Honda NS 125R

Road Test

The NS125R is Italian in many ways. First off, Italy is the country of manufacture of this stylish little roadster; it's also where the 125 market is most hotly disputed between manufacturers, native and foreign. Italy has very restrictive import tariffs to favour Italian manufacturers, so to get round these Honda set up a manufacturing base in Italy. Hence the NS125R is Italian in everything but in name. Still, the bike loses nothing being from Italy and gains in the form of Marzocchi front and rear suspension, Dellorto carburation and looks that are geared towards a style-conscious market - Italian youth.

On last reports only the piston and the electrics were made outside Italy - all of it is assembled there - so the obstinate aspects of Italian motorcycling should not afflict the NS125R. It's unlikely anyway that as large a multi-national concern as Honda would manufacture a product where either people or machinery were below standard; on the latter front, Italian machine tools and manufacturing techniques are now amongst the most advanced in Europe.

The NS125R is really only a much better looking version of the NS125. An important aspect of any motorcycle's success, this is especially true of the 125 class. After all, if you can't buy performance, why not buy looks? Available in red or white it is unashamedly based on the looks of the VFR750 and quite a few lay-persons refused to believe it was a 125 until proved otherwise. And what's wrong with that? If riders a few years older can get off on bikes that are race replicas, then why can't learners have the same visual thrills from passers by and shop windows? I enjoyed them anyway.

Stroke 250 - well almost. But once gotten used to, the engine characteristics are perhaps more like a 'normal' bike than may at first appear. With the power band of 2000rpm kept to the Honda can be raced along the right roads, with the bonus that you're unlikely to be breaking any speed limits drastically. Thanks to f lickable handling and brilliant brakes, the revs can be kept up and the NSR behaves like any sports bike with a narrow power band and a chassis that will take all required of it.

Hills are a problem though. With the power dropping off embarrassingly at 8000rpm (it simply won't rev above that) it can all come down to earth with a slow bike and frustrated rider on a long incline. An unpredictable surface will not make the NSR jump badly as the bike is so light, anything the Pro-Link Marzocchi can't cope with is only felt as a Lawsonesque 'blip'. Basically, the bike is safe in that there's so little weight to upset things. The single disc with twin-piston caliper up front is, as already mentioned, excellent with feel at the lever and constant take. The rear drum is similarly well set up.

It's these factors and the surejiandling that make it, a better learner bike than most trail types. It's more like a real motorcycle with a power band that, before it drops off, can be used to the full with practice and a chassis built to be ridden on roads. Throughout the Metzelar tyres gave no hint of uncertainty and the 16-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels are just right for the weight. At only 238lb the NSR is light and feels it. It doesn't feel too small either, although ergonomically the handlebar set up was a bit thin and narrow. For some while I found myself gripping the 'bar ends. Seventeen year-olds look pretty big to me these days so the presumption of small arms and size 30in chests is maybe not wise.

Instrumentation is clear and legible and switchgear is all one could ask for; maybe the high beam control is a little fussy, but this is just a matter of getting used to. But is it worth the money? £1700 is a lot of money for a bike that's useful life will probably be a year at most. Editor Isitt takes this view (see Second Opinion), but there is some worth in having a learner bike that will prepare you for the real thing rather than a high, uncomfortable and creature-with-no-home trailer. De-restriction is of course an option and if the money is there, I would lean to keeping it another six months or a year and making use of the 20hp that's potentially on-tap. The chassis can certainly take it. I had

great fun on the NSR with only a couple of moments when the 8000 rev limit meant serious problems - fast roundabouts are a case in point. Cranked over and watching for mad pensioners in Datsuns, the last thing you need is a type of rev limiter coming in at 8000rpm.

On the sobering side too is the cost of a replacement fairing at £380-odd and along with the fiddly dip switch the petrol tap has a tendency to catch on a boot top making for delayed gear changing. Again though, this

is really no great criticism. The bike does all that could be asked of a restricted 125 and more in the form of great looks, brakes and handling. Compared to 125 trailers it has higher grin factor on the road and it prepares the learner more realistically for the real thing.

We got a general fuel consumption figure of around 54mpg, which didn't seem to alter much. It never ran above half on the temperature gauge, in town or not, and the package was as civilised as could be

expected. Okay, so the powerband was narrow and bottled out at 8000 but the fun to be had on tight roads was something rarely achieved on other 125s, except the trailers off-road. Who gets to ride off-road that much? And surely the learner should be encouraged to learn road riding on a well handling and braked machine first, then go and get muddy. Top speed was not great, an indicated 70mph before the engine went home. The riding position was comfortable and the mirrors were not bad. You did tend to get a lot of elbow in the way though. This could have been a function of wanting to hold the 'bars wider than they were.

While the enclosing bodywork is a dream to look at, access to oil and other necessaries is limited without time-consuming work. On balance this is a sacrifice worth making for good looks and reasonable protection however. The key to the NS125R is that it doesn't /oo/clike a 125, and on most roads it doesn't have to go like one. A couple of instances illustrated this. On the trip through town from collecting the bike from Honda in Slough, M4 cruising at three to four mph below the legal limit was possible - although for longer stretches than 20 miles, it probably isn't a good idea, but in the mid-60s the NSR is not flat out -and in the country it was really only roundabouts and some hills that made restriction painfully evident. Most roads find the rider, with some familiarity, shifting round the 8000 limit and choosing appropriate lines and roads where the bike can go at full tilt. As said, a high grin factor for such a small bike. The longest trip in one day, 75 miles, inspired no saddle soreness nor arm ache and except for a couple of overtaking stretches the NSR kept pace

Source Bike 1989