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

[jkv357]

Originally Posted by Daschicken

Not even considering the weight, you ride a motorcycle in the snow and ice???? What tires are you running?

We do -





Though dirt bikes only. Traction on wet snow is pretty good for the most part. Traction with screws in the tires on glare ice is amazing - way better than dirt.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by woodsrat

A friend lives in Mexico and rants about the XR-150L. Not a 125 but he said it's a great bike especially for the price.

That model had been available in Brazil too, badged as NXR 150 Bros (until it got replaced by the current Bros 160), and now is only available for export. IIRC in South Africa it's still fitted with the old pushrod 125cc engine. BTW the engine fitted to the 150 is the same as the one fitted to the CRF 150 F currently exported to the U.S.

I'm more taken with the "Cargo" 125 and 150cc bikes. Truly utilitarian machines intended for hard duty.

Which are more reinforced than the regular 2-seater CG (nowadays available in Brazil in the versions Start, Fan and Titan), even though I have already seen some Cargos converted to 2-seater.

Bajaj and Italika both offer similar machines.

I don't have too much experience with Bajaj other than a free ride in a tuk-tuk.

Honda still offers the "Wave" step through, too.

The step-through currently available here in Brazil is the Biz, which now features EFI and, at least for the 125cc version, is flexfuel.

It's sad that the machines I'd buy are across the border and basically off-limits to me.

Considering that some folks have successfully turned dirt-bikes into street-legal ones there in the U.S. by fitting lights, an instrument cluster and mirrors, and that the XR 150 uses an engine that is already EPA-certified, are you sure it would be totally impossible to get one as a grey-import?

[mannydantyla]

My summer DD is a 1974 200cc Honda. It actually has less HP then the 175cc version that Honda was making that year.

I drive it all over town but it can't do highway - it gets up to 55 mph tops and that's with a good tail wind.



My friend has a 125cc honda from '71 and it's almost too slow though. Feels like you're going to fall off the road lol.

[woodsrat]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

...Considering that some folks have successfully turned dirt-bikes into street-legal ones there in the U.S. by fitting lights, an instrument cluster and mirrors, and that the XR 150 uses an engine that is already EPA-certified, are you sure it would be totally impossible to get one as a grey-import?

I had a street-legal CR-500 I titled and plated back in the early 90's. At least in Indiana it was fairly easy back then. I've also owned an XR-200R/XR-250R, KDX-200 and still have a Gas-Gas Pampera that were all titled and plated. KTM's were the easiest up until recently because their C of O didn't say anything about "for off road use only" and were listed on the Indiana excise tax list as street bikes.

Every now and again you hear of a fresh conversion but the Feds started coming down on the States who allowed this sort of thing and it's greatly slowed down.

Could a person title and license a non-EPA/DOT bike? It wouldn't be easy. According to a recent article in Cycle World exotics like street-legal two strokes can be imported legally after they're 25 years old.

I'm not sure I want a 25 year old smallbore after the typical use it gets...

I told my friend who lives in Mexico to always bring back a new Wave whenever he comes home but so far he's not done it for me yet.

One avenue for licensing something like a Wave might be Indiana's "Motor Driven Cycle" plates which don't require a title, at least for the 49cc versions. With a little creative fudging I'm sure the authorities would never know that the Wave is double the displacement of a legal "moped".

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by woodsrat

I had a street-legal CR-500 I titled and plated back in the early 90's. At least in Indiana it was fairly easy back then. I've also owned an XR-200R/XR-250R, KDX-200 and still have a Gas-Gas Pampera that were all titled and plated. KTM's were the easiest up until recently because their C of O didn't say anything about "for off road use only" and were listed on the Indiana excise tax list as street bikes.

When the XR 200R was still available in Brazil, it had always been street-legal. Not sure if it's still available for export, but at least one version that used to be exported to Australia was certified as a "farm bike" subject to conditional registration there.

Every now and again you hear of a fresh conversion but the Feds started coming down on the States who allowed this sort of thing and it's greatly slowed down.

Could a person title and license a non-EPA/DOT bike? It wouldn't be easy. According to a recent article in Cycle World exotics like street-legal two strokes can be imported legally after they're 25 years old.

Considering what had been done with those Nissan Skylines imported by a now-defunct company that claimed they fulfilled Federal crash-worthiness requirements, even though just one or two generations were actually covered by the certification, it still seems easier to make an off-road motorcycle fully compliant with EPA/DOT requirements. The same might apply for grey-imports.

I'm not sure I want a 25 year old smallbore after the typical use it gets...

Sure, most of them are tipically too worn out. But now I've seen even some that are more than 30-years old in a good shape, since they can be officially considered a collectors' vehicle in my country when they turn 30. When it comes to the engine, it's still relatively easy to refurbish them, plus some models such as the Honda CG-series were in fact developed to withstand some degrees of abuse and neglect.

I told my friend who lives in Mexico to always bring back a new Wave whenever he comes home but so far he's not done it for me yet.

One avenue for licensing something like a Wave might be Indiana's "Motor Driven Cycle" plates which don't require a title, at least for the 49cc versions. With a little creative fudging I'm sure the authorities would never know that the Wave is double the displacement of a legal "moped".

If you could get a JDM Super Cub, which is available with a 49cc version that nowadays is not used in any Latin American variant...

[woodsrat]

I spent three days at the Indianapolis Motorcycle Expo working an exhibit dedicated to preserving the history of "The Pioneers of Hoosier Motorcycling".

I didn't get to walk around very much but when I did I saw only one street-legal 125, a Kawasaki Z125. If there was a Honda Grom in attendance I didn't see it. No KYMCO dealers were there, either so there were no K-Pipe's or their new answer to the Z125/Grom, the Spade 150cc. Street-legal bikes from other importers such as SSR and SYM were notably absent as well.

Indy is Harley country and the vast majority of the attendees and vendors were either of or trying to sell to this crowd. Everyone seemed happy and the crowds were huge.

The one thing a younger friend (about 30) noticed was that the majority of the crowd was close to 50 or over. This does not bode well for motorcycling.

The "beginner bikes" represented at the show were Honda Rebels and Harley "Streets". It's obvious that the dealers have absolutely no interest in offering small bore motorcycles and this was backed up in a conversation I had with the Executive Chairman of the Motorcycle Dealers Association of Indiana. He's a former Honda/Kawasaki/Suzuki dealer who told me what I already knew--there's virtually no profit in them. As an example he told me dealers made $48 on the sale of a Honda CRF-50 and bikes like the Grom weren't much better.

The kids are addicted to their electronic toys, new motorcycles are priced beyond their reach and the dealers don't want to dink with trying to sell small bores. With all this it's no wonder we'll never see street-legal 125's in any numbers here ever again.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

If I could get a super cheap 125cc that I could squeeze 100 MPG out of, heck yea. Would drive it all the time except for bad weather and longer trips. Big $$ savings.

[woodsrat]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

If I could get a super cheap 125cc that I could squeeze 100 MPG out of, heck yea. Would drive it all the time except for bad weather and longer trips. Big $$ savings.

The Yamaha YZF-R125, a highly styled sport bike sold in the U. K. that looks much larger supposedly delivers 110 MPG. The problem? This high-tech fuel injected bike sells for $6500 U. S. Not many people in the U. S. are willing to drop that kind of money for a 125.

A more conventional bike with a carburetor that runs well enough to be fun won't deliver this kind of mileage. My KYMCO K-Pipe, in stock form on a good day would deliver 80 MPG. My buddy's WR-250R will easily deliver this. It lists for around $7200 whereas the K-Pipe sells for two grand.

I guess it all depends on what people are willing to pay to achieve this kind of performance. Even if Yamaha offered it in the U. S. they'd find few takers.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by woodsrat

I told my friend who lives in Mexico to always bring back a new Wave whenever he comes home but so far he's not done it for me yet.

I would buy a 125 cc EFI Honda Super Cub in a heartbeat if I could. The sell for the equivalent of $2000 USD in Mexico but there is no way to legally import them. The people that bring them into the States keep them titled and registered in Mexico.

If I ever did a big motorcycle trip through the Americas it would be on a Honda CB150 Cargo. That bike will run forever and parts are readily available.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

I would buy a 125 cc EFI Honda Super Cub in a heartbeat if I could. The sell for the equivalent of $2000 USD in Mexico but there is no way to legally import them. The people that bring them into the States keep them titled and registered in Mexico.

IIRC they only have the 110cc version in Mexico, but in Brazil the 125cc is even capable to run on ethanol

workaround ideas to discuss among friends: Honda Biz 125 Flex, among the cleanest-running vehicles in the world

If I ever did a big motorcycle trip through the Americas it would be on a Honda CB150 Cargo. That bike will run forever and parts are readily available.

I guess you mean the CG, not CB.




Older versions with the gear-driven OHV 125cc have an even better reputation when it comes to reliability and still have plenty of aftermarket support, but these newer OHC ones (125 now available only with kick-start even though it's also fitted with EFI, 150 nowadays only for export but with either carburettor or EFI depending on the market, and there is also the newer 160 currently available in Brazil with EFI and electric start only) are still very sought after. Odd enough, Honda still sells in Mexico the CGL 125 which still relies on the OHV engine...