LIFE BEGINS AT 80
HONDA have one helluva load of machinery in the under 125cc road machine class. Close scrutiny reveals that, including all the commuters, trail bikes and 'Family Mopeds' (as Honda call them) there is a veritable galaxy of bikes: thirty two in all from 50cc automatic scooters through to the 125 Super Dream Twin and the all new two-stroke MTX125RW (tested in Mechanics July '83 — Trial of two Trails).
To be fair to their so called Sports Mopeds, viz the MTX and MBX 50s, their performance is far from sporting. In fact, along with several of the scooters and mopeds, they are as exciting as a wet paper bag. They have their place though and do sell very well.
The bikes in the 125cc range which Honda offer are all designed to comply with the current restriction regulations to make them legal for learner riders. These perform quite well but the restrictions in the engines of all the bikes can be felt when riding them and somehow, this just takes the fun out of what otherwise would be really enjoyable machines.
I'd not seen the MBX80 and to be honest, when Malc Gough told me I had been chosen as the lucky person to test it, although I not think that it would be better than MTX50 which I'd recently ridden, I did not realize how big a surprise I was in for.
I collected the bike from Honda's Chiswick headquarters with our trailer and Lindsay's much-abused company Cortina. I had to collect another bike from Mitsui at Chessington the same day, so the first chance I had to ride the MBX80 came later that afternoon after unloading it at the Mechanics workshop in Peterborough. Well, I thought, it looks fine but as I'd recently been fooled by the appearance of the MTX50, I was not expecting too much from this bike.
I had already removed the seat to find out where the oil tank was and had at the same time noticed a label on the frame which indicated that it was the same as the MBX50 chassis. I fired up the engine and was pleasantly surprised to hear the crackly exhaust note which sounded a whole lot better than the muted burble emitted by the MBX engine. "Better warm it up so that I'm not riding with the choke on," I thought. In with the clutch lever down with the gear selector pedal and must remember to flick up the side stand. (Is this a Star Rider training manual? — Ed) Now there's a thing. This is the first Honda road bike I've been on for ages which has not got a rubber foot resigned to flick up the stand if you forget to. That's not so good because people still do forget.
So with the stand up it's off round the car park. (What no cones? — Ed) Jeez! what the hell is this? Without too much bother up comes the front wheel and away we go like the bike's got the Honda CR80R moto-cross engine in its frame but it can't have because the power is easily controllable and it's spread quite wide over the rev range. Wide that is for what has to be quite a highly tuned engine. Just one lap of the car park was enough to convince me that the next couple of weeks were going to be real fun (Did you pass? — Ed)
The engine of the MBX80 is rated at 11bhp. That's one less than the maximum allowed by the restricted 125s but as the bike is 20 odd pounds lighter than, say, the Kawasaki AR125LC and is equipped with an equally capable frame, it's not too hard to see how it's possible to dice with restricted 125s on the MBX80 and quite often come out the winner. The top speed is slightly down on most of the 125s but with an engine which revs cleanly throughout its power band this bike is, for me, far more enjoyable to ride.
I have to liken it to the unrestricted 125LC Yamaha which Mechanics had at their 24hr test last year because that's just what it feels like to ride, sharp and agile. Sure it's a mite less powerful but the Honda ProLink rear suspension and the taut little frame which wraps around the 80cc power unit makes it handle as well as the Yamaha which has been around for longer.
Just looking at the bike when it's parked (and if you buy one, that's just what you'll find many people doing), is enough to get the adrenalin flowing. The large, almost massive, expansion chamber looks like a cast-off from a racing department test shop. The black coated engine seems dwarfed by the radiator and its cowl, which are positioned rear ward of the steering head and just below it to gain maximum effect from the slipstream.
Looking at the front wheel, you could be forgiven for thinking that Honda have gone just a little over the top with the twin front discs. If they haven't, don't be too surprised if you nearly do when using them! Front wheel pirouettes are a distinct danger if you grab hold of the brake lever too hard. I can't help feeling that a single disc would be more than adequate for the bike but doubtless the stylists in Japan decided that it would look better with two and that's what you get. In fairness though, I must say that the front wheel never skidded whilst I was overbraking. All that happened was that the rear wheel of the bike just lifted off the road! Quite good fun when I got used to it, albeit rather foolhardy.
The only way I can describe riding the MBX80 is to say that it felt as if I was riding on it rather than riding as a part of it. Hard to say just why, but once I became accustomed to it, it was alright. I must say, however, that I never felt really secure on the MBX80 as I have on other lightweights, 125LC Yamahas especially. I often felt that, when cornering with the bike well cranked over, it would perhaps have gone round better without me on it at all! (Eh! — Ed) It was all too easy to get over-enthusiastic when rushing round traffic islands on the bike. Too fast an entry could give me the dreaded 'heart-in-the-mouth' feeling that maybe it was going to be a one way journey. However, the combination of the excellent frame and the surprising Bridgestone tyres was sufficient to ensure a safe exit every time and also to provoke the question of whether it would have been possible to have gone at least 10mph faster!
With 12 volt electrics, the indicators are plenty bright enough. The same goes for the headlight which could perhaps be slightly more powerful than 36/36W. It was adequate but 10 extra Watts would have made it faultless.
The only thing which lets the bike down, and it's only cosmetic, is the horrid tubular subframes which carry the pillion foot-tests. They look just like what they are — afterthoughts. A polished alloy plate, whilst being a few Yen more costly, would finish the bike off a treat.
With the MBX80 (and the 'coming in July' MTX80) Honda have built a definite competitor for their own range of 125s. The insurance companies, at the moment, class 80s as sports mopeds in the up to 100cc category. As such, they are cheaper to insure than the 125s. However, the sports performance (and 11bhp from 79cc is definitely sporting), shows itself up in the running costs. With fuel consumption as bad as 60mpg when really thrashed, the bike is as expensive as a larger bike in terms of cost per mile. I do think, on the other hand, that an 80 will be much easier to sell again when you've got tired of it or have passed your test and want something bigger.
As an under 100cc bike the MBX80 does share something of the stigma attached to pipsqueak mopeds but with the speed and handling that it offers, it allows you to cock-a-snoot at those who would sneer at it.
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