Easy Rider?

In a move that will probably surprise a few people, I've bought a motorbike. I did my CBT in May to see what it would be like and and really enjoyed it. This combined with the cheap running costs of a 125cc motorbike led me to keep an eye out for a reasonably affordable one, ideally a Honda CG125 like we did the CBT on. They are supposedly indestructible, reliable, fun to ride and capable of 100mpg+. However, because of these qualities, they are hard to get hold of.

So I ended up with a Gilera Coguar 125 which I picked up on Friday. Yes, that is the correct spelling for some reason. It was owned by a guy who was doing it up as a project and so it isn't perfect. The most obvious issue is that the speedo broke a while back and now it has a cycle computer fitted instead, which actually works pretty well. It does have a working odometer though. It's had new tyres, new chain and sprockets and been serviced though, so that's handy.

Typically, given my luck with vehicles, the cover for the battery on the right side fell off on the way home from picking it up and smashed to pieces, and when I went to put petrol in it on Saturday, the one key I had for it snapped off in the petrol cap. The cover is impossible to get hold of so not sure what to do about that, but fortunately there is a skilled key cutter in Denbigh who was able to make two new keys from the snapped off bit.

It goes OK. It is apparently the same engine as a Honda CG125 and will hit 60mph on the flat even with my lardy arse on board. It feels more comfy than the CG125 on the CBT due to the bigger seat and fatter tyres. I took it for a long ride yesterday and it went fine, the only slightly alarming bit was meeting a bellowing Ferrari on a narrow road in the back of Ruthin.

Anyway, it's a fun thing, something different. It costs £10 to fill the tank, £15 to tax for a year and £11 a month for insurance so it's not too expensive to run.