Hello from a soon to be 2 wheel commuter!

[DDean]

No question that the upfront cost of a CBR125 is attractive, but insurance between it and a 250 was only $20/yr different and Im seeing lots of 250s sell on Kijiji, but all of the 125s are sitting. So the annual costs between the 125 and the 250 will be the same but should I want to move into a bigger bike, I could easily be stuck unable to sell the 125 unless I blow it out. I dont disagree with you that its probably all I need to commute, but for the same costs as a 250.....Ill spend more upfront knowing that I can sell the 250 when and if I want and that Im paying the same insurance rate as I would on a 125.

DRZ would be fun, but I foresee myself getting in trouble taking shortcuts. I would view that bike as freedom from sitting in traffic. I dont think that I could resist jumping up on sidewalks/cutting through paths, etc...Im already google mapping to see if there's a better way home than roads, and what roads have paths I can cut traffic out with. It would be a great upright and terrific handling bike for me to learn on though - without question - its just a matter of if I can stay out of trouble on it.

 

[XenoVibe]

No question that the upfront cost of a CBR125 is attractive, but insurance between it and a 250 was only $20/yr different and Im seeing lots of 250s sell on Kijiji, but all of the 125s are sitting. So the annual costs between the 125 and the 250 will be the same but should I want to move into a bigger bike, I could easily be stuck unable to sell the 125 unless I blow it out. I dont disagree with you that its probably all I need to commute, but for the same costs as a 250.....Ill spend more upfront knowing that I can sell the 250 when and if I want and that Im paying the same insurance rate as I would on a 125.
DRZ would be fun, but I foresee myself getting in trouble taking shortcuts. I would view that bike as freedom from sitting in traffic. I dont think that I could resist jumping up on sidewalks/cutting through paths, etc...Im already google mapping to see if there's a better way home than roads, and what roads have paths I can cut traffic out with. It would be a great upright and terrific handling bike for me to learn on though - without question - its just a matter of if I can stay out of trouble on it.

Think of the SuMo as more forgiving if someone runs you off the road. Yeah, I dismissed the 250/300 as they were always a lot higher priced for me to insure at $260/year more and that's technically licensed with G/M for 8 years and safety training course. It may seem like $22/month is a 30% increase on my CBR125R insurance and I figured it would be higher for you and most who don't have full M / long time licensed. What ever you choose, good luck, have fun and ride safe. (Not necessarily in that order!)

 

[DDean]

UPDATE!!!

Thanks for all who helped direct me. As of yesterday AM, Im the owner of a 2008 Yam WR250X! Now I have to figure out how to make it fit in the garage. Im off to Home Depot to buy a wack of wood to build shelves.

 

[Matthew.Tremayne]

Honda CBR 125's are just fine, I had one and put 12,000 KM in a year commuting on it as well as riding it everywhere. $12 for 350 KM in gas, cheap insurance and free parking... The 125 isnt that much different from a 250cc... literally I held 130 km/h on the 401. It's more then capable to do anything a typical car does. 125 doesn't have an oil filter but a strainer so you only have to change oil, until 18,000 km when you clean the strainer. Unlike the 250 where you need to change oil and filter, tad more costly this way and on fuel. It's a more costly commuter, but congrats on getting on two wheels!