Yamaha YBR125 (2005-current)

No wind protection so a slight breeze and your on the edge of the anorexic tyres, cheap build quality(Three out of four indicator caps fell off(£15 x 3 bill!), and I personally belive that anything that forces a lorry to overtake is dangerous on A & M roads and I faced atleast ten daunting overtakes a day!. 5 Weeks of hell! Only buy this bike if you plan on the occasional ride to the shops or low speed riding!

After about a 25 year break from motorcycling (family life took over) a change in my work circumstances meant I needed to look for an inexpensive commuter vehicle. Having spent my younger days on Honda's CB125 and then the legendary CB400F I was a little hesitant to get back on a lesser machine. Common sense took over, however, when I stumbled upon the YBR125. Not being a fan of scooters, and most of the larger bikes recently looking more like racing machines, I was pleasantly surprised to find a bike which "looked nice". Whilst it was second hand, with only 823 miles on the clock it was the closest I have ever come to a brand new bike. I find now that whilst working has become tedious, this is offset significantly by a fun journey at each end of the day. Not to mention, of course, the absolute convenience of using bus lanes..... DISLIKES - As I was originally after another 400F the power is somewhat limited. But that's about the only thing LIKES - The whole experience of biking, including wearing all the gear. Also it seems to be getting me close to 130 mpg. Sweet. Not had it long enough for any meaningful maintenance report, but judging from the things that other people report it would seem I have got myself a nice little workhorse. I have a strange feeling though that my lust for more power will fester inside me.......

I bought this bike after taking my CBT last year, and rode around for a year before finally taking my test. ive taken this little bike everywhere doing 200-300 miles in one go and it was my behind that suffered, the bike never put a foot wrong. its best cruising around 55mph and it struggles up hills, but then its a 125 what do you expect? the only major issue i had was when the battery died, luckily the kick start was easy to use. i loved this bike and would recommend it to anyone starting out it was so cheap to run and i had a lot of fun on it.

I have been riding my YBR125 here in Manila, Philippines for about 1 year right now and did not encounter any issues with the bike. I have changed the sprocket and chain, used a combination of 15 teeth for the engine and 48 for the wheel sprocket and it hits about 115-120 kph, carburetor version. I also removed the foam filter and the throttle response is great! Changed tyres for more confident riding. It's now 11,500 kms and it is still running great! Oil change and tune up is the key for higher mileage.

Mine's an 07, 5000 miles and still going strong. Just had the original tyres changed, which has improved it a lot. It's my first bike, so admittedly I don't have a lot to compare it to. I sat on this in a showroom after doing my CBT on a CG125 and was amazed at how much more comfortable it was, and particularly how my legs seemed to fit it where they were supposed to, as opposed to along the tank ridges on the CG. The only trouble I've had with the engine is where I've stalled it, then it likes to be turned off for a few seconds sometimes. And sometimes it wont't change gear when I've stopped at traffic lights, but rolling it slightly or getting into the right one before hand gets around this. I don't know if this is common to other bikes or not. Overall though, I'd definitely choose this bike again. My mate's just bought the new Honda 125 which he keeps telling me is better, but I don't believe him.

absolutly floorless i am riding around 1500 miles a month and it has neveer broke down never put foot worng well worth it

Bought mine back in '06 when they were still a carb engine, it ran fine up until the first service, but had a major issue with eating chains & sprockets despite keeping in perfect operating condition, a good learner bike, maxxed out at 60mph down a hill with the wind behind me, generally average middle of the road learner kit, but not so good for higher mileage as expected.

Had the bike for 8 months and never had any problems with it really, it's a city bike to be short and simple, it's mostly happy at speeds below 50mph but will get to 60 if there's no hill/head wind. Had to do some very heavy breaking (about 50mph hardest i've ever done) at the weekend and the front tyre locked up a couple times on a very nice warm dry day so brakes are good but stock rubber not so good (but at least it stayed upright while the front locked up and didn't just skid out). It's a good learner/commuter bike, it can go out at weekends but just make sure it's with other 125/250s anything bigger and it'll slow everyone down, that said it put a smile on my face when i went skeggy (leicester to skeggy took three hours on it). Never had any problem with rusting but it's an 07 plate so the manufacturer obviously got that problem sorted

I've had the YBR125 about 8 months now. Have been communting approx 250 miles a week on dual carriageways and NSL roads and completed 6000miles in total. In all that time only problem has been a blown rear bulb. I have the 2008 model, which is fuel injected and has an auto-choke. Starts 1st time, including all through the winter, and cruises at 60mph without a headwind. Had 75mph with a tailwind. I've commuted through rain and shine (though not snow) and the bike hasn't put a foot wrong with 100+mpg. Only negatives are short mirror stalks, although when set up right you can seen behind clearly enough, and stock tyres don't inspire complete confidence. They've never let me down, but equally I've never felt tempted to push them. Have used FS365 and then ACF-50 over winter, and bike has come through with just small amount of corrosion on the exhaust. Looks practically brand new. As a learner and cheap commuter the bike is highly recomended. The number of cheap Chinese bikes with fewer miles and covered in rust that I've seen make me feel the YBR is a worthwile investment. Highly recommended.

I have had my YBR 125 for a year now and its works good as a learner bike as I find it very easy to ride and confidence inspiring in the bends. It is however slow as I struggle to get it past 60mph, I also find the gearbox to be sticky with it falling into neutral alot!