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When you come to buy your first bike, most of the Jap 125s are fine and are all pretty reliable so I guess it's just a case of what takes your fancy. You can sometimes get some cracking deals on finance through manufacturers incentives, so don't necessarily discount buying new. Steer clear of the cheap Chinese stuff if possible, they look fine at first and seem great bargains but they fall apart fairly quickly, rust like buggery and the electrics can be dodgy.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
There are exceptions though such as Sinnis who have full UK support, QC and warranty.. Keep them serviced and greased up you should get some years out of one.. That said the problem with Chinese bikes are cost of parts, higher insurance and resale value, spend 1500 on a Sinnis today and you will be pushing to get 800 tomorrow. So yes stick with a brand and you won't go wrong.. But if the price is right don't dismiss something like a Sinnis, especially if you're only going to be on it 6 months.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Zen and the Art of is a damn good read, but won't help much on the specifics The good old Haynes manuals used to be some kind of help if you really didn't know your way around the bike, but tbh common sense & a close inspection will tell you which bits need greasing/oiling/cleaning etc. Specifics such as which grade engine oil, which spark plugs etc should be googlable.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
BTW you can lube a final drive chain with an aerosol, otherwise if you have a split link you can remove the chain, put a tin of Linklyfe (sp?) on a cooker ring (gentle heat, just enough to melt the waxy stuff), and clean the chain (I used to use petrol, then dry it off with a rag) before dunking the chain in the melted waxy stuff. Don't forget to make a little wire hook which you slip through the end and leave dangling over the side of the tin, otherwise you will find it hard to retrieve it! Have newspaper on the floor ready for retrieval to catch drips, and somewhere ready to hang it up afterwards while the excess drips off and the chain cools down. Another trick is keeping an old chain which you connect to the one you are using now, while you remove it from the bike, so that the old chain can be used to draw the currently using chain back onto the bike afterwards. Saves your fingers trying to thread a seriously greasy chain round the gearbox sprocket
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
My Commando never leaked oil. Except there was bound to be a mist coming out of the crankcase breather, that's what you expect. I suspect taking the breather pipe over to the chain wasn't original but that seemed to me to be the best place to put it!
The reasons why Ed Turner's engines (and others derived from them) leaked oil are well known. A properly cared for Bert Hopwood engine (eg the Commando) didn't leak.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
I do have sensible/fast bikes too, but this one's the keeper
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