80's and beyond learner legal bikes? a little o/t

[Deleted]

been looking into this as a possibility for cheap transport.
I would need to do a CBT and pass on a 125cc geared bike to be able to ride basically everything I would want
(I'm not that into big bikes, but I really love classic Brit bikes and 125/250cc race replicas)

got a couple of insurance quotes based on provisional bike license and the old style cagiva mito is about £150 TPFT, about 250ish fully comp.

bit of a silly buggers bike, so checked out a BSA bantam 125, 140 fully comp

anyway I'm sure there's lots of bikers here, so post up for 125cc up to 250cc bikes for all to see retro or proper classic I don't mind!

here's a quick start!



www.twnclub.ch/classic_trial_files/IoM/IoM%20clips/GDughera.JPG/img]





my bike knowledge is weak, so any pointers would be great!
This is something I can hopefully do at my leisure with a view to getting a BSA or Norton to fix up/hack and maybe have a 125 daily for summer cheap fun.

go chaps!

[simes]

A CBT will only allow you to ride up to 125cc and no further.

These were all good back in the day - 2 strokers also

Yamaha RD125
Honda 125RSR
Aprilia RS125 - Fragile
Yamaha DT125
Suzuki TZR 125

[Deleted]

yeah CBT allows me to ride for 2 years on prov license, but passing on a 125 lets me up to 33bhp bike of any size for 2 years.

there is an option of doing a test on a larger bike and being able to ride anything, but tbh I'm not that interested in larger bikes anyway, I'm too short for most of the anyway!

[stinkwheel]

RD125LC ofr the WIN!!!

I had one when I was 17, succession of bigger, newer faster bikes and at 30 years old, I've got an RD125LC again



now depending on who tampers with what (exhaust, porting, raised compression etc) these are great fun, mine does 85mph on the clock with an allspeed pipe and a carefully re-built standard engine. All with that 2 stroke crackle and powerband.

If it helps i've also got one of these ...........


a 250 2 smoke twin, think 350LC but in a trail motor so shorter gearing

[mickeytaker]

saw a BSA bantam D1 125 last weekend in the Milton Keynes museum ,
I had one as a lad that I restored from about 8 boxes of bits

[garethj]

My knowledge of old bikes is naff-all, but you could try the forums on www.therevcounter.com/

[trg1984]

if you don't mind scooters then vespa px125s can be bought cheaply and hold their value too, 500 quid will land you one

[PandaSelecta]

I found that the best 125 is the honda CG125, its perfect for a beginner, its easy to work on, and all the schools around me use them

cgi.ebay.co.uk/2006-HONDA-CG-125-4-RED-Excellent-Cond-1600-Miles-only_W0QQitemZ160223467437QQihZ006QQcategoryZ9806QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[simes]

pandaselecta said:

I found that the best 125 is the honda CG125, its perfect for a beginner, its easy to work on, and all the schools around me use them

cgi.ebay.co.uk/2006-HONDA-CG-125-4-RED-Excellent-Cond-1600-Miles-only_W0QQitemZ160223467437QQihZ006QQcategoryZ9806QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yep they are very good, sensible and reliable but not the most fun. The 2 -strokers listed earlier would be great fun.

Yep your right about the test, get your CBT, do your theory and then the restricted (A) test. It's slightly cheaper and is a little easier than the DAS.
That's what I did a few years ago, mainly to allow me to ride my bored out 125 legally.

[Mr S]

CG125 all the way - 80+mpg (some report up to 120mpg!), good handling, if you drop it, just kick it straight and carry on. Indestructable little things

And if you're very lucky, you can look as cool as this chap here

[Harold Ramp Bumface Fandango]

bladerunner30 said:

CG125 all the way - 80+mpg (some report up to 120mpg!), good handling, if you drop it, just kick it straight and carry on. Indestructable little things And if you're very UNulucky, you can look as cool as this chap here

Agreed!
CG125s are bullet proof, brilliant little bikes. However the stroker in me says KH or GT125 ftw. Always found Yamahas totally unreliable I'm afraid.

[Deleted]

good advice guys!
i was trying not to mention the CG125 as its the weapon of beakie capped middle aged idiot commuters!!!! but you cant fault it i suppose

would anyone venture a guess as to how much a "sports" styled 125 would fetch in rough/medium fettle? or even a BSA 125 in bits?
the cagiva mito will always be top of my list but its a bit of a dream due to price and skill > death ratio
and would anyone know a good place for getting the facts and figures on older bikes? interested in mpg/bhp/0-60 etc

keep it coming!

[stinkwheel]

Standard RD125LC in useable nick with an MOT about 5-600 quid for a nice-ish one. mpg about 40ish 0-60 i have no clue but faster than most cars round town

[madmog]

petej said:

yeah CBT allows me to ride for 2 years on prov license, but passing on a 125 lets me up to 33bhp bike of any size for 2 years.

there is an option of doing a test on a larger bike and being able to ride anything, but tbh I'm not that interested in larger bikes anyway, I'm too short for most of the anyway!

Careful to make sure you have a bike capable of 62.5mph or at least take your test on one. I nearly got caught by this, if you take your test on say a 125cc PX Vespa you will be limited to 125cc machines forever (until you take another test). But if you take your test on a T5 Vespa you will only be limited to 33bhp for 3 years since it's fast enough. Modifying won't make a difference, it's what it says in the manufacturer's handbook. When I did my test there was a list on the wall at the test centre of bikes and their power.

More info here...
www.elitemotorcycletraining.com/restricted.htm

Wasn't always so. No idea of the speeds of 125cc bikes mentioned above, they might all be okay.

[Deleted]

I have checked this out, for a time I thought 125cc would have been fine, but there's so many 250cc bikes worth having
alot of proper classics, and then loads of cool retro 80's and early 90's stuff!

the DVLA site states the bike text must be taken on a 125cc bike to get the full 33bhp license with a 2 year restriction, 124cc leaves you with only a "moped" license.

also some of the 125cc bikes (moderns) in unrestricted form have the capability of going over 110mph in some cases (if my research isnt BS) thuogh mainly from the touchy italian bikes (cagiva/aprilia)

we need more pics in here too!

[stinkwheel]

modern 125cc bikes as you mention (cagiva, aprillia etc) will be able to acheive over 100mph, properly unrestricted and set up. If its been derestricted by the owner then expect less than this. Avoid anything that people claim to have tuned.

The bikes that are capable of these speeds will be fragile and engine rebuilds are reccomended at 10k intervals (by rebuild see new pistons, seals etc)
An unrestricted decent 2 stroke 125 will pass 80mph easy but many will read more on the clock but not be doing it.

[simes]

The new Cagiva mito



Yam RD125LC



TZR 125



RS125



RS250 - most have been blown up.



DT125



RGV250

[tux]

I've got this in the garage. Not been run for I don't know how many years. Used to be a hoot to ride.