Spec: 5 speed, wire spoked wheels, front disk brake, rear drum brake, black painted one-piece exhaust, 4-stroke single-cylinder 125cc engine, CV carburettor, fully electronic ignition, learner-legal. Max power @9500rpm, max torque @8000rpm.

Cost(when I last looked!): £1700 (grey), £2200 (British)

Plus points:
Has a useful gear selection indicator so learner riders can see which gear they are in. Very forgiving handling. Parts are so cheap they give them away with Cornflakes. 100mpg when ridden correctly :-) , 140mpg when ridden very carefully on icy roads. Can just about handle motorways. Will pull from tickover yet doesn't mind being given a few revs now and then. Has a side stand for ease of use and a sturdy centre stand for things like oiling the chain. You can give it beans and still retain your licence, which is a good thing seeing as you will probably only just have received it if you are riding one of these machines. Rear suspension is a doddle to adjust, as is the headlight aim. Cheap to run and insure so you can save up and afford something really nice rather than blowing the lot on something shite after your expensive DAS course.

Minus points:
The wiring is made from very poor quality copper and prone to breaking causing intermittent faults. The switches are ok but suffer in v.cold weather unless pampered with WD40 and a blanket. The fuel tank has a recess below the filler cap which holds water in just the right place to be sucked in through the tank breather holes. If bought from new don't wait for the tyres to wear out, replace them immediately with Metzler ME22's or Continental CC1's. The original chain and sprocket seem to be made from a very soft metal, replace with a decent set and it will outlive the original crap at least 5 times! The handling is too soft and vague. The black exhaust rusts at the slightest sign of moisture and rattles like a bastard after 20,000Km. The starter interlock switch (must hold down clutch before starter switch works) wont work in frosty weather so carry a piece of cable to run straight from the battery to the starter.

Overall:
Handling is flexible but forgiving, maintenance is necessary but very easy, parts are cheap but rust easily unless looked after. A very economical machine if ridden gently, still fairly economical if ridden properly. Fit a remote fuel tank breather and block off the breather in the filler cap otherwise you'll be draining the fuel tank each month and cleaning out the carburettor to avoid full-power flutters. Has a strong and flexible engine and a gearbox which doesn't care two hoots whether you use the clutch or not. Watch out for the little rust traps on the frame beneath the seat, smear with grease at the earliest opportunity.

Note:
The only failure on my machine so far is the orange power feed wire coming from the ignition switch which broke inside the wiring loom beneath the fuel tank so there was intermittent operation of the gear indicator lights and the horn. It turns out that the orange wire from the switch is split into five wires within the loom but the wiring is so cheap and brittle that it broke. Very confusing until I worked out which wiring diagram I should have been looking at!