Yamaha YBR125 Reviews

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Yamaha YBR125
★★★★☆
4.3
89.0% of users recommend this
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Specification for Yamaha YBR125

Engine: 4-stroke, single cylinder, air-cooled, SOHC
Displacement: 124cc
Max power: 12bhp @ 8,000 rpm
Weight: 106 kg
Seat height: TBC
Fuel Capacity 12 Litres
Colours: TBC

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Latest Reviews

“Best bike ever!”

★★★★★

written by xvMacMillan112 on 03/04/2016

I`V driven this bike for 20000k`s now and it`s still going strong, almost no fuel usage, and genually a great bike!

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Ryanmilner93's Comment

Written on: 24/12/2016

Iv had mine 8 months done 6k without an issue great little runner

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“Very good bike, worthwhile buy!!”

★★★★★

written by stevie80997 on 22/01/2016

Having just done cbt fancied a chinese bike that looked good til i read reviews. Found my local yamaha dealer very knowledgeable and not biased towards yamaha. Bought a brand new one and i love it. Needed gear selector adjusted to suit my boot but this was no issue to the dealer who quickly sorted this. Great bike, enough power to get around town and commute. Brakes smoothly and power delivery is spot on. Spend the extra over a chinese bike for the quality, you will certainly gain savings in not having repair bills often! Looks good and certainly is fun!!

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“yamaha ybr 125”

★★★★★

written by Porterfieldgj308 on 01/09/2015

I have own the ybr for only 2 day and its my first geared motorbike and it perfect, I haven't got anything bad to say about it, I understand that not everyone has that opinion, I didn't even wanted to write a review but after I saw what people were writing about I had to write about how good it is. Now I would like to say the good thing about, the body look great, it very quick and I mean quick, the gear change is smooth and it cheap to run, so I dont understand why a lot of people are saying so much bad thing to say about.

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“kings ybr”

★☆☆☆☆

written by ybrrider on 10/10/2014

I bought a brand new ybr 2weeks ago and think it's a heap of rubbish.it's so slow it's unreal.a 125scooter is much quicker taking of at lights. Also the gearbox is dreadful. It gets stuck in first gear at times and neutral is impossible to locate and if you do manage to locate neutral and release the clutch the bike is often still in gear a d you end up stalling the thing.

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Brutalbran's Response to ybrrider's Review

Written on: 26/11/2014

You have a faulty unit I've done 13000k miles and replaced nothing except a sidelight bulb when I came of doing 40mph trust me its a would bike the store has robbed you

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Djmeredith's Response to ybrrider's Review

Written on: 16/04/2015

This is all true I had one till it was stolen now have a wk 125 sport sohc

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“YBR 125 RUN AROUND.”

★★★★★

written by horaham on 22/08/2014

I hane a YBR 13 plate with just over 1000 miles on the clock I go for a ride most weekends its good fun. I might get a bigger bike soon. I'am a 56 year old got back into biking last year with a Sanya 125 £47 third party Insurance.Insurance for a year on the YBR cost £84 fully comp. My son has a YBR 125 he bought it from my daughter over a year ago it is on a 61 plate done 18000 miles starts up first time second set of tyres same chain could do with a new one now.

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“YBR 125”

★★★★☆

written by on 09/08/2014

I have owned a YBR 125 for four years and overall I would recommend this bike. It is well built and reliable but it struggles to get above 55 mph which means lorries can overtake on dual carriageways and in winter with the poor headlight this is very dangerous. The back tyre is too thin its more like a bicycle tyre but parts are easy to get. I am changing to the Suzuki en 125 as a replacement.

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“Rust bucket”

★★☆☆☆

written by johnalwyn on 08/08/2014

Bike itself is nice to ride and a first time starter every tim. However the materials used in manufacture of this bike are absolute rubbish. I've had mine coming up 2 year and it's impossible to halt the advance of rust. Even the paint is flaking off the forks due to corrosion underneath. I bought this bike in preference to a similar AJS because I expected better quality from Yamaha. I gather the two bikes are actually made in the same Chinese factory with the AJS costing about a grand less I would have made a different decision in hindsight.

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“Ybr 125”

★★★★★

written by Dobson442 on 22/07/2014

Have been riding bikes for 20 years on and off and have ridden a very diverse range. I started looking for a 125 that's looks good and that is reliable, after a while it chose the ybr in white. I bought the bike new so had to wait a couple of days to get it in which time I wondered if I had made the right choice or not. Now I have the bike and been out on it quite a lot I am more than pleased with it, the only thing that let's it down is the thin rear tyre but this isn't really a problem as the bike has excellent grip. I filled the tank right to the top from about quarter a tank and just managed to squeeze in a tener . Whilst out today and after doing 155 miles I decided to see how much fuel I had used and couldn't believe only 6 quid. Overall the bike is excellent, economical and for the money well worth it.

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“Ultra reliable bike”

★★★★★

written by Law149 on 01/07/2014

Now done 15000 miles on my custom version.One of the easiest bikes to service at home,no need to remove anything to adjust the valve clearances,the whole job takes less than 30 mins.One slightly tricky screw on the air filter,but that's all.I repaced the chain and sprockets at 11000 miles,another easy job,and this winter removed and resprayed the swingarm and the exhaust.The bike will get tatty otherwise,the paintwork is cheap,but easily redeemed.I noticed the underside of the fuel tank was rusting when I removed it to clean and seal the contacts on the coil,but again,a bit of antirust paint and you're fine.Keep changing the oil( I also engine flush with each change as the bike has no oil filter) and this bike will run for a very long time. Keep an eye on the electrical contacts,especially the coil and the ECU as I had a slight conk-out in the rain,but just spray with contact cleaner and ignition sealer and you'll be fine.

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“A forgiving and fun starter bike”

★★★★☆

written by zekepliskin on 14/04/2014

I'm a new rider so this review will be heavily subjective but should give some tips to riders of most levels looking for a good little runaround. I have the 2014 model and downhill on a nice straight stretch, good weather with a little wind behind you it's possible to get a touch over 75mph, rider of around 11 stone. Climbing up a hill causes a huge loss of power though, it's hard to keep it at 60mph even in fourth gear and hitting the redline. Lack of a sixth gear is a problem though, even stock I swear that little engine could just about top 80mph in short bursts though that skinny single front disc is going to struggle to stop you, stomping hard on the back will just lock it and throw you off. I know it's only a one piston four stroke but this to me is the biggest weakness of the bike, along with the stock tyres which don't grip as well as I'd like (just lean into the corners more). Still, if you want raw power you're not going to be looking at 125cc bikes, I'd wager. The strongest points are it's a comfortable rider - nearly impossible to stall with very forgiving handling, giving you a taste of what biking is all about. It may not have ABS but if you're careful you won't lock the stock brakes; beginner riders take note, go easy on the brakes and allow a decent stopping distance even at low speeds. I took a nasty tumble at 40mph which I could have avoided by turning in more and not stomping so hard on the back brake but since I was barreling into it at 60mph they were good enough to shed 20mph before which is the difference between sore shoulders and broken bones, believe me. Talking about spills, this thing is tough. Really. I was thrown off (my own fault trying to keep up with much better riders) so the right side of the bike took a lot of abuse, but all I needed to replace was the front windshield and the right mirror, although getting the sheared right mirror stalk off required a huge socket wrench. Engine is as good as ever and those bars between the front wheel and engine did their job - bit of a gouge on the footrest and rear brake but still rides like new. Full marks to Yamaha for the reliability. More positive points... the fuel injection is beautiful; she'll idle at just over 2,000rpm from cold and then drop to 1,500rpm after about ten minutes riding. As with any bike I'd recommend a few minutes warm up before fully opening the throttle. The engine sounds nice pulling away in third when the engine is around 3,500rpm, really gutsy for a 125cc. And rest assured, if you want to smoke BMWs pulling away from a dead stop at traffic lights there's enough power to do that. Gear shifting is fairly decent, personally I'm still popping her out of gear and into neutral more often than I'd like some weeks later but it's probably poor technique rather than a fault with the bike. Peak RPM for shifts is between 5,000 and 8,000 the way I ride, though late shifting between 7,000 and 10,000 will get the speed up quicker from a stop. This is much harder on the engine, reduces fuel economy and is NOT recommended during the initial 600 mile break in. Overall you'll know within a week or two of ownership if you'll need a bigger bike, but the Yamaha YBR125 is a lot of fun even for a daily commute. I run with BP Unleaded 97 (the high octane premium stuff, in my experience makes the engine run smoother unlike the cheaper supermarket filling station slop) and I'm getting around 70 MPG because I'm still in the honeymoon period and I'm riding fairly aggressively to get the feel of the bike. Some small flaws aside this is a great starter and I don't think I'll be able to sell her even when I move up to something more substantial like a Hornet or R1. You really have to work hard to have a bad ride any time you throw your leg over and personally I always look forward to throwing another dozen miles on the clock... the mark of a good vehicle is that it keeps you on the road for just one more mile even when you think you'll call it a day.

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“Great for A-B”

★★★★★

written by FishOnTwoWheels on 08/04/2014

I have been riding bikes daily for 28 years this month and have always had either a 125 or 250 for commuting (due to cost etc.) and although I have previously had two Honda CG125's, this Yamaha is the best 125 I've had so far.... It always does over 90 to the gallon and it has easy to clean cast wheels and comes with a disc front brake. One of the biggest things I've noted about it is how it retains higher speeds (anything over 50) much easier than many other 125's when, faced with an upward gradient or similar, tend to die or require going down the gearbox to compensate. Honda made a big boo-boo when they removed the trusty CG without having its replacement ready, so leaving Yamaha to take over the 125 commuter market and credit to them for making a great job of it!

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“gets better with age ”

★★★★☆

written by rcoxy92 on 15/01/2014

ive had my new yamaha ybr 125 for about 1 month now overall im really pleased with the bike i used to own a 55 plate ybr and the bike is much improved the automatic choke is a time saver and fuel economey is ace a full tank lasts me 115 miles which is awesome the bike now comes with a side stand and sits slightly higer than older editions this one is now fuel injected rather than carb which is nice the power is smooth and consitant ive had up to 80mph downhill with the wind slipsteaming but the bike is happy to sit at 65 and will push 70 which is all i need although i am disapointed with the chain on my bike which is allready pretty rusty 500 miles in i clean the bike every sunday and shes always undercover whilst not in use but overall i would reccomend and @ 2500 otr price who can complain

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“Decent for Cruising”

★★★★☆

written by Roberthalshaw on 23/03/2013

I corner this bike really hard and it is very capable of taking harsh corners at high speeds, and it really teachers you how to carry speed through a corner as it doesn't have the power to correct a mistake through the so it really teachers you how to ride. It will reach 60 easily without a harsh wind and has enough power to stay around 50 when going up steep hills. No mechanical issues what so ever and its fuel economy is brilliant it is a great bike and really reccomend it for a first bike and it looks brilliant as well.

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“Recomend this to EVERYBODY”

★★★★★

written by BikerD1210 on 30/01/2013

This bike is amazing as a winter hack or just a run around to work and back. I can easily get 70MPH out of this bike which to be honest is all you need for a commute bike. Im female and of slender build so this bike is ideal i dont feel over powered by the bike. Fuel is ridiculous I can travel 14.5 miles to and from work aswell as riding around with the lads almost all night every night. Brilliant for traffic jams as the breaks are extremly responsive and it reacts so well. This is a bike that allows the rider to ride. All round amazing little bike! However very desierable to be stolen as VERY VERY easy to hotwire so keep it locked up.

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“excellent bike”

★★★★★

written by on 23/11/2012

brought a 2012 ybr 125 2 weeks ago,i commute to and from work which is a 30 mile round trip every day.cost only £10 to fill the tank to full,i used to use my car for work average cost £30 a week used bike for work same route £7 what a nice bike to ride,cheap to insure quality parts and comfy ride.Also plenty of power when needed, well pls with bike.

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“slow, ugly and terrible bike.”

★☆☆☆☆

written by YBRNAIL on 09/11/2012

wouldnt pull you out of bed, very slow for a 125. They are very ugly and not an attractive bike what so ever. Might be reliable but still a total utter NAIL! LACK OF POWER!

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Brutalbran's Response to YBRNAIL's Review

Written on: 31/03/2013

I think someone doesn't own this bike and just giving Yamaha a bad name for no reason this is fantastic I'm 17 done 5500 miles not a single problem except front blub blown 86p from smc

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Joe_Quinn's Response to YBRNAIL's Review

Written on: 19/02/2018

Absolute nonsense. It's as nippy as any 4-stroke 125cc on the market. If I were you I'd get a mechanic to look at it.

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Mathewhd's Response to YBRNAIL's Review

Written on: 19/08/2013

Lack of power? What do you expect out of 125cc bike? 150 MPH? I mean if you want to go fast buy a 1000cc sport bike...

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“7 years commuting on YBR125”

★★★★☆

written by on 22/10/2012

I bought my YBR new in 2005. It is my only transport and has been used mainly for my 28 mile trip to work and back each day. I have ridden this bike in snow, ice, rain and even occasional sunshine! It has a peach of an engine and is the most reliable bike I have owned in my 48 years of riding. I have now clocked up 40,000 miles and it is still going strong. The only downside is that I cannot attain more than 60mph. Cruising speed is best at 50mph. It doesn`t help that I am 17 stone, but on A roads it does struggle to keep up with traffic. Fuel economy is still around the 90mpg mark and if anyone wants a small economical bike with reliability and the capability to clock up high mileage, then the YBR125 is the bike to have.

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“possibly the best learner bike around”

★★★★★

written by on 21/10/2012

after running a YBR for 6 months now (registered 2012, 2011 model), through the rain and cold to the sunny and pleasant, the little bike has only ever let me down once (and that was the mechanics fault in my opinion, see later on) if you're looking for a first bike to learn on, there really are few comparisons. EASE OF RIDING the bike is designed to be easy to handle, from a clutch as light as a racing bike (no cramp) to its light weight, even the accessories, like a fuel counter, centre stand and fuel injection* *means you never have to worry about the choke! really, having a light bike is the easiest start, being able to throw it into corners, and knowing that when you feel that you're going round a bend too fast, that you can always turn more the only mark against this bike for this area are the lower quality tyres that come as standard don't offer much grip or durability (my rear tyre is almost bald after 4000 miles), but for about £70 you can fit some nice Michelin tyres, almost essential for the wet roads RELIABILITY the stories are true, these things are bomb-proof. the reason old 125s are still running is that the engines are simple things, and parts are always on hand for the rare occasions when something goes wrong the only problem with my own YBR was the spark plug giving in, but this really is a one-off, and don't let this scare you away, since it was just a 5 minute fix, made free by the warranty on the bike POWER no, this will not do 100mph, but nor does it need to. its intended as a commuter bike, or a learner bike, and neither class here needs to go any faster than 60/70mph. ignore what the specifications might say, this bike will easily do 60mph, 70mph on the slightest of downhill roads when you max it (I guess the red line is at about 75) for getting round the towns, it has more than enough power to keep up with the traffic, and you could even burn off the boy racers at the lights (I don't recommend this if you're a learner) ACCESSORIES the bike has everything you could REASONABLY want on a starter bike, the fuel gauge will stop you every running out of fuel, and an easily read instrument cluster will let you know what your bike is doing, without having to look away from the road for more than a glance. often taken for granted on small bikes are the easy use indicator controls (push-to-cancel), but some cheaper *cough* Chinese bikes don't have them, and you would certainly regret it if you messed up a module 2 test because you couldn't cancel your indicators well and don't be put off by the lack of a gear indicator, very few bikes have these, and after a couple of weeks, you'll know what gear your in by the sound of the engine and how fast the road is moving underneath you COST at only £2399 brand new, with insurance usually cheaper than most other 125 bikes, and anywhere from 95 to 110* mpg (depending on how you ride mostly), it can work out much cheaper than alternatives, and as much as £3000 a year cheaper than buying a car (as a teenage motorist) *I get 105mpg when I'm not riding particularly efficiently, so it might EVEN be possible to get 120 if you're never in any rush the only real weaknesses of the YBR are the tyres supplied as standard, and the lack of customisation options. there are no custom fairings to be found easily, but when it comes time to get your wallet out for insurance and servicing, you'll finish with a big smile (I pay less than £40 for its regular 2000 mile service)

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“Can be affected by hot sunlight. ”

★★☆☆☆

written by modand216677 on 07/09/2012

My experience of the ybr 125 has been let down by an issue with heat from the sun. If the bike is left out in direct sunlight the fuel injection system does not prime. This is an issue other ybr owners have expressed frustration with, there are various forum posts relating to the ybr not starting in hot sunlight. I am not aware of Yamaha in the UK making an efforts to resolve a fundamental reliability issue with this model. Owners who have this bike have been left high and dry.

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Brutalbran's Response to modand216677's Review

Written on: 31/03/2013

Well it's built for British hence no restriction so it's built for horrible weather that's why it's unbelieveable in every-way only good in cold raining 24/7 god dam weather

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Kitchen1's reply to Brutalbran's Comment

Written on: 21/07/2013

I also have a YBR 125 that seems to want to siesta when it's warm. I have written to Yamaha directly, but received a polite but luke-warm response. It happened in 2012 during that short warm spell, then OK all year. The recent very hot spell June 2013, just caused it to stop and had to have it recovered. Now I can't trust the bike, so probably going to change it. Dealers say they have never heard of this problem before, and I can't believe that. It is a 2007 model on a 57 plate, and 4500 miles!
Solutions heard to date: Throw bucket of water over bike; new fuel pump ( £300 incl. gasket), ECU problems (Tacho has also broken), broken wire, ignition switch...etc.

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“9:5 out of 10 and reasons ”

★★★★★

written by BrutalBran on 30/08/2012

Im 17 Just turned i passed my cbt 4 days after my birthday 2 days after that i bought a (60) plate ybr i payied £553 for full comp with my insurance im not from a rich family it took me over 3 years of painfull saving up but my god is it worth it everything is top dog on it i have only ONE issue with the bike and that there is no reserve tap on the big BUT dose have a fuel gauge which covers that the power is only 10 hp which gets me around 60 without the bike struggleing at ALL i have only owned 2 week IT is fantasic on set off and beats most cars on set off im not the racing type but if i wanted to this would do my need easy im 13 stone and 5:11 very good size good size all around the gear pedel could a little higher BUT isnt a problem at all when you get used it I think handeling is perfect on the bike people say its bad but its perfect brakes are great cheap to fill up and lasts a long time its quite heavy im not going to lie its 11-12 stone but this is only a problem if you pushing it up stairs sadly i have to because of my house :( but even that dosent put me of beening on it all day the set is acceptable its not soft like a crusiers but it isnt hard like a computer chair at school which im sure we can all remeber how bad they was but if your doing a 2 hour run on it you will be fine its after that you might wanna stop for 5 mins and stand up WHICH most bikes are the same so inst a fault with the bike the clutch is very nice its quite a high biteing point so is hard to stall another good thing but overoll i would give it 9:5 out of 10

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Brutalbran's Response to BrutalBran's Review

Written on: 30/08/2012

few mistakes but hope this helps and i ment Seat not set near bottom sorry:)

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Jpst's Response to BrutalBran's Review

Written on: 18/03/2013

Who did you insure with to get that so cheap?

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Brutalbran's reply to Jpst's Comment

Written on: 19/03/2013

Lexham 553 full comp just turned 17 when did - 6 month ago-

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Jpst's Response to BrutalBran's Review

Written on: 18/03/2013

Who did you insure with?

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Asked by greeves9 on 5th April 2017 Report this content
Will fitting a big bore kit to my Yamaha ybr125 give a noticeable difference to the power?

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