OK, so I'm sitting in my car on the M3, stationary (again). This time it takes 3 hours before the motorway is cleared and I can continue my daily commute to work. Meanwhile, bikes are whizzing down the space between the cars never to be seen again. 

While I'm there, I work out that it's taking longer and longer to get to work each morning. It's up to about 90 minutes each way, each day. It used to take 60 minutes and if you do get an especially clear day then the journey from Acton to Basingstoke can be done in an hour. 

Thinking about the bikes zooming past, they aren't affected by the traffic, they'll be able to do the trip in an hour. So, an hour saved each working day, that's what, about 230 hours a year. Ok so how far does 230 hours get me. I sleep 8 hours a day so 16 waking hours, that's 14 days per year. Lets say I work till 65, i'm 29 so another 36 years, that's 504 days! Thats a year and 4 months! A year and 4 months of my life spent sitting in traffic! F*ck me! 

I'll be f*cked if i'm spending a year in traffic. That weekend I go round the various bike shops I've looked up. My journey is 45 miles each way, 450 miles a week. I need something reliable, with warranty. I like the Suzuki GN 125, until I come across the Sym Wolf 125. Electric starter and a fuel gauge! It was also 800 quid cheaper than the competition at £1400. 

So who are Sym? They make scooters and a couple of small bikes, they also make cars for Honda so they have a close relationship with them. The Wolf 125 looks just like an older model of CG125. Speaking of which, I have recently seen adverts for brand new retro looking CG125s at £1400 and the pics look exactly like the Wolf. I strongly suspect that they are the same bike.

So I do my CBT and buy a Wolf to run around getting experience on L plates. 

Wolf... Sounds fast dunnit? No. Top speed is 62.5mph (100kph) unless you are going down a steep hill. I think I got it over 70 a couple of times on one of the hills on the A30 but that's about it. Good thing too because the front and rear *drum* brakes have to be applied well in advance of where you wish to stop.

One thing the Wolf does have though is a *fantastic* sound. It sounds like a huge bike, it can't possibly be legal. It sounds much nicer than my Bandit. It's great pulling up to lights and switching down gears, brrrrrrmmmm, brrrrmmm, brrm, brrrrmm. :) 

OK so what do I like about it? It sounds fantastic. It does 80mpg flat out at 60 mph. It's cheap. It's very good for going through town traffic. It's light and has a relaxed sitting position. 

What do I not like about it? The f*cking electrics are crap. It eats bulbs. It's been fairly well behaved recently, I think it's related to the 45mile journeys but FFS, don't pop a tail light at night on an unlit motorway. The bike is really too light and small for longer/motorway journeys. i.e. the kind I was using it for. It bounces and the front feels very light. Crosswinds are terrifying. The seat becomes painful after about half an hour and there's a point just above 30mph where the exhaust note is at exactly the resonant frequency of some cavity in my head. 

The tyres are hard commuting rubber and feel slippy at anything but completely upright, especially in the wet. The fuel cap has no lock on it but that's a niggle. Too much chrome for the UK. The chrome'll cause the underlying steel to corrode quickly when it gets wet. I have noticed that all the chrome bits are easily removable though. 

The shifting pattern is not the same as for other bikes. The pattern is N -> 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 on the way up. That makes shifting up easy but it's more difficult to find 1st when pulling up to lights, the neutral light isn't 100% effective. The brake lever has to be pulled quite hard to activate the tail light and doesn't seem to be adjustable. The foot brake switch is adjustable. The speedo and odometer are also in km/h rather than mph so it's an import but "it is an official import". 

It's a 125 so it is not fast. I think it's about 10hp and that's fine, it doesn't pretend to be anything else. Fine for learning on and short commutes in town but nothing more. I've done 6000 km on mine in 4 months and it's survived. 

Oh yeah, the insurance companies hadn't heard of the bike though they might have now and quoted as if it was some sort of a superbike. I went for the manufacturers insurance. 

Anyway I have since passed my test and bought a Bandit 600 (f*ck that's a fast bike :) ) for commuting on the motorway.