Honda XR125L > Reviews > Does exactly what it says on the tin - and more!!

Author's product rating:   

Comfort	Excellent
Handling	Excellent
Looks	Good
Features	Satisfactory
Fuel consumption	Excellent

Advantages:	Price, low running costs, reliability and cheap insurance
Disadvantages:	Lack of top end speed

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Great bike, little money and a whole lot of fun!

Thats the XR125L summed up in a few words, but let me go a little bit more indepth!

When I first bought mine, I went into a honda show room looking for a CBR125R but when I seen this beside it, I literally laughed at how small the CBR is in comparison to this bike - I read review sites for the CBR and no one listed the height of it, or maybe I ignored it because it looked okay in the pictures!

This little package of joy is a mean looking learner legal machine, guys on big bikes won't believe it's a 125 due to the height and road presence that comes with it.

I've had mine for almost 2 years and have not had a spot of bother even though I've put 10,000 miles on it from new, just a new set of tires and a bulb replacement, which is of minimal cost.

The tires on these machines are great, very grippy and allow for a good angle on the twisties, the suspension is great - you never feel a bump on the road and most of all the fuel economy is outstanding! I get over 100mpg on my little bike - this appeals to first timers and full time bikers who may use it for a bit of commuting, which it does perfectly! I've had several guys who own big bikes drive this for a while and they couldn't believe the comfort of this bike!

But through out this comes some bad points! And trust me, I'm using as fine tooth comb here as I find it hard to fault!

The engine has a very cheap laquer put on it, on most of these you may notice the engine turning a little greyer throughout use.

The bike doesn't have a great top end (65 - 70mph), however the accelleration is really good on it up to about 50mph.

There is no fuel gauge - not that big of a deal considering I only fill mine up once every fortnight with 5 quid of petrol, driving it each day for commuting a few miles and other odd runs.

But the worst one compared to all these is that there's no ash trays or cup holders and no room for a baby seat! Joking, I'm not that mad! But I hope this shows you how the points I listed aren't that bad!

Overall I'd give this bike a 8.5/10 - which is me being incredibly hard on it.