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Razor ORourke
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A 60 year old bloke called Razor who has ridden bikes up to 750 cc has bought a Lexmoto Isca 125 . Come on mate , have a word with yourself . Welcome to the forum .

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A 60 year old bloke called Razor who has ridden bikes up to 750 cc has bought a Lexmoto Isca 125 . Come on mate , have a word with yourself . Welcome to the forum .

I would have liked something bigger and could have afforded it, but Mrs O'Rourke was not too happy about me getting a bike again despite having once been an enthusiastic pillion. So we reached a temporary compromise (She doesn't realise it is only temporary) and when she gets used to the idea I'll be looking to move up.


Chinese bikes get a lot of stick, but I have a distant relative in the trade whose shop sells and services them and he says that while they wouldn't haver touched one a decade ago the quality is now quite impressive. Very little warranty work and spares are cheap and easy to get. Early days yet, so we shall see and I'll be honest about my experiences with it.


I got the bike in May, but just before it arrived I injured my left hand and could not get a glove on at all for six weeks and then only uncomfortably up to a couple of weeks ago, so I've only done a couple of hundred miles. Nice enough to ride and as it will be garaged and dry weather only (The he-man stuff is behind me) it shouldn't suffer rust problems. I looked at a few second hand Jap bikes before I bought it and they were either knackered rust buckets or commanded very high prices for something I'd want.


Good to be back on a bike again, even though it is only a tiddler.

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I completely understand . If you had joined the forum before you had got a bike I would have wholeheartedly recommended that you get an ER5 . I'm currently doing up a second one having had one as a second bike for a couple of years . These things range in price from £300 for a basket case to about £800 - £1200 for really good ones with loads of life left in them . They are small and light enough to feel like a 125 but when you open the throttle they will give you 43 horsepower . Second hand spares are plentiful and cheap and apart from being prone to a bit of rust they are totally indestructible . I definitely urge you to have a look . Here's my first one 560 miles from home on a 1600 mile tour of Scotland .

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Edited by fastbob
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Welcome. I agree with [mention]fastbob[/mention] except in my case it was an older Honda CBF500. It's my workhorse for rural roads where the surface is usually covered in gravel, mud and the stuff that emerges from the south end of a north bound horse.


I understand why a 125 sounds sensible when getting back onto two wheels, I did it myself some years ago. But for your beloved's information mid-ranged bikes are safer than 125s. You have better brakes, tyres, suspension for the same road speed. You have the power needed to get you out of trouble at times when a 125 will be on its limit and you've nowhere to go. Motorists tend not to bully you on the road.


These are all things you know - but your beloved might hear it more when it comes from the experience of those who have ridden this path before.

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Is that really the best you can do ? What is this GIF attempting to convey in the context of this thread ? So obtuse .

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The ER5 sounds like a good step up, a friend has one which she bought after passing her test late year. This was before I got the bug again and when I did I was kicking myself because she sold an immaculate CB125 for £800 after having it on Facebook market place for at least a month. I still see it about, looking and sounding very nice.


I live on the Welsh coast with the nearest dual carriageway a fair way away so I have plenty of quiet B roads to pootle about on, meaning the lack of power isn't too much of an issue though the small engine does require some serious gear shifting as the road rises and falls. One thing I notice with today's bikes is the physical size of the smaller ones - the Isca doesn't look much different in that respect to the CB500 I owned in the nineties. Also the weight, years ago I had a DT175 which was around 80 - 85kg dry. This one is 130kg and a road test I read considered it on the light side! I suppose all the extra gubbins you get now has to come at some cost.


Thanks for the welcome, BTW.

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I've had an up close look at one of these Lexmotos and basically the whole idea is to create the illusion of a modern bike using old technology . So the frame will still be steel despite appearances , the engine will be an old CG or GS 125 knock off and everything will be deliberately designed to look and feel as big as possible. Hence the weight . The linked braking system just scares me and I'm sure it works the wrong way round . Admittedly these things don't cost the earth but you can probably already kiss goodbye to half what it cost to buy . Sorry to be so negative but that's just the way it is .

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I've had an up close look at one of these Lexmotos and basically the whole idea is to create the illusion of a modern bike using old technology . So the frame will still be steel despite appearances , the engine will be an old CG or GS 125 knock off and everything will be deliberately designed to look and feel as big as possible. Hence the weight . The linked braking system just scares me and I'm sure it works the wrong way round . Admittedly these things don't cost the earth but you can probably already kiss goodbye to half what it cost to buy . Sorry to be so negative but that's just the way it is .

I understand where you're coming from, but old tech doesn't particularly bother me. The linked brakes didn't take long to get used to although the pedal feels a bit soft, though as I rarely use the rear brake on either bicycle of motorbike anyway mostly it it is front brake only.


As for the weight, the latest Honda CBF is only 2kg lighter so you can't blame the lack of state of the art in the design on that. Interesting point about depreciation. The Lexmoto cost £1500 on the road, a CBF lists at £2900. So if I lose 50% of the value in the first year I'm £750 down, only £25 worse off than with the Honda assuming a depreciation of 25%, though that is much more likely to be more than that.


We'll see.

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xxgiphy.gif

 

Is that really the best you can do ? What is this GIF attempting to convey in the context of this thread ? So obtuse .

 

It's bewilderment Bob.


Sort of thing you'd throw in when somebody buys a Harley. :lol:

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xxgiphy.gif

 

Is that really the best you can do ? What is this GIF attempting to convey in the context of this thread ? So obtuse .

 

It's bewilderment Bob.


Sort of thing you'd throw in when somebody buys a Harley. :lol:

 

So you could simply write " I'm bewildered " Regarding the context , I think the OP has adequately explained his thought process and subsequent actions .

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Is that really the best you can do ? What is this GIF attempting to convey in the context of this thread ? So obtuse .

 

It's bewilderment Bob.


Sort of thing you'd throw in when somebody buys a Harley. :lol:

 

So you could simply write " I'm bewildered " Regarding the context , I think the OP has adequately explained his thought process and subsequent actions .

 

I could do......but I'd be depriving you of something else to whinge about! :lol:

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