Hey guys,
Just doing a quick review because I feel that the sub-250 market is a bit of a nightmare, and I think I've discovered something that seems to be proving extremely good value for money. I bought this bike because I'm doing some couriering on it, so it needs to be extremely reliable, cheap on gas, good on shitty surfaces, and relatively hardy.
The bike:
It's a Honda NXR125, from what I can tell it's assembled somewhere in South America, most likely Brazil, it uses the same engine as the CB125 (which is apparently extremely reliable). Has very soft suspension, drum brakes, and a very upright sitting position. For a chicken chaser it doesn't look terrible in my opinion. I kind of like the exhaust on it too which is rare for a non-motard dirt-commuter bike.
The engine: Well when I first picked it up I was quite surprised that a brand new bike would rattle quite as much as it did when using most of the throttle. It seems to have settled a bit since the break in, but Dave at Botany Honda said that it was carby noise, I'm not sure myself what it is, but have since gotten used to it. It's pretty gutless, but will give an FXR150 a run for it's money up to the speed limit. It maxes out when drafting at about 115k/hr, but could sit at 100 all day, but if you've got a head wind going up hill it will struggle to pull 80k/hr without a draft.
It's a single cylinder, so you don't need to worry about synchronising any carbs, and it's air cooled so there's no radiator or water levels to keep an eye on. It's great for no worries riding, only need to keep an eye on the oil, and after 1800km's on mine I haven't noticed it using any.
The gas mileage is very impressive, I'm getting pretty much 30km/l out of it while couriering in central auckland, so you'd be hard pressed to use any more than that.
Also note that it is a kick start only, and in some respects that is an advantage, cause it's another thing that you just don't need to worry about failing on this bike.
One thing that I'm not too fond of is the lack of revmeter, but I suppose with the way the power is delivered, with power dropping off as you gain revs, you kind of know where to stop revving it.
The suspension: Well it has long range farmbike forks, and a 19" front wheel, so it is the perfect kerb jumper for us unruly couriers. And surprisingly it corners extremely well, I'm getting it right over with the pegs touching the ground every now and then on the standard rubber, and I haven't had any worries, even cornering hard on rough surfaces is fine cause the softness soaks it all up. Also I'm getting better at going down stairs all the time. Did the stairs from Macleans College down to Eastern Beach today, a bit tricky because the spacing of the steps was just wrong for the bike, but on some steps it almost feels like you are riding down a ramp.
The brakes: It has front and rear drums that aren't hugely effective, but in those emergency situations you just have to press really hard on them to haul it up. I think an advantage of drums is that they last longer than disc's, so for couriering its pretty good, one less thing to worry about wearing out too fast. Don't even think about stoppying... No chance.
The price: Well at $3500 for a brand new bike that has heaps of advantages over it's road counterparts, it's hard to go wrong. The next step up, being a 250 dirt-commuter will cost twice that.
Summary: Great for commuting, saving money, cornering and stairs and kerbs, bush tracks, and even taking a pillion. Not so great for stopping, or going really fast. But all in all I really enjoy riding it. It is the cheapest freedom money can buy, and it looks alright too. Somehow it hasn't even let me drop it yet, so it has impressed the pants off of me. If you want to be a good or great rider or racer and look cool, get a CBR250RR or NSR250, if you want cheap, fun, freedom get yourself one of these.
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Originally Posted by Grant81
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