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

[Grinder74]

If I were to ever ride again I would seriously look at Zero bikes.

[Daschicken]

I found another bike I want...It is not a 125cc, and it isn't liquid cooled either, but it does have fuel injection! The Hyosung GT250R. It is a 250cc air/oil cooled V-twin with fuel injection(starting 2008). Despite being air cooled, it has a 10.3:1 compression ratio. The best part of all is that I found a bike I want that I can actually buy in Merica'! Unfortunately, there are reliability concerns, and of course I can't have three motorcycles either, so that's that.



Stock gearing appears to be very revvy, and it only has 5 gears, but there is a 1 tooth taller front sprocket available. I could get pbisprockets to custom make taller rear sprockets, or buy a blank from them and mill my own.

[teoman]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

A pair of random Korean 125cc mini cruisers from late-'90s






Its gearing and the RPM bands of its engine don't make it so well-suited to be an overall commuter like a CG.




NXR 125

I have the cinese clone of the last one. It can do 110 kph., and 120 kph if conditions are right. It is a 200cc.

It has been fairly reliable so far. I have used it as a dirt bike while beginning the sport. Now it is mainly a city commuter.

It does have vibrations. My hamds and legs go a bit funny after half am hour. And my bunghole tickles on acceleration. :S

[teoman]

Originally Posted by Daschicken

I found another bike I want...It is not a 125cc, and it isn't liquid cooled either, but it does have fuel injection! The Hyosung GT250R. It is a 250cc air/oil cooled V-twin with fuel injection(starting 2008). Despite being air cooled, it has a 10.3:1 compression ratio. The best part of all is that I found a bike I want that I can actually buy in Merica'! Unfortunately, there are reliability concerns, and of course I can't have three motorcycles either, so that's that.



Stock gearing appears to be very revvy, and it only has 5 gears, but there is a 1 tooth taller front sprocket available. I could get pbisprockets to custom make taller rear sprockets, or buy a blank from them and mill my own.

A friend of mine had one of these. He was generally content but it had a lot of electrical gremlins.

[sendler]

Yamaha and Honda are giving back 500-800 on their 300 class bikes right now since the Kawasaki Ninja 400 is out. $4,200.
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[jkv357]

Where the heck is that Honda CRB250/300RR twin that was supposed to make it stateside?

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by sendler

Yamaha and Honda are giving back 500-800 on their 300 class bikes right now since the Kawasaki Ninja 400 is out. $4,200.

Meh, I don't really want a 300. What I really want is a 125, but we don't get technologically advanced 125s here in Merica'. I would be content with a 125 single, but for a 250 I would rather have a v-twin. And a little 125 v-twin would make me very happy.

A parallel twin just isn't the same as a V, unless its got a 270 degree crank, which makes it pretty much the same. V's are still cooler.

I did just look it up, and the CBR300R is just a stroked up version of the 250, boosting engine volume vs heat loss area. Still though, I would rather have the smol engine, unless Honda did something like put an MPG gauge on the 300, like they did for the NC750X.

Originally Posted by jkv357

Where the heck is that Honda CRB250/300RR twin that was supposed to make it stateside?

I don't think Honda ever planned to bring it to the U.S., they don't believe in making anything other than budget bikes in small displacements. Kind of reminds me of what American car makers did for a while(and probably still do), where they made really ****ty small cars, and the only cars worth getting were the big cars. Then the Japanese came in and showed the market that small cars don't have to suck. I wonder if such a revolution will come around for little bikes.


My little brother is in the market for a motorcycle now, he has chosen the SV650 preferably SF, but also willing to get an S. Too bad we don't get the smaller SV400 here in merica'. My little brother isn't poisoned by the same love of small engines that I am.

[jkv357]

Originally Posted by Daschicken

I don't think Honda ever planned to bring it to the U.S., they don't believe in making anything other than budget bikes in small displacements. Kind of reminds me of what American car makers did for a while(and probably still do), where they made really ****ty small cars, and the only cars worth getting were the big cars. Then the Japanese came in and showed the market that small cars don't have to suck. I wonder if such a revolution will come around for little bikes.

My little brother is in the market for a motorcycle now, he has chosen the SV650 preferably SF, but also willing to get an S. Too bad we don't get the smaller SV400 here in merica'. My little brother isn't poisoned by the same love of small engines that I am.

I thought that was happening right now, that's why Honda was considering bringing the RR to the U.S. Guess not...

Has your brother ridden much before? The SV is a great bike (I have 2) but not super easy to handle if you are learning (no matter what rookies say).

Tell him to check out svrider.com for all things SV.

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by jkv357

I thought that was happening right now, that's why Honda was considering bringing the RR to the U.S. Guess not...

Has your brother ridden much before? The SV is a great bike (I have 2) but not super easy to handle if you are learning (no matter what rookies say).

Tell him to check out svrider.com for all things SV.

Didn't someone here post that Honda was going for a more upscale market, and that there wasn't much profit in small bores? I wish it wasn't true, but without a major change in market attitude I don't think cool little bikes will sell here. It could be as simple as manufacturers MAKING cool bikes, and then having popular motovloggers test them out and they would probably(hopefully) rave about them. That seems like it would be a cheap and effective marketing strategy.

My little brother is fairly new to riding, he has been riding for about a year, as opposed to my 14 years or so of riding. I am a very good teacher when it comes to operating vehicles it seems, good at teaching people how to drive stick, and good at teaching people how to ride motorcycles now(1 taught so far). I had seen a motorcycle instructor teaching a new rider many years ago, and I saw many opportunities to do it better(and safer!).

I ended up teaching him on the 4 cylinder CBR 250R, which is not a bike I would want to teach anyone on, but that was the best beginner bike with a clutch we had. If i'm going to teach anyone else, it will be on THEIR bike. Hopefully they get a good beginner bike in the first place.

Starting out, I had him roll the bike around and operate the controls with the engine off. Then I had him start the engine in neutral and continue to operate the controls, doing things such as coming to a stop. This was to determine he wasn't about to whiskey throttle it while braking. So as an example, if he was braking to a stop and the engine revved up, I would know that he was twisting the throttle while braking, a big no-no, and a very scary situation if you don't know what is going on. Another thing I taught him as related to the situation above was to positively twist off the throttle by rolling your hand forward when going for the front brake.

As far as starting out, I taught him clutch control by making him start out in my usual stick technique of idling the engine, creeping out the clutch until it STARTS to engage, then holding it to build speed, and then finally letting it out. Something else new riders screw up at is when doing sharp turns. I taught him to avoid turning full lock unless you are at a waddling speed, and to NEVER turn full lock with the clutch fully out. Also when starting out in a sharp turn I taught him to walk the bike instead of trying to use the bike to start out. There is a video on youtube of a noob on a CBR 250R trying to pull out of his driveway with the bars at full lock, and he is revving the **** out of the bike instead of walking it forward. He inevitably panics and releases the clutch fully and goes flying into a car and a fence.

As far as riding, I told him if he feels like he is not going to make it around a turn to COMMIT to it instead of standing up and braking. Chances are the bike/tires will do much better than you think they will. Dirtbike tires taught me to lack confidence, street tires are way better. I still have yet to drag my knee. Toes, on the other hand..

When parking, I taught him to put it in gear, and roll the bike backwards while setting it down to make sure the kickstand won't shift and drop the bike.

He took the basic MSF course after I taught him all this, and has gone on a few rides since then. He has ridden my CBR 250R, and both of the VFR 400Rs. I suggested the idea of getting the Hyosung GT250R as a V-twin beginner bike for him, but he wanted the SV650 instead.

I may have some fuel economy competition now, SV's seem to get mid 50s in normal riding, and they could certainly do better. I broke 60 in the CBR recently, and my VFR 400 is finally doing acceptable mileage, most recently 55 MPG. On the DL650 forums there are details of SV650 cam swaps, apparently its a direct fit. That would be a great choice for a milder MPG cam for the SV650s. My brother was not receptive to that idea.

[M_a_t_t]

I taught him to avoid turning full lock unless you are at a waddling speed, and to NEVER turn full lock with the clutch fully out.

Do you mean from a stop? I turn full lock every once in awhile, but never from a stop. I usually go forward with the wheel turned the opposite way to get the bike to lean then turn to full lock while counter balancing.