Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi there,
I read a few pages of the sticky for Beginner Bikers but the smallest bikes you guys talk about seem to be 250cc. I'm from England and, once I have done my CBT, I will only be able to ride up to a 125 until I have got my full licence.

What I was wanting was a little bit of advice on what 125 is a good one. I was wanting to get a cruiser so I have been looking at :

Suzuki Intruder VL 125
Suzuki Marauder GZ 125
Yamaha Dragstar XVS 125
Kawasaki Eliminator BN 125

Out of these I think I'm leaning most towards the intruder but I thought I would try and get some opinions from more experienced motorcyclists.

Any advice or info, on which of these you think would be best, would be great. Thanks

Mike.

I know nothing of the 125's (the only one you listed that I've seen in the states is the Eliminator) but I wanted to welcome you to the forum!

Oh and, Smashing Pumpkins ruled!

The only 125cc bike I've ever ridden was the Eliminator in my MSF class. I preferred it for the seat height and low center of gravity. It kinda blows if you're tall though.

To be honest with you, you can't go too far wrong with the 125's (excepting the race replicas, which place a very high stress on the engine)

The marauder is quite a long bike for a 125, and looks good, but I don't like the way the gear shifter is located.

The dragstar is nice, but looks a little bit "thrown together" when you get close up

The eliminator and intruder are ones I have no knowledge whatsoever of

Also worth considering (but a bit pricier) is the honda shadow, which benefits from a water cooled v-twin engine.

Thanks for the warm welcom and the feedback

The Honda Shadow was actually another one I looked at but it's a little high on the price scale for me, I have to say I would probably get one if I could afford it.

My girlfriend has a little Honda CG and was the very first bike I ever rode, although I can't say I'm too keen on having one like that myself. Her father has a Triumph Boneville which is more like what I would want .

Hello there from the UK

Didn't go for a cruiser as my first bike; was fond of the Suzuki GN but then found this little two-stroke 125
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So not a lot to add to your discussion but just wanted to say Hi! from another UK CBT'er!

Welcome! You'll get a LOT of good advice on this board.
Not necessarily from me, but you get the idea...
Anyway, I just took the MSF beginner class and rode the Kawasaki Eliminator during the whole thing. I LOVED that bike! I wanted to throw it in the back of my Escape and take it home afterwards, but they wouldn't let me. Oh well.
I really recommend this bike if you're only able to ride a 125 for a while. It's a beautiful bike, sits really nice (sitting on it for 5 hrs straight per day, no pains at all), and just feels really nice and nimble. Granted, with it being a 125 you're not going to be breaking any speeding records, but it just feels really good, and easy to handle.
I don't think you'd go wrong at all with the Eliminator!
Good luck!