Afternoon all

Just joined and thought I would say hello. I am currently a car driver but as swmbo and I each have a car and cant afford to run both anymore I volunteered to bike to work having a full bike license as I do. I dont want a geared bike so im looking around to see what my meagre budget of sub 2k will buy me. I was going to go for a Honda PCX125 but they are pretty small. There seems to be a good choice of Piaggio X9 125 & 250`s within budget are they any good ?

Hello and Welcome to the

Hi and welcome never had a Piaggio myself but others here have. I've had a PCX and would have one again for commute that was not too far.

I have a Piaggio X9 250.

However on X9OC someone is selling a X9 125 for £850.

Hi and welcome aboard.

Welcome

If you find the PCX a bit small (underpowered too for a 125) how about the S-Wing 125?
Loads of storage and weather protection, more road presence and bullet proof

Have you considered a Honda 125 Pantheon? I had one of those and found it comfortable, reasonably fast (65-70mph) very good on fuel, good on storage - I also had a top box - and with good weather protection. They're within your budget too. There's a few on eBay at the moment.

If you have a full licence I would advise a 250 over a 125 every time. 125's are fine for town or city riding but will slow down significantly on hills and into headwinds.
I have one of each and to be honest the 250 uses less fuel than the 125 as at main road speeds the 250 is hardly stressed with the throttle about half way open whereas the 125 is at full throttle.

Sym GTS250 or Kymco Xciting 250 are both worth a look if you can find a decent one.
There's at least one of each for sale on MCN, although the Kymco is listed as a 500.
I have a PCX and commute 27 miles each way on it.
I don't mind it's limitations regarding top speed (62mph flat out) instead I thoroughly enjoy it's fuel economy.
Nearly all of my commute is done on the open road at an indicated 55-60mph at which it consistently averages 95-100mpg.
Saying that, I would not recommend one for anything other than an urban runabout where it's size, acceleration, manoeverability and handling truly shine.