Yamaha YZF-R125

[MikeN02]

Just saw this thing... is it new? 2009 Yamaha YZF-R125

It looks wayy better than a Ninja 250R but about half the engine size. But it's also fuel injected... Thing is really nice.

Also, I need to stop looking at other girls because I might want to upgrade... to an R6S.. I need to tell myself to save it for a couple of years. Maybe it's time to ride.

 

[travstoll]

Maybe it's time to ride.

good call...I doubt the 125 will make it to america anytime soon though...

 

[Superfly]

A guy I work with had a CBR125 from a year or two ago and all he kept complaining about was that it could only go about 130km/hr and was gutless...its sold now.

 

[pilninggas]

those things are a bit of a phenomenon here in the UK, at times Yamaha have struggled to keep up with demand. 17 year olds and older can ride one without having done the full motorcycle test. The havce been a total success for yamaha here and i guess most of the rest of the EU where the law for learner motorcyclists is largely similar.

the mad things is they are only a few hundred £s cheaper than the XJ6.

 

[travstoll]

those things are a bit of a phenomenon here in the UK, at times Yamaha have struggled to keep up with demand. 17 year olds and older can ride one without having done the full motorcycle test. The havce been a total success for yamaha here and i guess most of the rest of the EU where the law for learner motorcyclists is largely similar.

the mad things is they are only a few hundred £s cheaper than the XJ6.

hmm I bet that is what is keeping it out of the US. Here its 50cc's and smaller with no license vs 150cc across the pond...I think that bike is geared towards lighter riders and younger kids that want to take it on the track. Most people over 18 don't fit the bill of even being able to fit on that bike, thus the smallest thing you see here in term's of street legal bikes is Kawasaki's baby ninja...below that anything street legal is mopeds.

 

[jouatt]

Correct me if im wrong but I think in Europe motorcycle licenses are more strict. When your 17-21 you are restricted to so much horse power. Cant remember the exact amount. So the 125 applies to the young crowed that arn't allowed to buy that turbo busa for there first bike.

 

[MikeN02]

Just saw the europe TZR 50cc... it's a two stroke and I swear, they have better scooters than us too!

 

[pilninggas]

Correct me if im wrong but I think in Europe motorcycle licenses are more strict. When your 17-21 you are restricted to so much horse power. Cant remember the exact amount. So the 125 applies to the young crowed that arn't allowed to buy that turbo busa for there first bike.

at 17-21 you can only do your test on a 125 and for two years after passing you must ride a bike restricted to 25kW (33hp). If you are over 21 you can do your test on a 125 and are restricted in the same manner or you can do direct access (the test on a bike of 47hp or more) and ride unlimited.

I did my test lon ago non of this mattered!!!

Thigs are far more strict over here than the US, the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, yet the (awful) government still use the death toll as a stick to beat us with - 1 death is too many, but i really doubt the number could ever be zero (even horses and carts and bicycles can be fatal!).

 

[JonKerr]

at 17-21 you can only do your test on a 125 and for two years after passing you must ride a bike restricted to 25kW (33hp). If you are over 21 you can do your test on a 125 and are restricted in the same manner or you can do direct access (the test on a bike of 47hp or more) and ride unlimited.

I did my test lon ago non of this mattered!!!

Thigs are far more strict over here than the US, the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, yet the (awful) government still use the death toll as a stick to beat us with - 1 death is too many, but i really doubt the number could ever be zero (even horses and carts and bicycles can be fatal!).

In all honesty, when I took the MSF class, I was astonished at the performances of some of the people who passed. To the point I was worried that they're going to possibly be on the same road as I am. I took the class because it's a great way to learn the basics of how to ride a bike. But in all honesty, I don't think it should bypass the regular DMV test. Like I said, there were people in my class who passed who I'd be scared to death to ride with. My aunt was one of them. She took the class with me. She damn near walked her bike around the U-Turn test. Overshot the stopping zone on the braking test, and was too slow in the sweeping turn test. But she was barely within their limits on each and that passed her. She has her license and a bike and she's scared to go ride. How could they pass someone who through the whole 2 day class showed very little improvement from the first drill to the test and showed even less confidence in her own abilities at test time than she did when we walked up the first morning? And they wonder why there's so many squids out there?

 

[MikeN02]

Also depends on the instructor I think, I barely passed and I improved a lot on the road. What I did was ride around just in my neighborhood for 2 weeks after I got my license/bike, and then my friend guided me out by riding with me to the streets.

That's why they say, never buy a brand new bike as your first. Buy it used as I've dropped my first bike plenty of times.

I was the slowest making a turn, couldn't do a U-Turn, almost laid it down at the MSF course, and almost ran into the instructor. Only had a minor bruise on my leg where the handlebar hit me.

But I, and my friends have to say... I've improved, I stick my knee out in turns, can make U-Turns on the streets, and have yet to drop my bike ever since I've lowered it.

 

[JonKerr]

You're missing my point though. You passed your test even after you couldn't do a u-turn, almost hit the instructor, etc... and they still gave you a license and you could have gone out and started hitting the streets legally on whatever bike you wanted. And plenty of people do that. It's scary. I just put on a rider clinic where one of the guys had taken the MSF course 3 weeks prior and was on a Ducati 999 race bike with carbon fiber body work and everything. Easily a $20,000 bike when it was new and 140+hp. He told me a similar story to yours about having trouble during the MSF course. He missed the maximum points he could and the next day he bought the Ducati. I thought the guy was going to kill us all while we (the instructors) were running the drills. Had he taken the DMV test, they would have failed him and he would have needed to go get something smaller to actually learn on.

As for not buying a new bike for your first, it depends on your confidence and skill level. This is my first bike. I've had it 8 months and have yet to drop her. (knock on wood) I've improved dramatically also. To the point I'm riding at the level of guys I know who've been riding for years. I didn't want to buy someone elses problem. The majority of the time people get rid of bikes because there's something wrong. Being a new rider I didn't want to deal with not having confidence in my bike. But then again, I aced the MSF test and was asked on day one how long I've been riding. (The answer was one day) So I guess I was just more confident in myself and not really worried about dropping it. I don't think guys should go out and buy a brand new Gix or R6 or something bigger. But that's why bikes like ours, the 250's etc... are out there. For new riders.

 

[MikeN02]

I know what you are saying but it's also the rider's thoughts and opinions if they think they are safe and controlling enough to ride on the public roads. Like your aunt who passed the test, she knew it herself that she wasn't ready.

Bikes are single, or two person vehicles. The majority of riders ride solo, and so they are putting themselves in danger. They're the ones taking the risks because they determined that they had enough skill ride. Sure they pose a threat to us experienced riders, but I assume that the instructor or examiner thinks that we can judge with our own eyes whose a new rider to stay away from on the roads and who we can "trust".

Bikes aren't like cars, cars cause more dangers and lives lost than a bike. I think that's why the dmv test is more strict than a msf endorsement.

 

[JonKerr]

The rider shouldn't be the one who makes that decision, the licensing authority should decide if you're good enough to ride on the street. Because most riders won't do like what you did and what my aunt does by practicing in a safe way. I see so many riders out there that are trying to ride like Rossi and they can't even make a U-turn. Those are the riders you hear about splattered against the rock walls usually.

And as far as bike being single rider and you're not really risking anyone's safety but your own, that's completely wrong. I've seen accidents where a bike cutting across lanes caused pileups and took out multiple vehicles. If I'm riding behind a rider, I'm very vulnerable to their actions. Also, ever wonder why bike insurance in general is so much higher than car insurance? Because there's so many people out there who are on bikes who shouldn't be. Especially on sportbikes. That effects us all.

I still think it's just way too easy to get an M1 license here. Or a class C for that matter. I like the idea they have in Europe of restricting the size of the bike for the first year. pilninggas hit the nail on the head. European roads are far safer than they are here. There's it's considered an insult to be considered a bad driver. Here it's more of a joke.

 

[Roaddawg]

And as far as bike being single rider and you're not really risking anyone's safety but your own, that's completely wrong. I've seen accidents where a bike cutting across lanes caused pileups and took out multiple vehicles. If I'm riding behind a rider, I'm very vulnerable to their actions. Also, ever wonder why bike insurance in general is so much higher than car insurance? Because there's so many people out there who are on bikes who shouldn't be. Especially on sportbikes. That effects us all.

I agree with you on that one. Unless your out on a deserted road by yourself, your influencing those around you when you ride.

 

[pilninggas]

The rider shouldn't be the one who makes that decision, the licensing authority should decide if you're good enough to ride on the street. Because most riders won't do like what you did and what my aunt does by practicing in a safe way. I see so many riders out there that are trying to ride like Rossi and they can't even make a U-turn. Those are the riders you hear about splattered against the rock walls usually.

And as far as bike being single rider and you're not really risking anyone's safety but your own, that's completely wrong. I've seen accidents where a bike cutting across lanes caused pileups and took out multiple vehicles. If I'm riding behind a rider, I'm very vulnerable to their actions. Also, ever wonder why bike insurance in general is so much higher than car insurance? Because there's so many people out there who are on bikes who shouldn't be. Especially on sportbikes. That effects us all.

I still think it's just way too easy to get an M1 license here. Or a class C for that matter. I like the idea they have in Europe of restricting the size of the bike for the first year. pilninggas hit the nail on the head. European roads are far safer than they are here. There's it's considered an insult to be considered a bad driver. Here it's more of a joke.

i'd wondered about that Jon, my xj6 costs me £200 ($300)a year full inclusive insurance and i live in a bad area. My fzr1000 costs £100 ($150) for more basic insurance. I have been amazed at how much you guys over there pay into the thousands of $$$s for some of you!!!

Over here the insurers perceive motorcyclists as being low risk as most of us do quite low mileages and ride defensively. It might be even cheaper but for the fact many know that they might have to part-fund the cost of legal claims against other road users who collide with motorcycles.

I remember being out in Cali, and coming out of the pub and watching dumb-founded as loads of people got into cars and drove away pretty drunk. Here in the UK, we tend to view that as quite anti-social with people preferring to go home in a taxi.

 

[pilninggas]

btw, we've gone way off topic, lol.

 

[cbzdel]

if they came out with a 125 in the US I would buy one in a heartbeat.. for the woman

She used to ride my Honda Ruckus and said it had more than enough power for her. I sold that though. I would get her a 125 in an instant, I would even ride it around town if it was not pink

125 serves a different propose its more the for the fun of riding more than the thrill (you still get the thrill but nothing like a larger engine bike)

I was even thinking of importing the CBR 125 or 150 from Canada but found out it was more difficult that just going and getting it and bringing it back lol

 

[RockZooky]

And don't forget all the people who don't even take the course, who just pass an EASY written exam and hit the streets.

 

[JSP]

I never took the MSF course... I did take the written DMV test and their parking lot test. I thought the parking lot test was a joke. Literally just a couple stop and goes and a turn.

Been riding on the street for over 2 years now, not one drop or accident. Grew up riding trail bikes though, so i've had some experience.

 

[Tabitha]

I have to say that if I ever had to get a 125, I'd probably go with an Aprilia RS 125. Super sexy for such a little machine.