UKbiker2024

I think I will probably buy a Honda C50. That looks perfect for me. Thank you for your help everyone.

If nuclear missiles start flying then motorbikes will be the least of our concerns. A much more likely situation which concerns me though is multiple wars in Europe, the Middle East and China which would probably disrupt international shipping and sent petrol prices to the moon.

I do actually have a horse and cart. Hoho! More realistically I think petrol is likely to become limited and expensive rather than not being available at all.

After having just taken a look at C50 Cubs on Autotrader I agree that they look like they would be perfect for my needs. Much cheaper and more characterful than buying a new bike too! I assume that spare parts are still widely available for them these days?

I have not looked at any older bikes but I would be happy to consider them provided they are reliable, low maintenance and still have freely available spare parts. I have seen on the internet that Honda now make a new C125 SuperCub bike which which is closely related to the CT125 which I disregarded earlier. Do you think the new C125 SuperCub would be suitable if I put a luggage rack on the back? Or here is another (probably wacky) thought as an alternative idea. If I get a CT125 imported from America would it be possible to use parts from a C125 SuperCub (which are available here in England) and use them for maintenance and repairs if genuine CT125 parts later become impossible to get shipped over in the future?

This probably isn’t the usual type of question which normally gets asked on here so please bear with me rambling and try not to snigger too much. As I am sure you are all already aware, war between NATO and BRICS countries is looking like a distinct possibility. Hopefully the idiots in charge will behave themselves and this situation will de-escalate without things getting too silly. However as a lady who is responsible for the welfare other people and animals I refuse to be beaten by anything Putin or Xi throw at us. I feel it would be prudent to put a safety net in place now just in case things were to get out of hand later on. I expect if a large-scale war were to happen petrol would either be rationed or become prohibitively expensive. At the moment I drive a thirsty Ford Focus but I intend prepare for the worst by learning how to ride a small, fuel efficient motorbike which would enable me to stay mobile if petrol ever becomes a limited resource in the future. Despite my age and small stature (5’1”) I am strong and fit so I’m confident I would be able to safely ride a bike provided that it was small enough for me to fit on comfortably. I live in a small town in southern England and need transport to get to the local shops and to reach a local piece of farmland a few miles away where I keep some rescue horses and a few chickens. A small 125cc motorbike or scooter would probably suit me fine. I never travel far or drive on roads with a speed limit higher than 30mph (I wouldn’t feel safe going fast on a bike anyway). Most of my driving is on local roads and rural country lanes but every now and then I occasionally need to cross a muddy field or drive along a gentle dirt track to access certain places. Nothing too serious or bumpy but I would need a bike which is capable of coping with a bit of very gentle off-road riding from time to time (as you can tell I’m not your typical namby pamby old women hoho!) My requirements for a bike are; - It must have good reliability and be low maintenance. - Be economical to run. - Have a wide availability of spare parts. - It needs to be small enough for me to fit on. - It needs to allow the fitment of some kind of rack or box on the back to put things in. - It needs to be able to cross a muddy field and ride up a horses bridle path. After researching on the internet I initially thought the Honda CT125 would be ideal for my needs but unfortunately it is not available here in England. It is possible to get one imported but then I would be concerned about getting spare parts for maintenance and repairs. Getting replacement parts sent over from another country is be straight forward enough at the moment but if Putin and Xi start misbehaving international shipping may become very slow or even non-existent in the future. This has forced me to disregard the CT125 as an option. Another bike which I think might be small enough for me to comfortably fit on is a Honda Grom. There are videos of men riding them off-road on youtube so I imagine it would be fine traversing a muddy field or bridle path provided that it is not too bumpy (which they are not). Maybe some fatter tyres or some sort of protection underneath for the exhaust pipe would help here? I could probably fit something simple like bolt on a luggage rack to it myself and I have a good mobile-mechanic chap who would be able to help with any more complicated modifications if necessary. Hopefully I haven’t bored you too much with my apocalyptic ramblings and you haven’t split your sides laughing at me. So thank you to everyone who has persevered thus far without clicking off. The actual questions which I would like to ask you are as follows; 1. Would a Grom be suitable for my requirements? 2. Are there any other bikes which would be suitable for my requirements? 3. If I buy a Grom what specific modifications (if any) would you advise? 4. I have never rode on a motorbike before. Is there anything else that I need to know? Thank you all again for you patience and I look forward to hearing your responses.