The XSR125 launches in Europe.
The 125cc street segment in Canada is a tough nut to crack. If it has two wheels and a small displacement engine, it had better either be a scooter or cute. And when we say “cute” we allow for a leeway in the definition as that segment consists of the Grom and the Z125 where cute most certainly is in the eye of the beholder. We have long lamented that the only true “cute” 125 bike, Honda Monkey, can’t get its immunization card stamped to allow it to even cross the border from the US where the 125cc segment is growing.
The “full sized” 125 segment previously was filled by the long gone Honda CBR125 which was a fine machine even though it always left you wanting just a little bit more until it was eventually replaced by the CBR250 and then the CBR300 which were, well … more. Arguably, and to continue the trend, the latter should be replaced by a CBR400. Unless you are firmly committed to only using your bike as a short haul commuter, a 125 or 250 is eventually going to be a touch too small to expand your horizons comfortably. Most definitely motorcyclist have ridden 250cc bikes around the world and we followed one rider who toured Canada on a Rebel 250. It can be done but even those intrepid travellers would likely claim the occasional need for more power – whether it be for comfort or safety.
But that’s all digression, although there will be a little further digression later. Yamaha UK announced the introduction of the XSR125 featuring a 124cc liquid cooled single producing almost 15hp (which Yamaha claims is best in class). The XSR125 carries over the styling cues from the rest of the family and features a few decidedly unbudget bits and pieces including inverted fork, LED headlight and taillight and LED gauges. There is no word that we will get the XSR125 in Canada and we probably will not but an XSR320 with the motor from the MT-03 seems like a good idea if it came in $3500 to $4000 less than the 2021 XSR700 in Canada.
The XSR125 isn’t the only heritage cool vibes member of the European 125cc family as Husqvarna also revealed earlier in the year a 2021 Svartpilen 125.
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