What do you get if you can only ride a 125cc restricted bike and you can't touch the floor with your feet on a Yamaha DT125?
There are probably about three bikes that may be okay - The Kawasaki KMX 125, The Honda XLR 125 or the Yamaha Trailway TW125. Clare and I decided on the TW125 for a number of reasons - not least of which was price and availability at the time. So what's it like...

The first thing you can't fail to notice is the size of the tyres - particularly the rear tyre. It's absolutely huge and looks like a specialist sand tyre. Whatever it looks like, the bike feels very stable both on the road and off. Okay - this bike is not going to find many followers if you're used to a proper offroad bike... it simply isn't up to the task - but then it's not pretending to be. It's aimed at CBT riders who may venture down some of the milder green lanes or farm tracks.

The bike, like most 125cc restricted bikes, lacks power for it's size and weight. It develops about 11bhp and with me riding it (about 13 stone) it can manage 45 - 50mph on the flat - but struggles up hills at around 30-35mph. After Clare's first hour long outing on it she commented on the power herself - so it's not just the inevitable view of someone used to a bigger bike.

It starts relatively easily from cold with judicious use of the choke - which is conveniently mounted in the centre of the handlebars. Best practice is to fire it up and let it run for a couple of minutes until it's nice and warm.

Unlike the KMX125 and DT125 - it is a four stroke, and has an electric start. Wonderful. Only the XLR 125 is identical - well worth thinking about if you're a female and new to biking.

When warm it starts easily if you should stall it at junctions or anywhere else. No frantic kicking at a kick start - although to be fair the KMX125 starts easy on the kickstart - being a two stroke. I have no experience of the DT125 or XLR 125 in this respect.

Controls are mounted well and easy to operate. The dials are clear with a trip counter and speedo. Neutral / Indicator and Main Beam lights provide clear feedback - although in daylight they are not as bright as they could be - and an audible clicking for the indicator would be a nice addition to prevent forgotten indicators left on.

The bike Clare has is a 2001 model registered in November 2001 and had done about 1400 miles.

Clare intends to use it to take her test on a 125cc to allow her to have a bike upto 32bhp - and is then thinking of something a bit more powerful - such as a Yamaha Serow.

In the US, and presumably available here as an import is a 200cc version of the Trailway - the TW200. Check out the link here: Yamaha TW200

Clare's bike parked up showing the size of the back tyre. It looks and feels just about bullet-proof though.
It has few bits that look as though they could rip off.