Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Yeah, but why should we want that?
Is it that much more expensive to put a 250cc engine in a motorcycle instead of a 125? I mean, you need the same number of parts for a 250 compared to a 125, so then it just comes down to the 250 parts being a little bigger.
I don't see the point in building 125s except maybe as beginner bikes.
Honda charges a grand more for a bike that has liquid cooling and is freeway capable. It gets something like 80 MPG instead of 130 in the 125cc, but then again, if I cruise around at 40 MPH on a 250, I'll get 130 MPG.
Perhaps there is a sweet spot between 250cc and 125cc. How about 200?
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One word--weight. There's only one 250 available in the U. S. that's even reasonably light (the Yamaha WR-250R at around 300 lbs.) but it's sky-high seat height is simply too much for most of us inseam-challenged folks. Virtually all other 250-300cc bikes weigh in at 350 lbs. or more.
For me it's not so much about displacement as it is weight.
If you enjoy riding down the autobahn battling semis running 80 MPH more power to you. Even before I started riding 125's full time I found myself avoiding the highways and cruising down the back roads. I found that doing this on my Honda XR-650L was overkill given I was usually running 40-50 MPH and I discovered that I could do the same thing on my home-rolled 125 Lifan powered step throughs with far, far less weight (175 lbs. wet) and complexity.
Obviously this ain't for everybody. Ride as safe as you can on the big roads and hopefully you'll survive.
