Hi newbie here

[Desmond.22]

Hi guys/girls new on here and just looking at getting into this biking lark.

Thought and nearly done few years back but interest been flared again.

So my plan is to obtain cbt and get 125 for 12-18 months then progress to full licence.

My thinking being i can learn basics on my own in my own time at my pace so long as im safe.

Ive been looking at keeway k light as like the look and think style of bike id want longer term and ad get 2 years warranty for £2k looks fair deal ?

Also if im to use the bike get to work during summer will it have enough guts get past tractors and buses in country lanes?

Thanks for any helps or tips

[skyrider]

you would be better off with a honda cg 125, people on here keep having problems with their chinese bikes they keep cutting out etc

[JackieOWheels]

Hello and welcome, I agree with [mention]skyrider[/mention] on getting a more reputable brand bike, for resale value alone it's a good investment to get one in the long run. Unless you plan to ride the bike to it's demise, then that's a different story.

[Chunkypaul]

I did very similar a few years back when I wanted to learn...I did CBT and rode on a 125 for 12 months before doing my full license.

It was invaluable experience and highly recommend taking this route..

As others will no doubt say on here ,I would think very seriously about getting an older honda/Yamaha etc to learn on though.

I learnt in a ybr125 custom, and it was a fantastic , reliable bike, which I sold a year later for roughly what I paid for it.

Whichever way you go, just enjoy it, best thing I ever did.

Regards. Paul

[fastbob]

you would be better off with a honda cg 125, people on here keep having problems with their chinese bikes they keep cutting out etc

 

LISTEN TO THIS MAN . Don't piss about with a Keeway . It's all form over function . One cylinder two exhausts for f**k sake ! And it's going to fall apart with rust . Please believe me, I've seen these things and it's shocking . Get a good , honest Japanese motorbike like a CG 125 . If it's only a stepping stone to a bigger bike who cares about the styling . Welcome to the forum.

Edited August 21, 2019 by fastbob

[skyrider]

there speaks a man who has had several cg's and knows his way around them

[Bender]

Welcome

Buy a used jap bike, in a years time it will have lost very little value unlike the keeway

[fastbob]

there speaks a man who has had several cg's and knows his way around them

 

Ironically the Keeway has a CG knock off engine . It's the mountain of Harley lookalike tat that it's buried under that fills me with dismay . This is a bike cynically aimed squarely at people who know very little about motorbikes .

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I cannot improve on what has already been said. The advice to buy a used Japanese bike is the best advice you'll get. More reliable. Better parts availability. If you look after it you'll get your money back when you sell it.

[dynax]

Hello and welcome from a very happy chinese bike owner

[Desmond.22]

Thanks people food for thought here.

From reviews the Chinese bikes look ok ish but not as good as the jap stuff.

That said i need to see how much ill use as is only toy really and ive a busy schedule etc so may only get used few times a year in which case an i better getting the cheap bike and running few years until dies then upgrading

Lots to mull over but good insight reading other posts etc.

[dynax]

Have a look at the Lexmoto range https://www.lexmoto.co.uk/

[dynax]

you would be better off with a honda cg 125, people on here keep having problems with their chinese bikes they keep cutting out etc

 

Really as most of the threads in the Pitstop seem to relate to Jap bikes

[fastbob]

Have a look at the Lexmoto range https://www.lexmoto.co.uk/

 

"Have a look at the Lexmoto range of ( CHINESE )bikes" I've worked on one of these things and I was not impressed at how it was designed and thrown together . What they do is stick the same old knock off GN125 engine* in a large range of bikes that imitate every conceivable style of bigger bike from cruisers to café racers to race reps . Once again it's just a cynical attempt to appeal to as many inexperienced buyers as possible . Get a tried and tested utilitarian Japanese bike and save yourself a lot of money and grief . * Suzuki .

[Desmond.22]

So the lexmoto stuff no good?

Seen few reviews say ok ?

[dynax]

[mention]Desmond.22[/mention]

at the end of the day it is your decision, i got mine purely because i liked the colour it made no difference to me if was made by santas elves, the point being finding something you like will give you more pleasure, and will give you the incentive to look after it more, so if you want new and shiny,get new and shiny, if you want something older and restore to shiny then do that, but i would go and have a look at them which ever way you go, there are facebook groups for lexmoto, also spicy110 on YT has got loads of lexmoto models he has reviewed https://www.youtube.com/user/spicy110/videos but don't be put off chinese if that is the way you want to go

[dynax]

Just to stir the pot a bit more my Xena is made by UM, this company started in India with a range of 250cc and 300cc bikes and they were given really bad reviews, they were slated left right and centre, (like i said in my previous post i got Xena based on her colour combination)but i really dug around into the history of this company and it was abysmal, but me being me i did more research and found that the range of bikes for the european market were UM by name only and the 125cc production models are made to european standards, where as the 250cc and 300cc models were solely made in India, this is where my initial investigations started as all the reviews were made by Indian's, so more research and found that Llexeter have bought the rights to produce these using the UM branding, Llexeter being the parent company of Lextex and Lexmoto, so their history is well documented with the collaboration of the Chinese manufacturing companies, i haven't done any research regarding Sinnis or Keeway but i believe that each brand use the same manufacturers and the machines are virtually identical only rebadged accordingly, i am biased towards my Xena as she is a pleasure to ride, but if you have the chance to see some bikes in the flesh keep an eye out for the offerings from UM, they are in an upper price range compared to the Lexmoto offerings, but if you are wanting a cruiser style no harm in looking

[fastbob]

Hello and welcome from a very happy chinese bike owner

 

You've only just taken the wrapper off !

[fastbob]

I've seen enough of these cruiser lookalike Chinese bikes rotting into the ground to know what I'm talking about . On the other hand this is a CG that I rebuilt and restored sixteen years ago and it was old then . Last time I looked it was still taxed and MOT'd . £40 well spent !

[dynax]

I've seen enough of these cruiser lookalike Chinese bikes rotting into the ground to know what I'm talking about . On the other hand this is a CG that I rebuilt and restored sixteen years ago and it was old then . Last time I looked it was still taxed and MOT'd . £40 well spent !

 

Looks great and is an ideal learner stop gap to something bigger,very similar to my Yam YB100 i had when i was 19

[Daytona79]

I would avoid Keeways and Lexmotos, have a look at a Yamaha mt125 I have being using one for a few months now and its a nice bike. I am sure you could pick up a decent second hand one for 2000-2500.

The dealer i bought my Yamaha did stock Keeways and Hyosungs they now dont. Reason being they drop too bits pretty quick.

[dynax]

Honda moved production to China 1979

Suzuki moved production to China 1985

Yamaha not sure when first moved but were being made in 2 seperate factories, started new company in China 2004

BMW moved early 2000's

some Italian brands moved in the 1990's

still researching other brands

[Bungleaio]

I would say forget all this 125 talk and just go straight into DAS after the cbt

[Desmond.22]

Thanks CBT booked so consider das then but like go 125 route get into it before spend fortune on the full das tests etc.

Seen lexmoto for 1300 cant see how can go wrong for that if i buy a jap bike new od lose that driving out the show room ?

[JayMutt]

Are the CG125's hard to come by? Been on Auto Trader (just to have a look) and only seen six available across the country.