1st bike help

[Crunch]

Hey Guys

firstly want to say hi as in new to the board and new to riding. I have got myself a 06 reg yamamha YBR 125 as my first bike to ride around on before I go to take my full bike license and I was just wondering if there anything I should do or know abotu the bike before I start to use it? ive heard a few rumors about the headlight and to get the bulb replaced asap?

Cheers

Andy

[Mitch112]

Hi how you doing butty.

I have know advice etc on the 125 (Sorry) but i seem to be in the same boat as you with a new bike so wondered if its ok to add you as friend as we are both with new bikes and new to the forum etc lol.

Cheers dude,

Mitch

[Iancom]

Hi there, just joined so I can share some of my experiences with first time biking and fairly high-mileage commuting on the YBR 125. Hopefully it'll help you guys and some others out there!

Background first. I moved out of London last July, but still work there. I needed a cheap, quick and reliable way to get to work, a 70 mile round trip. The only thing that fit the bill was a 125 bike, so I bought my 2008 YBR 125 a year old, but only 250 miles on the clock.

My commute breaks down by time, about 20% country roads, 50% dual carriageways and 30% London streets. The YBR 125 makes easy work of getting through London, and since getting much more confident with filtering I often now find generous souls on larger bikes giving way to me as I can get through the traffic quicker.

Apart from replacing tyres, where I'll remove the wheel and take it to a local bike shop to fit the replacement, I've done all servicing on the bike myself. I'm no mechanic, and this is the first time I've done proper mechanical work on a vehicle but it's generally quite straightforward on the YBR 125, and with the mileage I cover I just can't afford the downtime or expense of professional services and repair every 1 - 2 months.

So, a summary of the things I have done with the bike and lessons learned in the last 11 months / 14,000 miles:

- The very first thing as you mentioned was the headlight bulb. It's just not bright enough for country lanes in the dark. I put in a halogen replacement from Halfords, and it's far better. The same bulb is still going strong now.

- I have replaced the oil every 1000 to 1500 miles without fail (every 3 - 4 weeks for me). The YBR 125 has no oil filter, so it does get dirty quickly. However, you can use cheaper semi-synthetic or even mineral oil because it's not in there long enough to break down and become a problem. In fact, expensive fully-synthetic oil can cause the clutch to slip.

- Don't skimp on cleaning, lubricating and tensioning the chain. At least every 500 miles or week, check tension, degrease and clean then lubricate. If on a ride, you noticing the tell-tale "clunk" of the chain when you slow on engine brakes, you must sort it out the first chance you get (the tools that come on the bike are perfectly able to cope with this). I didn't once and ended up stuck on the A1 after the chain skipped and stripped the teeth off my front sprockets. I was probably lucky it didn't jam the rear wheel and cause a serious accident.

- Order and keep spare parts _and tools_ at home well before you think you'll need them. They're far cheaper online and usually not available in places like Halfords. I keep the following :

In my rucksack - small can of WD40, front and rear spare bulb, emergency LED bike rear light.

At home - plenty of oil, brake fluid, chain wax and degreaser, front and rear brake pads/shoes, chain and sprockets set, spark plugs, air filter, 5 litres of petrol

- If the bike won't start:

1. if it won't even try, check the sidestand is up! Then spray WD40 on the sidestand switch and clutch lever switch.

2. if it turns over properly but doesn't start, check the spark plug cable. One time, some nice person had cut mine so I had to remove the plug cover and screw it back onto the cut end of the cable. Spray WD40 into the plug cover and spark plug head to remove moisture.

- The petrol gauge, and the reason I keep spare fuel at home. It's rubbish. It shows empty when there's half a tank left. I can't afford the time to go out of my way and stop for petrol every other day, so I run the bike for about another 90 miles after the gauge shows empty. Your mileage may vary! A couple of times, I've run out of fuel near home (because I forgot the I did an extra journey at a weekend usually). Stop the bike safely, turn off the engine. Remove the fuel cap and wait a minute. Shake the bike about a bit. You'll have enough fuel to get you another 2 or 3 miles if you're careful and keep the revs low.

- The reason I keep a bike rear light in my rucksack. The rear light runs hot, there's only one and it's on all the time. The contacts have started to go on mine and even a new bulb sometimes doesn't work when I change it. The bike light is an emergency measure to get me home in the dark until I can get the light fitting off and scrub the contacts down with wire wool to get it sorted. I'm planning to get a set of permanently installed LED day lights for increased visibility and redundancy to alleviate this problem.

- If you increase the rear tyre pressure because you're heavily loaded (I go camping with a lot of equipment on mine), remember to also increase the suspension -- and remember to put back the suspension and tyre pressure when the load is off. I almost completely balded a rear tyre within 1000 miles because I didn't let the extra pressure out!

I'm sure there's more, and if you've got any specific questions do ask. I've had so much fun with my YBR125 over the last year, and I can't even imagine how much money it's saved me in train tickets from out here in the sticks. I've even got rid of the car; I just rent one whenever I'm going a long distance for a weekend. One of these days I'll get around to doing my test, and be able to get a bigger bike for leisure riding -- but the YBR 125 will definitely remain my daily commute vehicle for its reliability, ease through traffic, ridiculously low fuel consumption -- and the fact that if it's stolen in London I haven't lost too much.

Ian

[Mark K]

Yup, replace the headlight bulb, and be prepared for it to be a bit tempremental going into 1st 2nd and neutral until you're used to the gearbox, nothing wrong with your bike, just takes a bit of getting used to.

[LiamALu]

Wow, this is what I'm talking about. Thanks for writing this man.

I'm not getting this model, I'm getting the O10 model, but your review/ advice was really interesting an insightful. Cheers

[barkwindjammer]

One of the best write-ups I've seen on here Ian, great inspiration for newbie riders and an incentive to anyone looking for their first bike, great post

[Gas up - Let's Go!]

Hi there, just joined so I can..<snip>....lost too much.

Ian

What an awesome first post.

[Tommy Kaira]

Iancom,

That's one of the most useful posts I've seen on the internet! Good on you for taking the time to write that. I wish I'd had some of that info when I started riding.

TK

[allbee]

Hello, fell off my YBR125 2011 last week and have got a new LH rear fender and rear mudguard to fit, any tips? Also I think I have knocked out one of the speedo bulbs, how do I get into check/replace this please?

[sisu]

Hi,

Ran a 2010 YBR for a year before passing my DAS (still have it for my son to upgrade to).

Re the lights - I stuck a 55w headlamp and it improved the light considerably but its still not a great headlight!

Re the left hand fender (last post), I broke that when the bike blew over in the storms but I was able to glue back together and fill/paint ... no great drama, just a bit of a fiddle getting the 3-piece tail section apart - take your time and keep track of the screws and bolts, especially if you have a rear carrier fitted.

[laydeepunch]

Just going to first say that I'm mighty glad I found this thread!

I got my YBR (2007) in February 2012 and she's been an irreplacable friend to me. The speedo cable was being temperamental- so that needed changing, and the front brake was catching a little (a good smack on the drum with a fist sorted that, not a problem since funnily enough!). The headlight on the YBR is absolute rubbish- change the bulb asap- vast improvement!

In response to one of the later posts about the rear fender- my bike got knocked over a fair amound in the weather since I've only got on-street parking and the number plate bracket broke (flimsy thing. Yamaha need to start making metal ones, honestly) so I've just been to 'the shop' and brought home this unnecessarily huge rear fender which I now need to fit.

I'm a complete newbie to the whole self-service doodah, and the screws on the fender currently fitted are rusty as hell so I doubt they'll even go on. Does anyone know what sort of screws that part uses, or should I just take it to the garage? I haven't had her serviced (except for the MOT this passed May).

Do I DIY this or do I just let the folks at the garage do what they do best?

P.S. If you haven't had your new bike serviced when you bought it, I strongly suggest it! I didn't and I was kicking myself when all those little issues kept coming up. My speedo cable gave up on me on the day I was moving house- it was an absolute nightmare, so it's genuinely best to get your new bike properly looked at and tweaked before you start whizzing around .

[Airhead]

so your bike is a 2007 bike eh? well if its been used a lot and stored outdoors theres every chance that only the experienced will be able to remove those screws, by all means have a go but dont spoil them if they resist your efforts...get help