Although I had often thought of buying a motorbike before now, I had never actually ridden one. In fact, the nearest I had come to it was sitting on a few bikes in the local showroom, so I was understandably nervous about going too far from home. This may explain why it was a good month and a half before I became the proud owner of my first motorbike, an RD125DX.
All the articles I had read about buying a used bike had advised me to read the classified sections in newspapers and magazines for a couple of weeks to obtain a general idea of the current prices on various models. After getting over the initial shock, I doubled the amount I was willing to pay and began my search in earnest.
Since I wasn’t intending to keep the bike for long, I didn’t narrow my choice down to any particular machine. As long as it was reliable and easy to tide I’d be happy. Because the sun made an appearance everyone else was trying to buy a motorcycle as well - they were selling as soon as they were advertised.
However, I managed to find one to view; I sat on the bus with my newly acquired helmet and three magazines with articles about buying used motorcycles. No bike outside - had it gone already? - but the owner assured me that it was out back.
The bike was kept in a large garden shed, which was full of DIY equipment and bike spares, most of which were new and were to be included in the sale. The owner added that the bike had only been used in the summer and had been regularly serviced by a Yamaha dealer. During the winter it had been stored in the shed.
The bike had only covered 13000 miles during six years, was totally rust free, although the frame and engine casings had been painted in black Hammerite. It also had a braided brake hose and all the standard screws were replaced by Allen screws. All signs of a caring owner. I began to think that I had found one of those rare things, a good buy. It even had the original tool kit and a top box. However, aware that first time buyers are easily blinded to a bike’s bad points, I was determined to make a more detailed check.
I went from the front of the bike to the back, checking and double checking everything I could think of. The owner was quite rightly unconcerned by this inspection as I could find nothing wrong - no signs of any crash damage or botched repairs. The chain only had two notches of adjustment left and the rear tyre was near the limit, but since both were original I could hardly complain.
When the owner kickstarted the bike it started first time and settled down to a steady tickover. There were no unusual noises from the engine, although to be honest I didn’t really know what I was listening for. I had now more or less made my mind up to buy the bike, only the test ride could change it. I spent the twenty minute test ride on the pillion, listening for funny noises and trying to feel for handling irregularities. At least that’s how I spent the first five minutes, I quickly forgot about these things and just enjoyed the ride. My mind was made up, this was the bike for me - I couldn’t wait to try it out for myself.
After haggling for a little a price of £270 was agreed. My first attempt to move off stalled the engine as soon as the clutch was let out. Neither the second nor third attempt was much better. Fourth time I wobbled off, grinning from ear to ear, to promptly stall it at the first junction.
Well at least I was getting plenty of practice kickstarting the thing. Luckily, I was in a relatively quiet housing scheme, so there weren’t too many people around to witness these embarrassing events or get in the way. By the time I reached the busy main roads I had gained enough confidence to be raring to go.
The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful but great fun. I was surprised how quickly I became used to the controls and relaxed enough to enjoy the ride. On reaching a small section of dual carriageway I decided to see how fast the bike would go. I ran out of both dual carriageway and nerve at 55mph. At the time, this seemed very fast, but, again, I was surprised at how quickly I became used to it and craved more speed. I now find myself travelling regularly and quite happily at the bikes top speed of 75mph, which is sadly greatly reduced by strong headwinds and steep hills.
It is in the busy city streets amongst the traffic jams that the bike comes into its own. It’s small enough and agile enough to manoeuvre around stationary vehicles, its excellent acceleration more than sufficient for getting into clear spaces and out of trouble. The front disc and rear drum provide adequate stopping power when necessary; in fact, it’s dead easy to lock up the wheels if you’re careless.
The day after I bought the bike I arose early, determined to enjoy a full day’s riding in the sun. It wouldn’t start; yes, I do know about kill switches. I eventually determined that the battery was flat. Unfortunately, this was to occur with depressing regularity. The charging circuit was the only thing I couldn’t check, so I suppose it’s typical that this would be the only duff part. Since I had the bike I made several attempts to cure the problem with little initial success.
First, I tried a new battery (£10.75) but this soon went flat. At least I could charge one battery whilst the other was in use, although it was almost impossible to ride at night - if the journey was for more than two hours I had to take the spare battery with me.
This became such a real pain that I eventually took the bike to a dealer, who declared that it needed a new alternator. I managed to obtain a reconditioned one from a breaker for £42 and was charged £50 for fitting by the dealer. Natch, when I went to pick up the bike the battery was flat. It was given a quick charge and I had to keep the revs up all the way home.
The next day it left me stranded out in the country miles from any help. When I finally arrived home I phoned the garage who told me to bring it in. They eventually declared that the alternator wasn’t working, but as I didn’t have any money I took it back and gave the electrics a thorough overhaul myself. After making a new earth strap for the battery the problem disappeared.
Since I’ve owned this two stroke twin it has been used almost every day, in all kinds of weather, proving to be very reliable (save for the charging). It takes me to and from work each day as well as being used for pleasure at the weekends without any complaints. As for normal wear and tear, the rear tyre was changed at 13750 miles - there was still a little tread left but handling was very unpredictable, especially on wet roundabouts when the rear tyre would try to race the front to the exit.
Handling became really weird when one of the shock absorbers exploded. I managed to put it all back together and proceed home slowly - the slightest ripple gave the bike the jitters. , Brake shoes and pads cost about £11 for each set, the chain lasted for 14500 miles and was replaced with £15 worth of heavy duty chain and sprockets. The spares situation seems generally good, but no-one seems to keep any parts in stock so just about everything has to be ordered. The longest I’ve had to wait is 3 days for a set of exhaust gaskets (£3.75). Prices, incidentally, seem to vary a lot, depending on where you go, so shop around before you buy anything.
No bike is perfect, of course, and the RD is no exception. The worst aspect is rider comfort. Although the seat is well padded and comfortable, either the bars are too low or the footrests too far forward, resulting in lower back pain and sore arms. The mirrors are always blurred because of the vibration, whilst both auto-lube and chain need regular attention. The bike is also quite heavy for a 125 at 255lbs.
I’ve owned the bike for more than a year and a half, I passed both my Part One & Two on it, ridden it in all kinds of weather every day of the week and still derive enough pleasure to want to ride it just for kicks in the evening and the weekend. It’s been easy to work on and cheap to run. I think it’s the ideal learner bike - so good that it’s hard to find them, people tend to hang onto them and I'll certainly be keeping mine for a long time. Considering that I knew little about bikes when I bought it, I think I’ve been lucky.
Brian Smith