Honda Keeps The 125s Rolling With Two New Concept Bikes At EICMA
If there's one thing we like more than all the new model
announcements at the EICMA show, it's the concept motorcycles that
get debuted at the show. Take for example these two little gems
from Honda's
Rome-based R&D center. Housed in Big Red's "Design Studio"
section of their EICMA display, Honda continued to show its love
for mini motos with the reveal of a 125cc ADV inspired bike, dubbed
the CB125X, as well as a 125cc supermoto called the CB125M.
Style-wise Honda's lineup of pint-sized petrol sippers already
covers the gamut of sporty to retro with the highly popular
Grom and recently (re)-introduced
Monkey and
Super Cub. So while these two bikes are only concepts they
would round out Honda's 125cc family nicely.
The Grom, Monkey, and Super Cub are all powered by Honda's 124.9cc,
air-cooled, single cylinder engine with a bore x stroke of 52.4mm x
57.9mm, have their own unique chassis features, and run on 12"
wheels. These two concepts are based on the company's Europe and
Asia only CB125R and sport 17" wheels. The CB125R is a small
displacement naked bike the features Honda's Neo Sports Café
styling and is powered by a liquid-cooled single with a bore x
stroke of 58mm x 47.2mm.
Featuring an aggressive fairing with a narrow wind screen shooting
straight towards the sky-a-la it's bigger distant relative the
Africa Twin-the front of the 125X screams ADV bike. However, the
125X's fairing has sharper and more angular lines. Lighting abounds
with a vertically mounted rectangular headlight sitting front and
high center on the fairing and two smaller triangular lights
flushed into the wings in either side.
The seating area on the CB125x fits the bill for offroading with
the rear of the seat angling slightly upward and the front
extending up on the tank a bike to provide the rider plenty of room
for maneuverability to traverse over difficult objects and terrain.
The requisite protection is in place for doing the dirty stuff as
well with fork guards, hand guards, and a skid plate covering the
exhaust header. While the tires aren't overly aggressive, they're
shoed onto spoked wheels and would be be suitable for exploring
fire roads and some moderate single track that isn't too muddy.
As for the CB125M concept, with its smooth and compact bodywork
hugging the frame it looks like a razor sharp pocket knife ready to
carve its way into some fun. The supermoto inspired machine is
minimal in just about every aspect to save weight and keep things
sleek. Even the hand guards provide just barely enough coverage to
protect the hands. The M also sports a skid plate and fork guards
like the X but instead of dual sport tires it's outfitted with a
pair of 17" slicks wrapped around the same set of cast aluminum
wheels found on the CB125R.
Again these are just concept bikes, so whether we will actually see
them hit the road or dirt is still to be determined. However, based
on the recent success of the smaller displacement bikes that are
hitting the market, and the fact that the Super Cub and Monkey were
recent concept bikes we just might be seeing these two sometime
soon.