I've gone a little "MAD".....

I might have lost my mind, or else I found more fun per cc/$ than anyone should be able to have. I recently purchased a 2011 Sachs Madass! It is so much fun it is stoopid. I was looking for a small displacement bike to kick around town and bomb down some of the local concessions on. Clearly speed was not a priority. Fun was the only priority. After not being able to make a deal on an old CT90, I went for a ride on my Bandit. I pulled into a bike shop, and there, tucked away in the corner, was my Madass. A showroom full of customers looking at everything from scooters and dirt bikes to Can-Am spyders and no one was looking at the Madass. When I asked the salesman about it he actually paused for a second and then told me I'm the first person to come in and know what it was. After a little haggling, I walked out with a decent deal on the bike. You could easily spend more on a helmet and jacket!

So far I've put about 500km on the Madass so far and it has brought me nothing but smiles. I ride it around Peterborough and the outlying area. It is slow. If I tuck in and pin it on a straight road, I can get it up to 92km/hr (indicated) but it's working to cruise at 80km/h. At 75km/h it sounds quite happy and will pull up a hill at that speed no problem. The suspension is harsh, and the seat isn't terribly comfortable. It is basically like riding an old banana seat bike with a motor strapped to it. The battery on it is dead so I have to kick start it every time and it wants to die at a light (because of said battery) so I have to rev it a little to keep it going. It is very nimble and every time I ride it I can't stop smiling and laughing. I get a lot of folks asking me what it is and stopping to take a good look at it. The motor is dead simple and is easy to work on. If I am interested, performance motors can be bought for around $650. Apparently if you buy the 160cc motor kit for it the bike will top out at 120km/h, which means that cruising comfortably at 85-95km/h would be possible.

I've even purchased a hitch mounted carrier for it so I can take it to bike rallies etc.

So, anyone else on here rocking a street legal small displacement bike and LOVING IT?

Variety is the spice of life.
You're enjoying it because it is different from what you normally ride. If that was your only option you'd have a different opinion.
Enjoy your new ride

what's the ins. deal on those beasts? catchy model name, conversation must get interesting quick when ~ " what you ride?" comes up

what's the story with all these motorized 2 wheelers i see on sidewalks these days??

so.....it's a scooter?

nfq said:

so.....it's a scooter?

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A grom with bigger wheels.

I like it! One of my brothers had a CT 70 in the 1970's. Looks like this is the resurrection.

http://www.motorera.com/honda/h0070/ct.htm

My ex used to ride one of those. Got quite a few head turns. But apparently, once I got my grom and she tried that, she realized the Madass was clearly lacking in many departments (says a lot - the Grom is a great starter bike, but doesn't have much going for it either). She immediately upgraded to a TU250

The Madass looks like a lot of fun. What did you pay for it OTD?

I don't get it if you find the Mad fun shouldn't the old school cbr125 more fun?

The Mad weights a ton for its size (very close to cbr125)

I've got $1500 in it as she sits. Came with both front and rear luggage racks. Insurance is $100/year (second bike). It weighs 212lbs which I don't think is heavy. Given how light it feels under me at 80+kmh I wouldn't want anything lighter! If I were acity mouse I wouldn't mind having this as my only bike. Might swap it out for a grom just to have the better quality. Out here in the country it wouldn't be a great "only" bike, but when I'm staying in town my Bandit stays in the garage. If I decide I don't want it anymore I can sell it for what I paid for it by just parking it on my front lawn. Cottagers up here are always looking for little bikes to run around on.

It's true what they say thouh, it is more fun to ride a slow bike fast than to ride a fast bike slow.

What insurance company gives you discount on multiple bikes????

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Maybe that's just the price. I thought it would have been a little higher than $100 to insure. I figured it was because I was already insuring a bike with them + home and auto.

Morrissey said:

I've got $1500 in it as she sits. Came with both front and rear luggage racks. Insurance is $100/year (second bike)....

It's true what they say though, it is more fun to ride a slow bike fast than to ride a fast bike slow.

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That's more than reasonable for a used bike, much less new. Are you sure about the insurance premium? Did you do collision only? Are you, like 100yo? Magic powers? My insurance company says anything below 500cc is generally the same premium, when i asked about a moped or a 125. I've never heard of a multi-vehicle MC insurance policy, but if you can get it that's great. A friend rides a 10 yo moped and his premium is $350/yr.

Does it wheelie? Can I try it?

Lots of goodies at DRATV.

Google images and check out the customs out there.



Engine swaps Even a 47HP Honda 500 twin would be sweet in there...

Been eyeing these things since they came out years ago. Unfortunately they get terrible reliability reviews and they're too slow for my liking. I love my 125 2-stroke, though.

While Sachs is supposed to be German quality, I've read these are made cheaply in China and break often.

I was considering getting one to bomb around in the winter (you can get offroad tires for them). Maybe if I found one for a decent price but you can get a CBR125R for around the same price, usually, which can actually go on the highway.

unL33T said:

While Sachs is supposed to be German quality, I've read these are made cheaply in China and break often.

.

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There are many old brands that went broke and the brand got bought up by Chinese factories. The MadAss was the last bike designed by Sachs Germany before they restructured, but they sold the rights to China.
Another name is Benelli, which is coming back to the US market, but all made in China.

I suspect with the success of the Grom, we'll see more of these types of bikes.

CafeRay said:

There are many old brands that went broke and the brand got bought up by Chinese factories. The MadAss was the last bike designed by Sachs Germany before they restructured, but they sold the rights to China.
Another name is Benelli, which is coming back to the US market, but all made in China.

I suspect with the success of the Grom, we'll see more of these types of bikes.

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Well the Grom didn't have much to do with this. It's been in Canada since at least 2009 and manufactured since 2004.

Wikipedia also tells me it's also sold as the AMG Nitro in Canada but I've never seen one listed as that.

What size engine is actually in this thing? I used to read everywhere it actually has a 120cc engine (despite it's 125 name) but now I see a few things saying it's 124cc. Did they update it?

Moto Scoot in the US sells a 160cc engine for it AND a big bore kit for that engine to jump it up to 172. Too bad I'm too paranoid about lying to insurance companies or it might actually be decent for me with a 160 or 172cc engine (although once you buy one of these and add the engine and then the bbk you're into the price of something that is probably a lot better).

unL33T said:

Moto Scoot in the US sells a 160cc engine for it AND a big bore kit for that engine to jump it up to 172. Too bad I'm too paranoid about lying to insurance companies or it might actually be decent for me with a 160 or 172cc engine (although once you buy one of these and add the engine and then the bbk you're into the price of something that is probably a lot better).

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Does 125 versus 172 make a big difference to insurance companies?

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