Varadero 125....
Discussion
Hi all,
So despite being (plenty) old enough to do my DAS and thus get a "proper bike", I have promised my wife that I would run a 125 for a year first to "get used to bikes".
In truth this is working out pretty well. I am only commuting a short distance on fair weather days, and the CBF 125 I bought second hand does an admirable job of this.
The only issues I am finding is that:
a) At my height of 6'3" it does feel a bit small for me and its starting to make me feel a little self conscious.
b) When I take it out to my parents (20 miles away), I am having to pin it the vast majority of the time. And even then I am really only reaching an "indicated" 65mph (and that's when the wind etc is not against me).
So my question -
Is a 125cc Varadero more suitable for my needs (and worth the extra £600-700 I would probably have to chuck in)?
I no longer see myself progressing to a big bike, instead making use of a 125 as a refreshing alternative to car journeys (and therefore make it more of an event in itself).
Or am I really not going to see any real performance benefit? A lot of people claim to see a reliable 70mph on their varaderos, irrespective of gradients / wind direction etc. If I could achieve that then I think it would be ideal for my needs. If the reality however is that its speedo simply over reads by an even greater amount than the CBF (giving the false impression of additional speed) then I think I will remain content looking like a frog on a matchbox.
For reference i'm about 12 stone (starting to sound like a match.com advert now).
Thanks in advance!
So despite being (plenty) old enough to do my DAS and thus get a "proper bike", I have promised my wife that I would run a 125 for a year first to "get used to bikes".
In truth this is working out pretty well. I am only commuting a short distance on fair weather days, and the CBF 125 I bought second hand does an admirable job of this.
The only issues I am finding is that:
a) At my height of 6'3" it does feel a bit small for me and its starting to make me feel a little self conscious.
b) When I take it out to my parents (20 miles away), I am having to pin it the vast majority of the time. And even then I am really only reaching an "indicated" 65mph (and that's when the wind etc is not against me).
So my question -
Is a 125cc Varadero more suitable for my needs (and worth the extra £600-700 I would probably have to chuck in)?
I no longer see myself progressing to a big bike, instead making use of a 125 as a refreshing alternative to car journeys (and therefore make it more of an event in itself).
Or am I really not going to see any real performance benefit? A lot of people claim to see a reliable 70mph on their varaderos, irrespective of gradients / wind direction etc. If I could achieve that then I think it would be ideal for my needs. If the reality however is that its speedo simply over reads by an even greater amount than the CBF (giving the false impression of additional speed) then I think I will remain content looking like a frog on a matchbox.
For reference i'm about 12 stone (starting to sound like a match.com advert now).
Thanks in advance!
Well I have put the CBF up for sale (considerably cheaper than the price I paid), so hopefully someone will get a good deal.
As I said, I have no interest in moving onto a proper bike (I don't have biker mates and don't really want to spend all my free time on my own instead of with my wife / friends), and if there is not a 125cc that can still offer the super cheap commuting potential of the CBF 125 AND happily sit at 70mph all day (and be reliable) then probably its not for me.
Cheers for all the feedback though
As I said, I have no interest in moving onto a proper bike (I don't have biker mates and don't really want to spend all my free time on my own instead of with my wife / friends), and if there is not a 125cc that can still offer the super cheap commuting potential of the CBF 125 AND happily sit at 70mph all day (and be reliable) then probably its not for me.
Cheers for all the feedback though
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