Honda NXR 125

Review

Ok now, first of all you have to be asking why on earth I am writing a review of a farm bike, it isn’t exactly the sort of thing we normally cover at TMR...well I asked the same question when I picked it up from Honda. Actually I should probably start from the beginning, now here in New Zealand we have a graduated licence system, I was due to sit the final practical aspect of the test. Now to take part aforementioned examination I had to procure a motovelocipede of no greater than 250cc capacity...

is all becoming clear? Ok so I went and visited the guys at Blue Wing Honda and asked what they had that would fit the engine restriction and that was also basic, lightweight and easy to negotiate in suburban mid-morning traffic.

They suggested I should go move to the country (I thought they were telling me to take a long walk of the proverbial) they meant the NXR, Field Days (our local agriculture exposition) was on the horizon and I guess it made sense to get a review of a farm bike into “the cloud”. I must admit I had my doubts... first of all I don’t have a lot of experience with off road style bikes so I saw a skinny, tall bike with what looked like a decidedly uncomfortable seat (turns out it wasn’t) and knobbly tyres (which looking at some “proper” dirt bikes, weren’t particularly). I said “are you sure this will do the job?” team Honda said “shut up and get out of here you annoying man we are doing you a favour here!” well actually they said it would be just fine, but that’s boring. So I mounted up and rode into the sunset (aka traffic).

I must admit I was initially underwhelmed with the performance but then I had to get into my infinitesimal brain that the lump powering the machine I was astride has a mere 125cc capacity and 4 stroke... yes that’s right less than half a can of coke. The NXR makes about 12.5hp which does a surprisingly good job of tootling through traffic. In fact if you are looking for a very inexpensive commuting machine for learning to ride, the NXR will do the job just fine. The bonus of this sort of bike is that you can always have a play off road as well.

Obviously the purpose of the NXR is as a farm bike, it can be registered for road use and has lights, indicators and the like. Essentially it is a small capacity bike that will easily trek across paddocks and up hills without missing a beat and still legally take you down to the shops or along the highway between the fields. I don’t own a farm but from my short experience with the bike I would wager that it would do an absolutely fantastic job in this element. I can say I took the NXR out to a local... let’s say wilderness area (definitely not any sort of unfinished subdivision!) with plenty of mud, hills bush and the like, I have to say as an absolute novice off road the little Honda seemed to perform admirably. It’s light weight meant it was easy to negotiate uneven slippery ground, gravel, wet clay and grass. The suspension had plenty of travel and ground clearance to allow the easy attack of most sorts of terrain.

So off road the NXR was great fun, on the road is where there were a couple of problems... the lack of horsepower you can forgive simply because it is a small capacity machine and it will still manage freeway work without any real effort. The brakes however are a real problem, small drums front and rear are fine off road giving nice, gentle, progressive stopping, on the road however they just felt weak. Hard/emergency stops took much longer than just about any bike tested to date (at least according to my seat of the pantsometer). I have to give them a little leeway as the bike had VERY low mileage when I picked it up and the brakes did improve a bit once it had a few miles on it. Either way, for proper road use a drum really is just a bit behind the times.

Before I forget, yes I did manage to secure my full motorcycle licence, a large part of the test... which was added when I turned up on a dirt bike was a 90ft back flip with a superman seat grab... don’t worry, my spine will heal after a few months in traction. All this means I am now legally allowed to ride any superhyperturbo full speed death machine I feel like. The bike was absolutely perfect for the job at hand, simple to ride, nimble and easily controllable allowing full concentration on road hazards and the like which is what the licence tester pays particular attention to in the test (apparently the back flip was just a joke... my health insurance thanks you tester!). Thanks Honda.

So overall if you are looking at an inexpensive bike for a small farm or lifestyle block the NXR125 is definitely going to do the job. Furthermore if you are looking for a motorcycle that you can learn to ride both on and off the road the NXR in road legal form is definitely worth a look.

Source themotorcyclereview.com