Im new to motorbikes and will be looking to buy one very soon.
My question is which manufacturers should I avoid as there are a lot I’ve never heard of such as
rieju, sukida, derbi +many more.
I haven’t a clue who they are!
for now I’m sticking with Yamaha,honda,suzuki & kawasaki.
Any advice appreciated
avoid anything Chinese/Taiwanese.
avoid: rieju, sukida,
not too bad: derbi, hyosung, kymco (the last two are exceptions from the rule above)
your safest bet is to stick to the big four (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki)
all make good bikes in different segments… best bet is too explain what size/type bike your after and get peops recommendations off that.
Just stick with the big four.
The chinese/korean bikes might be catching up, but the build quality isn’t there yet. Because of this the resale value of those bikes is much much less then the top 4 brands.
In many cases those bikes are not necessarily cheaper. I looked recently and a Honda CBR 125 is about £2,500 on the road, and the equivalents were about the same.
That same CBR 125 will be worth about £1800 when you come to sell it in 6 months when you pass your test, the equivalent was worth about £1300.
Which means you can pick up a good cheap second hand version, but as mentioned above…the build quality is pretty poor on many occasions.
Well there are a few others, Ducati, BMW, Triumph, KTM, MV, Hardly Moving Son, Moto Guzzi, to name just a few that run right off 
But agree with above, what sort of bike are you after? Recommendations to follow;)
Ian
well I would be looking for a very first bike(passed my CBT Saturday)
I did the CBT on a Yamaha YBR125 which I really liked and wouldn’t mind getting.
criteria is basically something that’s overall cheap to run & looks decent, runs well
for the first few weeks/months I would only be doing little journeys to build up experience but after that I would be commuting to work with it which is 25 miles each way
depending on how much you can afford you can
more expensive route (much better bikes)
-CBF125
-YBR125
-or a sporty thing like the CBR125, or yzf-r125
or the cheaper route:
-Yamaha SR125
-CG125
and a Haynes manual 
Depends on your body frame, but the Honda Varadero 125 is worth a look, some good examples and it is very suited to anyone over 5ft 10, and given a 25 mile commute, fairly sturdy…
Although if you really want economy then a twist and go scoot would be cheaper than most geared, but not quite as much fun, and not the best stepping stone to a geared big bike…
half the battle for me at the moment is knowing what bikes are out there so those suggestions have been great.
Im 6ft+ so the Varadero size shouldnt be an issue, Its by far my fav on looks but on that note I imagine it will prob be more to insure cos it looks like a Sportbike.
Also if its some help my budget would be £700-£800
not sure what u gonna get at that price but have you tried the autotrader first to see whats out there for that money? no use looking for what you want if it’s outta that price. I had the same dilema when I wanted my first bike. The insurance laughed at me when I asked what they would charge me for a 1300cc 180bhp bike 
soooo 600cc it is for me:P:D
just started my insurance today… thought my days of £1000+ insurance where over 
Varadero’s are definetly worth a look, they are quite big for a 125, i’ve seen them cope with two up work quite easily, which is good for a 125!! they have a v-twin engine too:D i’m told they will cruise at 70-80mph without too much stress from the engine.
Not to everyones taste, but I have a soft spot for the VavVan. Been out for ages so well proven and some supercheap ones out there. Decent owners forum too.
That stated, the Varadero was launched in Spain before the UK and the 125 was instantly the bike of choice for a lot of the youngsters. Even thought about buying one for myself at the time (I had a flat there then) but the second hand prices were holding up far too well for my pocket.
Not been a huge success in England, so second hand prices are far more reasonable.
I’d guess a good first bike choice.
I briefly checked fleebay and bike trader for vanvan and the ones near me wer over £1500! def out of budget haha.
the CG125 looks like my best option in terms of price at the moment but Ill constantly be checking prices for the next few weeks so I can get a good guage on value. Supposedly What bike? magazine is also good for bike valuations is this true?
The varadero should not be that much more expensive than the CG, it is not classed as a sportsbike by any standards and probably not a hit with the younger crowd, so might have a better reputation.
The VanVan is a pretty low bike and 6ft on that would look a bit weird (ask Jonny Bravo!)…
I think you would be able to pick up an older varadero for your budget, might be a high miler (check it has not been dispatched too much) but if serviced OK it should be good for 30+ miles.
LJSG One of the first “truths” of motor vehicle ownership you learn is “What you want you can’t afford” closely followed by “I can afford that, but not the insurance”.
That’s why we all (well, most of us) started on staid, worthy machines that were as exciting as haggis.
The CG125 is just such a machine. Simple, sound, conventional engineering and well proven. Not for nothing has it been one of the worlds best selling motorcycles.
Years back, a friend lost his licence due to 3 speeding nicks in 6 months. (The joy of owning a new Ducati.) When he got his licence back a CG125 was about the only thing he could afford to insure and had to keep a clean licence for a year. He loved it and even toured France and Spain on it.
Often dismissed but a good first bike.
+1, did similar (no real touring), but on the Yamaha SR125.
great first bike, not much broke on my first off, what did break was cheap and easy to replace.
tought me the basics of how to fix bikes, if i had gotten a newer (more relyable) bike, i would have never learnt that, thus meaning i will never have a chance to learn (big bikes get much more complex).
I reckon:
Honda CG125
Suzuki GN125
Suzuki GS125
Yamahe YBR125
All super reliable and should be able to pick up used ones for a good price.
The Chinese versions work but require very good maintenance to keep 'em in tip-top shape and that might not be something that comes easily to you if you if your new to bikes.
When I passed my CBT I got a Honda CG, and I absolutely love it! It’s sturdy and you get good milage from it. They are relatively cheap to buy, and can withstand alot - just what you want from a first bike! I have recently been on a Yamaha YBR125, and I must say I was quite impressed with that too. Lighter compared to the CG, and because of that was easier to throw into corners. I don’t want to make my CG jealous, but a YBR may even be a tad more fun! :hehe:
In my opinion both are great little 125’s 
The more I read about the CG125 the more I want it, not one bad review of this bike.
Its cheap to buy,ride & insure, reliable & looks good what more do i need really.
Thanks for all the tips, greatly appreciated
