New Honda 125/250 for Canada?

[BBC]

The 250 is a good idea and will sell well here if Honda can actually get a dealer network in place that works. The 150 upgrade might be better then the 125 if that converts into more top-end. I had heard that the problem with the 400 is that the bikes come out only a few hundred off the cost of a 600 and no one sees the value at that price point. But the 250 is a winner for all of the reasons that the Ninja 250 sells.

[toshison]

I doubt it'll make it (cost reasons) to North American shores, but KTM has a sweet 125 just launching: http://125duke.com/


That'd be one heckuva urban all-rounder.

Now that is a bike to be excited about! Well done KTM.

I love small displacement bikes but was never crazy about the smaller sportbikes like the CBR125 or 250R. They aren't so great if you are a large person. This KTM looks like a wicked little street bike.

[mxs]

Nevertheless, the narrow tires are not as stable in straight line and more prone to be affected by wind gusts, pot holes, street car tracks, etc.

Yet people ride bicycles with narrow tires in wind, do they not? By your logic they'd must be falling down like rotten apples off a tree. It's a myth that a lot of people think that somehow narrow tire means unstable. Are you telling me that your old 250 had trouble dealing with pot holes or street car tracks??

Sure, you get better selection of quality rubber when you ride bike with wider tires, but that's a whole other question ....

[Brian P]

Specs for the next CBR150 (same chassis as CBR125 ...) are out, and they're indicating the use of wider tires than the outgoing model - 100/80-17 front, 130/70-17 rear. (Compare to 80/90-17 front, 100/80-17 rear.)

Source (admittedly not straight from Honda): http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/...honda-cbr150r/

Even the outgoing CBR125 benefits a lot from having modern tires installed on it. I'm using the CBR Cup race tires on mine. These require a bit of juggling with ride heights to get the steering feel right, but that done, the blend of stability, grip, and steering feedback is phenomenal.

[motomike]

100/80-17 front, 130/70-17 rear. (Compare to 80/90-17 front, 100/80-17 rear.)

At that new tire size, isn't it a bit over kill. Wont that take away from the nimbleness of the bike, and effect performance negatively?

[Brian P]

Probably, but everyone wants "that look" ... It's probably not a bad match. The current CBR125 (and CBR150) could use a bit more stability, and this should provide it.

[mxs]

I alwasy thought that once you put the cup's Pirelli's or even MT75s on the the CBR's stock rim there was no stability issues. Heck, I didn't have any stability issues with the crappy stock tires ....

[killerkeith]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFqAcWmAmFs

[DemonPig]

Yet people ride bicycles with narrow tires in wind, do they not? By your logic they'd must be falling down like rotten apples off a tree. It's a myth that a lot of people think that somehow narrow tire means unstable. Are you telling me that your old 250 had trouble dealing with pot holes or street car tracks??

Sure, you get better selection of quality rubber when you ride bike with wider tires, but that's a whole other question ....

Logic? The less of a contact patch, the less stable the vehicle is. No myth dude. Just science.
And yes I'm telling you that my old 250 was much worse with tracks, cracks, snakes and such for the simple reason that a narrow tire will follow more... What's so hard to understand? I rode bikes from a CBR125 to RC51. And the wider the tire, the more stable but harder to throw. According to your brilliant theory, width of the tire doesn't change anything...

[Karateman]

Another thumbs up for the KTM 125 Duke.

I have the WR250X Super Motard and can tell you it is the most fun on 2 wheels I've ever had! And I've owned many many 600cc to 1000cc sportbikes in the past 10 yrs. to know. Once you get alittle older, been thru the speeding/street racing days, accumulated too many speeding tickets...one begins to value their life and license abit more than the thrill of speed.

Sure, a 250cc lacks the power of the bigger displacement machines, but it's not all about bhp. It's about handling and sheer pleasure of winding down that twisty and the wind in your face. Best of all you tend to slow down with a 250cc as you know cops can out gun you. Remember, it only takes 50 over to be nailed for street racing! So in summary, I would love to own a 250cc sportbike, but neither the Ninja 250 nor the Honda 250, but rather the Yamaha 250 in the same dimensions to the YZF-R6. Yes, it's available in Europe and Asia, but not here

[mxs]

Logic? The less of a contact patch, the less stable the vehicle is. No myth dude. Just science.
And yes I'm telling you that my old 250 was much worse with tracks, cracks, snakes and such for the simple reason that a narrow tire will follow more... What's so hard to understand? I rode bikes from a CBR125 to RC51. And the wider the tire, the more stable but harder to throw. According to your brilliant theory, width of the tire doesn't change anything...

Sure it does make difference but not to the extent you make it sound like and not for the reasons you mentioned. The smaller bikes have narrow tires for a reason. Only an idiot would wish to have tires on small bikes as wide as the bigger bikes require. There's no stability issues due to the tires width.

Lets say we disagree. You enjoy what you've got and I will enjoy what I've got ....

[flipone]

Does anyone have any idea when the ktm 125 is releasing in Canada?

[Brian P]

Does anyone have any idea when the ktm 125 is releasing in Canada?

No one knows if it will happen at all.

Couple tidbits. New CBR150 spotted in action (press intro in Thailand) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGH5rT5c5UM

Features http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFqAcWmAmFs

And this ... http://www.motorcycle.in.th/article....c-Combined-ABS

A 250cc "light sportsbike" that is to be introduced at the Milan show (early November) - exactly when the speculation is that the CBR250 is going to be introduced ... and complete with ABS???

That begs the question of what the price tag is going to be. But if Honda brings this to market with ABS and EFI, with 33 horsepower (due to a licensing restriction in Europe - this is the same power as the 250 Ninja, by the way), and with lighter weight than the 250 Ninja ... then single cylinder or not, they should have a hit on their hands, and with what Honda has gone through lately, it's about time!

[klr_guy]

Does anyone have any idea when the ktm 125 is releasing in Canada?

As Brian indicated, it's a big 'if' it will come at all. I mentioned it because I got an email from parkerbros, where it was indicated KTM was interested in the market, but needed to know price tolerance. I'd bet it won't arrive in Canada, but would be happy to lose that bet.

[flipone]

Thanks for the info. I'm just looking for options for my first bike and the ktm 125 looked like a great alternative.

[Claritza]

I guess i better wait !!!
just got my M2, and i want to buy a cbr125 but i am not to impressed with it ;(
Thanks for this info

[Comrade Yeti]

I guess i better wait !!!
just got my M2, and i want to buy a cbr125 but i am not to impressed with it ;(
Thanks for this info

What's not impressing you? I loved my CBR-125 as my first bike!

[Brian P]

Pictures and some specs of CBR250 are out.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Ne...-honda-cbr250/

Less power than expected (26 hp) but it's confirmed from the pictures that this bike will have ABS, and that is huge news in this market segment. Price or availability in Canada - not known.

[Syphen]

I think its very sharp. Hopefully it does come to fruition.

[Brian P]

CMGonline is saying that it's coming to Canada, either with or without ABS (option) ... but not in that sharp tricolour paint scheme! Only black, or a red scheme similar to the VFR1200.

Somehow, I think the VFR and CBR1000 styling touches (headlight, tail section, the shape of the radiator outlet in the side fairing) look better on this small bike than they do on the bigger bikes that the ideas came from. I'm not fussy about that huge muffler, but if that's what it takes to keep a single quiet, it is what it is.