Bought this as my first motorbike as an upgrade from a scooter at the end of October 2011 and have owned the bike for 2 and a half months now. 2 weeks in and the first cold day of the year the bike wouldn't turn over, applied the choke briefly which then stopped the ignition switch from firing. this was the beginning of a series of problems with the bike. Took it to a garage and they replaced the starter motor. the bike worked relatively well apart from cutting out frequently between gear changes, refusing to tick over every time the bike needed turning on and backfiring on numerous occasions, scaring the s*** out of me! After changing the spark plug and oil the bike still refused to work properly apart from on rare occasions when it ran smooth (once or if i'm lucky twice a week), THE GREATEST FEELING since the first 2 weeks of owning it. However a month down the line the bike begins revving uncontrollably, to the point where stopping at a light involves switching between easing on and off the clutch and heavy break application to stop it taking off on its own accord. The side panels then dropped off somewhere along the road from Chester to Wrexham exposing the battery which seems to be a common problem with the bike. Another trip to the garage revealed that on inspection the float in the carburetor was plastic (i would seriously recommend buying a new one upon purchasing or your guaranteed to run in to problems down the line) but the underlying problem was the electronic control unit. after changing both the ECU and the carburetor the bike runs smoothly... once you get the blighter running. Further problems are also apparent-the chrome on the exhaust has bubbled and i am now looking at a new exhaust already. Break pads wear down pretty fast. It's almost impossible to find side panels once they have fallen off. there is no where to fit a 'L' plate if your a learner. Ends of the handle bars have dropped off and so have a few other little bits of trimming. i am yet to partake in a long-haul journey but I wouldn't recommend it as i don't think the bikes Yamaha YBR chinese engine copy can handle it - over heating may be a common problem. Aside from all this when the bike runs it runs well, good acceleration - getting up to 70 Mph on straight. full tank costs around £16 and can get just under 200 miles (however i am only about 9.4 stone). pretty low center of gravity giving it reasonable handling capabilities. one of the best looking 125 cruisers i have seen (in my opinion). extremely comfy thanks to the leather Harley-look-alike seat particularly when compared with a Yamaha SR. After a 20 Mph crash due to wet mud on a bend in the road i would say its pretty robust too, picked it up and road off bar a few scratches, running smoothly. In conclusion a comfy little run around/commuter bike,which is good for learner drivers and very economic but will require a fair amount of maintenance and care too keep it running relatively well but for the price (which i saw at around £800+ for a half decent one) you could get a better bike.. I should have bought a Yamaha YBR but the relationship i have developed with my bike over all the hardship is second to none and i love it! just make sure you point your love in the right direction and get a better bike!!!! hope you find this helpfull! -callum.

Okay first things first: The Gilera Coguar (yeah that's the actual spelling) isn't a great bike. But neither is a bad one. It looks good, has an excellent engine and has served me well.

However all the negative things you may have read are also true. The finish is poor and the chrome paint crumbles away rather rapidly leaving a rather ugly result. The electrics are a joke and every time I get it serviced (I like to do this every three months) something electrical gets fixed too. Finally the parts are indeed a nightmare to get hold of and always rather expensive.

The bad points out of the way let's celebrate what is good. Firstly it's surprisingly quick. The stories about it cruising at 75mph are unfortunately a little untrue as the top speed is, as you'd expect from a 125cc cruiser, somewhere around the low 60s but any faster than that on a naked bike is going to mean you're going to get blown about like crazy anyway.

It also looks and sounds really good. I always had nods from other cruisers as I rode the roads of South Wales and many times I also had the joy of dads with their kids coming up to ask what kind of bike had come and parked up next to them. People are always stunned when they discover it's just a 125cc!

To conclude it's a bike that I've loved dearly and thoroughly enjoyed to ride. It isn't, however, a shining example of build quality so loses in every way to the far superior Honda Shadow. But then who cares? It's much cheaper and a perfect starter bike for a future hog rider.

Talking from experience i have had several lower cc bikes and this one has to be my favourite so far.

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.

This bike is a lovely little bike especially for a learner do not make the mistake of buying a cg 125 or any other skinny wheeled machine only good thing about a cg is the engine while Gilera Cougar has a excellent frame good build quality good engine and good design and also fat wheels for a 125, I did have speed problems when I 1st got mine and also a awful rattle (turned out to be the chain been too slack) paid a VERY cheap price of 275 01 red pounds with 10 months tax and test (had to fish around for a long time, in fact I was looking for a tzr 125 but then saw this for 275 I though it had to be bought, then when I jumped on to it I thought right sell this and buy my tzr like originally but then I though shall I put some performance upgrades on this, so that ' s what I did I went I bought a K & N air filter for 25 quid and a iridium spark plug and lastly new sprockets small sprocket one less tooth that the standard and the big sprocket one more tooth than the standard, this actually let the bike cruse happily at 60 as before it was screaming and also ive had it to 85, ace little bike BUY ONE.

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.

Over all very good bike. The bike is very light and easy to ride. it also looks good.

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.