One of the unsung heroes of last year’s show circuit was Honda’s CB125X. It was small, cute, and in many markets, highly functional.
But as it doesn’t really suit North American riders, nobody here paid much attention to it. Maybe we should have, because it seems like Honda might be preparing to put it into production.
Reports out of Europe say Honda’s now gone to the hassle of filing to protect the design of the CB125X. That’s no guarantee of actual production, but it does show Honda is taking its machine seriously.
The CB125X is not based on the Grom’s engine, but on the engine from Honda’s CB125R. The CB125R is no longer sold in Canada, but its equivalents are still very popular machines in other markets, where a 125 is considered a fairly decent bike and a 250 is a real hairy-chested man’s machine! Specs are hard to come by, but the CB125X at least appears to have decent fuel capacity, and certainly has an edgy design. One interesting design feature is the triple headlights: a single beam in the standard position over the front wheel, and two more tucked away into the bodywork.
The CB125X was designed by Honda’s Italian subsidiary, as well as a supermoto version of the same platform, but feedback hasn’t been as excited for the su-mo, and we haven’t seen any design protection filed yet for that machine.
Would the CB125X make it to Canada, if it enters production? It’s highly unlikely, but the CBR125 did make it to our market for several years.
Last summer I decided to try dual sport riding and purchased a 2018 Kawi KLX 250. From Calgary I have to ride 60-100 km on pavement to get to gravel. The 250 was generally good for 2 lane roads, but uphill and/or into the wind it struggled to keep up when there was a 100 speed limit. It felt a little dangerous on divided highways with a 110 speed limit. This bike would be fine if you trailered it to the dirt, but then buy a dirt bike. I only weight 150 lbs, a 125 is just too small. For long distance dual sport the 250 was too small for me, fine locally. I think a 450 would be perfect, but the Honda is too tall. Still waiting. It would be popular, therefore lets sell 250’s or ancient 650’s, or big heavy bikes. No thanks. Cam
I’m guessing it’ll be made and assembled in Thailand with some parts manufactured in China for the growing middle-class in that region like the CBR250rr twin and exported to other parts of the world because of the growing ADV culture.
Although being a Honda Italy project for the European market it is most likely what will happen. I must admit that i was a bit worried with my CBR being made there at the time but built quality was very good for the price and had no reliability issues at all. I will not hesitate a second to buy another made in Thailand bike.
I agree. The CBR’s and Honda scooters from the Thailand are great.
It looks like fun, but a lot would depend on the price. The original CBR125R for Canada sold well because in was inexpensive, indestructible, and maintenance as well as spare parts are cheap. Let’s hope Honda Canada takes a chance.
The CB125R is £600 and the X could cost an extra £300 so could be between $4,500-$5,000 (if not more) in Canada. The CBR was 10 years ago so we must not forget inflation as well as the slightly higher specs of the X. I really hope Honda would take the chance and i would buy one even if over $5,000, after all i bought the CBR125R when i arrived in Canada. Honda could also make a 300 version since the CB125/300 share the same frame and suspension.