The plan! (for my bike...)

[Squashed_Fly]

I loved my RS125. Miss it sooooo much!

More power is great, but there's just something about the way the little 2 stroke engine sings that is quite narcotic!

[NoYou]

Can I ask on what bikes have you been given quotes on?

Cos last year when I passed my test I got a Kawasaki GPZ500s insured for well under £250 and considering the money your thinking of shelling out on an rs 125 .......well seems madness!

I've got quotes on everything from SV 650s to bandits to ninja 250s and everythiing inbetween, even tried a few cruisers and I still get rediculous quotes. Tried every insurance company I've been reccomended and loads of others besides so its not just the company.
The problem is, I think, I'm 19 and I've had an accident for which, officialy anyways, the fault was mine purely because I was filtering -.- those two things combined have given me a big fat red cross next to my name with insurance companies. Hardly fair imo but not a lot I can do about it.
Also if I get a bigger bike I will be putting out a fairly large sum of money all at once whereas by doing up my current bike I can spread the cost over as long a period as needed, and even if I get a bigger bike I'm not going to want to keep it standard and from what I've seen in my googleings the bigger the bike the more expensive modding them becomes so although its a lot of money to spend it would be even more if I got a bigger bike. And as I've already said I can't really see myself having a use for more power on the roads, I struggle to not speed as it is!
The other thing is even when the bike was restricted apart from on straight roads the rs outdid almost every single 600 and thou that it met, only falling down because of my ineptitude as a rider! It is well knon for being one of the best handleing bikes you can get and that is what I look for in a bike, any chavvy urchin can twist the throttle on a straight road it doesn't take much, it also shreds you licence very quickly!
Another thing to bare in mind is I've just spent 700, probably 1000 pound by the time I've had the crank rebuilt because of a bigend failure, getting this bike back on the road, and as these bikes struggle to sell for more than 1600 I would be basicaly selling it for £600 when its just got a brand new engine, rebuilt crank and another 400 odd quids worth of electrics and RAVE valve.
Geo

[NoYou]

I've just read this thread through and realised it is sounding like the ONLY reason I'm thinking of doing this is because I can't afford a bigger bike, which I agree would be stupid. That is not the case! I love my RS its a fantastic bike and there are very few bigger bike I would really WANT as a replacment. I have looked at all sorts of bike for insurance quotes but the list of bikes I would actualy BUY is really very short!
Yes its a 125! Yes most bikes out there can outrun it! And yes pretty much every other bike is more reliable! But very very few bikes would be as fun, and fun is the main reason I have it!
Geo

[Scotty]

You've listed in print on a public forum a whole heap of modifications that you intend doing to your RS - I presume that you'll be informing your insurance company of these will you? They'll stack your premium up like a wedding cake mate so it may end up no cheaper than one of the bigger bikes that you've been given high quotes on already. : : :

You're 19, and you have an accident on your record already, conforming somewhat to the high-risk demographic profile that the insurers use... You haven't said what you've been quoted on a bigger bike, though if you get the RS back together you could probably sell it and for no extra cost, buy something bigger, not pretty maybe, but usable for a couple of years and insure it for what you'd spend on modifying and rebuilding the RS. An additional benefit would be getting used to the way a bigger bike rides and handles, which would stand you in better stead for trading up when your restriction's over... :-?

[Cemorah]

I take it you are on an A2 licence 33BHP & Power to weight restrictions. Will an RS unrestricted meet this?
have you got quotes for the bike with all thes mods?

Finally you'll end up with a bike that cannot be ridden by a learner so worth less than it is now probably.

[wi77y]

Well said george biking is all about the amount off fun you have on it not what bike you ride or have.
Insurance is funny tho cos mine will be cheaper when i get a big bike lol
I personally cant wait to get on a bigger one, but everyone to themselfs i say !

[NoYou]

RIGHT! I've modified the original post to try and steer this thread away from the "is it worth it" bs. I put together the list for my own benifit and thought id post it up just to see if anybody had any suggestions or advice about WHAT I'M DOING, not if its worth it! I know a lot of people are going to be of the "get a bigger bike" opinion, but that is not what I wanted to discuss or I would have called the thread "should I get a bigger bike" .

Now scotty I'm going to skip past the insurance questions bc again I want to try and steer this thread away from that area, as for the accident, yes I happen to fall into that "high risk bracket" with insurance companies because all the 17 yolds riding about in hoodies and shorts, on scooters decide its alright to fly through traffic at 30. Just because I fall into that bracket doesn't mean I am a cause of that high risk status. The situation I was put in was impossible to avoid regardless of age or experience, and before anybody comes up with "oh well I wouldn't have done it" posts please don't bc its not the point. But this is what happened, I going down a high street filtering through slow moving traffic, I wasn't ever going above about 15 mph. I came arround a bus, I would guess at about 10mph when the bus hit its breaks hard enough to cause the nose to dive noticably I tried to react but was already in the side of the car that had pulled out into a gap barely big enough for it to fit through and into the busses, and my, path. If that had happened on an empty road fault would have been the cars without question but because I was filtering it was blamed on me before I even had a chance to contest it! From what i remember of the highway code section on pulling out of side roads onto a major road, it says something along the lines of "wait for a gap big enough so that no other motorist will have to change their speed or direction" and "Only emerge from a side road if you have a clear view of the road in both directions", neither of these things were true in this situation, the woman driving couldnt' possibly have had a clear view in both directions because their was a bus there... and she also made the bus break sharply which means she caused another motorist to change their speed. Make of it what you will but please done post about it on THIS thread!
As for what you said about a get a bigger bike "it may not be pretty" but get one anyway, well frankly I'm just going to ignore that because with my RS every time I see it, it brings a smile to my face whenever I ride it I get a massive thrill out of it and any bike I buy in the future would have to do the same because that's the way I am. Simple as!
In reply to gunterpot a standard derestricted rs falls well below the a2 restrictions, can't tell you how much under because the power output very much depends on how the RAVE valve is set up, but even a really highly tuned rs (with the standard bore size) would be just over, realisticaly the only way an rs will go over the a2 limits is by putting a big bore kit on, which is on my list of things to do but not until AFTER my restriction is over
Geo

[Squashed_Fly]

G3o - opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one, and some stink.

If you're happy, it's your money and your time so that's all that matters.

The RS125 is an iconic motorcycle for many reasons, and will become an appreciating classic in years to come I'm certain (although more likely in standard form).

If you can afford to spend the money, and would rather spend it on the bike than lining the [s]conmens[/s] insurance peoples pockets, then go for it. When yuo come to trade up, it doesn't matter to the insurance what you've been riding. Only how long. I've never been asked what my previous driving/riding experience has been, which is part of the joke of insurance. You could pass your test, own a C90 for 10 years, insure it and never ride it. Then go out and get a good insurance deal on a hayabusa and kill yourself on it.

The RS125 is a brilliant bike in so many ways. Have fun on it.

I'm quite jealous as I loved mine.

[Mark_Able]

Go for it George, then pi55 everyone off at the next track day...

[Nooj]

Big bikes are for people that can't make small bikes go fast