Yamaha SR125

Great, sold the sodding thing at last! I felt very relieved as I watched my old 50cc Honda Express slowly negotiate the final bend and disappear out of sight. The new owner seemed happy enough, excited no doubt by the prospect of racing about on his new toy (I use the word literally). OK, so you can go for miles on a gallon of petrol, but an express it most certainly is not. It must be one of the most ironically named bikes in the history of motorcycle transport.

To be fair, it got me to work and back (10 long miles a day) for over a year and I clocked up 4000 miles. Most prospective buyers were, in fact, amazed that anyone could have gone so far in so short a time on a little moped. But it’s true, I’ve still got the scars to prove it.

Having said: farewell and good riddance to the Honda, I rushed back to my garage to make sure that my new bike was still there. Call it superstition if you like, but after conning someone into actually buying the Honda, I thought perhaps my new bike might have vanished into thin air, or worse turned into yet another Express. Panic over, my prized Yamaha was still there.

Not having passed my test I could only ride a small bike, although anything feels large after a moped. I answered a dozen ads in the local paper before I found the SR125SE. I liked its custom look, Low seat and high bars. It was three years old and seemed have been well looked after. It needed new front tyre and the clutch cable had seen better days. After a brief test ride I decided to buy it and handed over a bundle of notes (probably too many).

It had done a little over 10000 miles when I bought it and now a year later it’s done just under 17000. It still looks good from a distance, at any rate. Despite the high bars, the ride is very comfortable, although the lack of good aerodynamics means that top speed is a mere 65mph - it was quite fast when I first rode the bike, but now I’m used to the speed isn't very impressive. Most of the time this speed is adequate, but on long runs an extra 20mph would be very useful. It does a reasonable 80mpg if I thrash it, rather more if I take it easy.

I feel almost proud be seen on the SR, something which I would never have said about the Honda. I've also spent very little on maintenance. It’s fairly easy to service and spare parts won’t break the bank. I've replaced the inlet manifold, clutch cable, brake shoes and springs for under £15. A new tyre set me back about £25. The engine is a tough bugger as long as you change the oil and service it regularly.

The SR has a sturdy feel and handles well - for a custom. A 250 mile round trip at 55mph proved no problem for the bike although I felt a little tired and had pains in rather strange places. I’ve never been of the opinion that you need a big bike to go big distances - you can get just as wet and cold on a SR as on BMW.

I’ve only had one near scrape so far and that was caused by a tractor reversing out of a blind opening across a narrow lane. I was able to stop, but only at the cost of locking the rear wheel and leaping into a ditch - no serious damage to man or machine, I’m happy to say. If the headlamp beam had been a little brighter I might have avoided the ditch.

Anyway, no real complaints about the SR as a first motorcycle. It’s fun to ride, cheap on the pocket and quite stylish if you like this kind of thing - if you don’t, well, there are lots of straight bikes around. I used to dream of owning a moped, then a 125, now... well a Harley would be rather nice.

Tony Rand