AMERICANS: Would you buy a 125cc motorcycle for the street?

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by ctmaybury@yahoo.com

My last 2 bikes had shaft drive (v65 magna and suzuki madura). I liked skipping the chain maintenance. Do any of the small bore bikes come with a shaft drive?

Not that I know of. The best possibility to having shaft drive that I was thinking of was the Honda VT 125(v-twin 125 cruiser) or yamha's equivalent, but both are chain drive.

[jkv357]

Originally Posted by ctmaybury@yahoo.com

My last 2 bikes had shaft drive (v65 magna and suzuki madura). I liked skipping the chain maintenance. Do any of the small bore bikes come with a shaft drive? It used to be chain=performance bike and shaft=old mans bike. Or in the case of a sportster 1200 like jcp123 mentioned belt drive=performance. Sportsters are very high on the fun factor. That flat power band is great. Does anyone remember the 2 strokes of the 70s? Rd400 yamaha or suzuki gt series. No power at all until you hit that power band then you couldn't keep the front wheel down.

Sure do. First street bike was a RD400, then went to a RZ350 for a bit. Buddy had a GT550 triple.

I've have both - high strung and torquey. My daily rider is a SV650 with a few mods. Gets decent mileage (50+ all over) and has plenty of pull down low.

I do like small bikes best, and have a Derbi GPR 75cc 2-stroke that we ride occasionally just for fun. With the "big" Mikuni flatslide carb and an expansion chamber it doesn't really clear its throat until about 9000 RPMs!

[woodsrat]

Small bores tend to be chain driven for cost and weight reasons.

I run #420 "O" ring chains on my bikes and they're virtually maintenance free. There are folks who say running an "O" ring chain hurts small bore bikes' performance and it may very well do this although without a dyno I can't see any difference. Not having to deal with constantly lubing a chain is wonderful.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by ctmaybury@yahoo.com

Sounds heavy to me. If I remember right my 1983 gs1100 was 520 lbs and 108hp. A 250 imo should be far less than 350. I would describe suzy as nimble not piggish. Having a passenger on the back is much easier with a bigger bike too.

You have to remember that until recently the weight quoted by a manufacturer was a "dry" weight and that was VERY dry. No fuel, no engine oil, no fork oil, no acid in the battery, no brake fluid, etc. The weight quoted for the CBR250 is fully fueled and ready to ride.

A Suzuki GS1100 weighs 575 lbs "wet" and ready to ride.

[ctmaybury@yahoo.com]

It didn't feel heavy when you were riding. I loved that bike. I rolled it off the showroom floor. Compared to a similar bike today, it would handle poorly, brake badly and be very slow.

[ProDigit]

The cb300f is 335LBS Wet.
I've had a Roketa 125cc bike that was 225lbs.
I don't find it hard driving with a passenger on a small bike at all, so long as the passenger is not all over the place.

The lower the rear seat, the easier too.

[ctmaybury@yahoo.com]

If I remember right, you couldn't drive on the highway without a 185 cc or larger. Is that a federal rule or does each state have a requirement. I would think a 125 with a nice fairing should be able to do 65 mph.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

I thought 125cc was the minimum.

[ProDigit]

In usa the law states 4.5BHP., and 40mph minimum.
Other laws say 125cc.

A 75cc doing 50mph will not be stopped,as advances in modern technology, make certain modern bikes of 80-100cc more highway capable than older 125 cc.
Fuel injection, more efficient engines, better aerodynamics...

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by ProDigit

The cb300f is 335LBS Wet.
I've had a Roketa 125cc bike that was 225lbs.
I don't find it hard driving with a passenger on a small bike at all, so long as the passenger is not all over the place.

The lower the rear seat, the easier too.

On honda's own website, they are saying the 2017 cb300f has a curb weight of 348 pounds. 2018 specs gives an error page. I have had very limited experience riding with passengers, I took my little brother for a little ride on the CBR 250R and it was mildly terrifying. Felt like the front wheel was barely on the ground, hard to turn, etc. But then again my 250 has a 2 piece seat that elevates the passenger more than necessary to allow storage space under the seat.

Originally Posted by ctmaybury@yahoo.com

If I remember right, you couldn't drive on the highway without a 185 cc or larger. Is that a federal rule or does each state have a requirement. I would think a 125 with a nice fairing should be able to do 65 mph.

Information is all over the place regarding top speed for the CBR 125, but general consensus is that it can do at least 70 mph.