to the motorcycle riders out there

[Torben]

for now i can only have one bike, and im torn apart which way to go. wanted to get myself an indian scout, but damn racing bikes are fun.

mimimimi


halp

[Murmillus_Prime]

Racist white supremist biker drug peddler roadwarriorthugwotusir.

[jtobiasm]

Getting a honda CBR125 in a few weeks time. I'm also thinking about a GROM.

I just got rid of my Regal Raptor because i prefer the more aggressive seating.

(click to show/hide)

UK Motorbike Laws suck.

[Gurgumul]

What used 125cc motorcycle do you recommend? I'm too frienddly poor for a new one. I want something reliable, easy to work on, cheap parts and 4 stroke. The more cylinders, the better.

[jtobiasm]

What used 125cc motorcycle do you recommend? I'm too frienddly poor for a new one. I want something reliable, easy to work on, cheap parts and 4 stroke. The more cylinders, the better.

Anything is good really. You'll probably get bored of a 125 though.
Sports: YZF125 CBR125
Standard: YBR125 CBF125F
Honda MSX 125 (GROM) - These are becoming very popular in the 125 scene. Watch a few youtube videos and you'll see how fun they are.

I'd defiantly get a 2nd hand one as you will most likely drop it. The only problem with a sports bike is, if you constantly drop it, you'll be paying for new fairings all the time.

[Molly]

for now i can only have one bike, and im torn apart which way to go. wanted to get myself an indian scout, but damn racing bikes are fun.

mimimimi


halp

Leaving the plebs with motorized walking aids behind us and back to talking actual motorcycles...

Iirc you're living in a mountainous area with a lot of beautiful curvy countryside roads around you, why on earth would you consider either of the 2 above?
My suggestion is to go for something with a sporty power amount and high agility. Something just to have fun with... and then there are dozens of possibilities.

Since the Scout is pretty new afaik, I simply gonna assume you have the necessary money and will to go big spending.

Triumph Speed/Street Triple: awesome bikes, always have been, great quality, genius fun engine, very agile, nightmare for every sports bike on a countryside road, hunt them, don't be them

Ducati Hypermotard: big block supermoto with a tad comfort, it's a Ducati = build-in racing pedigree, comfortable seating, awesome looks, very high agility, it's a Ducati! new model is coming out which makes the older ones even more affordable

Triumph Tiger 1050: bit like the Hypermotard, again Triumph Triple (that sound <3), power, power, power across the board, comfortable and even touring qualities for the 2 weeks vacation trip

KTM Super Duke: only if you're an experienced rider, it's a beast! No, seriously, it's a beast...

KTM Adventure 1190: a bit like the BMW GS1200 but less boring and old-baked, the engine is supreme (and evil since it's close to the SuperDuke), offroad capabilities (well, actually it's ready to race)


And a dozen other possibilities which will probably give you more fun than a chopper or the standard racing bike. But if you wanna go racing bike so bad, check the Yamaha R1 M. There probably is no bike around that can measure with that one atm. Highly praised. After the Yamaha, it's probably the BMW S1000RR... but those are ready to go track bikes. Dunno how much fun that's gonna be.

My philosophy has always been that you need a bike that fits your main purpose for it but can also perform well outside those borders.
And right now, for me personally - and bikes are a very personal thing anyway - my old Triumph Tiger fits that description to a 100%. The bike can go comfy, slow and relaxed with ease but engine and chassis allow me to go mental too. And it would easily carry me 800km a day into my vacation with everything I need mounted at the back...


But be more specific about what you want and suggestions can be more on point.


About the 125ccm:
It's highly regulated on national basis in the EU and depending on driving license issues that it's basically impossible to make a proper suggestion.
Also, more specification for the use is necessary.

[Gurgumul]

Anything is good really. You'll probably get bored of a 125 though.
Sports: YZF125 CBR125
Standard: YBR125 CBF125F
Honda MSX 125 (GROM) - These are becoming very popular in the 125 scene. Watch a few youtube videos and you'll see how fun they are.

I'd defiantly get a 2nd hand one as you will most likely drop it. The only problem with a sports bike is, if you constantly drop it, you'll be paying for new fairings all the time.

About the 125ccm:
It's highly regulated on national basis in the EU and depending on driving license issues that it's basically impossible to make a proper suggestion.
Also, more specification for the use is necessary.

At the end of this year, my driver's license will allow me to ride a bike with an engine of up to 125ccm and I think 10kW of power. There are some other requirements like power/weight ratio lower than some certain amount, but those aren't the issue in most cases. I've never really ridden a motorcycle, so that's why I want something easy to learn on. I was thinking about using it for trips to the university, but the only roads that lead there from my house are high speed ones, and for some reason drivers hold a great grudge against motorcyclists in my country, so having them intentionally zip past me on my little pooter would be scary. I guess I'll just get anything low price that's in good shape, there aren't that many to choose from anyway. I'd love a naked bike, just because they look cool.

[Molly]

Since it's means of transport more than just for joy riding, go for something else than a sports bike. Just for comfort reasons and in the 10kW market, the speed is the same. Ideally google a little for those which are known to go fast. There are differences in top speed among the 125ccm. At least it used to be like that.
And since you wanna hold up the best you can with the cars, so there might be no reason for them to overtake you in the first place, try to find out about realistic top speed.

German traffic is rather disciplined for most of the time, so I can only partly assume the traffic in your place, but my advice would be to not go too far the right of the lane, just slightly off the middle.
Too far to the right side of the lane and you're inviting traffic to pass you even with incoming traffic. Too much to the left and you kinda provoking bad behaviour. Slightly to the right of the middle is what you should aim for. Signalling a will to make space but leaving yourself enough room to get out of the way if necessary. Keep an eye on the mirror.

These things above apply for bikers overall. Among other little tricks to ride save in the middle of retards who populate traffic.
For example a car wanting to enter your main road from the right out of a smaller street... they might underestimate your speed due to the slim silhouette. Swirl a little from left to right when approaching those scenarios. Gives you this bit more visibility and ups the chance for the car driver to see and recognize you...
Small things like these help big time.
Just google riding tips and a lot of these small things come up. It comes naturally with experience but there is no harm in reading up a little. Crashing with a bike hurts... always...

[Utrakil]

what about the triumph tiger 955i?
it is available on the second hand market for much less money than the 1050.
I will have my A licence at the end of this month(hopefully) and want to find me something comfortable for some weeks of touring that can cope with some ofroad as well.
I am trying to stay below 5000€ and need some cases as well.
Sorry Molly but I guess you will have to answer quite a lot of question here.

[sF_Guardian]

Since this seems to be a halp me get the right bike thread I'll just toss my questions in.

I'll soon have my "A2" driving license in Germany which means I'll be allowed to ride bikes up to 35KW/48PS and up to a power/weight ratio of 0.2PS/KG.

I'm looking for a nice bike which is a lot of fun on curvy roads but also fitting for longer trips (around 400km/day). I'll also use it to ride to work every day even mostly during winter (Did that with a 50cc bike for 3 years now, never had a problem even at -10 degrees since its just 15 mins of driving and you can always wear more clothes).
Look wise I prefer Naked Bikes and Choppers over sports bikes/Enduros or whatever. Leaning more towars a Naked Bike though as I really want to learn proper driving ;-).
I also wouldn't mind having a bit more power and just trottling it down for the first two years as this gives me the option to keep the bike later when I'm allowed to ride more powerful bikes.
I'm 173 mm tall and weight 70 kilos while being strong enough to handle some serious weight as thats part of my everyday work.
My budget for a bike itself without all the peripheral stuff and some reserves to repair/Customize a bit is at around 4500 Euros while 5000 Euros is the absoluute max I can go for.
Also I don't need something to show off and win style/street credit prices, mostly looking of a good, solid deal for my budget while not looking like utter garbage.
I prefer motors above 600cc, the more the better and also want a 2 Cylinder bike preferably (2 or 4 stroke doesn't really matter).

If you have any good suggestions for a bike that fits the description pls go ahead and tell me

(So far I like the Suzuki Bandit 600, Suzuki SV 650 for cheaper options or the Yamaha MT 07, would prefer a more grown man look though.)

P.S. Dont necessarily want something to easily learn on and get boring fast, I rather learn the hard but also more fun and rewarding way.

[Torben]

I love this forum for the diverse possibilities of conversation.  thanks for answering everyone.

You are right Molly,  I live in the alps,  under three hours away of many formidable alp passes and the beautiful north italian lake country.

rode the superduke already and really liked it!

I cant say what exactly I will be doing with my bike tbh,  guess thatll evolve naturally.  But a few years ago I decided for myself to not do compromises any more if possible.  Ill rather have two bikes that perform great in one thing than one bike that is ok in two things.

For the beginning however,  I am thinking about something comfortable and fun to ride that takes me from a to z,  thats why I thought about the scout:  rather upright sitting position, heard its a lot of fun and quite sporty for a chopper,  and as an indian its not a bad investment money wise as well.  only thing i am afraid of is that it will get boring quickly.  I usually prefer fast and strong things to not get bored too quickly.

I know from other sports that there are testivals for your equipment,  are there any recommendable things like that in the biking game as well?  I presume just riding many different bikes will help the most in deciding.