Yamaha YZF-R125

Very expensive bike but good modern features and looks – I've owned this bike for approximately 3 weeks now and its been a great bike for its purpose. (commuting around town). Have done about 1000km's now and bike is due for its first service but these are my first initial impressions on it... GOOD: -By far the best looking 125 in its class. Modern features, fuel injection, LED dash etc.. Looks like an R1/R6!

-Great fuel economy, I can go anywhere, ride everywhere, all day...

-Buttery smooth gear box. Best I've ever felt..

-Great linear power all the way through redline.. very forgiving bike for learners.

-Great firm suspension, decent braking power.. though I found myself skidding to a stop once.. was my fault as I made a common newbie mistake by over using the rear brake more than the front.

BAD:

-Very expensive bike for a 125... can get a ninja 250r, cbr250r, rs125 for equivalent price.. which in my opinion are overall, better bikes.

-Very very slow bike with only around 11hp? Found myself in a couple of hairy situations where I needed to overtake but couldn't.. can only manage about 110-120kms and thats pushing it... Also sometimes very hard to beat other cars off the line... yes you will be overtaken by grandma's in their hyundai excells at times..

-Struggles abit if your a up hill rider.. even with downshifting alot to help keep the revs up.. barely picks up any speed.

-Squeeky rear brake is annoying. First I've read of this but mine hasn't gone away since about 500km since it started. Going to get this checked out at the first service.

-Seat height is very high.. you need to be quite tall to be comfortable to ride this bike. Also the seat is suede? not sure if I like this high maintenance material? would of preferred leather.

-The riding position can get quite sore after a long ride. (back and especially the wrists). Could be just me though..

In conclusion the bike overall comes out as a very very expensive bike mainly because for all the new tech and styling it gets but the only real let down is its power. It just feels barely like a motorbike and more like a scooter with a 6 speed box. I felt that Yamaha really dropped the ball asking for this price ($6990 AU) when it should of been a 250cc for that price. Even their own R15 is cheaper at about 4000 AU. (which has a little more power and looks just as good IMO). In hindsight now, if I could do it all over again I would of bought a cheaper bike or look at the competition like a ninja 250r or if it must be yamaha I would look at the R15 which is about 2 grand cheaper and faster.

Otherwise, if you dont care about power and all about looks and money isn't an issue then by all means go for the R125. Its still a great bike if it wasn't for the price!

4/5 stars. Reliable, looks sexy, modern tech, fuel economy, Slow, Slow, Slow, expensive, squeeky rear brake.