cbr125 forum

Woo Hoo! Passed my M2 test today in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course I took at St. Clair College this past weekend. Only made one mistake too surprisingly. You had to go into a corner doing about 30km/h, making a sharp left turn and exiting the turn in a certain time period. Well I went into the corner doing as close to 30km/hr as I could no problem. Leaned the bike into the curve no problem, but was obviously so worried about going out of the lines that I leaned the bike enough to not only scrape the foot peg, but the kickstand peg too they told me. Well, no surprise but I kinda freaked out and stood the bike back up and let off the throttle just enough that I went out of the lines. Oh well, other than that they said I did perfect. They were joking that I shouldve scraped my knee and elbow in the turn too and pretend I was MotoGP lol.
Anyways, my main point for anyone wondering about taking the course - DEFINITELY take it! I learned so much about slow speed maneuvers over the past two days that I never wouldve learned on my own. Plus the atmosphere was very welcoming, very supportive and fun too. There were 14 people in my class and everyone was great. During the tests, everyone would clap for you no matter how good - or bad - you did which was really nice. I know I probably would've failed had I gone to one of the DriveTest centers and just had them test me there.
Just figured I'd throw my two cents out there for anyone else flip-flopping on the decision to pay the money and take the course or not. Just do it and you won't regret it!

Way to go & well done!

It's great to hear that you had encouraging people surrounding you as this makes it WAY better. When I did my parking lot test (second level after learners where you had to ride with someone) I was very concerned because my buddy's daughter had a tester from hell who failed her every time. I mentioned that to the tester I had and was wondering if, in reality, they did not want people to get their bike license. He was somewhat offended by that but he worked extra hard with me to prove that this was not the case and I did fairly well and passed even though I skidded (in the rain) each time during the panic stop portion. He ended up being a great instructor/tester.

This is great news! Does this mean you have your full license or is it like a learners with no supervision required?

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Best & Thanks!
Marvin Miller
cbr125world Store

...because every day is MotoGP day when you own a CBR 125r...

In Ontario there's a three step license process. M1 is just a written test you take. Then you're legally allowed to hop on a bike and go riding with no supervision. Crazy eh? The only restrictions are you can't ride at night, can't go over 80km/hr, ride with a passenger, or have any alcohol. I passed that one 88 days ago. Today I passed the m2 test. Now I can go anywhere including highways with 100km/hr limits, ride with a passenger, and ride at night. Basically it's a full license with the only restriction being 0% alcohol. Now I have to take the full m test within five years, otherwise I have to start all over. With the full m you have no restrictions whatsoever with the exception being you can't have a blood alcohol level greater than 0.08.
It really was a pleasant experience, and I'll definitely take the m2 exit course to get my full m licence. I know I'll be much more relaxed that way, even though the courses are expensive.
In Ontario, DriveTest is the centers that you can go to get tested without taking a course. But they are a for-profit company. So every time you go to get tested it's $75. No surprise.... Almost everybody fails. And when you fail they won't even tell you why either. Tell me it's not a flawed system!

We have a similar deal here - first you pay $20 and sit at a computer for a multiple guess test. Pass that and you have your learners which means you have to ride with someone that is licensed. You also can't ride at night or over a certain speed or double

Then, after 2 weeks (?) you can do your parking lot test which is riding between cones and slowing as fast as you can, turn as tight as you can etc. Pass that and you have a license that allows you to ride without supervision and I think at night and highways too just no doubling (?).

The third is the road test. You have to do that one within 3 months (?) or else you have to start all over again from the beginning! They follow you around in a car and you wear a headset and they tell you to do things. If you use a bike that's too small (the 125!) then they restrict you to a bike of less then 200cc. If you do it on a 200 or greater, then you're unrestricted and can go straight to the bike store and buy the biggest weapon you can find

You're lucky you have a 5-year grace period before completing the full meal deal. For me, it was a hassle fitting into to their packed testing schedule within their allotted time frame. In the end I got in on the last day of the 3 month period. One more day and I would have been back at square one.

Way to go. That's great news and it's really neat to see a rider starting out properly - on a bike that will teach him just about everything and properly prepare you for other bikes. I know too many people that started on a CBR600 and wiped it out several times on their way to experience

_________________
Best & Thanks!
Marvin Miller
cbr125world Store

...because every day is MotoGP day when you own a CBR 125r...

Ya, although a cbr600 would be nice, I knew I'd kill myself on it. I was being realistic with my skills when I purchased this bike. One day I'd like a cbr500, bit I'm in no rush at all, even though my wife wants me to hurry up so she can have my 125 lol.

That's the way I look at it. I'd rather ride a small bike fast then a fast bike slow, or, worse yet, a fast bike faster then I should. I like the concept of improving my bike. Making it faster, make it handle better. In other words, changing it to suit me.

I could see myself on the new CBR300 at some point but...then I'd have to change it all over again to get it to where I want it. You know, in all truth, I think, once my bike is completed, it will be just right for me. I have plans to make it a lot faster still, and it is a great bike, whether it be for touring or racing. It's also small, cheap to run, cheap to insure, and safe. So it's actually got a lot going for it and if the only issue is that it's a little slow, well, that's easy (and fun) to fix

_________________
Best & Thanks!
Marvin Miller
cbr125world Store

...because every day is MotoGP day when you own a CBR 125r...

Excellent attitude to have! My only issue with it isn't so much how fast it can get from point a to point b, but more how it doesn't like to go much faster than 100 or 110km/hr. I'm not sure about in BC or anywhere else, but around here the speed posted is 100.... the average speed seems to be around 130. So that would be my main reason to get a bigger bike. Although even a cbr 250 would be fine if it could handle those speeds without screaming too much lol. Either way, I just avoid the highways as much as possible. I'm in no rush to upgrade right now. For me it's a commuter bike. To and from work and the odd leisurely ride here or there. I'm happy with it just the way it is.

Yeah, you kind of touched on the one issue with it that is both a blast and a bit of an Achilles hill. I ride over here on the freeway, often at +130. With the Performance Pack it will do that no problem. But, the problem is that you need to be tucked in to do the higher speeds. So I tend to find that 110 sitting up is easy, but, any higher then that and you have to be tucked in.

Where I find it's annoying then is the 'in-between' speeds. So traffic is flowing at 120. This means you have to be tucked in. The problem is, the bike will then easily do 130 or just shy of 140 (Performance Pack). So, you're doing all the work, but sitting at 120. The way I look at it, if I'm doing the work to get past 110, and I'm now in racing trim, I might as well do 138 - there's no extra work involved!

So I find that transition point to be a bit annoying. It's kind of either an on or off sort of thing. The only way to overcome it is to add more power to the bike such that it will do 120 sitting up. Then you don't have to be in MotoGP mode. But, if I have to be in MotoGP mode, then I'd rather pin it since the amount of work is the same.

Don't know if you catch my drift but this is something I've noticed on these bikes all the time. 110 seems to be top cruise speed, any more then that, you have to be tucked in.

_________________
Best & Thanks!
Marvin Miller
cbr125world Store

...because every day is MotoGP day when you own a CBR 125r...

Here in Manitoba, You write a Motorcycle Riders test ($10.00) after reading over the Hand Book (see below), passing it means you move to the Class 6 M stage. That allows you to “Attend” a Manitoba Approved Motorcycle course (2 day full, or 1 day half course), if you take the 2 day course and pass, MPI rebates you $200.00 of your fee back to you. If you take and pass the 1 day you get no rebate. The "M" class ONLY allows you to ride in the Motorcycle Course. Until you pass that, you are stuck...

The 2 day course costs $430.00 and the 1 day course costs $300.00 so you save a bit if you take and pass the 2 day (actually its 21 hours) course… The students get to practise on 125CC bikes and have a choice of sport or touring based on what they plan to be riding.

Once you pass that Motorcycle Course, your License gets changed to Class 6 L stage. This allows you to ride single person only and you can only ride ½ hour after sun rise and you MUST be off the road ½ BEFORE sun set. You must also have a 0 BAC level. There you must spend 9 months under the GDL program.

Then after the 9 months, you can take the Road Test ($30.00 fee), and when you pass, you move to the Intermediate Stage under the GDL program and must spend 15 months there, unless you already have spent time in the Intermediate stage under any other class of license (i.e. regular Class 5 driving license). At this point, you have no real restrictions other than the 0 BAC level. After the 15 months is up (or sooner if you already have spent time at the “I” Level) your license gets changed to a Class 6F and ALL restrictions are removed (except for the first 36 months you MUST maintain a 0 BAC level).

There is one other level… Class 6A. This level is for those that held/hold a Motorcycle License from another jurisdiction and after moving to Manitoba are converting over, OR those that held a Class 6 - 90 day Beginners Permit BEFORE the GDL program came into being in Manitoba. They only have 1 restriction: you can only ride 1 up (there is another restriction but it doesn’t apply if you have also a Class 5 license). That is it. Once you take the Road test. Your Class 6A gets changed to a Class 6F. There are no time limits imposed at the “A” stage. You can stay there for decades if you like! In fact, the only reason to take the test is if you want to carry a passenger, or tow a trailer behind you bike.

I lucked out (if you can call it that) in that back in 1983’ish, I had held one of those Permits… As such, all I had to do was re-write the test ($10.00) and I got a Class 6A instantly! Saved me a BOAT LOAD of money!!

Here is the Manitoba Motorcycle Hand Book (down-loadable PDF) if you would like to see/compare what we have here.

http://www.mpi.mb.ca/en/PDFs/Motorcycle-handbook.pdf

Cheers!!

Sounds like I've kinda lucked out here in Ontario. Although expensive ($425), they have a very easy timeframe and limitations aren't as bad as elsewhere it seems. Carrying a passenger and night riding was really my only needs. I wanted to be able to take the bike to work when I'm on afternoons and coming home at 3am, and I'd like to occasionally pick up my son from school. After all, whats cooler than being picked up by your dad on a motorcycle? Especially one as cool looking as a CBR125r!! He's the perfect size too, almost nine years old and eighty pounds. I bought him his own helmet which he's in love with already, even though I've been on afternoons and haven't been able to take him for a ride yet. Got him the HJC Katzilla helmet luckily before they discontinued it at canadasmotorcycle.com. In case you can't tell, thats a massive grin behind the chin guard lol.