Honda CBF125 Ride Impression.
Took a 2010 CBF125f for a short run today. Hamilton Honda have 3 of these all ex riding school and priced under 2g. The one I disappeared on, had 3,000k on the clock. The front mudguard had taken a beating, but everything else was straight and tidy.
I am 172 in height and the riding position was spot on. Very little body weight on the bars, foot pegs below my knees, it felt more like a 250 size than a 125.
The motor is fuel injected and very quiet. These motors like to rev and I reckon a modified exhaust would bring out a nice snarl as the engine opens up. A light clutch and the bike pulls away with little more than idling speed. The gear shift was light and I never found any false neutrals . There isn't a lot of engine torque and you simply watch the speedo climbing as you change through the gears without any real sense of being thrown back in the seat. With no rev counter or gear position indicator, it is ride by your pants stuff. The engine gave no real sense of reving. There was little vibration, just some tingling through the footpegs. 50kph down Massey st and in 5th it didnt appear to be straining at all.
On the Whatawhata road leaving Hamilton I cracked the throttle open, and waited.. and waited... and waited. Looking down, the speedo was reading 90kph. I have no idea where that came from. Buttoned off to 70, changed down and opened it up again. Same thing, the bike was purring along at 90k just no ' V Max ' kick in the pants rush. Without a rev counter it was hard to judge how fast the motor was working, but through the gears, it pulled away smoothly enough. On the speedo there are tiny markers indicating the maximum speed in each gear. I guess thats as close to a redline as you will get. I never tried for those limits as the motor is still tight and wringing its neck isn't my style.
I loved riding this bike. The light weight made corners a breeze. In fact, I went through Whatwhata and turned left down the Te Pahu road to find some corners. This bike felt so quick through what corners I could find, I was having a ball, when I remembered this was just a test ride, not mine to keep riding on so reluctantly turned around and made my way back. I would imagine that the tyres are fairly basic and okay for town riding but, I would be putting some sports tyres on and going looking for the tight stuff on the back roads.
Most would buy this for city riding, It doesn't have the legs for open highway running but on the back country roads this liitle sports bike would be a blast in the corners. I'd love to take it around my favourite loop, Kawhia Waitomo, At 3,000k, the motor still feels tight so I didn't force it to run any harder than it felt happy to do so. 80 - 90kph it purred along. I imagine that 110-120kph might be obtainable with a bit more running in. The ride was great ( after the scooter suspension ), and trying to push the 125 through what corners I could find, had me grinning from ear to ear. The front disc brake was brilliant. Two fingers on the lever and it pulled up fast. The rear brake didn't seem to do much, but that may be a simple adjustment.
Having covered 17,000k in 16 months on my 100cc scooter, I could have a ball on this 125. The lack of supersonic speeds doesn't worry me. Having fun that is affordable is what my riding is about these days.
Now, to have a wee word with the wife when she comes home. For $2000 this bike is a lot of fun.
" Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"
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Originally Posted by frogfeaturesFZR
Nowadays, I'm a one 'bike' man. Bike, woman, can only afford one of each these days.
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