Tips for getting a 125cc motorbike: buying, running costs & gaining experience — ride the miles

Getting a 125cc bike: buying, running costs & gaining experience

In this series of posts we’re looking at a Beginners Guide to Motorbiking. This one is all about getting your first 125cc bike, what it costs to run a 125, bike security and gaining experience. If you’ve not read it, take a look at the previous post about getting into motorbiking.

What should you get for your first 125 motorcycle?

My first bike was a brand new Honda CBF125 (below) as I knew nothing about bikes back then and was worried about the wheels falling off! I bought it from my local Honda dealership for a decent price. Make sure you haggle for a deal whether that be a discount, vouchers for gear, chains etc, or both. Dealers frequently have great credit deals like low deposit and 0% APR.

Knowing what I know now, I’d have bought a second-hand Japanese 125 (e.g. Yamaha YBR, Honda CBF); solid bikes, easy to get parts and have a strong resale value. You can pick these up in decent condition for £800 – £1,200. Avoid the cheap Chinese copy bikes as they have a low resale value and it’s hard to get parts for them.

Lesley got an old Honda CG125 for around £800 and it’s been great, but has needed some maintenance along the way. Luckily I’m now handy with the spanners but if that’s not your thing then best go for a slightly newer bike.

What are the running costs on a 125cc bike?

It’s far cheaper to run a bike than a car. Road tax is super cheap for a 125cc – £20 a year. A bike MOT is around £30. As with cars, new bikes don’t need to be MOT’d for 3 years.

125’s do around 75-100+mpg. It takes around £12 to brim the tank and that’ll do around 200-250 miles. They’re super cheap in terms of fuel.

Servicing costs vary depending on whether you go to a dealership, local bike mechanic, or do it yourself. We do most of our bike servicing ourselves, so we just need to pay for parts. A minor service (oil & filter) is around £25. A major service (oil & filter, air filter, spark plug) is closer to £50.

The usual consumables: brakes, tyres etc are cheap and there’s only two to worry about. Tyres for a 125cc are around £30-50 each. Brake pads are around £10-20 a pair.

Dealerships charge top-end and, in my opinion, can be a bit transactional. If we need to go to a mechanic we use a local, independent one. Sometimes they can be a bit more rough & ready, but I quite like that. They usually give you the best advice to make things cheaper as opposed to dealerships who always tend to err on the side of expensive.

So MOT & road tax is £50 each year, fuel is cheap and servicing is £30 – £150 depending on how keen you are on getting your hands dirty. There may be other consumable costs like tyres and brakes but these are low compared to a car.

All-in, a 125cc motorbike is very cheap to run.

How much is 125cc motorcycle insurance?

How long’s a piece of string? It all depends on your risk profile: age, where the bike is kept, car experience etc. My advice is to go onto GoCompare and run a quote. Unless you’re very young, live in central London and / or don’t have any car experience then it should be a few hundred pounds. I’d always go for a reputable bike insurer where possible: Bennetts, MCN etc. Some of the cheaper, lesser known insurers look attractive but their excesses can be high and mid-term adjustments (changing address, bike etc) can be as silly as £50.

Don’t be tempted by the sports 125’s (CBR 125, YZF 125 etc) as they cost more to insure. You’ll most likely do very few miles on a bike so set your annual mileage low. If you know an experienced rider then putting them on as an additional rider will lower your premium.

You collect No Claims Bonus when riding a 125 so getting at least a year’s experience on your CBT licence will make your big bike insurance a lot cheaper.

What bike security do I need?

I wish this section wasn’t necessary but unfortunately bike theft happens all the time. If they can’t steal it, chances are they’ll smash something when attempting to steal it. Lesley and I have both had theft attempts which have caused 100’s of pounds of damage.

This photo shows my CBF in my living room because it was hot-wired the week before but they couldn’t get through my chain. I’d just got it fixed and was selling it the next day so took it inside to be safe!

Deter bike thieves as much as possible by using as much security as you can. Garaging at home or in the back garden is ideal – out of sight, out of mind. When that’s not an option or away from home, a disc lock should be used at the very minimum.

For the price, a bike cover is worth it as it keeps the elements off the bike and it’s less attractive to an opportunist thief as it takes time for them to get the cover off and get to work.

Ideally a heavy chain around the frame (or rear wheel but not the front wheel) and a secure object like a lamp post. Cheap chains are useless, pay as much as you can or look for a bargain on Gumtree. I’ve seen CCTV of how fast they get through them. When my bikes are at home I always use a ground anchor to secure the chain. I’ve used both Oxford or Mammoth security and have been happy so far.

A banger is sometimes the best security. Thieves tend to like expensive and/or fast bikes. Annoyingly, the younger ones tend to like 125cc bikes to joy ride.

How do I gain riding experience & confidence?

Your CBT usually only takes you around town; it’s not geared to give you experience at 50-60mph on A / B roads. This is where the all the fun happens!

I remember building up my experience and I made plenty of mistakes: going over to the other side of the road, down shifting too many gears and locking up my rear wheel, getting so cold that I couldn’t concentrate, dropping my bike – the list goes on!

I’d advise slowly building up your experience with short trips, then gradually move to longer trips. Start off going out when it’s not busy – definitely not rush hour. Don’t let faster vehicles bully you to the left of the road. Stick to your lines and at a speed you’re happy with. They’ll overtake when they can.
The best way to learn is to follow the lines and spend time with a rider with more experience than you. Just make sure the rider is sensible and doesn’t push you out of your comfort zone too fast. Lesley is a good rider and can easily ride long days on back roads. Her experience was built up over a few years including riding mountain passes in the Lake District and through Glenshee in the Highlands. Most experienced riders find the trips we do together hard to believe!

Other beginner biker pointers & tips

Here are a few other things to think about when starting out biking:

• If you don’t like getting cold and wet, don’t get into biking! See hi-vis image above.

• Get a neck gaiter / buff. They’re only a few quid and help cut out the wind.

• Layer up to keep warm. Gear under your protective layer doesn’t have to be biker specific. Any outdoor, skiing / hill walking clothing under your protective gear is fine. If in doubt, one more layer!

• Make sure you have plenty of energy and are hydrated before jumping on your bike. You burn more calories than you think and the majority of accidents are down to the “Human Factor”.

• Learn how to regulate your temperature through helmet vents, zips vents etc. In time you can do this while riding along but to start with, there’s no harm in pulling over to adjust your clothing. Being too cold or too warm isn’t ideal for concentration.

In summary

Hopefully you found these posts helpful and maybe I’ll see you on the road sometime soon. The next blog in this series is about getting your full motorcycle licence.

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