My motorcycle is a 1987 Suzuki GS125, otherwise known as “The EPOS 125” (The Embarrassing Piece Of Sh*t 125).
It has 5 gears which are at times selectable and is chain drive with little rear suspension and stock forks minus the fork oil that leaked out months ago. In true EPOS style the engine is a carburetted 125cc thumper with at least 20% of factory compression. The single front disk looks quite feeble however considering the state of the other components, it seems to balance things out nicely.
The stock can has been left on this bad boy as when I fire it up on a Sunday morning, the missus hears it and thinks I’m doing the whippa-snipping ….. this works in my favour when explaining my need to go to the pub later that day.
In the carpark:
The short-throw mirrors provide two distinct advantages:
Can squeeze between cars in tight spots
Can admire my shoulders and make sure there isn’t any bird cr*p on that part of my jacket
On the open road:
Brilliant on the open road….. as long as that open road doesn’t have a speed limit over 60km/h and as long as the destination is within 7km of your starting point. The engine is very happy at redline…. It has to be… it’s the only place for it to sit if you are looking for a sense of inertia.
The gear box is well matched to the engine in both age and wear and if you manage to find neutral….. you know you wont be able to again for at least a week. The cheese-cutter tyres offer zero assurance when going round a corner… but I guess any bike should be able to provide a buzz somehow. To make speed quickly you just have to ride off a cliff. The mirrors are still an advantage on the open road, both to check for bird cr*p on your jacket, and as you will never have that moment of terror before a semi runs over you from behind…. You will be blissfully ignorant until its all over.
In the hills:
There are no problems with riding downhill, in fact, this is the only time the bike can go over 60km/h. Uphill however is a different story and can be approached with one of 2 techniques. In both cases first gear must be selected and maximum throttle applied.
Method 1 centres around redlining the bike with regular break intervals on the side of the road for the machine to cool down (say every 400m).
Method two involves assisting the 125 thumper’s engine by providing some complementary forward propulsion in a Fred Flintstone type manner. This way there is a slightly less load on the motor and you should be able to go at least 1km uphill before resting the engine and your feet.
Commuting:
The small profile of the bike and it’s drab colour scheme means you are effectively invisible to 65% of the cities drivers. This provides a frequent adrenaline rush that as riders, we all know and love. The bike responds after a while to both steering and throttle inputs, and if applied with significant skill, it can perform just enough to get you to your destination without becoming a victim of road rage.
Reliability:
The bike has done 15,000k’s of which I have done 3,000. Just like Brad’s Guzzi, I have never had a break down.
Overall rating:
This motorcycle is a epitomises the EPOS category of bike, based on the fact that it does actually get me from A to B it gets a point, and because it hasn’t broken down it gets a point.
Rating 2 / 10.
By Warwick Clarke.