Motorbike decision :)?

Hi community,

So I'm planning to buy a motorbike. I'm going to do the CBT this year and then take the A1 theory next year (because I'm only 16 now) and also so I can progress faster and get A licence when I'm 21 instead of waiting until I'm 24.

Now I was searching up about some bikes, (I can only ride 125cc, upto 11kw and a power-to-weight ratio not more than 0.1 kW per kg bike with A1 licence) and I found 2 bikes which people say that are good:
-Yamaha YZF-R125
-Aprilia RS 125 11kw

People say that Yamaha is a very reliable bike and it has very small fuel take. On the other hand side, people say that Aprilia is a bike for people which want "faster" bikes and better looking one.

Now I really want to get fast accelerating (fast) and looking bike (which I know its impossible for 125cc but still) which I can ride around the city, and to the school.

My question is what do you think about these two bikes, and which one is better... or maybe you guys know any other ones which are also great!.
Thanks in advance

 

I think it is great that you are motivated to start as early as possible. While the motorcycle is fun, keep this in your mind: It is a skill achievement process, just like going to school.

I think you will have a great time no matter which bike you choose. Will you be working on your own bike? Is there repair support for Aprilia on your area?

Here is something about speed you need to learn: Unlike a car where the only determination of speed is smashing the gas pedal, on a motorcycle the rider is what determines the acceleration of the bike. The acceleration is limited by the friction of the rear tire. It is your job to modulate the throttle, gear selector, clutch, and handlebars, to always keep the bike stable. As you learn to keep the bike stable, then you can begin pushing acceleration, giving that the road conditions and weather permit the speeds you are doing. A great rider on a 125 cc bike can easily beat a poor rider on 600.

Please go to the library and read through the books by Keith Code, Ken Condon, and Reg Pridmore among others. As you read them, go through the motions in your head. After doing that, when you are on the bike, understanding will come naturally to your hands and feat.

 

Hmm

Hello Johhhny - welcome to the VFRWorld Forum. I suspect you may qualify as one of the youngest people on the Forum!

I am not convinced that you will actually get much pertinent input to your forthcoming choice of motorbikes from this forum. For many VFR owners, it will be a good few years since they last considering buying or even riding a 125. So here is my 2p. Please do not take this as getting at you - I truly admire your ambition to take up motorbiking - but before making your buying decision, it might be worth thinking things through..

Suffice to say many years back, when I finally got around to actually applying for a motorbike licence I also started out on a Yamaha 125 from the school fleet of totally battered 125s. To be fair, the Yamaha seemed OK for all of three hours I had to endure riding such an underpowered beast and yes I managed to test its horizontal parking abilities.

So if you are really considering buying a New? bike to learn on - THEN MAKE SURE you also purchase and install extensive crash protection before you consider taking it for a ride - as you will drop it OFTEN and generally when you have an audience - who nowadays will share your embarrassment on YouTube - FacePage.. etc !

Hence, especially if funds are tight, for a learning machine, you might be better advised to consider renting or buying a beat up bike from the training school (which will probably have all the crash bars fitted). Then any further customisation which you might inflict will be barely discernible and as long as you don't wreck it, you will get most of your money back when you are ready to move on to more powerful machines.

PS Whatever you buy YOU will drop it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So if you don't choose a brand new bike, it won't stress you out half as much when its lying on its side. Just make sure your instructor explains fully how to go about safely getting the bike back upright, checking it over and if it is OK, safely continuing with your ride.

Thankfully in my case I was learning on the DAS scheme so by lunchtime I had my CBT ticket and for the afternoon session and all my subsequent lessons I swapped the 125 for the use of a school ER5. Only once I had a full licence did I consider owning a motorbike, migrating over time and several progressively more powerful bikes, to eventually end up with a VFR and Street Triple.

As for the choice of bikes you might also want to consider a used CBR125 - there are usually plenty available - and their excellent handling makes up a lot for the lack of CCs.

Good luck and don't forget ATGATT.



SkiMad

 

Good advice from KNIGHT. My daughter bought a CBR300 recently as a first bike. She was looking at an old CBR600 originally, but I advised her that was much too big a bike for her to learn on. If I could have persuaded her further, I would have told her to ride a 125.

My advice to you is get the bike you like the look of and like to sit on. Neither one of them has much power but is more than adequate to learn how to ride on.

Take the course, that is a good idea. But after you have passed it, unless you are very good on the throttle, clutch and brake, practice in a large parking lot. I wouldn't advise riding on the road much initially until emergency braking and using the controls becomes second nature. I say that because when I was 17 I had my first bike, a CD175 Honda, delivered to my door. My dad showed me how to use the controls. I practiced on my street. My dad told me not to ride it anywhere but our street until I was proficient, and definately not in the night.

That first day I took it out at night. After a few miles a drunk staggered in front of me. I froze as braking or using the controls was not natural, and if he hadn't staggered back out of my way, would have hit him. I learn't from that. Even slow speeds seem very fast when something happens and you are not equipped to deal with it.

Take care, and you hopefully, won't have any incidents that will put you off riding bikes.

 

This kid is from UK Where for one reason or another a 125cc or smaller bike is SOP in displacement to become licensed.

The issue is a tossup since in most states here, sixteen is the age at which one can get a license to drive and to ride any bike ever made.

Two fast guys or slow guys, one on a 125 and the other on a 600? Only if the 125 is a GP bike or maybe even a 50cc Kriedler is gonna take the average 600 that is unless we are not talking aboot a speed contest and talking about a field event like "bite the weenie", Australian Pursuit or better yet "slow race."

 

+1 to the "kid" list (Got called kid 15 times now including different forums - I'm impressed)

Yes there is Aprilia support near my area, also I got a couple of friend + my step dad rides bikes before , so for sure they will help me with any maintenance.
Yes, people say that every 125cc bike is good, no matter which you choose... but I'm really looking for a bike which I can keep until im 19-21, not a bike which I will only have for like a 1 year and then buy a second one.
And also Im buying used one not new une because there is no point buying new 125cc if I'm going to buy another bike when I will ge my A plate.

Yes I looked at CBR 125 too but I decided to go with yamaha or aprilia because there was a massive opinions about these two bikes where I didn't find that much about CBR 125.
And you're the second person which is suggesting the CBR for me as well
Oh and nice too know that I might be one of the youngest here

 

Hopefully you are not 6'6" and aboot 250 soaking wet. That 125 may not be wanted for long.

Being the youngest here may only last a moment. Somebody wiil sign in their kid that is less than two years and still crapping it's nappies just to hold title.

 

I'm about 6'4" and about 70kg so yeah...

Yeah, hopefully this won't happend, I want to keep my title

 

I don't know what the availability of off-roading is, in your area, but I would suggest getting an enduro/dual sport bike. There are a lot of skills learned in dirt biking that most street riders will never see. 125CCs will be a lot more fun on the trail, than on the street, as well. If you end up enjoying the trail riding, you can keep the bike, after you upgrade.

 

It's a good thing that in UK the same restrictions are not applied to equestrians. Otherwise you'd be learning on a Shetland Pony or God forbid a goat..

My old age and wisdom tell me that you won't be riding a 125 for any longer than you have to. The first indication will come when one of your mates sees you on the bike and begins with a giggle and ends in a full blown guffaw..

 

In my day we were glad of the price of a cup of tea....

Billy is correct methinks. If you use the bike for simply commuting then I'm sure 125cc will be plenty. I was like that until I went out for my first ride with a club and discovered much more about the simple joys of riding on the open road. After that the horsepower craving really kicked in, and I escalated from the 125 to a 250, then a 400 over 18 months. Given your presence on this forum you seem to have been bitten by the biking bug pretty hard, so I would proceed on the basis that that 125 is just a stepping stone. Buy something cheap and durable and save your pounds for the next fix. Spend money on good tyres, a decent helmet, boots, gloves and armoured jacket and pants.

My advice is don't go too fast too soon. You need to learn to read the road surface for hazards (my first crash was on tramlines on a wet road) and practice defensive driving as there will always be situations of SMIDSYs, no matter how bright your headlight.

And welcome.

 

What is a "tramline"? I looked it up and it seems to be a line separating crops but from your context I take it that this is a term for painted road lines?

 

As others have already stated. Don't expect your average street-going 125cc bike to be "fast" by any means at all. I got my motorcycle license at 14.5 years old as allowed by Oklahoma law, but that same law relegated me to a 250cc or smaller. I got a 2001 Suzuki GZ250 and good lord was it weak! The experience I got riding that little green turd around was invaluable though! I laid it over twice in short order and got hit by a car once (her fault) at low-ish speed. It's been about 13 years since then and through using everything I learned, I haven't had laid a bike down or had an accident since. I guess what I'm saying is, don't worry about speed and get the lighter one because you'll be picking it up once or twice.

 

Sadly I live in central London (20 mins with train to get to the London Victoria from my house), so I think there isn't an option for purchasing a off-road bike

Well if someone gonna giggle on me because I ride 125cc and it's illegal for me to right any higher, then well... something wrong with them
Also yeah, you're right I only want to buy used 125cc so I can keep it for most part but also so I can learn biking and then purchase something more stronger

Tramline are the trails by which trams go, https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7039/6878040501_c0f38ec149_b.jpg see this shiny little things, this is a tramline

I don't expect to accelerate to 100km/h with 2 sec on 125cc, but I want something which accelerate pretty fast because there are many stopping light in London, and I would slow down other cars as well as waste some of my time accelerating to 40 km/h with 12sec, I'm right?



Also another question, does Aprilia RS 125 11kw really needs that much fixing, what I read from opinions and such so people complain about fixing it. Now I would purchase Aprilia RS 125 11kw but if there is a lot of fixing done for it, they I think I'm going to go for yamaha.
Also what people mean by fixing in and how does it mostly take to fix certain things?

 

If one of your mates doesn't break out in laughter at a guy your size astride a small 125, Try a big mirror and you'll see what I mean.

Good show for pointing oot to "Knight" as to what a tramline is. We call them rails. Riding across same should be done at an angle if at all possible especially if they are either above or below the tarmac.

One major exception to the "rule" might be never ride over the infamous third rail found in NYC subways.. The results could be shocking.

 

I cannot see this link at work but I think I understand. We call them trolleys here, gotcha! Slick tracks, oh yea

When you begin riding you will start out at idle, slowly rev the bike, and slowly let out the clutch. Until you get used to it, everything is intimidating and you keep in on the slow side. This is the area to practice 1,000 times so that you get rid of the fear, and you can begin accelerating faster. You can practice in a large parking lot for example. Also I am in the city. When I got my bike I got up at 7 AM on a Sunday and drove around the neighborhood, which is nothing but stop signs. (I got some angry looks, probably for the noise. Sorry about that neighborino.)

Here is what you will find yourself learning then doing: Revving the engine a couple of grand, then moderately letting out the clutch. This will get you a faster start at the stoplight. The risks of taking off fast are doing wheelie, which if you're a big guy I do not see that happening. The other risk is spinning the rear tire. The happy medium is a quick take off without any of these problems.

Yes cars are crazy. They hit the gas at every stoplight. They act like everything is a race. Being first at a stoplight is very intimidating for this reason. You also you have to look behind you at a red light, preparing yourself to move in case someone blows the red light. Then when you want to take off quickly, some pedestrian may decide to run across the street right in front of you. There is a lot of things to pay attention to and manage at the intersection.

Read a lot of other peoples' experiences and come to your own conclusion. Here is a blog I found (see url below). I must say there are few things cooler than riding an Italian bike, so that weighs heavily.

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?169476-is-an-rs125-reliable

To be clear, is this a 2-cycle? Two stroke bikes are very simple overall. Also, the lower the cost of a bike the less gadgetry it has. A 125 is engine, brakes, and wheels. There is not much to go wrong. Later on the question becomes, "Do I buy a $12,000 Italian bike, which always has some stupid little thing breaking." But the 125? Pick one that you love to look at or one that you get a great deal on.

Irrespective of which bike you pick, have someone familiar with motorcycles inspect the bike to catch any problem areas. Once you have purchased a bike, change all of the fluids and address any problems immediately. You should then be fine.

 

This blog was very useful .
After all I'm going to go with Aprilia RS 125. I love the look of it (especially white-black)
I know that the part for this bike gonna cost more money that for yamaha, but after reading some of the blogs and opinions I decided to get Aprilia
Thank you for all of you for help

Also give to Knight a cookie, this man provided me a monstrous help

 

This Knight dude has got noob written across his forehead. Sounds like advice from Dear Abby or Martha Stewart or even my Godess of Godesses, Oprah the Omniscient.

 

Oh and I forgot one more thing before I go and start to search Aprilia to buy.

Does the year of the production matters in any way ?

Because the are many production years for example, 2004, 2007 or even 2015

 

This group knows everything about every change in the VFR from 1986 to 1999 to 2006 to 2010, etc. But they will not know the Aprilia 125. So try searching the web for with this question.

Right about now you will want to join the Aprilia blogs (if they exist I have no idea). They won't be as good looking, helpful, smart, and generally as awesome as THIS group, but they might have some answers for you.