XmisterIS
05-25-2008, 07:54 PM
Hi all,
I would like to buy a 125cc bike or scooter in order to save on fuel bills and enjoy the experience of riding a bike.
I have been looking on the internet for a good hour now for a source of information giving MPG, top speed, fuel capacity, acceleration, torque at nominal revs, etc for all bikes. Parker's seems to have all the info for cars but not for bikes. The manufacturer's websites don't seem to have the info I'm after either!
Perhaps I'm being naive here, given that I know next to nothing about bikes - I'm used to cars.
I've found some data but it seems to vary widely between models; it seems like a bit of a minefield! Very confusing indeed.
Perhaps someone here could give me a few suggestions? Also, should I take my CBT before I get a bike or do you need to own a bike before you can do a CBT? (I have a full UK car licence).
Here's what I'm looking for:
1) Comfortable to ride (hence I think a 125cc scooter may be better).
2) Excellent fuel economy (I drive a diesel car which does about 45mpg on average - so it's only worth me buying a bike if I can get a lot more than that - say 90 or 100 mpg).
3) Decent acceleration for pulling out of junctions and pulling away at lights.
4) Top speed of 70 or 80 mph (so I can ride on the motorway without fear of being flattened by HGVs).
Point 3 is very important to me because I don't mind people on decent bikes going in front of my car at traffic lights - I know they have the acceleration to pull away much faster than a car can. One thing that makes me absolutely *mad* as a car driver is the 16-year-olds on their 50cc bumble-bee scooter things who go round me and sit infront of me at the lights - and then I have to wait patiently for their silly little scooters to accelerate when the lights change as they sit right in the middle of the damn lane! (the idiot kids also seem genuinely surprised when their 50cc, 5bhp scooter fails to accelerate as fast as a 2.0L 170bhp turbo diesel car!) As a bike rider I don't want to be holding traffic up!
I would like to buy a 125cc bike or scooter in order to save on fuel bills and enjoy the experience of riding a bike.
I have been looking on the internet for a good hour now for a source of information giving MPG, top speed, fuel capacity, acceleration, torque at nominal revs, etc for all bikes. Parker's seems to have all the info for cars but not for bikes. The manufacturer's websites don't seem to have the info I'm after either!
Perhaps I'm being naive here, given that I know next to nothing about bikes - I'm used to cars.
I've found some data but it seems to vary widely between models; it seems like a bit of a minefield! Very confusing indeed.
Perhaps someone here could give me a few suggestions? Also, should I take my CBT before I get a bike or do you need to own a bike before you can do a CBT? (I have a full UK car licence).
Here's what I'm looking for:
1) Comfortable to ride (hence I think a 125cc scooter may be better).
2) Excellent fuel economy (I drive a diesel car which does about 45mpg on average - so it's only worth me buying a bike if I can get a lot more than that - say 90 or 100 mpg).
3) Decent acceleration for pulling out of junctions and pulling away at lights.
4) Top speed of 70 or 80 mph (so I can ride on the motorway without fear of being flattened by HGVs).
Point 3 is very important to me because I don't mind people on decent bikes going in front of my car at traffic lights - I know they have the acceleration to pull away much faster than a car can. One thing that makes me absolutely *mad* as a car driver is the 16-year-olds on their 50cc bumble-bee scooter things who go round me and sit infront of me at the lights - and then I have to wait patiently for their silly little scooters to accelerate when the lights change as they sit right in the middle of the damn lane! (the idiot kids also seem genuinely surprised when their 50cc, 5bhp scooter fails to accelerate as fast as a 2.0L 170bhp turbo diesel car!) As a bike rider I don't want to be holding traffic up!