Crusing on a 125

Stigster

Hi,

I'm just about to enter the wonderfull world of biking and was wondering - what is the range of a 125cc classic? I'm not talking in terms of petrol but rather on how far can I ride it comfortably? Would I take it from Dublin to Galway in a go or would I rather go to Wicklow? What about a 250cc? Is there a large difference?

Another question; I'm moving to Ireland in a few months so I have no qlue myself, but how many months in a year can you safely drive a bike in Ireland (mainly in Dublin city)?

Thanks!

-The Stigster!

subway

i took a 125 to galway once.
boring as hell.

what do you mean safely ride?
snow / ice etc?
or how long before a lunatic rams you?

sutty

I've gone to Galway and Limerick on a 125 Virago, and Galway/Waterford on a 250 Dragstar. Crusers are crap for long distance (as in non stop) As you can not stand on the pegs to get your leggs/ass feeling normal again. I have a 620 Ducati monster now (street fighter style) now and its much better for longer jurnys in one go.

Stigster

subway wrote:

what do you mean safely ride?
snow / ice etc?
or how long before a lunatic rams you?

Yeah, safe as in snow, ice, sub-zero rain, etc. The lunatics doesn't follow the seasons.

Garibaldi

There are no official restrictions, based on weather. It's all just a matter of how much rain you can deal with, on a personal level. I imagine biking in Norway is very different to that in Ireland. Have you ridden in other countries? Biking here is a bit like biking in Spain, but without the good weather (present sunny goodness excepted). Everyone, including other bikers as I discovered this morning, will make at least one attempt on your life.

Stigster

No, I'm completely new to the whole biking experience.

Biking in Norway is a summer-thing. The complete daredevils might be driving from April/May (if the snow is gone) to October/November (depending on when the white hell returns), but people who value their life will wait for sunny June and start preparations for winter in August/September.

subway

we dont get much snow/ice here,
unless you live up the mountains or 60/70 miles north of dublin you might never see any.

most people bike all year round,
except the eejits that get in the car at the first sign of rain.....
ive only needed to wear rain gear twice this year,
all the other times ive gotten away with just jeans and armor jacket.
i commute every morning and evening across dublin.

Stigster

Hm. Sounds like a bike is the way to go. As I recall from last time I was over traffic in Dublin is rather crazy and crammed. And if all I need is a provisional lisence and a bucket of money... Correct me if I'm wrong, but with a provisional I can drive all over except on motorways? Does that limit my movement greatly?

(BTW: Thanks for all the input, guys. :-) )

subway

thats right,
you can drive anywhere except motorways.
it wont limit you too much as there are regular roads everywhere anyway.
although i drove on the motorway on my provisional hundreds of times.
i was never stopped as my bike was legally allowed on anyway [anyhting over 50cc is allowed on]

it can be intimidating though, trucks tearing by while you pootle along at 65mph with no extra oomph to overtake / fight the turbulence from a 40ft truck etc
great fun, i loved it

psicic

As everyone else has said - we don't get the extremes of the seasons that other countries - including England - seem to get as a matter of course. Aside from rain, I've got caught in maybe one shower of hailstones this year that I would consider 'dangerous' since visibility was reduced and the ground was a bit skiddy. That lasted all of 5 minutes before rain came and melted it all away!!!

If you're coming over in the Summer time, you'll get very little rain, so it's a good time to start riding a bike because, by the time the rainy Winter starts, you should be well used to the bike. Even a search of the internet will tell you that a bike handles differently in the rain, some more differently then others, and it's best to have a bit of experience before facing into that. (For example, there's a 'feature' of certain Dragstars that will lead the rear wheel to lock when breaking in the rain.)

As for not being able to use Motorways? Pah! We've very few motorways here and, anyway, they're very boring. Unless you're riding a moped, you won't be stopped for using them, but why would you bother? The most interesting, twisty, skill building routes with personality are the old roads, from National Route down. And you can be constantly surprised on some of these roads. I mean, I heard about the Anglers' Rest/Strawberry beds before, but I only rode the roads there last week and, as I had just spent the previous three hours riding around various places in the city, I could hardly believe this oasis was just sitting there, waiting to be experienced, slap bang where I expected to find a housing estate or another row of concrete shops! Or the road from Naas to Blessington...wow...that's good. Lakeview drive blew me away!

Wait...I'm getting side-tracked.:rolleyes:

Get bike for commuting in Dublin? Yes. Get bike for general fun on twisty roads? Yes.
Don't worry about the weather, the only thing you have to look out for on Irish Roads are bad drivers. And potholes. And stupid pedestrians. And, above all, stupid, bad Nissan Micra drivers.

saobh_ie

Stigster wrote:

Hi,
Another question; I'm moving to Ireland in a few months so I have no qlue myself, but how many months in a year can you safely drive a bike in Ireland (mainly in Dublin city)?
-The Stigster!

All of them, none of them?

If your talking weather and your living in Dublin you can ride your bike everyday. One or two days a year can be hairy and you'd be better off in a car if you've got one but if not, you can bike it if your careful, but you have to be extremly careful everyday anyway so...

Other vechiles, once you do everything right (not legally right, best practice right), and are lucky you'll be okay.

As regards your first question. I took a 125 from Dublin to Donegal once... I didn't like being on the major routes on an underpowered machine. You can do it but its hard/uncomfortable work, boring too which is the killer. But thats me, short attention span, don't like going in straight lines or having the same car near me for too long.

However, when I went from 13hp to 33hp I was up there at every opportunity (albeit only 5 times so far).

Stigster

Hm! These are all great tips. Can't wait to start crusin'! :-P But maybe I should consider a 250cc instead of a 125cc? Being a total noob I'm not looking for a superpower megafast killermachine, just one that will let me travel around. I'm just over for a year or so and I'd like to see as much of the contry as possible. Any good tips for a 250cc model?

-The Stigster!
Draining the Irish of all their MC-knowledge. :cool:

saobh_ie

Only crusier I've ever spun on was a Kymco Venox 250. Really nice bike.

sticker

I started off on a Virago 125 - then Dragstar 250 / 650 Classic and I'm three months on a brand new 1100 Classic...

My advice - if you're thinking of relatively long trips - ie to Galway, 250cc minimum! 125 will kill ya!