For some strange reason, Honda has decided to announce an updated version of their CB125F after the EICMA and Intermot shows are done and gone.
The usual Japanese pattern for a naked bike is to just take a sport bike, peel off the fairings and offer it to the public at a few hundred bucks less than the fully-plasticized predecessor. That’s not what the new CB125F is, though – that’s a new air-cooled motor, not the liquid-cooled mill that powers the CBR125. The frame (steel, to keep costs down) is also all-new.
The machine rolls on 18-inch wheels now (previous version had 17-inchers). It has programmable EFI, and has a visual redesign that supposedly makes it look more muscular. Alas, those muscles have the strength of rubber bands – that motor isn’t a firebreather, by any means. At least curb weight is low, at 128 kg.
The front shocks are standard 120 mm units; the rear suspension is a dual-shock setup, with five preload adjustments.
Will the CB125F make it to Canada? The previous version didn’t come here, and we already have two Honda 125s … so we doubt it.
GALLERY
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Nice instruments with gear position indicator. I’m not a fan of digital speedos.
Centre stand is a nice touch and often a rarity today.
A contemporary designer’s cheesy flavour of the “muscular” with many small needless fantastic-plastic panels to hide the new metal. From the engineering dept; 18″ wheels, new frame, and a new motor. Man, just think what it could’ve looked like………. sigh. Makes an early 70’s CB100 look freakin’ awesome. This must be another fine example of product placement.
The plastic-fantastic look is designers’ way of hiding the cheapness, as far as I can tell. But it doesn’t fool anyone in the know.