Hi,

At shall we say at a mature age the wife and I decided last year to do our CBT and buy a small bike to learn on. Quite easy you say to yourself? well just put a search in for a 125 learner legal bike and see what comes up? minefield!!

Well with us both being mechanically challenged we needed a relatively new and reliable bike that would start/stop and be able to maintain a safe speed and not cost a great deal (and more importantly not lose a lot of money when we came to sell it).

We spent weeks searching through local papers, ebay and although we did find some good traditional Japanese bikes we decided against the advice of a lot of people and instead buy a brand new chinese 125cc bike off EBAY. This bike cost us about the equivalent we would have had to pay for an 5-7 year old Japanese bike.

However some good advice we did take was the following, and if possible we would recommend others look at the listings and check the small print for the following

1. Look at how the bike will be delivered ie - on a pallet part assembled fully built etc. We specifically looked for a bike that was delivered fully built and consequently road tested by the supplier. This gave the Mrs peace of mind that it was put together correctly (just didn't trust me?). This also eliminates any possibility of the supplier claiming damage due to incorrect assembly etc should a warranty issue develop.
2. Is it registered - again we looked for a bike that came ready to ride, with tax etc. We did find several alternatives of the same bike some alot cheaper but requiring registration etc.
3. Insurance - it appears most of these bikes can be easily insured and we paid £110 for the both of us (granted it was only third party). If the supplier does not have an arrangement with an insurance company it may be worthwhile checking around a few insurance companies to ensure that the model of bike is on their database and consequently can be easily insured?

When the bike arrived it was not of the highest quality but for me and the mrs it was fine - lots of shiny bits/started straight away/ no leaks/ stopped well, no worries over MOT's and a warranty for one year. (Which we did use for a starter solenoid problem which was dealt with very efficiently and politely)

That was last october and we used it regularly through the winter months to learn on and get to work, with the only maintenance being the standard oil changes, regularly cleaning and wd40 to the exposed parts and it never let us down once!! The added bonus was 100+ mpg!!

Well we did nearly 3000 miles on the little 125 between us and both passed our big bike tests after only 3 x lessons each.

So if you are prepared to take a chance and look after the bike I think the Chinese option should be considered for learners - for us at least it was the perfect option. We sold the bike for about £50 less than we paid!

The story updated 22/06/08:

Having now been riding a big bike for 12 months both the Mrs and I are now considering getting 2 x 125's again. We intend to keep our big bikes for fun but use the 125's for the daily commute. Since we sold our little 125 the cost of petrol has gone orbital and lets face it if things don't change soon the majority of people who need transport to get to/from work will very soon be forced to use public transport? (what public transport you ask????) The 100+ mpg the 125 gave us is not only looking desirable we may very shortly have no option!!

On  a final note; To all those looking at this from the UK who have not already passed their bike test - do not delay!! After October this year the cost/difficulty in passing your test will increase substantially with the introduction of the new Test.

For those looking at this review who may not necessarily be considering taking a bike test - consider it seriously - as discussed above pretty soon the motorbike may be  the only affordable and viable mode of transport to the majority of people! And lets face it it is also the greener option in most cases!!!