- Honda Grom is a 125cc EFI monkey bike with scooter wheels and a bike perched above them that makes a normal person look like a circus monkey on a bicycle, thus the name. Its $3K, new, and meant as a starter bike for a college commuter.
- Sachs MadAss 125. $2500 shipping included, carburted, electric start. Engine mounts with 4 bolts and can be swapped for a bigger one and other things like an oil cooler can be added to help reliability and performance. 16 inch wheels get it into normal motorcycle tires and good suspension travel and manual transmission make this a motorcycle rather than a scooter. The rear tire is pretty close to where you are sitting so its famous for wheelies... which is not what I want. They will ship it to your door in a crate, however. There are suspension upgrades as well, since I've read many comments that the front suspension is too soft. Apparently that can be fixed with a heavier fork oil.
- Aprilia RS125 is available at Aprilia and Piaggio dealers. They're sort a niche thing, since they allow learners in countries like Spain to ride a fast bike through high revving engine. In the USA you'd just buy a Ninja 250 and forget about it. We don't have that particular legal restriction here. And the RS125 is expensive because its a legal loophole race bike with high end components. The inverse means its technically illegal on the freeway despite being fast.
- There ARE loopholes to import other bikes, including a fee and form. There's also loopholes to allow converting a dirt bike to street legal with signals and a mirror. You can even ride an ATV on the roads if you get the signals, mirror, fenders over the wheels, and a license plate at DMV. All legal and not terribly expensive. This opens the door for things like the Honda Wave 125 EFI, which should be sold here but isn't because Honda has no imagination. Aho!
And that's it. While it is possible to bring them here, there are often legal restrictions for freeway use, such that 125cc machines are illegal on California freeways, but any displacement is fine on highways, which have stoplights rather than onramps. California sometimes has the same road change designation back and forth, too, such as Hwy 70 and Hwy 50 and Hwy 99. There's a bunch of roads like that. Hwy 395 goes back and forth depending on economics and traffic. I think its very realistic.
Considering the cheap price on used 250cc bikes and used 600 and 650 machines, there's little point owning a 125cc motorcycle when there are so many 250cc options which are nearly as fuel thrifty.
- Ninja 250 gets 70 mpg when driven sanely. Its also highway capable, and legal. Just don't break the fairing. They're ugly when the plastic comes off.
- Suzuki DR200 SE is a 200cc enduro bike that gets around 90 mpg, not freeway capable, but known for being good exploration bikes because they're slow and light and can tractor up a hill.
- Yamaha TW-200, with its fat rear tire is made for farm work and fire roads. Some people even run cheap ATV tires on the back, though those aren't safe for highway speeds and will tear apart. Used, this is a cheap and functional bike, if a little clunky looking. They will go anywhere in the dirt, however, being geared right for slow steady progress offroad.
- Suzuki TU250X, not available in California due to a fight with CARB over their "crash and destroy each model" requirement, a very effective way to hurt advances in technology, particularly since I love this bike. It's an EFI version of the Volty, a standard naked thumper UJM* that will go all day at 45 mph and get 75 mpg doing it. Great! So why isn't it sold here? Apparently they can't seem to make enough in Thailand to export them to the USA for sale. Rare as hen's teeth. I've given up on it. I can get a nice W650 for the same price.
Kawasaki W650 - Yamaha XT-250 is an enduro with air cooling, about $5K new, and rather good at offroad riding, with lots of parts for repairs since Japan is only 10 days by sea.
- Yamaha Super Sherpa 225 was famously good. So good they discontinued it because people would just keep fixing it instead of buy a new bike. This was just not right for motorcycle companies which keep their doors open building new bikes and selling them.
- Suzuki DR-350 has been around the world (Mondo Enduro), with cameras, and is a workhorse predecessor to the DR400Z.
DR350
These aren't 125cc bikes, obviously, but they're the same price and offer better hill climbing. If you live in the flatland, this means you can get up to freeway speed, legally. Probably not a lot of fun at stoplights, since the Enduros often have 35 inch high seats, meaning tippy toe or fall over if you're small or medium sized. The Super Sherpa has a 29 inch seat height, btw. It is much loved for being a comfy ride, reliable, and largely bulletproof, discontinued because it was too good. From all I've heard I'd probably be very happy if I had one.
I should also note that Kawasaki has Enduro bikes too, including the KLR250 and KLR650 which is very cheap but needs lots of thread compound* to limit how many parts get dropped on the highway each trip. Friend had one. Great stories about bolts falling off it all the time. The KLR250 has a supermoto version, factory, and a low seat height but famously lies about its HP output being 19 when its really more like half.
A note about horsepower and torque. Your average 125cc scooter engine will get you around 9 HP, and maybe get you to 45 mph but will likely overheat and wear out the engine in time. 250cc is around 19 HP and gets you to about 50 mph. 350cc and up will get you around 30 HP will go 65 mph and is full freeway capable, though possibly uncomfortable. Since 400cc typically gets you 30 HP, its popular for a reason. 500cc motorcycles are making a comeback for this reason too, as they balance fuel economy and torque to pull hills or zip up the onramp so you don't get run over in the slow lane.
A cautious person could start on a 500cc and never need to upgrade. Incautious people need to update their will and life insurance policy and have a DNR* card. The easiest way to avoid dying on a bike is to remember that drivers rarely see you, so assume you're invisible and always be ready to brake. That and don't drink alcohol. Alcohol and fearlessness are the two biggest causes of accidents on motorcycles. Go into a corner fast because it was clean a week ago doesn't mean its clean today. There might be pea gravel at someone's driveway and boom, you go down. Be cautious and you'll live longer. And if you can't be cautious, drive a sports car instead. Its got four wheels and won't fall over if one gets loose when you're apexing a turn. Strip out the weight and comforts, put in a stiffening frame and 5 point harness, it will be lots of fun and just the right kind of uncomfortable. You can even wear a helmet while you drive, like on Top Gear. Fun!
Glossary:
I should also note that Kawasaki has Enduro bikes too, including the KLR250 and KLR650 which is very cheap but needs lots of thread compound* to limit how many parts get dropped on the highway each trip. Friend had one. Great stories about bolts falling off it all the time. The KLR250 has a supermoto version, factory, and a low seat height but famously lies about its HP output being 19 when its really more like half.
A note about horsepower and torque. Your average 125cc scooter engine will get you around 9 HP, and maybe get you to 45 mph but will likely overheat and wear out the engine in time. 250cc is around 19 HP and gets you to about 50 mph. 350cc and up will get you around 30 HP will go 65 mph and is full freeway capable, though possibly uncomfortable. Since 400cc typically gets you 30 HP, its popular for a reason. 500cc motorcycles are making a comeback for this reason too, as they balance fuel economy and torque to pull hills or zip up the onramp so you don't get run over in the slow lane.
A cautious person could start on a 500cc and never need to upgrade. Incautious people need to update their will and life insurance policy and have a DNR* card. The easiest way to avoid dying on a bike is to remember that drivers rarely see you, so assume you're invisible and always be ready to brake. That and don't drink alcohol. Alcohol and fearlessness are the two biggest causes of accidents on motorcycles. Go into a corner fast because it was clean a week ago doesn't mean its clean today. There might be pea gravel at someone's driveway and boom, you go down. Be cautious and you'll live longer. And if you can't be cautious, drive a sports car instead. Its got four wheels and won't fall over if one gets loose when you're apexing a turn. Strip out the weight and comforts, put in a stiffening frame and 5 point harness, it will be lots of fun and just the right kind of uncomfortable. You can even wear a helmet while you drive, like on Top Gear. Fun!
Glossary:
* UJM = Universal Japanese Motorcycle
* DNR = Do Not Resuscitate
* Thread Compound = a sticky paste put into nuts or bolt threads to prevent the nut rattling loose from vibration or stress. This is often a sign of poor build quality and poor general design. For example, the M-16 rifle requires 4 different kinds of thread compound to become reliable.
* DNR = Do Not Resuscitate
* Thread Compound = a sticky paste put into nuts or bolt threads to prevent the nut rattling loose from vibration or stress. This is often a sign of poor build quality and poor general design. For example, the M-16 rifle requires 4 different kinds of thread compound to become reliable.
No comments:
Post a Comment