Yamaha YBR 125

This is my first bike after passing my CBT. I basically was looking for a runaround so I don't use the car so much for short trips. I looked at the Honda CG125, Suzuki EN125 and a Kymco Zing 125. The Kymco was the better looking, cruiser stlye, loads of chrome, but it was second hand and a bit rusty so I left it. The first thing to strike me about the Yamaha was the size of it. it looks a lot bigger then you would expect a 125 to look. It's not in the same catagory as the Honda Varadero (spelling?) as that thing us huge but it's still plenty bike. I felt a little oversized on the Honda CG125, I'm 6 ft and lanky, but on the Yamaha it felt right. All the pedals, levers and switches are easily accessible and it has the rev counter which is one over on the Honda. The fuel guage is useful also as the CG125 I learnt on didn't have one so you had to shake it to see if there was any fuel left!.

I would have liked to see a temp guage. As the other reviewer has said, the choke is slightly awkwardly placed and a temp guage would have taken a lot off the guess work out of knowing when to shut off the choke. I've found that if you take it off when you think it's warmed up that it will stall at very in-opportune moments!

Also, this bike can take a hit. I lost the plot coming out of a junction and hit a small fence, pitching me off the bike. there was some cosmetic damage but nothing that harms the handling of the bike.

The OTR price is great and if you buy new from a dealer there is a great insurance offer, mine cost me £49 a year!