After much thought I decided that the best way to start motorcycling was to buy a newish 12hp 125, pass my test and then derestrict it. I'm 42 years old, wanted to commute mostly in town but didn't want to look like a total jerk on some gruesome commuter. Also, I fancied some weekend runs. The last thing I wanted was to end up with one of the race replica style 125s, too much pain for my poor old bones.
Thus when a six month old Yam TDR125 was on offer at the local dealers I was rather taken with it. Looked a lot flasher than most learner machines yet had a sensible riding position and lots of protection from the fairing. When the dealer told me he would derestrict the engine for free once I'd passed my test I was sold on the bike. The clock only read 3750 miles yet I was rewarded with 25% off the list price.
The dealer frowned somewhat when I refused to buy any gear off him.....a mate had donated a helmet and an old leather jacket. Some ordinary gloves and boots would have to suffice. Starting biking in October is not the best move but there wasn't much rain just lots of cold fingers and feet.
The first few days were a bit traumatic. I'd done the basic training course some months before and kept forgetting what all the levers were for. Deciding that it would have to justify its purchase cost by being thrown into the maelstrom of crazed, careering cars, didn't help with the learning process.
Initially, I'd been quite frightened by the way the Yamaha would tear off from the lights in first or second, but once used to the pulse of acceleration it soon became apparent that after 50mph twelve horses didn't add up to very much. It ran nicely enough at low revs but really needed 3500rpm before it went into killer mode.......which lasted only to about 6500 revs when the power faded away to nothing.
It was hard work to put 70mph on the clock, something, that after a week, I felt quite willing to do. The engine always gave a feeling of fighting against itself, the watercooled stroker motor being good for about 30 horses in more civilized countries.
In reality, the lack of power and speed stopped me doing really stupid things, which despite my great age, the new found freedom of motorcycling suddenly seemed to make necessary. God knows how some 17 year old youth survives.
Keeping me on the straight and narrow was the chassis. The centre-piece was the steel Deltabox frame which together with the long travel suspension never gave me a moment's worry. I felt really sorry for the old codgers on frail commuters whose proper place was wobbling along in the gutter. I soon learnt to keep an eye open for pot-holes. The suspension would absorb the worst of the shock from foot deep craters, but the 235lbs of motorcycle could be thrown about as the front wheel twitched.
It certainly felt a lot safer than the CG125 I used in the training school. The Japanese tyres defied their origin by sticking like glue to the tarmac, even when the inevitable rains began to fall. They even felt okay over iced up roads, although I had both feet down just in case - with a 34 inch seat height I was thankful for being over six feet tall.
The bars seemed inappropriately wide, to my taste, the bike not needing much effort to twist and weave through traffic. I would have preferred narrower bars and wider plastic so that my hands were kept out of the cruel wintry winds. I had soon bought some proper leather gauntlets, but even with these my fingers went ice-cold after only five miles of town work. The odd blast of hot air from the radiator kept my lower body a little warmer but come a heavy storm, despite the acres of plastic, water got just about everywhere. The old leather jacket turned into a big sponge. By the end of the winter I was togged out in proper wet weather gear and a lot better for it. Anyone coming to biking for the first time should factor in the expense of clothing.
Much to my chagrin a friend had bought a Vespa scooter, which had lots more rider protection and kept up with the Yamaha. True, on any serious bend he was left miles behind, a wallowing mess as his tiny wheels bounced from bump to bump. But he'd bought his pristine machine for less than a grand. Worth thinking about if you have no street credibility.
I was a little disappointed with the Yamaha on the open road. It was struggling to maintain 65mph and didn't like to do more than 70mph. The tacho just didn't want to go much beyond 7000rpm, I could almost feel the engine gagging on its restricted powervalve. Fuel wasn't very impressive, either, varying between 50 and 70mpg, depending on road conditions rather than outright speed. It was least economical running up hills or into a headwind.
The dealer reckoned all the maintenance it needed was to watch the oil level in the tank and to change the gearbox oil every 5000 miles. Ignition was electronic and there were obviously no valves, camchains or multitude of carbs to worry about. In four months I did over 3500 miles without doing anything to the engine other than adding oil to the tank. The drive chain showed a disturbing need for adjustment after 5000 miles were on the clock and both tyres are wearing out fast. Not impressive for such a mild, light motorcycle.....I would've expected much better life than what I used to get from my Metro....but then what do I know?
Finish, despite hardcore commuting through the winter, has survived well, except for the matt black exhaust near the front of the engine. I tried some heat resistant paint but this fell off as soon as the motor warmed up. The exhaust is fitted with a catalytic converter, so will cost a fortune to replace.
Engine noise was minimal, mostly a burble that would try to turn into a hard wail when the throttle was used in anger but was never entirely successful. I talked with some spotty youth who had both derestricted the engine and degutted the silencer, who reckoned that his modified bike was good for 110mph. I rather doubted this tall story until my mind was completely closed down by the terrible din thrown off by his exhaust as he wheelied up the road. I'm all for having fun on two wheels but I felt like smacking him in the face, so God knows what the cagers thought.
I recently had a go on an acquaintance's old CB125 single. What a rolling wreck! The gearbox was a terrible mess that made it almost impossible to ride and the vibes felt like the engine was trying to thrum its way out of the frame. I hadn't realised how civilized was the Yamaha. The six speed gearbox, and light yet sensitive clutch, meant I was able to adapt quickly to the gearchanging chores. If I'd started on an old Honda single I'd probably have ridden it right through a car whilst I was trying to make the gears work. I would rate the Yam high as a machine to learn upon.
It doesn't seem in any way to be the kind of mount that some 17 year old in school or out of work could ever hope to afford, especially with the silly insurance rates. It's too expensive to buy or run for the usual commuter, so that just leaves relatively rich middle-aged nutters like myself who have suddenly decided that motorcycling is the way to go.
Can't say I've been disappointed. A week prior to penning this I passed my test first time - I'm sure my sensible appearance helped, as did my off hand explanation that I was borrowing my son's bike for the test and not really some kind of Jekyll and Hyde lunatic. He actually told me I was riding a bit too slowly, but let me off.
The dealer, true to his word, worked magic on the powervalve. At first I was a bit annoyed, it seemed just the same at low revs. It wasn't until the new found power kicked in at 7000rpm that the transformed nature of the TDR was revealed. The first highway dash put 85mph on the clock without trying. A bit of persistence broke the 100mph barrier.
I backed off quickly, my mind suddenly full of worries about the tyres exploding or the engine seizing up. With so little mass, the 30 horses provide some wild acceleration that gets the front wheel up in the air and makes cars look like they are going backwards. Handling and braking still seem more than adequate whilst petrol is no worse at 60mpg. I can see how people get immersed in the power crazed game of uprating to something bigger every six months but I'm sticking with the Yamaha for now...
G. Jones