CBF125 not used for 5 years

[Alimarsh]

Hi all

Passed my CBT yesterday with the intention of going straight to DAS but have been advised by the training school it's going to be a few months before it will be worthwhile starting lessons as there's a big backlog for tests and they think there's a good chance DVSA will shut down again, so probably best to get a 125 to get my eye in abit while I wait. Hadn't originally planned on doing this but the more I think about it I don't mind the idea.

With this in mind I've been trawling eBay etc and come across a nice looking 2010 CBF125 for £1100 with only around 7k miles on the clock and 11 months MOT that a guy has done a load of work on over lockdown as abit of a project (full list as follows).

Two new tyres front and rear
New front brake pads
New battery
New rear shoess, drum and cush drive
New o ring chain
New front and rear sprocket
Crankcase split, cleaned resprayed.
New oil and filter removed and scrubbed.
New air filter
New rear wheel bearing.


Rear frame removed stripped any rust removed and repainted

Going to look at it tomorrow, the guy seems genuine from the couple of messages back and forth, my main concern is that before the recent one the last MOT expired in 2015 so I assume it has been sat since then. Is this likely to be a major issue for these little engines? Obviously he's done oil/filters etc but is there anything else that may be of concern, or I need to look out for?

Thanks in advance for any help

[A500leroy]

Perfectly normal for smaller bikes to be sat about, just use your eyes and ears when buying and it should be fine. I would check the fork seals however as they can splits when sat for a while without being used.

[Speedy23]

You are joking, of course? 7k miles....and the crankcase has been split??? Hmmm. This bike has been comprehensively f*ucked.

And new chain and sprockets?

No, doesn't add up. Walk away. Plenty more out there.

Edited by Speedy23 on Sunday 27th September 19:42

Edited by Speedy23 on Sunday 27th September 19:43

[Alimarsh]

Speedy23 said:

You are joking, of course? 7k miles....and the crankcase has been split??? Walk away. This bike has been comprehensively f*cucked. Plenty more out there.

I did wonder about this, apologies but I'm not mechanically minded I take it this wouldn't normally be done unless there was a problem?

[HairyMaclary]

There is very little that can go wrong with these bikes as they are so simple but as the man above says there are loads out there.

Mine was a cat C but looked brand new. It had also sat in a garage for years before I got it. I had no issues with it and put 2k miles on it before passing my test.

[Speedy23]

No, it wouldn't. There's a lot more going on here than you want to know about. Sorry to put a damper on your enthusiasm but I would be very careful. This bike is not what it is being made out to be. I mean, new rear drum, shoes and rear wheel bearing? Why? Has the bike been rear-ended? Is the frame straight? No, I would just look for another.

[Alimarsh]

Speedy23 said:

No, it wouldn't. There's a lot more going on here than you want to know about. Sorry to put a damper on your enthusiasm but I would be very careful. This bike is not what it is being made out to be. I mean, new rear drum, shoes and rear wheel bearing? Why? Has the bike been rear-ended? Is the frame straight? No, I would just look for another.

Think I'll leave it then! There's another more local to me that looks in decent nick but is on 19k miles and £150 more but is from a dealer and has no mention of split crank cases....is 19k alot on these or will they go on and on? Link for reference: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293714640070

[mad4amanda]

As others have said doesn't ring true rear wheel bearings on a Honda 125 at those miles is unheard of but do check fork seals and headravce bearings carefully for leaking and a central notch , lift the wheel off the ground on side stand to check.

[Krikkit]

Alimarsh said:

Think I'll leave it then! There's another more local to me that looks in decent nick but is on 19k miles and £150 more but is from a dealer and has no mention of split crank cases....is 19k alot on these or will they go on and on? Link for reference: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293714640070

That sounds like a much better purchase. Minor cosmetic issues shouldn't be a worry, as a noob you might well drop it anyway.

As an aside I would try and get a bit more training if you can - CBT is the absolute minimum, and it's a key time for avoiding bad habits and learning the good ones.

[Alimarsh]

Krikkit said:

Alimarsh said:

Think I'll leave it then! There's another more local to me that looks in decent nick but is on 19k miles and £150 more but is from a dealer and has no mention of split crank cases....is 19k alot on these or will they go on and on? Link for reference: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293714640070

That sounds like a much better purchase. Minor cosmetic issues shouldn't be a worry, as a noob you might well drop it anyway.

As an aside I would try and get a bit more training if you can - CBT is the absolute minimum, and it's a key time for avoiding bad habits and learning the good ones.

Thanks, will give them a call tomorrow and see about going to have a look.

Yeah like I say I'm hoping to do DAS as soon as I can but Covid is making a mess of things as it is with everything else! Not sure if there's any kind of intermediate training/if it would be worthwhile in the short term? Having never ridden a geared bike before yesterday it does feel slightly mad being let loose after a few hours training, although I have been driving a car for years so have road sense to some extent (albeit without the heightened "everyones out to kill me" yet that I imagine is required for riding a bike.....)

[Iminquarantine]

Alimarsh said:

Think I'll leave it then! There's another more local to me that looks in decent nick but is on 19k miles and £150 more but is from a dealer and has no mention of split crank cases....is 19k alot on these or will they go on and on? Link for reference: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293714640070

Looks like a decent bike. It has a top box fitted which is very useful. However I don’t know when ABS became standard on bikes, but I do not see it mentioned on this particular bike. I can see it mentioned for newer CBF125s. Personally I’d not buy a bike without ABS, although I might relax that personal rule for a 125. Just something for you to consider.

[Krikkit]

Alimarsh said:

Yeah like I say I'm hoping to do DAS as soon as I can but Covid is making a mess of things as it is with everything else! Not sure if there's any kind of intermediate training/if it would be worthwhile in the short term? Having never ridden a geared bike before yesterday it does feel slightly mad being let loose after a few hours training, although I have been driving a car for years so have road sense to some extent (albeit without the heightened "everyones out to kill me" yet that I imagine is required for riding a bike.....)

No reason you can't do further training on a 125 - the early on-road bits of your DAS it's irrelevant what size of bike you do it on really, as it's about reading the road and getting the good habits of observation and positioning right.

Even the off-road bits of bike handling would be helpful, as it might help you avoid the pitfalls of a low-speed off (which is very easy to do).

If you can get a bit of training in and then practice for a few months on a 125 the DAS part will be a lot easier as some of it's already second nature.

[Donbot]

You should be able to find a decent CBF/YBR with lowish miles for around £1k if you are patient and keep an eye on gumtree etc.

[anonymous-user]

Krikkit said:

Alimarsh said:

Yeah like I say I'm hoping to do DAS as soon as I can but Covid is making a mess of things as it is with everything else! Not sure if there's any kind of intermediate training/if it would be worthwhile in the short term? Having never ridden a geared bike before yesterday it does feel slightly mad being let loose after a few hours training, although I have been driving a car for years so have road sense to some extent (albeit without the heightened "everyones out to kill me" yet that I imagine is required for riding a bike.....)

No reason you can't do further training on a 125 - the early on-road bits of your DAS it's irrelevant what size of bike you do it on really, as it's about reading the road and getting the good habits of observation and positioning right.

Even the off-road bits of bike handling would be helpful, as it might help you avoid the pitfalls of a low-speed off (which is very easy to do).

If you can get a bit of training in and then practice for a few months on a 125 the DAS part will be a lot easier as some of it's already second nature.

This is exactly what I did, got caught in the first lockdown waiting for my test so bought a 125 and rode it about for three months. Passed mod1 and 2 first time and I'm sure the extra time on the 125 helped out.

[Pothole]

Alimarsh said:

..is 19k alot on these or will they go on and on? Link for reference: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293714640070

1. It's a Honda
2. It's really, really simple
3. It's a Honda

It's almost impossible to kill because of 1 and 3

190000 miles, I'd be wary. 19000? Perfect.

[Alimarsh]

Thanks for the feedback all, will keep my eyes peeled for next couple of weeks I think, tend to be quite impatient so having to restrain myself from just jumping on something straight away ha. Would really like a Varadero but for anything half decent seem closer to 2k (which barring dropping it I imagine I'd get back but don't fancy the outlay). Doesn't seem much to choose between the CBF and a YBR (unless I'm missing something) so for what I want to spend think these are looking the best bet

[mad4amanda]

just remember valve clearance service every 2500 miles and they run on a litre of oil so check weekly at least.

[Donbot]

Yeah, the CBF and YBR are pretty much the same in terms of 'performance' and reliability.

When I was looking a few years ago the CBFs were a little bit more expensive. But I suppose you will get that money back when you sell it anyway.

[Alimarsh]

Just by way of an update I picked this cracker up yesterday. Only 11k miles, bought off a really nice chap who'd got it from a dealers for his wife then it had sat doing nothing in his garage, he's just put a new battery in and I'll be changing the oil and it should be good to go. Picked it up in a van as it was 120 miles away - most nervous drive of my life waiting to hear a bang every time I went round a corner!

The bike is in fantastic condition and I'm chuffed to bits with it - just a shame it looks like it's going to P*ss it down all weekend!

[Ed.]

Congratulations, looks very clean.