advice on new bike

Xios

I'm trying to track down a honda nsr 125, restricted, it'll be my first bike, and it'll be mostly for commuting, you guys wouldn't be able to recommend any dealers for used bikes in the dublin area, kildare works as well. Or if anyone readin this is tryin to sell one, pm me plz, and i'll give you contact details.
It seems like a rare bike from what i see, would any of you guys recommend a better or equal starting bike, from what i've read, this seems to be the best one that i can ride on a provisional, and it's supposed to be very reliable too. Would an aprilla 125 be better? As i've said, it's mainly for commuting, and a moped or 80cc wouldn't be fast enough for the distances i wanna go.

Idleater

Suzuki SV650.

Phryxus

I drove a 125 Dragstar for a year a few years back but I've been living in California for the last year and a half. I'll be back on tuesday and I'm gonna want to get back on the road ASAP, I was looking at getting an NSR 125 also but I'm wondering what insurance group a restricted one is in, as you can imagine I'm totally out of the loop with how badly the insurance industry is screwing bikers these days although i'm sure it's still pretty bad. I remember my dragstar was group 2 with Hibernian but I think they stopped insuring bikes at some stage during the year I was insured. I saw a load of NSRs on buy and sell going for around 1000 to 1500 if you haven't checked there Xios but if you want to get it from a dealer I wouldnt have a clue.

macnab

theres a dealer advertising an NSR 125 on buyandsell.ie, he seems to be based in dublin Add Text: Leinster, Co. Dublin, Honda NSR 125, 2000, €1,100 085-1300203.

Hotblack Desiato

Xios wrote:

It seems like a rare bike from what i see

not at all, was very popular. Not sure if they're still on sale new or not, new 2-strokes have mostly been killed off by emissions laws.
2-strokes don't last very long unless well looked after, and few starter bikes are. A lot of NSRs were crashed too, because they were popular with young lads starting out and look sporty. But you really need to get any bike checked over by someone knowledgeable before buying. A dodgy engine might break down on you but a dodgy frame, suspension or brakes could kill you.

would any of you guys recommend a better or equal starting bike

Depends totally on your budget, your preferences, your height/build, your needs (city use, national roads, or whatever.)

from what i've read, this seems to be the best one that i can ride on a provisional

Unless you're under 18 (in which case, good luck getting insurance for less than a few grand) you can get a class A provisional which is not limited to 125cc. There is a power limit instead, but any size bike can be restricted to meet it.

Would an aprilla 125 be better?

No they have a bad reputation for reliability, and were probably even worse than the NSR for attracting thrashers and crashers.

Xios

thanks ninja, my budget is 2k and under, and i know a few people to ask if the bike is safe or not, so i'm fine there.

Wossack

the group 2 nsr125, only came in in 2002, so dont bother looking at ones older then that - they'll all be classed as group 7 bikes afaik

Phryxus

Yeah I got an online AON quote for 1086 for a 2002 NSR 125 at 22 with 1 years no claims which doesn't seem too bad considering I was paying 2200 on a dragstar 125 when I turned 19. I've been driving a pontiac firebird with a 3.8L petrol engine for the past year so moving to something 1/30th the size might be a bit of a jump. Although after having a bike and a car I can honsetly say a car is a functional thing but theres just a thrill from being on a bike that someone whos only ever driven a car would never understand.

Xios

Wossack wrote:

the group 2 nsr125, only came in in 2002, so dont bother looking at ones older then that - they'll all be classed as group 7 bikes afaik

Thanks for the info, now all i gotta do is track one down, and it seems a tough task, i found one for a fair price, but it's all the ways out in mayo, and i'm dublin, so that's gonna cause me trouble


but, i'm also thinking of gettin a cbr 125, would anyone recommend it? Or maybe a ducati, my price range is 2k and 2002 seems the best year i can find. Any advice is appreciated

Idleater

Xios wrote:

but, i'm also thinking of gettin a cbr 125,... Or maybe a ducati

do you know anything about bikes?

Dorsanty

Xios wrote:

but, i'm also thinking of gettin a cbr 125, would anyone recommend it? Or maybe a ducati, my price range is 2k

I advise buying a bike mag or two. As that last statement was quite amusing. Translating back to car terms which more people tend to understand,

but, i'm also thinking of getting a mini cooper, would anyone recommend it? Or maybe a Ferrari, my price range is 2k


Doesn't read so well now

Wossack

might have meant the aprilia rs125, which Im still unsure as to whether its available factory restricted or not (I dont think it is, so group 7 all the way )

the lowest insurance group bike ducati make, afaik, is a group 5 restricted monster 695/620ie