First bike opinion: Yamaha ybr 125 custom

BrokenArrows

A dealer down the road from me has a Yamaha YBR 125 custom. 2009, 1500 miles. £1900

Whats peoples opinion on this bike as a first bike and would it be suitable?

EDIT: Should probably add that im a little over 6 foot.

seanybiker

Grand yoke. Only thing about 125 is you wont get the proper full license if you do the test on it. You should pick one up cheaper than that though.

RosieJoe

seanybiker wrote: »

Grand yoke. Only thing about 125 is you wont get the proper full license if you do the test on it. You should pick one up cheaper than that though.

BrokenArrows is in England so this may not be the case.

BrokenArrows

If i do the test on a 125 i can drive up to a 33bhp after that for 2 years.

Unfortunately its not like Ireland. You have no choice but to drive a 125cc on a provisional.

You can do the test on a larger capacity bike which will get you an unrestricted licence but you can only practice on it under the supervision of a trained instructor.

I do also have to wait 6 months after getting my provisional over here before i can apply for the test.

Im fairly tall so most 125cc bikes are really small in comparison.

I suppose i want something which is reasonable. I dont mind paying a little extra once the bike will hold most of its value when i want to upgrade in 6 months or a year.

Ive also been looking for Honda Varadero's but i have not been able to find any in my area.

Ouchette

I reckon you're going to find it too low. I'm only 5' 4" and I was sitting on a custom YBR the other day and could easily get both feet flat on the ground. It's quite a lot lower than the standard version.

Seems just slightly on the pricey side too unless the custom's really a lot more than the standard YBR. I've just bought a brand new standard YBR as my first bike for £2400 with £270 off the best insurance quote I could find and £150 voucher for gear (would have been £300 if I'd gone for the silver they had in already, but I'd fallen in love with the red one in the brochure ) so that works out at around £1900-£2000 brand new.

Shame you can't find a Varadero. That would have been my suggestion too. Can you get to a dealership and ask to sit on a few to see how a few different 125s feel?

Edit: Loving the YBR as my first bike btw No regrets at all and it looks like I'll be able to commute for months before needing to fill the tank again!

RasTa

What age are you? Start on a 250, you'll get bored of a 125 after a month. Just spotted you're in the UK, can you do the test on a 250? What happens after the 2 years?

BrokenArrows

RasTa wrote: »

What age are you? Start on a 250, you'll get bored of a 125 after a month. Just spotted you're in the UK, can you do the test on a 250? What happens after the 2 years?

You can do the test on a 125cc and your restricted for 2 years to a power of 25 kW and a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0.16 kW/kg. After that you can ride anything.

If you do the test on anything greater than 35kW then you get a full licence unrestricted but you cannot practice on that size bike unless you are under instruction from a qualified instructor.

Ouchette

Here's a summary of how the UK system works.

Provisional licence with motorbike box ticked + CBT -> 125 with L plates. No pillions or motorways.

Provisional licence with motorbike box ticked + CBT+ theory + A1 and A2 tests -> restricted licence (maximum 33bhp for 2 years, then whatever you like)

Provisional licence with motorbike box ticked + CBT+ theory test + Direct Access Scheme (A1 and A2 tests taken on at least a 46bhp bike with all practice supervised, need to be 21+) -> full licence and any bike you like.

Alkers

Irregardless of what you get now, you should do your test on a big bike. Just get a couple of lessons on the big bike before your text, it's not that different to the small one and you should pick it up pretty fast. The price of the rental and a couple of extra lessons would be worth it for not having the 2 years.

Ouchette

Tbh I think you might be better off asking on a UK forum, where people know the system and the extra costs and hoops you need to jump through to go above a 125.

BrokenArrows

Ouchette wrote: »

Tbh I think you might be better off asking on a UK forum, where people know the system and the extra costs and hoops you need to jump through to go above a 125.

I don't need to know about the test I was just asking for opinions about the bike. I'm gona go out and test ride the ybr today but a yamaha dragstar 125 is going to be on sale at the end of the week. Might be more interested in that.

inchiuvatu

the only bike that comes to mind for me other than a veradaro style would be a CBF125 (not CBR) it has raise handle bars so there isn't much of an awkward lean but might be big enough to be of some use to you.

Ouchette

BrokenArrows wrote: »

I don't need to know about the test I was just asking for opinions about the bike. I'm gona go out and test ride the ybr today but a yamaha dragstar 125 is going to be on sale at the end of the week. Might be more interested in that.

What I was trying to say is that people might stop teling you to forget about getting a 125

Chaos Marine

BrokenArrows wrote: »

If i do the test on a 125 i can drive up to a 33bhp after that for 2 years.

Unfortunately its not like Ireland. You have no choice but to drive a 125cc on a provisional.

You can do the test on a larger capacity bike which will get you an unrestricted licence but you can only practice on it under the supervision of a trained instructor.

I do also have to wait 6 months after getting my provisional over here before i can apply for the test.

Im fairly tall so most 125cc bikes are really small in comparison.

I suppose i want something which is reasonable. I dont mind paying a little extra once the bike will hold most of its value when i want to upgrade in 6 months or a year.

Ive also been looking for Honda Varadero's but i have not been able to find any in my area.

That's not entirely true, I've ridden a Suzuuki Marauder 250 and a Suzuuki GN250 as well as a Honda Bros 400 (Even though mine was a piece of crap that should have been scrapped ten years ago it was a fantastic ride and I can't wait to get another one) and gotten insured etc because they're learner legal.