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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
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  #1  
Old 23 Nov 2008
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honda cg125

hello

well basicaly i have wanted to travel by bike for ages now, i currently have a bmw f650 1997, but its kind of crap on petrol. so i was thinking of betting the honda 125 second hand, i am thinking for under 1000quid, and then take a trip on it. do you guys think the cg125 can hand as far as mongolia? or a distance like that, i dont care about going fast, i just wanna see places, and cheaply. so if the cg125 does 100mpg i think i will save loads.


so do you its a wise idea?

any comments welcome
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  #2  
Old 23 Nov 2008
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CG 125....no problem, I met a guy that did mongolia on a beat up xl 125 doing that rally that Jack Osbourne(son of mad Ozzie) did, then again I believe it was a CG that Simon Gandolfi did the Americas on...good luck
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  #3  
Old 23 Nov 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dave ede View Post
CG 125....no problem, I met a guy that did mongolia on a beat up xl 125 doing that rally that Jack Osbourne(son of mad Ozzie) did, then again I believe it was a CG that Simon Gandolfi did the Americas on...good luck
yeah he put 45,000km on that
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  #4  
Old 24 Nov 2008
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Hi, I did that rally with a CLR125 and my mate had a XLR125. Can deffo be done, but the CG will be a real pain in the sand. More details Mongol Bikers.com
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Old 24 Nov 2008
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As long as you are prepared to do it slowly you should be fine. Slowly means no more than 80kmh for extended periods though, and really more like 60kmh most of the time. Although some claim the 125 roadbikes will do 70mph the reality is that that is 70mph on the speedo, less the 10% speedo error = 63mph and that is flatout NOT cruising speed.

In April this year I rode 7,500km around China on a brand new Haobon 125 (Suzuki GS125 clone) in one month. the most I covered in one day was 500km and that was a dawn till dusk epic. I averaged 40kmh, and (2.5l/100km or 112mpg) when riding but speeds were kept down a lot due to the poor roads.

One thing you definitely MUST do is pad out the seat, otherwise you'll end up like I did, with permanent bed sores from where my cheeks compressed the foam padding right down to the metal seat base. 125s are not built for westerners spending 12 hours a day in the saddle, even if they are relatively light weight ones.

Garry from Oz.
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  #6  
Old 24 Nov 2008
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Most definately do-able.
I did Japan to Europe, including Russia, Mongolia and "stans" on a loaded up 250cc in 2002.
If you are riding southeast from Moscow to Lake Baikal you will have LOTS of time to look around!
A cruising speed of 50-60km/h in Mongolia and the Stans is all you will want to hold anyway. Its beautiful.

We sit on 60-70km/h at the moment and its great if you have an open plan and no schedule, stressful if you HAVE to be somewhere.

Pack light and enjoy.
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Old 24 Nov 2008
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As I have mentioned before, we race a cg125 engined lash-up. The engine is seriously solid. It will run forever with a bit of basic maintainence.
If you look at the cg125 as a high performance honda c90, you wont go far wrong. Use the extra time in the saddle, to enjoy the scenery, and relish in the min 90 mpg you will get. The shocks do give up the ghost on "interesting" roads, so get some good ones before you go.
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Old 24 Nov 2008
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Also you can find spare parts for this bike easily in most countries and they are very cheap.It is a small reliable bike;I know people who has 100.000 kilometers on their CG's.
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  #9  
Old 30 Nov 2008
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I want one too - but in Peru!

I am thinking about the same bike for Peru. After our trips we should share our experiences....

See you! - Jens
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  #10  
Old 14 Dec 2008
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Cg125

I had a 1992 CG125 for 14 years, and the guy I gave it to says it is still running. When new, it did 100 km easily sustained. good clutch. Seat was too low for me, so I elevated it with a piece of timber under it. Long distance on an aircooled engine always causes more wear and tear than on a watercooled engine, unless the air is pretty cool.
I am all for light, nimble bikes with a kickstarter. And feet firmly planted. Those big, top heavy bikes are a pain in really difficult stuff. And more expensive to maintain. But better for long distance tarmac. What I don´t know if the present CG bikes are the same quality. The fuel tank is 12 liter, so that will take you close to 400 km. Lub the chain frequently, and change oil every 1500 km, and the thing will run to the moon and back. Jake.
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