Local ads for a cheap 125?
Discussion
Having passed my CBT ive now got my DAS booked up for september - this being quite far away id like something to practise on in the meantime. Is the best spot to find a cheap 125 going to be the local ads or are there any good websites for this sort of thing?
If anyone has anything of the sort (by cheap we are talking 600 quid or less) in east somerset / west wiltshire let me know
If anyone has anything of the sort (by cheap we are talking 600 quid or less) in east somerset / west wiltshire let me know
lawrence567 said:
the obv sites are this ones classifieds, ebay, autotrader then go to the biike section & your local paper.
I think £600 is a bit optimistic but i maybe wrong!
Well im assuming £600 is doable as this exists unless there is some scam here in the small print that im missingI think £600 is a bit optimistic but i maybe wrong!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apache-125cc-Road-Legal-Scra...
Well the bikes £530
Registration fee: £82.25
Aseembly & PDI (which you need to validate warranty): £50
Tax disc: £30
Delivery £79
Comes to around £770 which is a bit over.
& then you have insrance on top of that.
It's also more than likely a cheap chinese import, the majority of these cheap japanese bikes are all made in there or therabouts the same provinces & normally the same factories in China & just re-badged as different bikes.
The mechanic next door was telling me how someone brought one in & had blown it up after 30miles of riding, admittedly it was probably a one off.
But i wouldnt buy these cheap imports, they're cheap for a reason!
Registration fee: £82.25
Aseembly & PDI (which you need to validate warranty): £50
Tax disc: £30
Delivery £79
Comes to around £770 which is a bit over.
& then you have insrance on top of that.
It's also more than likely a cheap chinese import, the majority of these cheap japanese bikes are all made in there or therabouts the same provinces & normally the same factories in China & just re-badged as different bikes.
The mechanic next door was telling me how someone brought one in & had blown it up after 30miles of riding, admittedly it was probably a one off.
But i wouldnt buy these cheap imports, they're cheap for a reason!
lawrence567 said:
Well the bikes £530
Registration fee: £82.25
Aseembly & PDI (which you need to validate warranty): £50
Tax disc: £30
Delivery £79
Comes to around £770 which is a bit over.
& then you have insrance on top of that.
It's also more than likely a cheap chinese import, the majority of these cheap japanese bikes are all made in there or therabouts the same provinces & normally the same factories in China & just re-badged as different bikes.
The mechanic next door was telling me how someone brought one in & had blown it up after 30miles of riding, admittedly it was probably a one off.
But i wouldnt buy these cheap imports, they're cheap for a reason!
I realise its not going to be top quality at that money but looking at whats available near me the closest cheap thing is a 25 year old dt125 with no tax at £400. The bike only needs to last me till ive passed my DAS then I could sell it and itd probably cost me less than the total cost of hiring a bike to practice on or buying a second hand cheapo.Registration fee: £82.25
Aseembly & PDI (which you need to validate warranty): £50
Tax disc: £30
Delivery £79
Comes to around £770 which is a bit over.
& then you have insrance on top of that.
It's also more than likely a cheap chinese import, the majority of these cheap japanese bikes are all made in there or therabouts the same provinces & normally the same factories in China & just re-badged as different bikes.
The mechanic next door was telling me how someone brought one in & had blown it up after 30miles of riding, admittedly it was probably a one off.
But i wouldnt buy these cheap imports, they're cheap for a reason!
I was in the same boat as you last year. Bought an 04 CG125 for £1400 from my local Honda dealer and ran it until October then sold it back to them for £1250 which is not bad depreciation and learnt heaps zipping about for 3 months. Considering it costs £25 a day to rent, £150 I lost is rental for only 6 days.
Obviously noted that your budget is £600 but if you were able to stretch a but more, you won't lose too much when the time come to sell anyway.
Obviously noted that your budget is £600 but if you were able to stretch a but more, you won't lose too much when the time come to sell anyway.
Edited by amare32 on Wednesday 2nd July 16:06
lawrence567 said:
Buying older second hand bikes especially hondas you dont lose half as much cash.
& Honda's are bulletproof so they dont depreciate much.
It's entirely up to you what you decide to do just giving my 10p's worth..
The input is appreciated I just cant find anyone selling these cg 125s locally that people suggest - this is admittedly only based on internet searching today & Honda's are bulletproof so they dont depreciate much.
It's entirely up to you what you decide to do just giving my 10p's worth..
The suggestion of buying one from a dealer and selling it back to them later is appealing but requires more initial cash than id like to spend.
I realise this probably wont meet with approval here but I do see the cheap chinese bike as the best option - 6 month parts warranty that I wont get on a used bike, not going to have been dropped / binned otherwise messed about with, and I only need it for 2 months - if it does break its a lot less to lose... and if i like it its cheap enough to hang onto for a bit of fun
The way I see it with a Chinese bike is that you can buy them for next to nothing but then think what they are worth when you sell them. People are not gonna pay much for a second hand bike when they can get a brand new one (with warranty etc) for £700. At least with a CG you will be able to sell it for near enough what you bought it for. If you can get a CG privately you will probably sell it on for the same price 2 months later (not from a dealer though as you always pay more).
With my 50 I put 8000 miles onto it in a year and I got £50 MORE than what I had paid a year earlier, I just cleaned it up, took good photos, put a good listing on eBay and an optimistic buy it now and waited for the offers.
With my 50 I put 8000 miles onto it in a year and I got £50 MORE than what I had paid a year earlier, I just cleaned it up, took good photos, put a good listing on eBay and an optimistic buy it now and waited for the offers.
This one no good?
http://www.trade-it.co.uk/AdRef/TW822N02F/Editions...
or this one?
http://www.trade-it.co.uk/AdRef/TW8239A30/Editions...
or this?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2006-HONDA-CG-125-4-RED_W0QQ...
Trade-it, Ebay or your local paper / newsagents / supermarket notice board will be your best bets. These are cheap bikes, run by blokes with no money, who won't want to pay for advertising if they can help it. You're bound to turn something up.
http://www.trade-it.co.uk/AdRef/TW822N02F/Editions...
or this one?
http://www.trade-it.co.uk/AdRef/TW8239A30/Editions...
or this?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2006-HONDA-CG-125-4-RED_W0QQ...
Trade-it, Ebay or your local paper / newsagents / supermarket notice board will be your best bets. These are cheap bikes, run by blokes with no money, who won't want to pay for advertising if they can help it. You're bound to turn something up.
Edited by N Dentressangle on Wednesday 2nd July 17:24
Edited by N Dentressangle on Wednesday 2nd July 17:28
Carl-H said:
The way I see it with a Chinese bike is that you can buy them for next to nothing but then think what they are worth when you sell them. People are not gonna pay much for a second hand bike when they can get a brand new one (with warranty etc) for £700. At least with a CG you will be able to sell it for near enough what you bought it for. If you can get a CG privately you will probably sell it on for the same price 2 months later (not from a dealer though as you always pay more).
With my 50 I put 8000 miles onto it in a year and I got £50 MORE than what I had paid a year earlier, I just cleaned it up, took good photos, put a good listing on eBay and an optimistic buy it now and waited for the offers.
What do you think one of these cheap imports might fetch second hand? ive seen them advertised a year old for about 550 which seems optimistic. Id expect maybe 450 - 500 after a couple of months use?With my 50 I put 8000 miles onto it in a year and I got £50 MORE than what I had paid a year earlier, I just cleaned it up, took good photos, put a good listing on eBay and an optimistic buy it now and waited for the offers.
Sorry for the continual bumping of this thread but the discussion interests me as it does seem like a bit of a peculiar market so im seeking to pick up all the info I can.
Not really sure what they would be worth second hand. I would probably be willing to pay around 300 but that's because I don't like Chinese bikes and the parts warranty would be very important to me so I would probably pay more and have a brand new one if I was to buy one. Even with a parts warranty it doesn't mean to say parts will be available as they may have to be ordered where as most places will stock CG parts or be able to order them for the next day or two.
The way I see it a CG will be cheaper in the long run (including insurance which you may struggle with with a Chinese bike), easier to sell on, parts will be cheaper and very easy to find and there should be a few of them near you.
The way I see it a CG will be cheaper in the long run (including insurance which you may struggle with with a Chinese bike), easier to sell on, parts will be cheaper and very easy to find and there should be a few of them near you.
I'm not knocking Chinese bikes in theory but after speaking to my mechanic about them, and he has seen a good few some are genuinely shocking.. Shocks turning to pogo-sticks in 500 miles.. 
and chains n sprockets worn out in the same distance.
5 or 600 quid is still money i wouldnt want to throw away. I would suggest a half decent old 125 (maybe CG) Ride it till ur test and then sell it. If you're shrewd it may cost you zero. Other than insurance and tax etc.
and chains n sprockets worn out in the same distance.5 or 600 quid is still money i wouldnt want to throw away. I would suggest a half decent old 125 (maybe CG) Ride it till ur test and then sell it. If you're shrewd it may cost you zero. Other than insurance and tax etc.
With those Chinese bikes as i said my mechanic had one of his other customers blow up on him after 30 miles!
The reason they only give you 6 months parts warrnaty is the parts are dirt cheap in the first place so it doesnt cost them much.
Plus if htey were confident in tnhe machine they'd put a 12month warranty on it.
When i bought my Yam thundercat it came with a years parts & labour warranty on.
Obviously though thats a different kettle of fish!
Have you looked at any other 125s?
An old Kawasaki KMX, Eliminator, Yamaha DT etc etc.
I think for anything half decent your going to be looking to be paying 750+
I'm looking for something to commute on as i dont want to put loads of pointless miles on my already low mileage thundercat which is in mint condition.
I'm looking at paying around £1500 for anything any size to thrash about.
Another option would be is do you have a mate with an old £125 that would say rent it to you for a couple hundred for a couple months?
The reason they only give you 6 months parts warrnaty is the parts are dirt cheap in the first place so it doesnt cost them much.
Plus if htey were confident in tnhe machine they'd put a 12month warranty on it.
When i bought my Yam thundercat it came with a years parts & labour warranty on.
Obviously though thats a different kettle of fish!
Have you looked at any other 125s?
An old Kawasaki KMX, Eliminator, Yamaha DT etc etc.
I think for anything half decent your going to be looking to be paying 750+
I'm looking for something to commute on as i dont want to put loads of pointless miles on my already low mileage thundercat which is in mint condition.
I'm looking at paying around £1500 for anything any size to thrash about.
Another option would be is do you have a mate with an old £125 that would say rent it to you for a couple hundred for a couple months?
After an evening of searching around I have decided to try the risk of a cheapy import. All the bikes ive found locally at a similar price are no tax or mot, newish but dropped / binned, or are truly ancient.
These chinese bikes all use replica cg125 engines and from my searching I honestly havent found any first hand accounts of engine failure - well, there was some chap on a honda forum whod had his genuine one die but hey.
There are a fair few accounts out there of people who have had problems with the electrics or the bikes being improperly set up when they get them - and this seems limited to brands that the seller im looking at does not use. I hope to mitigate this potential risk by having a competent friend check it over with me.
I will report back once I have the bike and tell the tale - good or bad.
These chinese bikes all use replica cg125 engines and from my searching I honestly havent found any first hand accounts of engine failure - well, there was some chap on a honda forum whod had his genuine one die but hey.
There are a fair few accounts out there of people who have had problems with the electrics or the bikes being improperly set up when they get them - and this seems limited to brands that the seller im looking at does not use. I hope to mitigate this potential risk by having a competent friend check it over with me.
I will report back once I have the bike and tell the tale - good or bad.
With a CG125 it doesnt matter if its been dropped. I could understand if it was an R1 or something but its to be expected, remember they are learner bikes. I would rather buy an older bike thats been looked after than a newer one that had been thrashed and never serviced. Tax doesnt really matter as its only £15, just means you can't ride it home unless you get insurance details through first.
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff