Street Legal 125cc dirt bikes?

[Tourmeister]

Howdy,

So are these things a pipe dream or do they exist? I was contacted by someone looking for some and I have no clue about them. He's looking to buy several bikes while down in Texas on a trip and then take them back home with him afterwards. He even mentioned something about grey imports? Anyone... anyone...?

Adios,

 

[Bagwell]

I know Suzuki made a DR125 that was street legal. I wanna say like mid 90s... not sure all the years they made it.

I think there are others, but I cant think of them at the moment.

 

[Hacksaw]

Yes there are "NEW" 125 street legal dirt bikes for sale here in the USA. Their imported from China. North End Cycle in Beaumont, Texas was carrying some in stock.

North End Cycle Mototcycle Salvage
CALL TOLL FREE!
1-800-428-7821
409-898-7764
FAX 409-898-8325
5560 Hwy. 105
Beaumont, Tx.
77708

 

[Tourmeister]

Sweet! Thanks!

Hmm... nothing showing on their website: http://www.necycle.com/

Guess I can call them.

Adios,

 

[bluedogok]

That is the type of bikes that I grew up on. Kawasaki was still making the KE100 until a couple of years ago. It still looked exactly like the 1972 G5 model that I had when I was 12 except for a color change. It was a street legal bike for you to get you MC license at age 14. In 1975 they increased displacement from 100cc to 125cc for the 14-16 y.o. MC license.

Kawasaki does have a KLR250, it looks the the smallest "enduro" bike they have now. From looking at the different sites, it seems that all they have is bikes in the 200-250 class. I remember when they had a 100, 125, 175, 250, 350 (360 for Yamaha) sized bikes to cover the entire enduro range. It was a nice way to start out riding.

 

[gotdurt]

Scott, I think I saw what you're talking about at a hardware store in Cedar Park. Looked kind of cool from a distance, different story up-close. Not really a dirtbike, just looks like one. Very cheap/light construction. I don't recall the name, definitely an off-brand.

MZ I believe has a 125 dualsport, but it's a 2-stroke.

 

[gotdurt]

My bad, the one I found on the net was a 125 4-stroke.

What happened to the 2-stroke??? There was a guy in my old neighborhood that had one....

 

[Tourmeister]

$3600!! Seems pretty high for a 125cc bike! For that kind of cash, you could get a KLR 650 or similar. Still, they are nice looking bikes and would probably be a lot of fun for a 13 year old kid.

Adios,

 

[gotdurt]

I'm not sure what motor it uses, but the 660 uses a yamaha single.

 

[bluedogok]

Yep, my old 100 went for $325 in 1976, I sold it for $375 in 1984. The best bet would be to try and find one of those older ones, there were still some being made by the rest of the Big 4 up until the early 90's. They are simple machines and seemed to go forever. The Kawasaki KE100 was dropped in 2001 or so.

Here is a 2001 KAWASAKI KE100 for sale in Victoria for $1,350.

For anyone interested, I saw a 98 KTM Duke 620 with street tires (setup like a motard) at Bill Kasson Yamaha (here in Austin) today for something like $3,800.

 

[Bagwell]

I'm not sure what motor it uses, but the 660 uses a yamaha single.

The MZs with 660s use the Raptor motor from Yamaha. I know a guy with a Baghira 660 by MZ and he likes it very much. He has done many of the Raptor modifications to it.

 

[Tourmeister]

So does anyone know what kind of quality these import bikes are? Are the brakes and suspension decent? Or are they like so many of the recent rash of "pocket bikes" flooding our shores that fall apart standing still?

Adios,

 

[gotdurt]

So does anyone know what kind of quality these import bikes are? Are the brakes and suspension decent? Or are they like so many of the recent rash of "pocket bikes" flooding our shores that fall apart standing still?

The MZ or the cheap Chinese one? The MZ's are pretty nice bikes. The off-brand (probably Chinese) bike I saw was ultra cheap. From about 100' away it looked pretty cool, but up close was a different story. It looked like you could bend the frame just by kicking it. Every part on it, down to the pressed steel hubs, looked like something out of a cereal box. It was brand new and I think they were asking less than $2k. For kids to play around on at the family dear lease or something, they're probably great, provided they are not abused. I wouldn't want to depend on it for cummuting though. Better off just getting a used XR250L, KLR250, or KL250 (Super Sherpa), or maybe even put a DS kit on a XR100

 

[Kidder]

I've seen cheap 125s at Pep Boys of all places.

http://www.pepboys.com/transportation/dirtbike-minibike/9274819_06073-db.html

 

[Bagwell]

I've seen cheap 125s at Pep Boys of all places.

http://www.pepboys.com/transportation/dirtbike-minibike/9274819_06073-db.html

I dont think I would spend any money on those things. Its better to just buy one of the major 4s bikes and then resell it after you are done for a small depreciation. I have heard nothing but complaints about the chinese stuff out there although I do hear there are supposed to be some "better" chinese stuff out there with parts support etc.

 

[bluedogok]

For those who are wondering they don't make 125cc bikes like they used to, click here: Honda UK - 9 models and Yamaha Europe - 5 models. It seems they still make them but in the companies finite wisdom they don't make them available here. :angryfir:

Isn't it strange that Yamaha only offers 2 cruisers over there? Yamaha Motorcycles Europe

I also saw where Kawasaki still sells the W-650 in the UK.

Then there is an ER-5 which appears to be a naked 500 Ninja and similar in appearance to the Suzuki GS-500.