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

[freebeard]

IIRC they have a softail model.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by freebeard

IIRC they have a softail model.

The 250cc model is a hardtail.

The $15,000 450cc model pictured above is a softtail. There is a strut under the seat that connects the swingarm to the main frame.


If someone wants an old-time looking bike Royal Enfield has it covered for less than $5,000. The difference between hand assembled and a bike produced on an assembly line from a company that makes almost a million bike a year

Royal Enfield 350 Classic

[Bicycle Bob]

Would you buy a 125 cc motorcycle for the railway?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKeW355u4Do

[freebeard]

Reminds me of this:

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

Royal Enfield 350 Classic

In my hometown it's been almost impossible to spend a day without seeing at least one, either Classic or Meteor.

[Mark Serva]

Retro knock off bike with modern looking engine. Just doesn't look right and I bet she's really heavy for 30HP. And, not meant to offend yet my motto is: "China puts the C in Cuality." However, to answer your question, I've had a lot of fun on a 125CC Honda which included two big guys on it getting thu mud (bad optics I know). She'd go down the highway with one guy on her too. And, as an old, low power vehicle guy, I'd say most modern vehicles are way overpowered--many of which I see at the next light, jack-rabbiting to the next. If we all drove, like the vehicle doesn't have brakes, low powered vehicles would rule the day and make most everybody and EcoModder. Although I don't like government intervention in general, I am sad that the fuel saving rules focus on gas milage when they should focus on weight or torque. It's hard to drive a fuel sipping 1,800 LB vehicle when you see the opponents bumper at eye level in their 6,000 LB behemoth. I wonder what the heavy Teslas are doing to the whole, my car is heavier than your car, one ups person-ship thing our culture demands.

[Piotrsko]

If you dont care about battery range, you can over current a motor until the windings melt, but make ridiculous horsepower. Tesla works that way, but nobody ever mentions the range penalty. Suppose it doesn't matter in the city.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Mark Serva

Although I don't like government intervention in general, I am sad that the fuel saving rules focus on gas milage when they should focus on weight or torque. It's hard to drive a fuel sipping 1,800 LB vehicle when you see the opponents bumper at eye level in their 6,000 LB behemoth. I wonder what the heavy Teslas are doing to the whole, my car is heavier than your car, one ups person-ship thing our culture demands.

Manufacturers are free to use any tech we want to reduce fuel economy and meet fuel economy. Generally that is a combination of engine technology, weight savings, and aerodynamics.

US buyers tend to buy vehicles by the pound and want the largest and most powerful vehicle they can afford for their dollar. They don't want to drive small cars or low cars.

We also buy vehicles for edge use cases not the 95 - 98% of everyday driving.

[Bicycle Bob]

Originally Posted by JSH

Manufacturers are free to use any tech we want to reduce fuel economy and meet fuel economy. Generally that is a combination of engine technology, weight savings, and aerodynamics.

US buyers tend to buy vehicles by the pound and want the largest and most powerful vehicle they can afford for their dollar. They don't want to drive small cars or low cars.

We also buy vehicles for edge use cases not the 95 - 98% of everyday driving.

Yeah, the mileage goal can be met by beating the test conditions, ignoring real world conditions and changes with wear. The goal of the companies is to increase sales, so they can boost that showroom number by using complex technology and unfixable components. Then the marketing demons convince everyone that they need two tons of steel for safety and status.
Governments tend to accidentally stifle progress with regulations, often specifying things that are soon obsolete and not adjusting laws to suit. Lawyers don't have time to learn more about technology than the average consumer, and love money more than efficiency. We would be a lot better off if advertising was banned, and public education made heroes out of people who reduce their consumption while improving their lives.

[jcp123]

I would, depending on how you define motorcycle…I’ve casually looked for a cheap 125cc scooter at the right price I just can’t live without. But I never bite…for one, winters here are too long, which makes it feel like a waste of money. On the other hand, a 125cc scooter is actually sort of perfect for here - it’s an older city by American standards, so there are lots of somewhat tight neighborhoods, good reasons to go downtown where space is also at a premium, and even the freeways have a 55mph speed limit out to a fair distance through the suburbs. There also generally aren’t many hills.

But with the prices of 125cc scooters which aren’t characterized, from what I’ve gleaned, as Chinese trash with few parts and few service providers, it’s almost better to just go a size or two up for something more like a Royal Enfield Himalayan, which is my current two-wheel love interest.