Roger Irrelevant

You know Peabody, before writing your next post, you really should try to understand what irony is, and then take a look in the mirror... You mouth off incessantly against anyone who claims you and countrymen often display a propensity for ignorance, bigotry, racism and unsophisticated argument. Yet the language you use, and the way you go about making these points just utterly negates everything you are trying to say. In short, my gun-toting homophobic American friend, with every word you type, you metaphorically take your locked and loaded AK 47, and shoot yourself in the foot. You shoot your own arguments dead, by the language you use to express them. I'm not a smallminded, petty or malicious man, Peabody, so I'll help you... i·ro·ny -noun the use of words which convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning.

aah... a bite... excellent... let's have a look then shall we? hahaha you're not serious here surely... every fool knows the royal family in this country have no political power and serve one purpose only. they are 'figureheads' for the tourist industry. Put another way, they exist so that we can rob you Americans of your 'hard earned' (see below) practically worthless dollars, as you head over here in your tens of thousands each year getting all dewy-eyed over the fact that our nation has a heritage and history and tradition of more than (lets be generous) 300 years. Anyway... I'd suggest no American is in any position tocriticise the leadership of any nation on earth, *cough*George W Bush*cough*. Next. Hmm... I think you'll find riding horses was something the Americans really did more than anyone... Look back in history... You don't have much so it won't take long... What came after horses... railways? Who invented them? Yep, a Brit. What else... Cars? Internal combustion engines? French or German, I think you'll find... As for being world leaders, I think you'll find we led the world in empire and economy pretty much right up to the beginning of the 20th century (you could argue it was the 1st World War which changed that). Oh, and while we're on it, we led the world in terms of the womens movement and civil rights too... Look at Americas record on feminism & slavery then come back to me. The answer will still be kiss my arse. Well, I work on granular crystalline morphed parallel processed memory technology applying the principles of McArthur's bassoon. Any twat can spout jargon. It proves nothing. Actually, a typical working day for me begins at 5am & ends at 11pm. That's a typical day... ie a normal day... ie I do that 5 days a week. I'll leave you to add up how many hours a week that is, I simply can't be arsed. Look at the facts. The U.K. is known to be the hardest working nation on earth. Scant reward we get for it too, but thats another argument... Now there's a comment that only an American would make. Take the blinkers off, my friend. Look beyond your own shores (I know, it's a scary concept, but there are other people and countries out there believe it or not). Ask the rest of the world what they think. They will tell you that the U.K. are an incredibly important nation on the world stage. Not only do we lead the way in Europe (along with a few other nations), but we have a truly multicultural integrated society (not without it's problems) but we lead by example and bridge the gap between the primarily muslim nations of the middle east and the arrogant, ignorant, insular United States. Most people would argue the U.S. has way too much free reign to interfere in global affairs, but the fact is the UK are the only nation who hold influence with both the U.S. and with the rest of the world. If you think that means we don't matter, then you truly are as ignorant as your post makes you sound.

err... look at the 3 manufacturers you've just quoted there & (as they say) 'do the math' Absolutely correct & I agree with every word. This thread amused me, so I responded. It was a red rag to a bull i'm afraid. As long as it's all said/meant in a lighthearted manner then i don't see the problem. Certainly people can take the p*ss out of me, or my country, or my heritage all they like. I may not agree with their argument, but i will still laugh if it's well put together. And just for the record, I LOVE pushrod V8s. And ZZ Top. So there

hehe will give this tread a bump purely because it made me laugh so much. Xtreme, you're a legend fella... To anyone who gets all misty-eyed about how Harleys are all iconic and americana and shit... take the rose coloured specs off for fuck's sake... YES Harleys have the cool ripped jeans 70s hellraiser image... Harleys were cool when America was cool. In the early 70s. The pushrod V8 burn baby burn size twelve carbon footprint era. This is the 21st century though chaps. America isn't cool any more. I'm afraid to say the rest of the world no longer aspires to your way of doing things. In fact, most of the rest of the world feels a bit sorry for you. Or at least worries, given the state of your economy and the quality of your leader. Yet, ironically, Harleys still in a weird way sum up the nation in which they were conceived. Unreliable, overpriced, and most importantly stuck in the past. P.S. The above isn't true of ALL of America. I know that. It's a generalisation. There are a small minority of people and areas which do not fall into that category. Those readers who appreciate Yams, you're all lifetime members of that minority obviously. Unfortunately you're vastly outnumbered by those of your countrymen who are (and i suspect always will be) stuck in 1970. P.P.S. In my humble opinion, the UK was still way cooler anyway, even back then... but i'm bound to say that aren't I. Right... bring on the naysayers... shitty stick at the ready...

My current bike is my first bike I don't think it's too embarrassing (no sarcasm please) It's certainly nowhere near as embarrassing as my riding! Oh, but the 1st bike I ever rode was a CG125 on me CBT

2 snowmen... one turns to the other & says "hey, can you smell carrots?"

Well, cheap is the word for me when it comes to bike clothing cos i hardly do any riding. Shoei Raid II in blue and unscratched (so far) Diadora boots, no idea if they have a name, they were about 40 quid in my local bike shop sale. Tend to just wear normal jeans, & have a set of cheap waterproof trousers I can pull on ower the top. Buffalo summer gloves which were dirt cheap and are excellent. Comfy, plenty strong & warm enough all year round. Alpinestars drystar jacket, armour on shoulders & elbows & fleece lining removed. Plenty warm enough. Oh, and the wife's undercrackers (joke)

Hey John, Your post made me smile... For what it's worth I don't think this issueis confined to the '07 injected YBRs. I have a 56 plate YBR & live in a little village mostly unlit B-Roads. Not long after getting my CBT I had the bright idea of taking a bit of a pootle at night "to get in some experience of riding in the dark on the nice quiet roads". Frankly, I might as well have had my eyes shut. Proper scary-bad headlight performance. I got to the end of the road (about quarter of a mile) & turned straight round and came back. My heart never left my mouth. After putting the bike in the garage I went for a long lie down in a darkened room and waited for my heartbeat to return to normal before vowing "never again". http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk are a good site for car headlight bulbs, not sure if they do bike ones too. If they do, buy with confidence, I've used them before & had great service. Incidentally, by exchanging car headlight bulbs for offerings from a different manufacturer (same wattage) I've seen a noticeable improvement in brightness. No reason to think it won't be the same with bike bulbs.

No problem. If it's a new 07 bike you're looking at, then I'm fairly sure the YBR has sidestand & kickstart, and the CG does not. These things don't matter that much really I guess, but I figure it's better to have them than not to have them. Certainly the 07 YBR is fuel injected, and I don't think the CG is, although you should check this as I'm not certain. If it's the case, then I'd definitely go for the YBR. An injected bike means no manual choke. This is great because messing around with the choke on a cold morning can be a pain. I was always told about "legendary Honda build quality", but to be honest I have been very impressed with how well my YBR is put together. All of the fittings and switches have a quality feel about them, even though it's really a cheap bike. I've had mine almost exactly a year and had no problems.

Hiya Mate, This time last year was faced with exactly the same choice. I went with the YBR. It's difficult to really give advice without knowing whether you're buying new or used, budget, age of bike you're looking for etc. Certainly the 2 model specs have changed for 2007 (mine is 56 plate). Not sure what has been changed on the CG, but the YBR is now fuel injected, which is a very big plus IMHO. Also the 07 YBR has a sidestand, another big plus. Not sure whether these are on the CG you'd need to check. In terms of the 2006 models, these are the main reasons I chose the Yam... 1) It had a kickstart, the CG125 didn't. 2) It had a 'proper' tubular carrier on the back, so a topbox would bolt straight on 3) It was just a more modern looking bike. Let's face it, neither bike will win any beauty contests, but to me the Honda looked like a 1970s bike with a new paintjob, which I guess is essentially what it is. At least with the YBR Yamaha have tried to update the look a bit, to give it the appearance of a modern bike (even though mechanically there's probably not a huge difference betwene it & the CG). I guess it's a matter of taste really and difficult to quantify. i just think the YBR's a better looking bike. Put the 2 side by side, one looks like a new bike, the other an old bike. That did it for me. A big factor here thinking about it are the wheels. Nice 5 spoke 'ally' looking thingies on the Yam, or yicky "i'm a learner" spoked jobbies on the Honda. 4) Price. Yams tend to be just that bit cheaper. Compare the warranties & free insurance deals you can get with a new bike. 5) I did my CBT on a CG125, admittedly it was a bit of an old nacker, but I hated the bloody thing. - You really should sit on both bikes too, and see which riding position you prefer. I didn't do this actually, but really it's an essential step when choosing a bike. Let's be fair here though, both are probably great machines and perfectly adequate for your needs. i doubt you'll be disappointed whichever you choose. Your choice will largely come down just to which you prefer, which is exactly how it should be. Trying to compare & pick the "better" bike out of these two is really just splitting hairs. Whichever you pick, have fun with it, I wish you the best of luck.

Woo... thanks guys... lots of great advice... the seeming upshot being Optimate 3 is the go. Well, I bought one over the weekend (35 quid including a free wall bracket... which was nice). Fitted it to the bike no problem via the eyelet lead & fed wires through to a convenient spot to connect to the charger and tuck away behind some trim when I'm riding. Connected it up & was pleased to see it enter a normal charging cycle (instead of the dodgy-battery recovery cycle... I interpret that to mean my battery was flat, but not goosed. Happy days). Left it alone for a couple of hours, & when I returned to it the charge cycle hadn't completed, but being me I disconnected it & turned the bike over. It spun up lively & the engine fired good style! Result! Put it back on charge overnight & by Sunday morning the charge cycle had finished & according to the Optimate the battery was A OK. Perfect. I'd recommend the Optimate... not too expensive, absolute doddle to fit, lots of features, and worked as per the tin. Amanda, I doubt you're as much a newbie rider as me! Your CBT may be newer than mine but in terms of miles covered I bet you're streets ahead. I travel with my job and so am often away for longish periods. This plus house renovations plus all the usual life stuff means sometimes my YBR can go a good few weeks untouched. It is garaged though rather than outside, so hopefully the weather won't be too much of a concern. Before buying the charger, the battery really was flat though. It wouldn't even spin the starter. I was surprised but apparently it's not unusual for these little bikes if they get left as they are meant for daily use really. As for the kickstart, maybe I'm just a spud, but the couple of times I've tried to use it I've not had much joy, especially with a cold engine. I've kicked it over when it had run for a while and was warm & it fired up no problem then. Like I said tho, I'm a complete newbie so there may be a knack to it which I'm missing. In the past when this has happened I've always bumped it (kick it into gear & paddle it forward with the clutch out) and this fires it up a treat. I don't really want to be doing that regularly tho, and it's inconvenient because of where the bike's parked too. Hope that answers your questions. I don't think you'll learn anything about YBR ownership from me though. I do think it's a great little bike however. I'd thought about selling it because I don't really use it, but the little fella's kind of got under my skin and I just can't bring myself to part with it. Wishing you loads of enjoyment and happy mileage with yours! RI

Thanks Adam, Is it just paranoia telling me to be wary of using a battery charger bought off t'bay?

'owdoo everyone! Bike newbie after some product advice... I'm looking to get a battery charger for my 56 plate YBR125 I don't use the bike that much, and every time I go to it the battery's flat. I'm looking for something I can leave connected for longish periods (weeks?) which will be safe, and keep the battery nicely topped so I can just fire up and go when I want to use the bike. Obviously I'd rather not spend too much if it can be avoided! I know this is probably a really daft question, but being newbie to all of this I'd rather ask the Yam gurus than trust my own judgement and burn my house down! Thanks in advance.