OK so I've had my Zontes ZT125-U since December 2020 and done 14000 miles and still rides like new. The current models run a larger rear sprocket taking a 112 520 chain where as mine has a 520 110 chain and because of this my bike cruises at 70 while sat bolt upright I've had 78 on the clock many times. I'm 6'2" 18 stone 19 with gear and bag and I fit fine. I have Michelin street pilots on now. I can easily get the pegs down even at slow speeds. It totally reliable no issues with the keyless system other than changing the fob battery every 6 months. In the time I've had only 2 bikes of its size have beat it a R125 on a dual carriageway flat out crawled past me and a custom RXS100 which is nuts. The bike is amazing a fairly trich especially as at the time it was 3 grand and the Duke 4500. Seriously build quality is very very high. Also the Eco button doesn't do anything on the 125 it only work on the 155 version sold in Asia but I get 105mpg and I rag it everywhere but if I chill I get about 130mpg. Also the dash has 5 dim settings.
That 125 looks better than some bigger and more expensive bikes, and it even has some fancy features. And I'd love to see you go greenlaning with it, give some inspiration to the younger generation of bikers, I bet you could have some serious fun exploring with that bike.
I loved this bike. Got mine after my LXR let me down with it's reliability. I put 12000 miles on my U1 without a single issue, it was sad to see it go when I got my full license.
I have the road version the U on my L plate it has done about 600 miles no issue at all. I'm 5'7 and I can nearly flatfoot it so its great for shorter riders. Its honestly better quality than most Japanese 125's you get. Zontes are just as good as cfmoto
I’m 5’6 and I really want this bike but I want it for delivery not sure if it would be suitable cause if you can’t flat foot if your 5’7, I’m not going to be able to and that’s going to be struggle for me while doing deliveries
I love the styling, reminds me a lot of my TW700. I'd prefer less of the farkels. Keyless start, the gas cap deal, the rear seat popper. Would be better to just put the cheap reliable stuff in its place and save the buyer some money.
What I like about Zontes 125 cc bikes is size of fueltank with factory crash bars. Together with low consumtion these seems like nice choice for slow exploring without worry of running out of fuel or destroying it, if you drop it. Only things which would worry me if we speak about exploring is exhaust height.
I do off-road exploring on the south coast of Spain, so it's rocky terrain with big holes and rocks. The exhaust height has never even come close to being an issue for me. I'm 170 tall and 75 kg. Maybe this helps :)
@@daddystu7046 At 100 mpg it should do more, your consuption cannot be 100 mpg. With that consuption it should do over 500, so consumption is 70-100 mpg I suppose depending on how and where you ride.
@@michalviktorin6758 Have calculated the mpg precisely over successive fills using receipt and miles covered - it is perhaps surprisingly a very consistent 100 mpg varying very little whether hilly or flat. I dont run it until empty - fill up when its on last bar.
I hope its a trend these cheaper bikes are actually moving away from linked brakes and actually using ABS. Really hate the linked break system that was on my LXR and Sinnis
Id rather have the Zontes, than the more expensive Japanese bikes anyday, it looks better, swing arm looks great and tubeless spoked wheels look fantastic...Nice one Spicy 🙂
What do you think the low gears would be like on a reasonably dry green lane? I'd love to test ride one as I ride a big old & heavy Motor Guzzi V50 at the moment
I love my u1 125, I drive her in Valencia and she is so compact and light. I'm 170 cm tall and I can tip toe both feet or flat 1 foot. One question though, what is that whirling sound while driving? I was wondering if my bike was damaged but you have it too
Is this bike suitable for long tours? The situation would be long rides, sometimes on Highway sometimes off-road. Since it is a keyless bike, how good does it handle against some not-dry situations, performance as well as circuitry wise. Will the PKE hold against harsh weather conditions?
I see no issues with the weather and keyless however 125cc bikes are never ideal for long distances on 70mph roads as they will be flat out the whole time.
I have tested that button on other models, I can't tell the difference and I can tell you it did not make any difference in all the miles after that to top speed.
Something i wish the US had was more 125 really the only game in town here is Honda with the Grom and that bike is way too small for me at 5' 6" 300cc are about the smallest you can get here in the US from most of the bike makers, or 50cc scooters are common here to but so many people drive them on roadway that are over 50 MPH and hold up traffic.
Seen one on a Dyno , well the g1. 10.4bhp 😂. Plus their weight , I think really does impact the performance. Had an old sinnis 10 bhp very bad gearing , everything clonky . Weighed 114kg . Would hit 70 . The weight of the zontes is like carrying a small passenger, plus a full tank in that so much extra weight.
ive been looking into getting me a surron road legal. i know youve covered a lot of e bikes on the channel so guess youre more clued up on it. i want something road legal that i can stick in the van and take to do some green laning / light off road. are there any other bikes i should be considering??
Honestly, if you have a van there are so many options. I would suggest something like a 125-250cc single-cylinder dirt bike of some sort. But I will also say none of them will be as easy to get in that van as a Surron.
Only reviewer I know of that will take the time to get the bovine 🐄 opinion of a new bike 😆👍. PS: Might be time for new and improved brake pads on the the DR-Z !?😉.
Lexmoto is a different brand, if you class all bikes made there the same then most of the "Japanese" 125cc bikes are off the cards as they are also made there. Out of interest what were the issue and did you buy it new?
@@spicy110 yeah I know it's a different brand and that same factorys are used for a lot of bikes I did love the bike but felt like it was in the shop more then the road until I gave up on warranty. All was within about a year Tldr part of the problem was lexmoto the other part was the warranty shop as they were a van rental and it was easily seen in their work: Brakes, engine, fuel level sensor, fuel cap/lock set, dash, switch gear, headlight, valves lapped, wiring loom, battery, ignition coil. Was a 2018 lexmoto Viper bought brand new, I did normal maintenence but didn't do any major work on it to keep warranty but the warranty shop was terrible. Rear brake kept seizing up after the 3rd time the shop said they did a full brake rebuild but the front seized up with the rear not to long after it the shop had marred the pistons by pulling at them with vice grips. I had a new engine put in at 5000 miles because 3rd gear lost a tooth or multiple its unknown because they told me to just keep driving on it until a new engine came. Fuel gauge never worked I had the fuel level sensor replaced 3 times in the 1 year before giving up as where they put the ground wire on it it was exposed to the elements and wasn't replaceable. Fuel cap wasn't sealing properly so I got a new cap and lock set for the whole bike. I had the wheels replaced twice because the paint was flaking. New dash caused by the shop cracking the plastic letting water in. Shop replaced the light switch gear got replaced cause high beam stopped working and then replaced the headlight itself as that was the problem apparently. When the new engine was put in the shop didn't tighten the exhaust probably and the exhaust slowly became lose on one side, while it wasn't a large or noticeable gap they said they had to lap the valves but charged me. The bike started running rough they replaced the ignition coil and then the battery covid hit and I decided to fix it myself as warranty was almost up the shop had burst the protection around the wiring loom when the new engine was put in and over time water got in corroding it and that was the reason the bike ran rough I also replaced the brakes at that point and had no problems with them after that tbf
@@VegetaWinningsee for me it's like, I'm not against lexmoto as an idea, and i definitely don't lump all chinese bikes in the same pot (zontes seems great) but when i hear about things like the brakes seizing and stuff thats not acceptable in my opinion and i just wouldn't wanna risk it, its not on the same level as switchgear or paint/rust etc as i can get over that
@@Whoooan yeah I've talked to a good amount of people and it seems like it's either fine or a nightmare just depends on your luck. The brakes were the worst part of the bike constantly seizing sometimes only a week or so after I'd free them up or when the warranty place had freed them up, once I installed a new set after year and a half I didn't have a problem so could have been a bad set I'm not sure but 3rd gear losing teeth after 5000 miles was kinda when I knew it would be a nightmare. If your looking for a cheap bike for summer riding and not a lot of miles then sure it's a good choice I would get 210-250 miles out of 10-13l of petrol depending how I rode so was good on petrol and fun when it worked
@@VegetaWinning yeah for sure I'm probably gonna get myself a Honda cbf, they're not quick and there are cheaper bikes but they just work from what i hear, and sniff fuel
OK so I've had my Zontes ZT125-U since December 2020 and done 14000 miles and still rides like new. The current models run a larger rear sprocket taking a 112 520 chain where as mine has a 520 110 chain and because of this my bike cruises at 70 while sat bolt upright I've had 78 on the clock many times. I'm 6'2" 18 stone 19 with gear and bag and I fit fine. I have Michelin street pilots on now. I can easily get the pegs down even at slow speeds. It totally reliable no issues with the keyless system other than changing the fob battery every 6 months. In the time I've had only 2 bikes of its size have beat it a R125 on a dual carriageway flat out crawled past me and a custom RXS100 which is nuts. The bike is amazing a fairly trich especially as at the time it was 3 grand and the Duke 4500. Seriously build quality is very very high. Also the Eco button doesn't do anything on the 125 it only work on the 155 version sold in Asia but I get 105mpg and I rag it everywhere but if I chill I get about 130mpg. Also the dash has 5 dim settings.
Can you do an update on it?
Any updates on this bro
I'm considering exchanging my sinnis for one like yours due to the seat being too slim and a little too high for me and I'm 6ft 1.1/2
That 125 looks better than some bigger and more expensive bikes, and it even has some fancy features. And I'd love to see you go greenlaning with it, give some inspiration to the younger generation of bikers, I bet you could have some serious fun exploring with that bike.
For a tenth of a second she did hit the magical 70 👍
Yes. But in reality it'll have been more like 65-ish actual.
@@ReValveiT_01 yeah maybe but don't forget spicy is 6'4 🤣👍 so even 65mph is good for a 125
Hit a decent length hill and that'll quickly drop to 50 and require a downshift to hold. My only complaint about my G1 but I guess thats class-wide.
Always love the small bike reviews, hell just your reviews in general they're so chill.
I loved this bike. Got mine after my LXR let me down with it's reliability. I put 12000 miles on my U1 without a single issue, it was sad to see it go when I got my full license.
I have the road version the U on my L plate it has done about 600 miles no issue at all. I'm 5'7 and I can nearly flatfoot it so its great for shorter riders. Its honestly better quality than most Japanese 125's you get. Zontes are just as good as cfmoto
Haha. I got one and I can't quite flat foot it at 5'4 ;P
Is yours yellow? 😹 Can you wheelie yet? I'm having a hard time holding on. :(
@@dianarune9704 mines the black and red one, im sure you can lower it by a few centimeteres. Im too scared to wheelie lol
@@steve00alt70
I’m 5’6 and I really want this bike but I want it for delivery not sure if it would be suitable cause if you can’t flat foot if your 5’7, I’m not going to be able to and that’s going to be struggle for me while doing deliveries
I love the styling, reminds me a lot of my TW700. I'd prefer less of the farkels. Keyless start, the gas cap deal, the rear seat popper. Would be better to just put the cheap reliable stuff in its place and save the buyer some money.
My second 125, 4,000 miles on it so far and it's great! The 'light' switch on the right turns the button illumination on/off.
arrr thanks for the info with the lights, hard to see in the day.
A truly excellent review. Which is greatly appreciated. Thank you
That thing is faster than the Hawk 250 that I started on, and it looks great! Wouldn’t mind grabbing one to play on here in the states!
I’m very close to pulling the trigger on this bike I’m just not sure about the ride height I’m 5.6ft and a new rider.
This is my dream bike I’ve, I’m 16 at the moment I ride a 50cc lexmoto when I’m 17 I’m gonna get this bike.
you gotta try the mantis 125, budget budget zontes, the one im riding
Looking at this im 6ft and 18 stone this looks nimble as.
What I like about Zontes 125 cc bikes is size of fueltank with factory crash bars. Together with low consumtion these seems like nice choice for slow exploring without worry of running out of fuel or destroying it, if you drop it. Only things which would worry me if we speak about exploring is exhaust height.
I do off-road exploring on the south coast of Spain, so it's rocky terrain with big holes and rocks. The exhaust height has never even come close to being an issue for me. I'm 170 tall and 75 kg. Maybe this helps :)
20L tank on my Zontes G1 - Get roughly 400 miles between fills at 100 mpg.
@@FloormanagerValencia my concern was water not holes.
@@daddystu7046 At 100 mpg it should do more, your consuption cannot be 100 mpg. With that consuption it should do over 500, so consumption is 70-100 mpg I suppose depending on how and where you ride.
@@michalviktorin6758 Have calculated the mpg precisely over successive fills using receipt and miles covered - it is perhaps surprisingly a very consistent 100 mpg varying very little whether hilly or flat. I dont run it until empty - fill up when its on last bar.
Used to have one. It was an alright bike but I could never fall in love with it like other bikes. It was just missing something
I hope its a trend these cheaper bikes are actually moving away from linked brakes and actually using ABS. Really hate the linked break system that was on my LXR and Sinnis
Id rather have the Zontes, than the more expensive Japanese bikes anyday, it looks better, swing arm looks great and tubeless spoked wheels look fantastic...Nice one Spicy 🙂
What do you think the low gears would be like on a reasonably dry green lane?
I'd love to test ride one as I ride a big old & heavy Motor Guzzi V50 at the moment
I love my u1 125, I drive her in Valencia and she is so compact and light. I'm 170 cm tall and I can tip toe both feet or flat 1 foot. One question though, what is that whirling sound while driving? I was wondering if my bike was damaged but you have it too
I believe that would be air induction sound. Likely made lounder by the pair valve going to the airbox.
@@spicy110 Aah that makes sense, thank you for the awnser!
Is this bike suitable for long tours? The situation would be long rides, sometimes on Highway sometimes off-road. Since it is a keyless bike, how good does it handle against some not-dry situations, performance as well as circuitry wise. Will the PKE hold against harsh weather conditions?
I see no issues with the weather and keyless however 125cc bikes are never ideal for long distances on 70mph roads as they will be flat out the whole time.
Like it, it's the same colour scheme as my bike.
Can you do a Review on the Aprilia SR GT 125
I love your reviews. I'd like your review on sinnis terrain 125cc
What jacket are you wearing in this video? Looks good.
th-cam.com/video/8Xk0z9qzpbQ/w-d-xo.html
@spicy110 how does it compare to the Sinnis Terrain 125? Honestly?
is it just me or, if you put some road tyres on that bike and it's just a low seat (800mm seat height) supermoto?
You tried to hit 70 while it was in eco mode turn it of to see if it actually makes a difference
I have tested that button on other models, I can't tell the difference and I can tell you it did not make any difference in all the miles after that to top speed.
No difference. Wonder if the S mode is actually on the ECU just disabled for the UK.
Something i wish the US had was more 125 really the only game in town here is Honda with the Grom and that bike is way too small for me at 5' 6" 300cc are about the smallest you can get here in the US from most of the bike makers, or 50cc scooters are common here to but so many people drive them on roadway that are over 50 MPH and hold up traffic.
we all wish for that extra inch 🤣, i do like a Zontes, thanks for the review
How is the suspension
20:42
Just as you were giving up and, rightly, watching the road; just about hit 70mph. Sounds better saying top speed is 69 though 😃
Seen one on a Dyno , well the g1. 10.4bhp 😂. Plus their weight , I think really does impact the performance. Had an old sinnis 10 bhp very bad gearing , everything clonky . Weighed 114kg . Would hit 70 . The weight of the zontes is like carrying a small passenger, plus a full tank in that so much extra weight.
ANDY SILLS!!!!!!!
I would have jumped through hoops for a package as compelling as that in my teenage years! I wouldn’t say no now right enough!😂
Is this reliable?
ive been looking into getting me a surron road legal. i know youve covered a lot of e bikes on the channel so guess youre more clued up on it. i want something road legal that i can stick in the van and take to do some green laning / light off road. are there any other bikes i should be considering??
Honestly, if you have a van there are so many options. I would suggest something like a 125-250cc single-cylinder dirt bike of some sort. But I will also say none of them will be as easy to get in that van as a Surron.
I think spicy Might be 6ft4
I got the Zontes ZT350 T for £4699 OTR
Nice looking bike
Don't we all wish for an extra inch.😂 20:21
I just got one
Only reviewer I know of that will take the time to get the bovine 🐄 opinion of a new bike 😆👍.
PS: Might be time for new and improved brake pads on the the DR-Z !?😉.
Tbh after the pain my lexmoto was don't think I'd get another bike from a Chinese manufacturer
Lexmoto is a different brand, if you class all bikes made there the same then most of the "Japanese" 125cc bikes are off the cards as they are also made there. Out of interest what were the issue and did you buy it new?
@@spicy110 yeah I know it's a different brand and that same factorys are used for a lot of bikes I did love the bike but felt like it was in the shop more then the road until I gave up on warranty. All was within about a year
Tldr part of the problem was lexmoto the other part was the warranty shop as they were a van rental and it was easily seen in their work: Brakes, engine, fuel level sensor, fuel cap/lock set, dash, switch gear, headlight, valves lapped, wiring loom, battery, ignition coil.
Was a 2018 lexmoto Viper bought brand new, I did normal maintenence but didn't do any major work on it to keep warranty but the warranty shop was terrible. Rear brake kept seizing up after the 3rd time the shop said they did a full brake rebuild but the front seized up with the rear not to long after it the shop had marred the pistons by pulling at them with vice grips. I had a new engine put in at 5000 miles because 3rd gear lost a tooth or multiple its unknown because they told me to just keep driving on it until a new engine came. Fuel gauge never worked I had the fuel level sensor replaced 3 times in the 1 year before giving up as where they put the ground wire on it it was exposed to the elements and wasn't replaceable. Fuel cap wasn't sealing properly so I got a new cap and lock set for the whole bike. I had the wheels replaced twice because the paint was flaking. New dash caused by the shop cracking the plastic letting water in. Shop replaced the light switch gear got replaced cause high beam stopped working and then replaced the headlight itself as that was the problem apparently. When the new engine was put in the shop didn't tighten the exhaust probably and the exhaust slowly became lose on one side, while it wasn't a large or noticeable gap they said they had to lap the valves but charged me. The bike started running rough they replaced the ignition coil and then the battery covid hit and I decided to fix it myself as warranty was almost up the shop had burst the protection around the wiring loom when the new engine was put in and over time water got in corroding it and that was the reason the bike ran rough I also replaced the brakes at that point and had no problems with them after that tbf
@@VegetaWinningsee for me it's like, I'm not against lexmoto as an idea, and i definitely don't lump all chinese bikes in the same pot (zontes seems great) but when i hear about things like the brakes seizing and stuff thats not acceptable in my opinion and i just wouldn't wanna risk it, its not on the same level as switchgear or paint/rust etc as i can get over that
@@Whoooan yeah I've talked to a good amount of people and it seems like it's either fine or a nightmare just depends on your luck. The brakes were the worst part of the bike constantly seizing sometimes only a week or so after I'd free them up or when the warranty place had freed them up, once I installed a new set after year and a half I didn't have a problem so could have been a bad set I'm not sure but 3rd gear losing teeth after 5000 miles was kinda when I knew it would be a nightmare.
If your looking for a cheap bike for summer riding and not a lot of miles then sure it's a good choice I would get 210-250 miles out of 10-13l of petrol depending how I rode so was good on petrol and fun when it worked
@@VegetaWinning yeah for sure I'm probably gonna get myself a Honda cbf, they're not quick and there are cheaper bikes but they just work from what i hear, and sniff fuel
“Happy cruizing speed at 65”. That 125cc was holding the last breath, while touching the redline😃. This is called torture, not a happy cruising
what the heck is a Zontes?