Best 125cc Cruiser?

JoeJC

Yo...

I'm really interested in getting a 2nd hand cruiser as my 1st bike. Ive read about the:

Suzuki Marauder 125,
Yamaha Virago 125,
Honda Rebel 125,
Honda Shadow 125,
Kawasaki Eliminator 125.

They all seem so classy but was wondering if anybody in-the-know has a preference for one of the above. I really dont know if any one of the low-power cruisers, in particular, prevails over the rest of the competition.
Cost and reliability are naturally important to me. Cheers if anybody helps me out.

CourierCollie

I've no personal experience with any of these bikes. But going on other peoples comments here and from observation, Marauders and Viragos seem to be rustbuckets.
Probably ok if you only ride on dry days, but thats probably about five days a year in this country!

selephonic

I drive a 125 Shadow myself and I love it. I find its really reliable. Not very comfortable on any kind of long journey, and it isn't as fast as some other 125s, but its great to drive on a daily commute.

KTRIC

CourierCollie wrote: »

I've no personal experience with any of these bikes. But going on other peoples comments here and from observation, Marauders and Viragos seem to be rustbuckets.
Probably ok if you only ride on dry days, but thats probably about five days a year in this country!

So you'd thought you'd just make it up as you go along !!

I drove a GZ125 Marauder as my first bike for 2 years all year round (including some bad snow) and it never ever let me down. And it didn't show a spot of rust in the end. I finally sold it for £500 less than I paid for it.

At the same time a friend had a Virago 125 and she loved it.

Just out of interest OP , what height are you ??

Saruman

How about one of these?
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=54685&cat=47
I was thinking about it but can not afford it right now as i have lots of home projects to do.

Oryx

The yamahas (Dragstar and Virago) are both good reliable bikes, you will need to maintain the chrome, but that goes for all cruisers. The Rebel used to be a higher insurance rating, you might want to check that. The Marauder is a very popular bike, pretty solid, though the carbs were known to give trouble in the earlier models. If you happen to ever need genuine parts from the supplier, Honda and Yamaha are efficient in supplying them.

I think maintenance will be pretty similar with all of them, regular servicing, looking after the chain and sprockets etc. Service parts are available after market, but things like cables tend to have to be sourced genuine for all of them.

paulieeye

Depending on ur age, you might be better off gettin a 250 cruiser. Then when you do ur test you'll have a the A licence and not the A1. Not sure how ur age might effect the insurance on a 250 but get a few quotes and see.

If you have the A1 licence you'll have to do the test again for the A licence which is need for higher powered bikes and probably will be doing this within 2 years of gettin the 1st bike anyway.

Alternatively you cud buy a 125 and rent a 250 for your test but since a 250 wudnt cost that much more than a 125 and its still fairly easy to handle, u cud go for that instead.

Also I got a Yamaha Dragstar 250 a year ago for €2500, brought it in with a view to trade up to the guy I bought it off and he said he'd give me €2500 off my next bike. Happy Times!!

The yamaha dragstar is an excellent bike. I started out on a marauder and it was god damned awful. Got rid of it after 6 months. I had a dragstar 125 for two brilliant trouble free years.
Absolutely nothing goes wrong with them. I currently have a dragstar 650 and will hopefully be upgrading to the 1600 in a few weeks. Really good bikes.:)

JoeJC

paulieeye wrote: »

Depending on ur age, you might be better off gettin a 250 cruiser. Then when you do ur test you'll have a the A licence and not the A1. Not sure how ur age might effect the insurance on a 250 but get a few quotes and see.

If you have the A1 licence you'll have to do the test again for the A licence which is need for higher powered bikes and probably will be doing this within 2 years of gettin the 1st bike anyway.

Alternatively you cud buy a 125 and rent a 250 for your test but since a 250 wudnt cost that much more than a 125 and its still fairly easy to handle, u cud go for that instead.

Also I got a Yamaha Dragstar 250 a year ago for €2500, brought it in with a view to trade up to the guy I bought it off and he said he'd give me €2500 off my next bike. Happy Times!!

I was under the impression that you could do the A test on a 125cc bike but that that was the lowest you could do it on...I find this area to be kinda confusing- any info from anybody?

If you cant do the A test on a 125cc bike then why would they restrict you for 2 years after you pass it??

SlabMurphy

Honda Rebel 125. Ok folks I'm a bit predjudice , I used to have a Rebel 250, loved it, still say you can'nt beat Honda. Have to admit though, with low CC criusers riding wise their all practically the same, but Honda for wear and tear, unbeatable.

colm_c

JoeJC wrote: »

I was under the impression that you could do the A test on a 125cc bike but that that was the lowest you could do it on...I find this area to be kinda confusing- any info from anybody?

If you cant do the A test on a 125cc bike then why would they restrict you for 2 years after you pass it??

You can do the A test on a 125 but you'll get an A1 license not an A.

The bike you do the A test must be over 125cc and be able to go above 100km per hour.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/travel-and-recreation/motoring-1/driving-tests/motorcycle_driving_tests_in_ireland#rates

They're both exactly the same test, but if you do the A1 you'll have to sit an A test if you want anything bigger than a 125.

The restriction is in place for 2 years after you pass your driving test, it's also in place while you hold your learner's permit.

The restriction means you can't ride a bike over 33bhp or 25Kw.

RasTa

I have a 250 Virago, she is fine in any weather. Bit of rust on the spokes but she is 9 years old. Great starter bike and I'd deffo recommend starting on a 250 as opposed to a 125.

JoeJC

RasTa wrote: »

I have a 250 Virago, she is fine in any weather. Bit of rust on the spokes but she is 9 years old. Great starter bike and I'd deffo recommend starting on a 250 as opposed to a 125.

But can you start on a 250?? Im under the impression that you have no choice but to ride on a 125 from the day you get your learners permit until 2 years after you pass the full A test.

colm_c

JoeJC wrote: »

But can you start on a 250?? Im under the impression that you have no choice but to ride on a 125 from the day you get your learners permit until 2 years after you pass the full A test.

You can ride any bike once it's under the 33bhp / 25kw restriction. Most 250cc bikes are under this or close and can be restricted.

A 250cc cruiser would be at or under the limit.

The dragstar 650 is also learner legal.

RasTa

It's nothing to do with the cc and all to do with the power to weight ratio. The dragstar 650 as stated above is learner legal.

KTRIC

So is my Vulcan 1600 Classic :eek:, it has a PTWR of 0.15 !!!

JoeJC

Deadly! thats good news to hear. Thanks alot.

TheDriver

I'm lost over one point. Can I get an A provisional and do my test in a restricted 250 and get an A licence without ever getting an A1 licence?

LabratCN

TheDriver wrote: »

I'm lost over one point. Can I get an A provisional and do my test in a restricted 250 and get an A licence without ever getting an A1 licence?

yes. That is the best way to do it. forget about getting a full A1 license. It's useless really. Youcan ride any bike with a full A license. A full A1 license :pac::D:P **** sake

TheDriver

Cheers for that, i was under the impression that one had to graduate from a1 to a! Should be much easier and also the fact that don't have to get a 125, thanks boards as you have cleared up a lot.