Cheap, old bike for commuting

[naboo]

My commute to work and back is 20km each way, averaging about 80kmph. I have experience riding auto scooters, semi auto bikes and full manuals with clutch.

I am looking to buy a bike for under B15,000 that will do this job for me for a year whilst I save a bit of money for a Honda CB500 (X or F, undecided)

Requirements:

I'm 95kg - I need suspension. My wife rides a Honda Icon, I can't walk after 20 minutes on it.

Reliability - If it beaks down, its not the end of the world, I have a truck to pick it up and a good mechanic. But I don't want it to be dying on me all the time, ideally it will go the year with regular maintenance without any issues.

Fuel - must run on gasohol, I can't find the pure stuff within 15km of my house. I'm guessing that rules out any two-strokes as I believe gasohol doesn't mix with the oil properly.

Price - 15k is tops, I'd rather pay 8k and put a few thousand into it via my local mechanic to make it work properly.

Green book/plate - meh, the boys in green are too busy pressing buttons at traffic lights whilst I'm commuting.

Individuality - Anyone who recommends I buy a Honda Wave will not get a reply. No Clicks (wouldn't meet the suspension requirement anyway), if I see someone else riding the same bike as me more than once a week, I'll be devastated.

A good old classic is what I want, what would you recommend?

[macknife]

You could get an old Honda Airblade for that. With 2 rear shocks, better than a Click. Not a classic I know.

I've seen a few old Kawasaki 150s? around. Probably 2 stoke though.

For the money you want to pay I don't think there are many 'bigger' 4 strokes around. I suggest heading to your local bike auction and taking a risk.

[naboo]

An old Airblade would do the job, and I've considered them before not quite what I'm looking for though.

A lot of the Kawasakis are cheap, not surprising given they're two-strokes. I could pick one up for under 5k from what I've seen. Easy to pop in one of these http://www.chalythailand.com/index.php?topic=24207.0 ?

[Dutchbike]

That's a difficult quest, since you rule out the old 2 strokes like Kawa GTO and Yamaha RX-Z.

An engine swap could be a nice project but problaly over your 15K budget.

Every now and then i see these old Honda CB 125's ( not at nice as on the pics) on which the Lifan 200cc engine is based.

But i think very hard to find one.

[naboo]

I'll have a good look Dutchbike. Thanks.

[submaniac]

Uhh if you want just a cheap useable bike for transportation you could try sending a PM to draftvader. He's got a cheap running scooter for sale at 5,000 baht.

In the alternative, my TZM is available for less than 15k baht. This is the pic.

Edited July 16, 2014 by submaniac

[bramds]

The CB125's will set you back at least 20K if it is in decent shape.

Just get a Kawasaki GTO, fill it up with gasohol 95, won't be a problem if you ride it everyday.

[submaniac]

Rereading the thread it would probably be useful to make expectations a bit more realistic. There's an old saying: fast, cheap, reliable. choose two of the three.

A good old classic, but runs on gasohol. A bit of a contradiction as an old bike was not designed to run on gasohol.

This one is somewhat doable. The old bikes will take gasohol though you may potentially need to change out some hosing. The problem is not 2t oil mixing with gasohol--it will. The problem is that the older fuel hoses were not designed for gasohol and the gasohol may eat through hosing. It is correctable by replacing the hosing. However if you were talking about a vintage/classic bike, gasohol wasn't in the scheme of things when they were built. Bikes being rated by the manufacturer to run on gasohol is a relatively recent development.

Reliable and cheap, but you don't want to see another one like yours the same week. If it's reliable and it's cheap, other people will probably have bought one. If you don't want to see another person on your bike, then it's going to be a rare bike, and it won't be cheap. Either to purchase or repair.

GTO, or RX-Z mostly fit the bill. But if you're wanting cheap and reliable...the bikes in the price range will probably be in rough shape and it may just be less headache to buy already in good shape than fix. Actually that's a bit of a fallacy...most of the ones ava9pable are beaten to hell. It is very rare that a Thai has recognized the future collectibility of the bike to have done great maintenance on it during ownership. When these bikes were new they were purchased as work horses, not to be pampered.

The other alternative just buy a honda wave or whatever and just suck it up for a year until you've saved up for a real bike.

I'm just having a hard time picturing what other bike arecheap and reliable yet still "cool".

[naboo]

This one is somewhat doable. The old bikes will take gasohol though you may potentially need to change out some hosing. The problem is not 2t oil mixing with gasohol--it will. The problem is that the older fuel hoses were not designed for gasohol and the gasohol may eat through hosing. It is correctable by replacing the hosing.

Really? I have read that the ethanol prevents the 2T-oil from working, though apparently there are additives you can put in the gasohol to help it work with fully synthetic oil.

If I can run a 2T on ethanol, I'll be happy to go for either of the mentioned Kawasakis.

[submaniac]

a google search of the terms "ethanol safe for 2 stroke" pulls up a bunch of different discussions on the subject such as

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/outdoor-tools/can-boutique-fuel-save-small-engines-from-the-wear-and-tear-of-e10

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/313465-ethanol-bad-2-strokes.html

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2093607

These are the first three that popped up. The main complaints are not that it doesn't mix with 2t oil, but is that it eats plastic and rubber (that is not designed to run ethanol). If you aren't going to keep the bike that long before getting the newer bike, it really doesn't make a difference for you.

I have a 2 stroke (TZM) I have run ethanol. It does mix with the oil. What I hate is that it robs the engine of power because ethanol has less power per liquid volume than benzine. I personally just avoid it if I can, but it's because I can feel a lag in power that I do not notice with benzine. If you have a bucket of ethanol and pour some 2T oil in it you can see for yourself it mixes just fine.

[ll2]

look for a honda wave 125. it is comfy, reliable plus you save a great deal from petrol bills. good for saving up for a 500 cc!

[Gweiloman]

If I were 95 kg, planning to do 40 km commuting to work everyday (except for days off) and averaging 80 kmh, I would try to stretch my budget to afford a secondhand PCX or similar.

I hate the inconvenience and hassle of breaking down or having to sent the bike to the mechanic every other week for this and that.

[Familyonthemove]

look for a honda wave 125. it is comfy, reliable plus you save a great deal from petrol bills. good for saving up for a 500 cc!

Another vote for the Wave. Tough, reliable, comfortable, seem to be able to carry anything and 58 trillion owners can't all be wrong.

And the older ones are now 'classics'.

[naboo]

Am now considering anew Yamaha Spark 135i, then renting the CB500 for tours. I think the Spark is quick enough for the commute.

[naboo]

Ended up buying (or will be buying this weekend) a Honda Sonic (2000).

The owner says the water needs topping up occasionally. A bit of research says this happens when using E10. Anyone with history with this bike and advice?

[ll2]

Ended up buying (or will be buying this weekend) a Honda Sonic (2000).

The owner says the water needs topping up occasionally. A bit of research says this happens when using E10. Anyone with history with this bike and advice?

it is a nice bike. used one or some months and it is a good commuter albeit less weather, wind, mud protection.

just try to use 95 real benzene. if not, 95 gasohol.

[papa al]

Ended up buying (or will be buying this weekend) a Honda Sonic (2000).

The owner says the water needs topping up occasionally. A bit of research says this happens when using E10. Anyone with history with this bike and advice?

Sonic has a rep as a 'boy racer' bike.

The bike has likely been ridden hard at some point in the last 14 years.

They are quite common, but a large farang will be noticed on one I think, so if that is what you are going for... ...good choice.

Kindly get back to forum with a pic of you on it.

I cannot see how coolant loss could be related to fuel choice.

[ktm jeff]

Water loss is waterpump seals or head / base gasket (unless its weeping into the gearbox via crankshaft seal - look for oil contamination) - nothing to do with fuel choice , as papa said.

[Richard-BKK]

Pure theoretical alcohol burns much faster than petrol and reaches a higher temperature when burned... But I doubt that you can notice that on a 10% Ethanol – 90% petrol mix... If your Honda Sonic 125 is from 2000 you maybe not have the a carburetor that has been modified to be safely use Ethanol... Check that, as the repair cost much much more than the fix, a kit to make the Honda Sonic 125 safe to use Ethanol is about a few hundred Baht.... Running the Honda Sonic 125 without this kit/upgrade will cost much more, sometimes a complete engine rebuild.... a few thousand baht... So it's worth to check with your local Honda dealer if your Honda Sonic has the Ethanol kit for the fueling installed.... if I remember correct the carburetor float (plastic has a different color, which color I not know).

[papa al]

Am now considering anew Yamaha Spark 135i, then renting the CB500 for tours. I think the Spark is quick enough for the commute.

Not a totally bad idea.

Spark135 is an under appreciated, fast ride.

I own one and previously owned another.

However, be aware that the front tire is only 60mm wide.

A Wave is 70mm for comparison, so maybe a bit minimal for a big guy.

Also, I don't have the spec in front of me, but I remenber the recommended max load (riders and gear) is quite low.

If you load the wifey pillion, you will be over the limit.

That said, I've seen mocy taxis 3-up on it.

For practicality a Nouvo.

An old MX is cheap and will get you there.

Used Elegance, very torquey, going for ~20K THB.

SX new 58K (about the same as Spark); used ~40% less.

16" rims.

Edited October 15, 2014 by papa al

[AllanB]

Ended up buying (or will be buying this weekend) a Honda Sonic (2000).

The owner says the water needs topping up occasionally. A bit of research says this happens when using E10. Anyone with history with this bike and advice?

A leaky water-cooled bike in Thailand, you must be crazy. My stepson had one, it just got worse and worse and then went bang. So I hope you like Shanks' pony.

3 Bikes to chose from ......Wave, Wave, or Wave.

Edited October 15, 2014 by AllanB