125's Enough!

Lighter than the original, thanks to glassfibre mudguards and two-into-one exhaust. Cannot get more than 90km/h (56mph) out of it though... but that's not the point :-)

Greetings from Poland. I wrote last year about how I can't get a Cat. A driving licence here on account of too great a difference in acuity of vision between eyes (100% in right, 30% in left with glasses on), so I'm stuck with Cat. B, which allows you to drive cars and motorbikes up to 125cc / 15 BHP. So to get my dream bike, I had my Drag Star XVS 125 customised by Unikat 1of1.pl Motorworks down in Wroclaw. The aim was to capture the spirit of the post-war Indian Road Chief. New mudguards (with Indian warbonnet running light in front), handlebars, saddle; smaller, fatter front wheel, fishtail exhaust. Original mechanicals unchanged, though final drive amended to give lower gear ratio/revs at cruising speed. Sounds as good as it looks (provided not revved too hard).

@ Ttaskmaster - great answer - many thanks. Makes eminent sense!

Main lessons learned here: 1) "don't put the nozzle to far into the neck of the tank" (@AndyBuk) 2) "give a really good tilt to let both sides of the tanks to fill up smoothly" (@Scrumpy) 3) "I wouldn't worry about other people" (@Bippo) And question... "Just don't over-fill, as that air gap on the opposite side of the tank may well be there for a reason" ... Hmm - an interesting supposition...

I get to the petrol station, open the filler cap, sitting astride the bike, I insert the nozzle into the tank and squeeze the trigger. Fuel comes gushing in - then suddenly CLUNK it stops. I have quick look at meter... a mere 5.5 litres - but I've covered more than 260km... Can't be right? I start pouring the petrol in s-l-o-w-l-y... Six litres... Seven litres... Eight litres... What's up? I'm thinking it's probably spewing out onto the forecourt via some overflow pipe but no - still it flows... Drivers behind me are getting impatient. A queue is building up. The fuel comes right up to the neck - then settles back down. And again. And again. I'm pouring real slow. I wobble the bike left and right. Tilting it to the left, the level in the tank goes down. I pour in more. Finally, I give up. 8.8 litres has gone in. This has happened every time I fill up. What's the best way to fill up a Drag Star so it doesn't take forever at the filling station?

Done it! Bought an MF motorcycle battery charger from my local Norauto - plugged it in, charged it up - took seven hours - mounted it back in the bike (fiddly), started first time. Rode my Dragstar 125 round the estate in triumphant mood. Thanks for the help, guys!

Great stuff, many thanks - very helpful, esp. the link to the charger. I foolishly ran car battery charger through it for about two-three minutes before reading that I shouldn't. Unplugged it pronto. Hope not too much damage has been done. If it has - a new battery will be needed :-( You never know whether or not to trust what it says in the manuals. Like cameras - the manual will say 'only use genuine Sony battery/storage card/neck strap etc' when everyone knows it makes not a jot of difference.

Two weeks without use (been out a couple of times on the Derbi in the meanwhile) and when I tried to fire up my Dragstar - flat battery. So I refer to the manual (online here: http://www.manualslib.com/manual/612327/Yamaha-Xvs125.html) and read the following: At this stage, I'm thinking WTF. My nearest Yamaha dealers are right on the other side of town, and Yamaha expect me to visit them to charge a flippin' battery. Surely I can charge it myself? And then I read: My battery charger is a standard 12V charger for a car battery. I guess I'd be unwise to attach this to my Dragstar's battery. Given that the bike is 11 years old and has spend most of its life standing around, is it not time to buy a new battery? From anywhere? Any recommended brands? Any brands to avoid? Or should I pop into any motorbike workshop and ask to get the battery charged? Many thanks in advance!

Why can't I "just do my full licence"? After buying my first 125, I had all the ambition of doing a full Cat A course and test. So - this summer I went to a local driving school, which said fine, but you need a medical check. No problems - I'm super-healthy guy. Until I had to do the eye test covering up my right eye. I could not read the letters on the third line. FAIL. Polish regulations allow you to drive a car with one eye (as in the UK), but for a motorbike, bus or HGV licence you need two eyes of equal strength. I go to an optometrist. Turns out my right eye is 80% of full strength - my left eye a mere 5%. I get some driving glasses made up on prescription. This boosts my right eye to 100% - my left eye to 30%. Too big a difference to be allowed on a full-sized motorbike. So it's corrective surgery (replacing lens in left eye ARRRRGH!) or 125cc bikes for the rest of my life. I'm squeamish. So once the season's over I'll be taking my Dragstar 125 in for a fatter front wheel.

@ Ttaskmaster: "If you want a 1951 Harley Davidson Hydra Glide, it may well prove cheaper to just buy one rather than modding a 125 Draggie, except if that's an intentional project." Except I won't be allowed to ride it, given its engine capacity is over 125cc :-) Having fallen in love with this Dragstar, it will be a slow and careful job. Had a few anxious moments as I felt the narrow front wheel lose grip with assorted strips of anomalous material in the road - shiny tar, metal grids, damp gutters. Not sure an 80-width front tyre does the trick for me. Would feel more confident with a greater area of rubber in contact with the ground up-front. My Derbi CrossCity 125 has a 100-width front tyre - it feels surer. I'm starting to toy with the idea of buying a second 125 Dragstar to make over into something totally custom, solo, mini Hydra Glide replica, keeping this one for touring. :-)

The Sunbeam S7 was the first motorcycle I really, really liked visually. At the Science Museum in London in the 1960s. By the turbine-powered Rover Jet 1 and the Mini cut in half. Finished in mist green, with those balloon tyres, the S7 must have disappointed sportier riders - the S8 had narrower rims and regular tyres. But for me, the S7 is the nicer looking bike.

@ Ttaskmaster I'm more into 40s and 50s Harleys. Balloon tyres of equal size on equal rims front and back. I'd be going for a wider rim (to answer blackhat 250's point) with a wider, higher profile tyre on a smaller rim. And the right size mudguard to go with. I don't do leaning into corners; cruiser riding is about going slow in top gear, put-put-putting along. Stability from cross-winds is a more important factor. But above all, it's the visual thing - I want my Yamaha to be the nearest thing to a 1951 Harley Davidson Hydra Glide with a 125cc engine :-)

But how much thinner... 130 rear 110 front OK? Wide front tyres are said to make the bike more stable in a straight line. I'm not a speed freak, I corner slowly. I'm more concerned about crosswinds and draughts from passing HGVs.

I'm utterly delighted with my new Yamaha XVS 125 Drag Star. Visually, it fits my bill and I can ride it legally here in Poland until senility sets it. My Harley-owning neighbour couldn't believe it was a 125. What's not to like? Well, to my tastes, the front wheel's too large in diameter and too narrow in the rim. Looking at the 650 Drag Stars - there's the base version, with an 18" front wheel and a 110/90-18 tyre, and the Classic, which has same 16" wheels front and back and 130/90-16 tyre in the front. Now, my 125 Drag Star has a 130/90-15 tyre at the back, while in the front there's an 80/100-18 tyre. I read somewhere here that that's a big difference in widths between the two. Visually, it looks chopperish rather than cruiserish. What's stopping me (other than the mudguard) from fitting a 15" front wheel with a 130/90-15 tyre on it, so I'd have the same front and back, classic cruiser style? Or if that's too radical, how about a 110/90-15 up front? And whitewalls would look good too :-) Thanks for the feedback (anytime between now and the winter lay-up would be good!)

Greetings from Warsaw, Poland. Lived here 18 years now. Have dreamed of a Harley or something Harley-like ever since hitting my mid-life crisis some 15 years ago, then filed it under 'impossible dream' and left it there till last August. The Polish government passed a law allowing all drivers with normal car licence (Cat.B) ride a motorbike of up to 125cc/15BHP. GREAT! So I bought a bike to learn on (Derbi CrossCity 125 which I highly recommend once it has a decent set of dual-sport tyres on it), with the ambition of doing a full Cat. A course and test. Anyway - this summer I went to a local driving school, which said fine, but you need a medical check. No problems - I'm super-healthy guy. Until I had to do the eye test covering up my right eye. I could not read the letters on the third line. FAIL. Polish regulations allow you to drive a car with one eye (as in the UK), but for a motorbike, bus or HGV licence you need two eyes of equal strength. I go to an optometrist. Turns out my right eye is 80% of full strength - my left eye a mere 5%. I get some driving glasses made up on prescription. This boosts my right eye to 100% - my left eye to 30%. Too big a difference to be allowed on a full-sized motorbike. So it's corrective surgery (replacing lens in left eye ARRRRGH!) or 125cc bikes for the rest of my life. I'm squeamish. So how to realise that ancient dream of a big cruiser? After months of research, I found the answer - the Yamaha XVS 125 Dragstar. Based on the XVS 250 - same engine block even I read somewhere, though bored out less. I wanted an air-cooled classic - water-cooled may be more efficient, but the radiator kinda spoils the looks, don't you think? As it happens, the change in the law in Poland has made the country a 125-magnet. Bikes from Germany, Switzerland, France, Denmark - UK even - are pouring into Poland because they are so easy to own and ride - legally. I bought my XVS 125 from a family firm just west of Warsaw that used to import used trucks, and has now discovered a brand new market. An amazing place - the showroom is stuffed with Honda Shadows and Varaderos - all 125s. There were two Dragstars. One belongs to the owner, who like me, is stuck with 125 for reasons of driving licence. The owner has been doing up his Dragstar with lots of extras - it looks real cool. My Dragstar - a black 2004 model imported from France - has a front screen, passenger backrest and parcel rack, plus two capacious panniers. With 16,153km on the clock, zero rust but plenty of dust lurking in the interstices suggesting long lay-ups in a garage, it looked a sound buy. I checked the previous French owner on LinkedIn. Born 1984, a banker working in France for a British bank. Not exactly a tearaway. The shop gave me great service - delivered the bike across town to my house, provided me with full documentation that made registering the bike a doddle. So now I'm the owner of two motorcycles - one for a bit of offroad, and one for touring. My mission in life is to get the most pleasure and satisfaction from riding, limited to 125cc. So that's my story - will be covering it on the sub-forum about the Dragstars.