you're after and your confidence level the world's your oyster really. £1500 will get you a tidy bike - bandit, fazer, cbr600f, plenty of great fun and capable machines. You'll pay more for a cruiser-style bike but a yamaha dragstar 650 would be a lovely middle ground between grunty enough to get out of its own way but relaxed, small and forgiving enough to suit a new rider looking at something other than a sport bike.
I did an A2 restricted license at 19 after 2 year's driving, so a week's intensive course on a 125 and a test before hopping onto a (33hp restricted) suzuki SV650. Beyond the first half an hour of initial shock/wobbling at the increased weight, seat height and power of the bigger bike over the 125 I realised quickly that the rest of the package (brakes, stability etc.) was much better suited to the road and confidence inspiring - I'd also have gotten bored with the 125, whereas the only reason the SV left my possession was because a thief decided he liked it too. That first ride after only ever being on 125s was absolutely terrifying though.
As far as chinese 125s go, everything's pretty much been covered. Sinnis and Lexmoto are arguably the best of the bunch but they're built to a price so as long as you're not expecting a bentley for dacia money and prepare for an element of spanner wielding and shonky plastics they're good. Regardless of how well a bike's screwed together it won't enjoy 15,000 serviceless miles being revved from cold by a 17 year old, so £1200 on a new chinese or a 4 year old japanese is probably about the same amount of risk.
Big bike-wise, depending on what you're after and your confidence level the world's your oyster really. £1500 will get you a tidy bike - bandit, fazer, cbr600f, plenty of great fun and capable machines. You'll pay more for a cruiser-style bike but a yamaha dragstar 650 would be a lovely middle ground between grunty enough to get out of its own way but relaxed, small and forgiving enough to suit a new rider looking at something other than a sport bike.
Some great advice on here thanks.
Will be doing the CBT at the end of the month as there is allot for me to pay out from here until the new year. Shall get the full licence as soon as I can.
Like the looks and prices of the Bandit so that's probably the front runner when I get the licence. If buying new though, the MT-07 seems to tick all the right boxes.
On subject though. I went to a Lexmoto dealer (Warrington), helpful chap working there and backed up the quality obviously. They come with a 2 year warranty which covers all parts minus cables, tyres and brakes mainly (so he says). As someone mentioned though, although it's cheap the resale value will not be great whilst speaking to one dealer he said they don't trade in Chinese bikes at all. I'll still try to avoid if a decent deal is around for a better brand.
Is Auto Trader, Ebay and Gumtree the best places to look for used bikes in the internet or is there somewhere else I should be looking?
Will be doing the CBT at the end of the month as there is allot for me to pay out from here until the new year. Shall get the full licence as soon as I can.
Like the looks and prices of the Bandit so that's probably the front runner when I get the licence. If buying new though, the MT-07 seems to tick all the right boxes.
On subject though. I went to a Lexmoto dealer (Warrington), helpful chap working there and backed up the quality obviously. They come with a 2 year warranty which covers all parts minus cables, tyres and brakes mainly (so he says). As someone mentioned though, although it's cheap the resale value will not be great whilst speaking to one dealer he said they don't trade in Chinese bikes at all. I'll still try to avoid if a decent deal is around for a better brand.
Is Auto Trader, Ebay and Gumtree the best places to look for used bikes in the internet or is there somewhere else I should be looking?
Cbull said:
They come with a 2 year warranty which covers all parts minus cables, tyres and brakes mainly (so he says).
Worth checking the servicing costs. Might not apply in your case and I'm sure there would be legal wriggle room anyway but I have heard dealers charging £150+ every 6 months for servicing to keep the warranty. £600 over 2 years goes quite a way to covering their back.Ebay, gumtree and autotrader are the core searching grounds but some gumtree stuff can be ropey and ebay isn't as big a bargain bin as it used to be. Other options would be the classifieds on here and MCN, the for sale section of any marque-specific forum if you do narrow your bike choice, and local/regional motorbike sales facebook pages (if you can withstand trawling through pages and pages of pit bikes and stolen recovered scooters).
Just keep an eye on the lot occasionally and the right bike will pop up sure enough
Just keep an eye on the lot occasionally and the right bike will pop up sure enough
Agree with others. Do your direct acccess and get something like a CB500 for your first year (you'll do the test on something similar) then upgrade. When you do the DAS course you'll do a couple of days on 125s learning the basics then onto a 500. I remember tangibly the incredible feeling of riding one of those for the first time - nothing to do with the obvious performance uplift - just everything about it was better.
myvision said:
I'm the same age 39 I did my DAS in May I bought a 125 to commute into London.
I also bought a 600 Hornet for home (Lincolnshire) to get some experience.
Trust me you will soon be pissed off on the 125.
Bought myself a 125 (after CBT) with a view to getting some experience before doing DAS. After 3 months on the 125 I was bored of the low top speed (55-60), and needed someone to correct my bad habits.I also bought a 600 Hornet for home (Lincolnshire) to get some experience.
Trust me you will soon be pissed off on the 125.
2 years on a 125 at nearly 40 would be way too long.
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