CBR125 Initial Impressions | GTAMotorcycle.com

CBR125 Initial Impressions

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jeff96

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Just wanted to share some impressions I have of my new to me CBR125 and see if I'm on the right track.

First the why; I used to ride and commute on bikes ranging from a CB 200 Twinstar to a '78 KZ 1000. I haven't ridden in decades; partly because of kids and partly because it's actually cheaper just to drive a car year round. I get the itch to buy a bike every year and this time it happened. The kids are a bit older now, and my car doesn't get great mileage anyway for what it is (2012 Kia Rio) I wanted a bike that would be cheap to run and save wear and tear on my car for my commute of 80 kms which takes +/- an hour to drive.

I decided on the 125 because they are cheap to buy and the 70+ mpg. I would have preferred something bigger, but a 250 ninja doesn't get much better mileage than my car.

I got a 2008 with 1400 km for 1800 plus the cost of the safety; it didn't need anything to certify.

Today was my first commute and here's what I learned.
Claims of top speed of 120 km+ don't seem likely to me. Maybe drafting behind a truck but I'm thinking maybe 100 km/hr on a flat stretch at best.
It seems strange to me that 6th gear only seems to be useful while going down hill. I can maintain a cruising speed of about 90 km in 5th gear but decelerate if I upshift. I don't want to change anything until I've had the bike a while, but maybe changing the sprocket would help the gearing for highway speed.
It seemed very stable at 115 km/h given the size of the bike.
It's fun to ride in the city.
It's a good bike if you're not expecting a lot in highway performance.

I don't know if or when the first two owners changed the motor oil, so I did that after riding home today. The oil is slightly dark and has a slight metallic sheen when I shone a flashlight on the container. Is this normal for a break in period? Is the engine broken in at this mileage? or will it loosen up some in the next while?

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. (besides "buy a better/faster/other bike" 'cause that's not happening)
 
Great bike and I enjoyed my 2008 very much for the season I had it. For city riding and commuting it's awesome, on the highway it was good for me at 5'7 and 160lbs. Tuck in a bit and the thing would hold an indicated 120 no problem.
The only recommendation is if you're riding on highway you need to plan your moves and passes accordingly and it'll be a great bike. Cheap oil changes, easy to work on, good bike. The updated 2010/11 125 are more stable with wider tires and better aero. Enjoy!
 
cbr125world.com
Some upgrades and info on how to get a little more out of the wee thing.
 
jeff96 said:
Is the engine broken in at this mileage?
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1400 K? Doubtful.

I'm constantly amazed at the age of some bikes with low milage. An 8 year old bike with 1400K on it - 175K/year average. Wow. My VTX had only around 1000K/year of it's age on it so it too was a garage queen - it got a wakeup since I bought it though, almost doubled it this year alone.

How many owners did it have listed on the UVIP over that time period?

The "slight metallic sheen", was this when you shone a flashlight in the container of the old oil? Could just be some contaminants in the old oil that floated to the surface - it's entirely possible that with only 1400K on the odometer that was the original 2008 oil still in it.

Sounds like a fun little bike, must look basically new despite the age - have fun with it.
 
@mimico I'm wondering how people are maintaining 120. I am tucking when I got it to 105. Though at 6'2 and 180, I have a hard time tucking in very efficiently. Maybe it just needs to break in?

@doublej I've been looking at that site. The claims seem a little too good to be true, but what they're saying makes sense. I've already been speculating that the gearing could be improved...

@privatepilot The UVIP shows 4 previous owners including a short stint at a motorcycle dealership. It looks like the first owner only had it for a month. The last owner got it to pass her licence but only put on 200 km in 3 years. I've done more than that in 2 days. It looks brand new. There's a couple of scuffs that look like they were probably acquired indoors.
 
I'd say running out of steam around 100 and only creeping higher is par for the course on a CBR125R. The CBR250R was a bit better...would go to about 120 and then creep quite a bit higher than that (indicated) if you really pushed the bike and kept the throttle pinned in a tuck.

Surprised though you said a 250 only got the same fuel economy as your car...I didn't think anything short of a Prius or Smart could touch them. My 250 back when I had it was averaging around 3.5L/100KM, and my CBR650F is about 4.5L/100KM based on what I've tracked on Fuel.ly.

As for oil, I wouldn't skimp on the CBR125R. If memory serves from reading about that bike, it actually has no oil filter. If that is actually true, then I'd change it more often than not, because better safe than sorry.
 
With so few km's it may take some riding to wake it up again. Ride the piss out of it and it should make some more power. Everything is probably a little plugged up right now.
 
With only 1400km, the tire tread may be ok, but they could be 9 or 10 years old and age-hardened (you can check the date code on the sidewall).

Call Glen at Flying Squirrel Motorcycle (Carlaw/Dundas). You could probably get fresh tires mounted for $200 or so.

Sounds like you want to keep and ride this bike, instead of short term ownership. Sticky rubber may decrease your fuel economy slightly, but on the off chance you need to make an emergency stop, or if you're riding around downtown with the concrete/streetcar tracks, fresh tires will be well worth it.
 
Have one since 2008. K&N, irridium plug and wire and down one tooth on the counter shaft. You will notice a difference. Sixth is useless till you change the sproket. Down on the tank sometimes and definitely a fun bike whenyou wring its neck. Nearly indestructable!
 
The weight of the rider would have a big effect on it's top speed. I had the '07 CBR125 for about 3 years.

I changed my front sprocket for a 14T to give me a bit more acceleration taking away from top end speed a bit. It was barely noticeable, but it was there.

I was about 145lbs at the time and was able to hit 120km/h (gps) while sitting up and about 130km/h when tucked.

Anything after 125km/h really depends on weather conditions. Ex. With tail wind or decline, you can easily hit 130km/h, but with head wind or incline, it would be difficult to keep 120km/h even fully tucked.

In terms of mileage, it REALLY sucks going highway speeds - Probably got about 250-260kms on the tank on long highway rides vs about 350 kms by riding around the small streets.
 
I don't been to be negative here, but a Ninja 300 would still get much better mileage than your car. Over 2500 kms when I had mine I averaged exactly 4.0 L/100 kms, with a best of 3.7 L/100 KMS. I'd be willing to be your car gets around 6 L/100 KMS.

Even my 2016 FZ-09 has averaged 4.5 L/100 KMS over 5500 kms of riding this year. Most of that riding 100+ kmh on an East Coast road trip.

Not trying to put down the CBR, just saying that a small Ninja, or even a big bike like the FZ-09 will get better mileage than most cars. Even my CBR600RR averaged 4.9 L/100 KMS lol.

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Xrsman said:
I don't been to be negative here, but a Ninja 300 would still get much better mileage than your car. Over 2500 kms when I had mine I averaged exactly 4.0 L/100 kms, with a best of 3.7 L/100 KMS. I'd be willing to be your car gets around 6 L/100 KMS.

Even my 2016 FZ-09 has averaged 4.5 L/100 KMS over 5500 kms of riding this year. Most of that riding 100+ kmh on an East Coast road trip.

Not trying to put down the CBR, just saying that a small Ninja, or even a big bike like the FZ-09 will get better mileage than most cars. Even my CBR600RR averaged 4.9 L/100 KMS lol.

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Gentle shortshifter much?!?
 
Matt Rain said:
Gentle shortshifter much?!?
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Lol no I just ride normally! Here are a couple screenshots of my Fuelly. I usually ride 10 over on normal roads, or 20 over on the 400 series. I also enjoy some spirited riding each tank of fuel.

5ac2591ce6ff406985f5c5696d80856c.jpg


f35d9663d0e330731f0d6732cde32ff5.jpg


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Say, that's a lot of vehicles.

4.8 on the CBR seems crazy low. Well done.

I test-rode a 959 Panigale yesterday, dash said 7.3l/100kms historical average. Damn.
 
My 2011 cbr125 (which has better ECU calibration and I think the aero is a bit better) routinely uses 2.7 - 2.9 L/100 km with me riding it (i.e. wringing its neck). On the earlier ones, sixth is strictly for downhill or with a tail-wind. Mine will pull highway speed on level ground in sixth, but it doesn't take much of a headwind or uphill to slow it down. Par for the course when you only have 12 horsepower to work with.
 
jeff96 said:
@mimico I'm wondering how people are maintaining 120. I am tucking when I got it to 105. Though at 6'2 and 180, I have a hard time tucking in very efficiently. Maybe it just needs to break in?

@doublej I've been looking at that site. The claims seem a little too good to be true, but what they're saying makes sense. I've already been speculating that the gearing could be improved...

@privatepilot The UVIP shows 4 previous owners including a short stint at a motorcycle dealership. It looks like the first owner only had it for a month. The last owner got it to pass her licence but only put on 200 km in 3 years. I've done more than that in 2 days. It looks brand new. There's a couple of scuffs that look like they were probably acquired indoors.
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I considered the CBR125 as a commuter bike for the MPG, but I ruled it out after looking further into it. Unless you get the post 2011 model it just doesn't have enough power on the highway. I have seen people get big gains on the top-end from intake and exhaust mods, plus a gear change; however, in my case (6', 205lbs) hill climbing torque was necessary along with the ability to maintain a steady 110km/h on the highway. Horsepower alone just wasn't going to cut it.

I settled for less fuel economy in an old Honda CM250. I ended up with 70mpg (U.S.) or 80mpg (Imp) and slightly better power. I top out a 130km/h. Not bad for an old 1983 twin. Definitely feels better paying $20/week for a 110km per day commute. Still, the 100mpg of the CBR125 is enticing if you don't run into any hills or divided highways.
 
Thanks folks for the input. xrsman I don't think you're being negative at all. Perhaps my research on the Ninja 250 was a little too brief. I was thinking it would get about 5L/100Km which is better than most cars but not a lot better. I agree it's power would be appreciated on the highway. At this point, I'm thinking the bike is going to meet my expectations and at least for the next two years I'm going to love the one I've got.

I've found after an oil change, it's getting up to 100 km/hr and maintaining it fairly well which is what I was hoping for / expecting. I'm thinking another couple thousand km and an another oil change will help loosen things up even more.

doubleJ; did you buy the 'performance pack' from the cbr125 world site or did you buy the parts locally?

the tire code is 5007 which I take to mean the end of 2007. The tires look brand new, but I get it that they are almost 10 years old.
 
jeff96 said:
I've found after an oil change, it's getting up to 100 km/hr and maintaining it fairly well which is what I was hoping for / expecting. I'm thinking another couple thousand km and an another oil change will help loosen things up even more.

doubleJ; did you buy the 'performance pack' from the cbr125 world site or did you buy the parts locally?

the tire code is 5007 which I take to mean the end of 2007. The tires look brand new, but I get it that they are almost 10 years old.
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With no other changes than a slip-on muffler you can expect 13 rear wheel HP - that's about as good as its going to get without MAJOR modifications.
As has been suggested, a 14T front sprocket will help acceleration a little bit, if that's what you're looking for.
Its hard to find tires in the right sizes for the early CBRs, I only know of IRC and Heidenau but perhaps others can help out in that department.
 
conundrum said:
As for oil, I wouldn't skimp on the CBR125R. If memory serves from reading about that bike, it actually has no oil filter. If that is actually true, then I'd change it more often than not, because better safe than sorry.
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It holds EXACTLY one litre of oil, so go for the good stuff. Do not overfill.
It has an oil screen that is cleanable but that requires removal of the clutch cover, so after 10 years maybe grab a new gasket, pull the cover and have a look - can't hurt ?
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