Japanese classics
Discussion
So, I’m looking for a small capacity Japanese bike just for a bit of fun.
Currently thinking along the lines of a Honda cub, there’s a huge variety to choose from, and look to be reasonable prices. Sevenseas look to have a good reputation and ever changing stock.
https://www.sevenseasmotors.com/
Then there’s Honda CB125 or CB175, brilliant little bikes.
Super moped like a FS1E, little too slow and the prices are just mad.
Yamaha RD200 still reasonable prices and less chance of it being thrashed/raced like the later LC series.
Kawasaki KH250, the KH range always had a bit of a reputation for poor handling.
Suzuki GT185, prices not too bad, always overlooked due to it’s sub 250 engine size.
Or, just buy a new Super Cub…..
Don’t want to more than about 4k, Any other suggestions ?
Currently thinking along the lines of a Honda cub, there’s a huge variety to choose from, and look to be reasonable prices. Sevenseas look to have a good reputation and ever changing stock.
https://www.sevenseasmotors.com/
Then there’s Honda CB125 or CB175, brilliant little bikes.
Super moped like a FS1E, little too slow and the prices are just mad.
Yamaha RD200 still reasonable prices and less chance of it being thrashed/raced like the later LC series.
Kawasaki KH250, the KH range always had a bit of a reputation for poor handling.
Suzuki GT185, prices not too bad, always overlooked due to it’s sub 250 engine size.
Or, just buy a new Super Cub…..
Don’t want to more than about 4k, Any other suggestions ?
I had a GT185 back in the day. My mates were jealous of it's electric start.
I sold it for £80 to a mate and it caught fire a few minutes later.
He'd stuck some spare bulbs under the seat and they broke and shorted the wiring. He sorted it though.
Saw a concourse condition one for sale last year. £5800.
I sold it for £80 to a mate and it caught fire a few minutes later.
He'd stuck some spare bulbs under the seat and they broke and shorted the wiring. He sorted it though.
Saw a concourse condition one for sale last year. £5800.
Chipchap said:
I'd plump for a CB175 or an RD200. Both fast enough for B roads and fun. The CB175 is a little slower but being 4 stroke should be more reliable.
I must say I prefer 4 strokes, I used to have a CZ250, I remember riding it down from Manchester to Bagshot in Surrey and the plugs beginning to oil up if you didn’t give it some revs now and again
Twolane said:
This is my 1970 Honda SS125. Sloper engine and spine frame like the CB & CD 175 but a bit rarer. Price should be in budget, nice blue one sold on eBay recently for £2500, seen them advertised up to £5000.
Paid £35 for mine in 1998.
I remember it’s successor, the 125K series, look to be quite rare.Paid £35 for mine in 1998.
Just browsing through classic bike dealers, there are some prices which are hard to believe.
SS50 mopeds, asking just above 5K, CB125S 5K….
Round around my early biking era!
Personally I'd give Honda cubs a miss as they are too slow to go very far on. Same goes for mopeds but they even come with silly prices too!
My first proper bike was a 1973 Honda CB175 that felt great after a year on a moped, but not so great when a mate bought a CD175 and it was just as quick, and I didn't see which way another mate's Yamaha YCS5E went!
Someone else had a Suzuki A100 and that was surprisingly nippy for what it was.
A couple of years after selling the Honda I got a 1977 RD250 ex-press bike direct from the importers (my girlfriend worked there) and that was a fantastic bike, but 250s do command a price premium compared to 200s. I'd just buy a 350 or 400 instead!
When I had my RD250 a former schoolmate who lived at Box Hill also had one and his brother had a Kawasaki S1 (forerunner to the KH250) and while it sounded fantastic it wasn't quite as quick - I think it was a bit heavier.
Some years later I had an RD250LC that was a great bike, but had to go when I bought my first house. I took a Suzuki X5 in P/Ex for £120 and it was a good little bike so one of those might be an option, although I prefer the styling of the GT185.
After my CB175 I always went for 2 strokes because they were faster which might be why they attract higher prices now, but that does make CB250s and Yamaha XS250s look like a bargain.
Happy hunting!
Personally I'd give Honda cubs a miss as they are too slow to go very far on. Same goes for mopeds but they even come with silly prices too!
My first proper bike was a 1973 Honda CB175 that felt great after a year on a moped, but not so great when a mate bought a CD175 and it was just as quick, and I didn't see which way another mate's Yamaha YCS5E went!
Someone else had a Suzuki A100 and that was surprisingly nippy for what it was.
A couple of years after selling the Honda I got a 1977 RD250 ex-press bike direct from the importers (my girlfriend worked there) and that was a fantastic bike, but 250s do command a price premium compared to 200s. I'd just buy a 350 or 400 instead!
When I had my RD250 a former schoolmate who lived at Box Hill also had one and his brother had a Kawasaki S1 (forerunner to the KH250) and while it sounded fantastic it wasn't quite as quick - I think it was a bit heavier.
Some years later I had an RD250LC that was a great bike, but had to go when I bought my first house. I took a Suzuki X5 in P/Ex for £120 and it was a good little bike so one of those might be an option, although I prefer the styling of the GT185.
After my CB175 I always went for 2 strokes because they were faster which might be why they attract higher prices now, but that does make CB250s and Yamaha XS250s look like a bargain.
Happy hunting!
Mr Tidy said:
Round around my early biking era!
Personally I'd give Honda cubs a miss as they are too slow to go very far on. Same goes for mopeds but they even come with silly prices too!
My first proper bike was a 1973 Honda CB175 that felt great after a year on a moped, but not so great when a mate bought a CD175 and it was just as quick, and I didn't see which way another mate's Yamaha YCS5E went!
Someone else had a Suzuki A100 and that was surprisingly nippy for what it was.
A couple of years after selling the Honda I got a 1977 RD250 ex-press bike direct from the importers (my girlfriend worked there) and that was a fantastic bike, but 250s do command a price premium compared to 200s. I'd just buy a 350 or 400 instead!
When I had my RD250 a former schoolmate who lived at Box Hill also had one and his brother had a Kawasaki S1 (forerunner to the KH250) and while it sounded fantastic it wasn't quite as quick - I think it was a bit heavier.
Some years later I had an RD250LC that was a great bike, but had to go when I bought my first house. I took a Suzuki X5 in P/Ex for £120 and it was a good little bike so one of those might be an option, although I prefer the styling of the GT185.
After my CB175 I always went for 2 strokes because they were faster which might be why they attract higher prices now, but that does make CB250s and Yamaha XS250s look like a bargain.
Happy hunting!
I did have a quick ride on a CB175, a friend of mine had one, I was quite impressed Personally I'd give Honda cubs a miss as they are too slow to go very far on. Same goes for mopeds but they even come with silly prices too!
My first proper bike was a 1973 Honda CB175 that felt great after a year on a moped, but not so great when a mate bought a CD175 and it was just as quick, and I didn't see which way another mate's Yamaha YCS5E went!
Someone else had a Suzuki A100 and that was surprisingly nippy for what it was.
A couple of years after selling the Honda I got a 1977 RD250 ex-press bike direct from the importers (my girlfriend worked there) and that was a fantastic bike, but 250s do command a price premium compared to 200s. I'd just buy a 350 or 400 instead!
When I had my RD250 a former schoolmate who lived at Box Hill also had one and his brother had a Kawasaki S1 (forerunner to the KH250) and while it sounded fantastic it wasn't quite as quick - I think it was a bit heavier.
Some years later I had an RD250LC that was a great bike, but had to go when I bought my first house. I took a Suzuki X5 in P/Ex for £120 and it was a good little bike so one of those might be an option, although I prefer the styling of the GT185.
After my CB175 I always went for 2 strokes because they were faster which might be why they attract higher prices now, but that does make CB250s and Yamaha XS250s look like a bargain.
Happy hunting!
, but compared to my 1970’s C90 , anything would be!
In later years I got to ride a Super Dream 250N, again not mine though I’d progressed to CZ’s by that time, nice to ride but compared to the two strokes of the time somewhat slow.
As for Cubs being too slow to go very far on. I know the examples below may be somewhat extreme, there seems to be a growing trend of doing long distances on small bikes!
https://www.c90club.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=12&t...
https://www.c90club.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=12&t...
https://www.youtube.com/@c90adventures/videos
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by lancslad58 on Saturday 10th August 00:37
Edited by lancslad58 on Saturday 10th August 00:41
NITO said:
Ah wow is that yours?We had one exactly the same as that which was bought for my brother to use when he was 17 (in 1995) from a bloke across the road who'd had it since new. It was immaculate and from memory unusual in the UK for having the high front mudguard?
He went to uni and the bike stayed at dads so I used to do constant laps round the garden on it as a 15 year old. I had access to that and a 1967 BSA Bantam and even as a youth I could tell why the British bike industry was doomed - there was only 5 or 6 years between them but it felt like 50 or 60 years
I'll have to try and dig a photo of our old one out
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