Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

LA Craigs of the day. A fucking stone cold Cafe race CB750 on Craigslist. Literally the earth is rocking off it's axis. A 'Cool Cafe CB750' On Craigs....miracles never cease.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/mcy/5802388786.html

And some Joe Bar freeway wisdom....

Right....think I've had enough of this bike. Don't even dare take it outside the m25. I just want it to run solid for a fucking week.

is autotrader generally the place to go to buy bikes? any other websites I should be looking at? or for someone who's not mechanically minded would a shop be a smarter option?

Maybe Ebay, look locally and for low mileage. What kind of bike are you looking for?

just passed the ol' CBT so a 125 - something along the lines of a Honda CBR125R or a Honda XR125L but that's based purely on dong a search on this thread for 125.I'm open to other suggestions. I hopefully won't have it for that long.

It's not for commuting or anything specific. It's just for gaining a bit of experience before going for a test.

honda cg125

Yeah that was also on the list (albeit sensible option = slightly boring option?)

Check out motorcycle giant in west london. They have the Sinnis for £1.5k brand new. Not sure on the quality but they're Suzuki based engines. Mind you CG125 is the choice of champions.

the objective is to learn how to stay alive on the road and not cause an injury to other road users. there is so much time ahead to go less boring.

125's that dont look like 125's sound like 125's

Gear shifts get bad on the way home. That's odd I though so looked down at shifter, it was pretty much hanging off!

The screw was still there luckily!

What's your budget and when are you looking to buy?

I need to crack on and trade in my 125 for a 600.

It's a 2010 Derbi Mulhacen 125 (standard not the café).

Its a bit rough around the edges. But in good mechanical nick. It'll do 50mph happily, but you can push it to 65mph.

I was first attracted to it because it looked a bit bigger than a standard 125cc so doesn't look like a 125cc.... But yes it does sound like a 125 ;)

Just crack on and do your DAS, you'll learn more doing that than by riding a 125 around. Then just get a proper bike.

you have a pm.

would a shop be a smarter option?

I've sworn that I'll never make a cash sale from a dealer again. Prices are just too inflated. If I'm buying something that I need to finance then yeah, dealer/shop is going to come back into the equation but otherwise, ebay, autotrader etc.

A bikes a bike really - whether it's a CG125 or a CB500. No substitute for practice. I reckon it's a good idea to run around on something small and light for a few months. Once it feels all second nature, move up.

The best size bike is whatever suits the riding you are doing at the time. 125 is fine for London now the limits are 20mph all over the place and the extra push-bike traffic has forced cars into the gap in the middle.

125 in a 20 is a bit much....even for me.

125 on the embankment used to be a must do on the way home. Has London got busier or I've lost my edge!

The best size bike is whatever suits the riding you are doing at the time.

I'd have to agree with you on that.

If I was still in London now I've got my full licence I'd probably be looking at a big scooter not a 600cc. (or maybe even a 250cc).

I barely break triple digits these days!

Tried to take the R80 over 70 on the A3, fuel starvation due to float bowl height put paid to that, apparently the bike has adapted to inner London life.

I came to the same conclusion about scooters and bought the SH300, now I'm finding that has more than enough power for the riding I'm doing. It's great to ride but doesn't inspire much feeling as an object. I have the R80 because it can carry paint cans and sacks of plaster, just can't find much in between but an electric cargo bike is probably the future for me.

problem?

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Unless those sacks are full of feathers I have no idea how the front wheel stays down :)