As a former Ontario CSC motorcycle safety course instructor, I think that is a GOOD thing. The MTO is set up only to test, not to instruct, so if you're a newbie all you have is a pretty vague book to learn by... or the "advice" of a rider who is probably not as skilled as they'd like to think they are.

By taking the course you are given specific and detailed instructions on how to ride properly and defensively, so that when they test you at the end of the course you (usually) pass with no trouble. Also, because of the skill sets you learn, a lot of insurance companies in Ontario (not sure if it's the same in other provinces) will give you a discount on your policy - often for more than the cost of the course itself. I recall instructing a course in Belleville where a young male with a 600cc sportbike was thrilled to find out that he was saving $1,500 per year, every year, simply by taking the course. More than made up for the $350 one-time course fee!

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Mike


Loud Pipes Ruin Rights

Hey Sandibeach...is that a CBR125 in your avatar? How do you like it?

Yes, my avatar is the Honda CBR125 and I love it. I'm new to riding, took my MSF course in May and bought the bike a month later. Not only does it look really good, I find it really easy to ride. It's light enough that I'm not scared of dropping it and it's the perfect height. I'm 5'6 and my feet are flat on the ground. It's a great learner bike and I would recommend it. A few of my friends and random people I met while I was out with it said they would consider riding if they could own something like that. It's not intimidating and it's not too expensive. In Canada its $3500 new and insurance is $300 a year. When I was looking at used bikes (few years old), those were the prices. There are not too many small bikes used and they sell quickly, so the resale value is very good.

Personally for me, I can't see getting rid of this anytime soon, I'll definately have it next season and probably after that as well.

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2007 Honda CBR125

I just finished typing out what was going to be a new thread, but I'll just tack onto this one instead.

Congratulations on the new bike, Sandi. Very cool.

I have a couple of friends who have told me they're considering picking up CBR125Rs and getting rid of their scooters. It's actually kind of cool, at a MSRP of $3399 it's a pretty cheap ride, much cheaper than the Vespa that one of them rides. Plus you're not actually riding a scooter, which is good.

Being more of a motorcycle guy, of course they're asking me for help finding out some performance numbers for them. For the life of me, I can't find any. I know it's only a 125, but surely someone out there has timed the little bugger from 0-60 and seen what the top speed is. Google has been letting me down so far this morning. Does anyone here know where I can find some info like this on the bike?

I wish they hadn't brought this up. I'm considering getting one *again* just for blasting around on in town. I bet that would be a pretty fun little scooter.

Oh, and what kind of mileage are you getting on it, Sandi?

over on bikez.com someone wrote:

125 km/h no wind, flat road. 135 km/h wind and road slope on my side.

i'm in the u.s. so i don't know how fast that is but there's an answer for you. not sure if it's true though. just sharing what i've found.

Cool, thanks.

125 km/hr is about 78 mph, 135 is about 84 mph.

I think my GSX-R750 will do 130 in first. heh heh

I've actually been reading some different articles here, and what I read was about 120 km/hr. Majorly dependent on wind and whether or not you can draft behind a tractor trailer.

Someone else said they timed 0-60 at 8 seconds. As fast as lots of cars I guess.

2.5 l/100km (90mpg) seems to be the figure thrown out there the most. There is one guy who says he gets 105 mpg in a commuter setting, but he must be riding it pretty gingerly.

They're pretty slick looking little bikes!



I need to stop looking at these damn things, I just sold my tent trailer and happen to have $3500 sitting in the bank. Damn!

Nope, not a bad lookin ride at all. Now they just need to get rid of the stick out blinkers and modify them to be flushed against fairing and the license plate hang down and it would be real sweet looking. Oh, and get rid of the 10 speed tires

Your talking to a newbie, so I haven't gone faster than 80kms per hour yet, and as for how quickly it moves from 0 to 60 - I think it's pretty quick - but again I'm new at this...

Each time DH takes it out of the garage for me, he steals it to go around the block a couple of times, he thinks its' a great little bike!

My husband took it out with Honda on their demo ride with a bunch of other guys who all had "big" bikes. They all came back and said it was a hoot to drive... they had tons of fun. They said full out they got a little over 100km per hour, but then again they were not on the highway.

I haven't really filled it up yet, but they say approx 400kms per tank, which is 10 litres - much more economical than my Toyota 4Runner. Seems right so far - I have a gas gage

Here's an interesting article about a journalist who took the 125 out for a test ride. Well worth the read.

http://www.cmgonline.com/bikes/articles ... index.html

Kaiser - don't know where you are from, but Honda is going across Canada offering free demo rides of the CBR 125. It's free, great place to try it out without committing yourself to buying one.

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2007 Honda CBR125

Yeah, top speed of 120-130kph sounds about right, it might have a bit more, but not much.

I don't think it was designed for highway, it's designed to ease those who aren't hardcore enough to take chances with their skins or their wallet. In this respect, it's a brillant bike.

I feel like I'm about to fall off the front of it (I'm 6'2" 200lbs), but it's a lot of fun to ride. It's a docile ride, I crank the throttle all the way, there's no chance of popping a wheelie on it. The brakes are very soft compared to my FZ6, but ample enough to get you out any trouble you may get into. I like keep the revs in the upper ranges (7,000-12,000 rpms) to get whatever hint of performance the bike has.

The bike is light as a feather, I can easily move it without effort. I nearly dropped it a week and half ago but was able to save it. I would have dropped my FZ in the same situation for sure.

Mileage appears to be about 70-80 mpg, but like Sandi said, we've only filled the tank once, and it wasn't bone dry. I'll keep a close eye and get back to you guys.

The only thing I don't like about it are the tires. It has been mentioned in articles by real experts, so I won't distract you from those reports, but it feels uncertain in turns.

I hope I can find a racing league that will run this little gem, because I'll be there. It really is a hoot to drive, reminds me of my old GZ250. I now wished I'd kept that little guy...I don't think we'll make the same mistake with the CBR125.

Paul

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2003 Suzuki GZ250 (sold)
2006 Yamaha FZ6