Gilera Cougar 125. Quick acceleration/easy to handle. Nice easy bike to ride looks like a bigger bike than it is. Only bad thing 5th gear just doesn't seem to have any power.

Got straight through pipes and she roars like a bigger bike. Get lots of admiring looks from people around. Seat good height for people of shorter stature but I bought her from a man who was well over 6' tall and he said he was quite comfortable riding her. Have had this bike for nearly two years and I ' m still proud to ride it. Mine on a '51 plate and still only has just over 3000 miles on clock. Might even keep it when I pass my test. Reliable runner and easy to access all areas for maintenance. Recommend to anybody. Excellent value for money. Lovely little bike. A real pleasure to ride. Parts can be difficult to locate, but I found what I needed on eBay. Spares or repairs.

Well, I had read many reviews about the Gilera Cougar before deciding to buy it, and they were all positive. Even my typically skeptic father could not find a bad word written about this relatively rare machine on the internet. Of course, having gone ahead and put my deposit down all the negative reviews shot to the top of Google..... well this is my experience. Firstly, it's only fair to establish my viewpoint. I am a 30 year old man who has struggled most of his life to realise the all too common dream of biking. I have bought this bike because I NEED transport that is cheap and reliable. In all honesty I couldn't afford to run a car. I paid £795 for a '51 plate with 2500 miles on the clock. Apart from a ew surface rust patches (over half of them polished out) and some badly flaking chrome on the seat rails the bike was ideal. It has a 4 stroke engine which I believe is related to the Honda City Fly OHC lump, and makes a very easy starter each day. Half choke is all that is required from choke and don't worry about the throttle at all - just press the button and she pops to life, easy as anything. The engine takes 5 mins to warm up, settling to a pleasing burble, and then it's off with the choke and away you go! On the road I find that although it is not as zippy as a two-stroke, the engine develops a pleasing amount of torque for such a little lump and makes what is honestly the most pleasing burble-noises I have ever heard from a 125cc machine. It has plenty of go for the important 0-30mph sprint off the lights, is easy to filter on and therefore faster through town than any car you care to mention. Some people in £25k cars don't like that, but then they could always join you on two wheels?... heh.... The bike wears Pirelli mt75 tyres, and handles beautifully, as long as you remember what it is and what it's for! The problem with a lot of reviews of these machines is that people seem to consider it surprising that you occasionally have to drop a gear on a 10BHP bike to climb a hill! 5th gear on this machine is an overdrive really, and makes rumbling around in the endless 40mph limits a very easy and pleasant experience. I am 6'3" and 15 stone and not only does this bike fit me but it carries me up hills quite happily at 55mph in 4th gear before returning to burble-mode at the top in 5th. I have had it on the dual carriageway, but to be honest I don't like thrashing a bike to 70mph and although a few miles is fine, you'd be missing the point of riding if you made a habit of it. Try as I might I can't get it to do less than 100mpg! Ideal since my car does 40mpg and petrol isn't getting any cheaper! £5.50 for 100+ miles.... £15 per year to tax it.... £112 per year to insure it fully comp.... I'm happy enough with that. All a bike like this needs is careful cleaning and lubrication. Use some WD40, autosol, and elbow grease. Keep it covered up (I use a plastic sheet) when you can and you'll find you have a perfectly good tool for commuting, days out or even just learning to ride on. My impression of this is still dented by some negative reviews but I can only look after it and hope it looks after me. One thing's for sure - it beats riding a scooter and being tarred with that particularly anti-social brush. Buy one. You won't regret it.

The Gilera COugar is a lovely bike would not swap it for any other 125 bike as im going to do so many things to this one iv all ready changed the exhaust im going to have the head bourd out and lower the back and make it ridged no shocks it will look well fat you carnt do this kind of work to many 125 now can you

My Gilera Cougar has been driven 9000 km. I bought it second hand at 2800km. 15mai 2007. It had been stored away for all these years and looks brand new. But rumours say that the day I will need a new chain or other pieces, I will have trouble to find them.
I am for the time being, very satisfied. But would like to know a little more about this so I don't have to be without it for too long in case I'd need something for it.

I've owned my Gilera Cougar for about 1 year now and it hasn't failed me once. I bought a 02 reg for 1300 it was in perfect condition and low mileage. After a few months I noticed that the chrome became white in certain paces and was rather uneven.
This bike is perfect for beginners and has cheap insurance.
The only work I've done on it is taken a few links from the chain.

Fantastic bike, got mine silver/blue 2003 model for £500. Needs some side panels but amazing to ride, had 74mph out of it. Changed up from a 2stroke Yamaha TZR (87 model) and it runs like a dream, mine has some problems with starting, seems to need the choke on all the time and keep some revs when turning it off. and the choke is in a stupid place, not easy to reach.

I really like the way the Gilera Cougar 125 looks and the rider's positioning. It's extremely comfortable and is a bit of a head turner when it's been waxed and polished. I find the gear changes really smooth and has a deep clutch which allows a lot of play for a first time rider. I really enjoy the bike and is great in nice weather.

I recommend the Gilera Cougar 125 to anybody that likes cruising. Well reliable

I took my CBT on a Gilera Coguar (as written on the side of the bike - not a typo) in August, and fell in love with the handling and comfort. Having passed my CBT I went out and bought one - 2002 model in blue/silver for £900.
I've ridden mine to work (about a 35 mile round trip) since September and it's excellent. It's no speed freak - top speed for me is around 65 and that's downhill - but for commuting it's fine.

I was going to get a Honda CG125 and have ridden a friend's one, but I found it uncomfortable (1998 model) and cramped. I'm 6'3" with a largish frame so the Coguar gives me a good ride position and I don't look like an idiot (well that's my opinion anyway :o) ).

Handling is great, but on long hills I find I have to drop a gear more than I expected to keep up a decent speed; this could be just because it's a 125 though. I plan to take my test in the spring, but I 'll hang onto this for a while yet as it's such a great ride.

Starts lovely in the wet and cold - choke is a bit fiddly to adjust with gloves on, but that's fine as I rarely drive with the choke on - just run the engine for a few minutes while standing and then cut the choke out (as recommended by Gilera).

Maintenance is very easy but parts are very hard to come by, so if you need something big (like an exhaust) your bike could be off the road for a while.

All in all it's a great bike for beginners.

The Gilera Cougar 125 is not a bad bike, and is good on petrol. It is good looking, even though I still get dodgy looks from bigger bikes. They seem to forget they once were learners. I enjoy it, and that's what biking is all about.

I could go on all day on about how nice this bike is. I've had mine a month and I love it. Buy one I haven't seen another Gilera Cougar 125 on the road yet.

Overall this Gilera Cougar 125 is a great bike, I would advise any new learner to get this bike if there not wanting to spend lots of money, always starts up even when wet and is just a general lovely bike.

Cant go wrong with this stylish custom cruiser. The Gilera Cougar 125 looks and feels like a much bigger bike. The honda engine easy to maintain and does 100mpg with a 69mph top speed.