Review, MOTOR CYCLE WEEKLY March 19, 1983, with transcript

Movin' into the '80s!

ROAD TEST: Paul Carroll rides the Honda MBX80

The 80cc class is set to be one of the most popular capacities of the eighties. With the Learner Law now into full swing, not everybody is going to want a 125, or be able to afford the ever-increasing insurance costs that this capacity now brings.

So, scale your ideas down a little and there before your eyes is a full range of 80cc jobs that are just the ticket.

Honda have realised, rather later than other manufacturers, that there's a market for 80cc bikes and have introduced the MBX80 to coincide with the learner law.

Tipping the scales at 215lb, the MBX is only 21lb heavier than its baby brother—the restricted 50. But comparing its weight to the Yamaha and Kawasaki 80s, it's over 40lb heavier.

With only an extra 20ccs on the restricted MBX50, the 80 zipped through the timing lights at 65mph. Yamaha's RD80LC, which is the only other liquid-cooled 80 on the market, could only manage 64mph. The single cylinder engine pumps out 9.6bhp at a very low 5,750rpm. When watching the rev clock, the MBX's power band doesn't start much before that. Pulling away from rest requires a big handful of revs or the motor just dies.

A learner will have trouble mastering the revvy nature of the machine.

To keep the MBX on song, the needle has to be kept in the top half of the rev scale. If you end up doing 40mph in sixth, fifth or even fourth gear, no way will it ever go faster without changing down.

A dinky little radiator sits between the twin downtubes and, although no bigger than an oil cooler, does a good job of keeping the engine cool.

Radiator and engine cowling looks good and adds to the overall stylish, sporty look of the MBX. The smart little bikini fairing looks great and has a smoked screen with the top lip turned up to deflect some air from around the face.

Unlike some other spindly lightweights though, the Honda's petrol tank is wide at the sides, tapering in at the back so that your knees fit snugly into it. Holding almost three gallons, an average tankful of petrol will only take you 150 miles.

Chewing through petrol at an incredible 57mpg is really unacceptable from a two-stroke 80cc single. I must admit I didn't drive slowly but it's the kind of bike that can't be driven slowly. It has you driving everywhere as fast as you can.

Twin discs, fitted to what is little more than a moped, is going over the top. Instead of using the twin-piston calipers as on most other Hondas, the MBX just has the usual variety. The front brake lever felt positively dead, almost like a drum and my fears were proved correct when stopping from 30mph. It could only manage a best of 29ft.

The rear drum brake I'm happy to say was very good.

Pro Link rear suspension was good but a little on the hard side. A set of pre-load positions would be nice, as on the Kawasaki 80.

One thing that didn't help the ride was the rock-hard dual seat, which seemed exactly the same as on the 50. Maybe it was made for someone with a fat behind, my boney bum hated it!

The MBX just loved fast corners and tight twisty turns. Its high ground clearance and light weight has you hanging off the seat, racer style, at every opportunity. It felt good winding it up to the boil and out-cornering much larger bikes.

Bridgestone Mag Mopus tyres are used back and front and, although of only narrow section, grip the road well. During one photo session with the sun well up but with wet roads, leaning it right over posed no problems for the increasingly good Japanese tyres.

If changing gear is one of the reasons you enjoy riding, the MBX80 is for you. Up down, up down, up bloody down all the time. Forget to change down once and, before you know it, it's choking the engine up. Kick down a cople of gears, give it a blasr, take a quick look behind and you're back in business.

All this gear changing needs a good clutch; it has the usual wet multiplate type operated by a lever that was as light as a feather making changes easy. Final drive was by a tiny chain and all credit must go to its design as it never needed adjustment throughout the test session.

No centre stand is fitted—only a side stand, making rear wheel changes awkward. A small matt-black rack comes as standard on the MBX, useful for mounting a top-box.

Showing the way ahead was a powerful rectangular headlamp, high beam was very good. On one trip, two-up with fellow portly MCW staffer Brendan Quirk, the headlamp illuminated the tree tops due to the weight on the back. No more adjustment was available. The rear light was only tiny but it fitted flush into the rear part of the fairing.

Instruments are housed in a neat console, and comprise a speedo and rev counter and the usual warning lights. Ignition lock doubles as a steering lock.

The MBX80 could be the best of the bunch if it were not so expensive—£699.00 is a lot of cash for such a small bike. It beats the Yamaha and Kawasaki 80s in flat-out speed and quarter-mile times, but loses out on fuel consumption.

The MBX could be the answer for somebody that hasn't got the extra £120 for a liquid-cooled 125. One thing's for sure though, Honda's MBX80 is a fun little machine that should bring pleasure to the learner rider.

Review - Mechanics magazine, September 1983, full transcript

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.

Road test - Bike Magazine June 1983 - with transcript

Bike Magazine June 1983 - with transcript 

I wanted to re-visit the road tests from period and with the aid of tech, I can reproduce the complete text for ease of reading:

A two-and-a-half hour journey from London to the MIRA test track at Nuneaton on a freezing cold day, with only the prospect of a cup of hot coffee to keep me going, gave me plenty of time to reflect on the pleasures of riding my first test bike, the MBX80. When told I was to be privileged with temporary ownership of Honda's new 80cc two-stroke I was delighted: at last a chance to run up limitless expenses, be the envy of my friends and give my a bike a holiday in the office garage. What had I done to deserve this? Could it be my impressive riding skills and brilliant writing ability — or was it that Brecon saw an ideal opportunity to put the new editorial policy into operation? If we must test these small bikes we can’t take seriously, we'll give them to lone 'cos she's so small.

Eventually I reached Nuneaton and collapsed in the Little Chef near MIRA. Roland Brown, who'd left half an hour after me on a GSX750, was just finishing a huge breakfast and calmly told me they'd run out of coffee. I was lost for words but to save any further thought a large dog ambled over to the bikes, sniffed the GSX then relieved himself on the front wheel of the MBX, totally summing up my feelings.

To be fair it wasn't all the bike's fault. On motorways, long stretches of dual carriageway and straight roads its behaviour was only as expected — it wouldn't do much over 60mph, blew all over the road with every strong gust of wind and usually failed, after a fierce battle, to overtake the never ending stream of lorries which insisted on travelling slightly slower than I wanted to go but just too fast for me to get past.

Ridden where it can be appreciated best — either in town or, as a contrast, on twisting country roads it is fairly exciting, great fun and a pleasure to ride. The MBX is ideal in traffic, it's very small, light and an unusual bonus for me was that I could put both feet flat on the ground. It's also very narrow so it's easy to manoeuvre past stationary vehicles — I derived great satisfaction from squeezing through gaps, leaving despatch riders on fat CX500s behind me.

The only disadvantage is the bike's revvy nature. I was caught out at the first set of traffic lights I came to after leaving Honda's when I pulled away gently in first gear to find the bike dying on me until it reached about 6000rpm, when it charged forward. I soon got the idea though; as long as I made sure the revs were up before letting out the clutch and then kept them at a minimum of 7000 in all gears it would fly along. Obviously masses of gear changes are required in town but the clutch is very light so it's no problem.

Once you get out on to country roads the bike shows its true colours. Faced with its sporty looks and revvy engine I felt obliged to go everywhere as fast as possible. The MBX handled really well. The Pro-Link monoshock unit is good and the Bridgestone tyres, although narrow, held the road well and felt safe in the wet.

The brakes, however, are incredibly over the top. When I first saw the bike I couldn't believe it — twin discs on an 80cc bike? I had visions of locking up the front wheel every time I attempted to slow down but when I came to use it the front brake was pretty feeble, although the rear drum was OK. Putting twin discs on a bike this light seems ridiculous, especially when they don't work much better than a drum.

The rest of the MBX is well designed. It certainly looks excellent, from its bikini fairing with tinted screen through black engine to rear cowl which contains the flush fitting back light. The rack on the back is pretty useless since it's only big enough to carry a sandwich box, anything larger and you'd spend the whole time looking round to see if it was still there. There's no centrestand which makes chain tightening a bit awkward. I was surprised by the power of the 12V/35W headlamp since I was expecting the weedy glow thrown out by the 6V lamps usually found on small bikes.

The MBX will cruise happily at 70mph with a following wind (the speedo is relatively accurate) but as soon as there's an opposing breeze it drops to 60mph. On the journey to MIRA I could only hold 60 by spending most of the time in fifth of the six gears. That trip resulted in an almost unbelievably low fuel consumption of 48mpg, although it was usually slightly better. Even so, an average of 59mpg is poor for an engine producing less than 10bhp.

Those horses are pushed out by a buzzy watercooled two stroke mill very similar in most respects to Yamaha's RD80LC motor. The Honda has a slightly larger bore and shorter stroke and an actual capacity of 79.7cc. Both 80s use electronic ignition — well it'd be a shock if they didn't these days — but the MBX doesn't feature a Honda version of Yamaha's Energy Induction System (essentially just a small storage chamber linked to the inlet to smooth out induction pulses).

Yamaha's claim of more power and better fuel economy thanks to a mere plastic box the size of a ciggy packet seemed rather far fetched last year but looking at the MBX80's thirst compared to the RD80LC's (62mpg even when being thrashed by 14-stone R Brown), there may be summat in it.

Instead of going for a trick engine mounting to reduce vibes — the RD80LC has a pivoting rear engine mount and a preset amount of flop allowed in the front mounts — Honda have opted for a balancer shaft on the MBX. Seeing as neither 80 vibrates at all badly it seems you pays your money and takes your choice. On the other hand, the Yamaha system can be a headache for RD250 and 350LC owners who have to cope with regular exhaust gasket replacements as the flopping around breaks 'em up, though we haven't heard of any such problems on the RD80.

It's when you start looking at the rest of the Honda that you begin to realise just how much impact the latest learner legislation has had on a class which used to inhabit a no-man's land between mopeds and sports 125s. Twin discs, 12V electrics (Continues page 77).

The MBX will cruise happily at 70mph with a following wind (the speedo is relatively accurate) but as soon as there's an opposing breeze it drops to 60mph. On the journey to MIRA I could only hold 60 by spending most of the time in fifth of the six gears. That trip resulted in an almost unbelievably low fuel consumption of 48mpg, although it was usually slightly better. Even so, an average of 59mpg is poor for an engine producing less than 10bhp.

Those horses are pushed out by a buzzy watercooled two-stroke mill very similar in most respects to Yamaha's RD80LC motor. The Honda has a slightly larger bore and shorter stroke and an actual capacity of 79.7cc. Both 80s use electronic ignition — well it'd be a shock if they didn't these days — but the MBX doesn't feature a Honda version of Yamaha's Energy Induction System (essentially just a small storage chamber linked to the inlet to smooth out induction pulses).

Yamaha's claim of more power and better fuel economy thanks to a mere plastic box the size of a ciggy packet seemed rather far fetched last year but looking at the MBX80's thirst compared to the RD80LC's (62mpg even when being thrashed by 14-stone R Brown), there may be summat in it.

Instead of going for a trick engine mounting to reduce vibes — the RD80LC has a pivoting rear engine mount and a preset amount of flop allowed in the front mounts — Honda have opted for a balancer shaft on the MBX. Seeing as neither 80 vibrates at all badly it seems you pays your money and takes your choice. On the other hand, the Yamaha system can be a headache for RD250 and 350LC owners who have to cope with regular exhaust gasket replacements as the flopping around breaks 'em up, though we haven't heard of any such problems on the RD80.

It's when you start looking at the rest of the Honda that you begin to realise just how much impact the latest learner legislation has had on a class which used to inhabit a no-man's land between mopeds and sports 125s. Twin discs, 12V electrics (only 6V on its main rival), rising rate rear suspension, trick wheels... apart from the electrics, it's not so long since you wouldn't have found any of those on 750s let alone something only 30cc up on a moped.

I suspect, however that it'll be the MBX80's frame which'll tempt L-plate 80 freaks into Big H's welcoming arms. Not because the Honda's tubular cradle is discernibly any better than the Yam's despite Honda's tongue in cheek assertion that the MBX80's trellis is 'full size' but because it includes pillion pegs whereas the Yam doesn't.

After all, the trad way to celebrate passing part two (apart from burning your L-plates on the nearest police station steps) is to shove a trusting and unsuspecting pal on the back and go for a wobble... er, blast. Unfortunately I soon discovered that pillion pegs and a dualseat do not necessarily make 80s into reasonable two-up transport.

Due to unforeseen circumstances (ie the GSX objecting to standing quarters and self-destructing its clutch at MIRA), the return journey had to be made two-up on the Honda. MBX80 seats are small, narrow and extremely hard and, after 120 miles on the pillion with a rather large person in front, it'd be an understatement, to say parts of me were numb. But however uncomfortable the seat it certainly didn't deserve the attentions of a vandal who thought it would be fun to slit a large hole in it. At a cost of £66 to replace it was no joke.

Yamaha's RD80LC is currently about £30 cheaper than the Honda but both 80s have similar performance figures. The MBX is let down by its poor fuel consumption so on paper the Yamaha may look the better bike but when it comes to signing the cheque I suppose a choice between them would be made on looks and brand preference.

Honda obviously want learners to see the MBX as more than simply a bike to pass their test on. With its high price of £699, plus fuel consumption you'd expect from something five times its size, their target must be 'enthusiasts' rather than commuters. It's a fun bike that takes a bit of practice to ride well, it's got the performance of most 125s but is much cheaper to insure. If Honda are trying to encourage learners to continue buying Hondas once they move on to bigger bikes, I guess they're going the right way about it with the MBX80

 HONDA MBX80CategorySpecification
Price (inc taxes)£699
Engine single cyl 2-stroke, watercooled
Capacity 79.7ccMax power7.16kW (9.6bhp) @ 5750
Transmission 6-speed gearbox, wet multiplate clutch
BrakesFront: twin disc; Rear: 110mm drumWeight102kg (225lb) inc 1 gal fuel
Top Speed64.63mph (Prone); 62.08mph (Sitting-up)Fuel Consumption59mpg (Overall); 49mpg (Ridden hard)

Honda MBX80 Buyers Guide in Classic Motorcycle Mechanics magazine

In the August 2025 edition of the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics magazine they features a MBX80 Buyers guide spread over four pages. The bike featured was the excellent restoration by Steve Mawson that was displayed on the VJMC stand at the 2024 Stafford show  

You can buy a copy of this magazine here. or pick one up at your local news agents.

A big thank you to the writer who gave this website and facebook page a shout out! 👍

Here is another look at Steve's bike

Owners Bike: Rob Billman, MBX80 Restoration

Rob Billman's restored black MBX80 was first featured in Practice Sportsbike magazine with a restoration story and ride impressions, it was also featured in Jan 19's edition focusing on 80cc bikes from the 1980's. Honda M Club member Rob kindly supplied more images to show just how in-depth the restoration went, its picture heavy, but enjoy!

my bike, Practical Sportsbike Magazine

My bike is featured in the latest Practical Sportsbike Magazine in the 'in your shed' feature, magazine out today!

Magazine Feature: Practical Sportsbike Oct 2016

This scan is from the magazine Practical Sportsbike and features the restoration story by the bikes owner Rob Billman.

Advert: "Cheaper to insure than they look"

I found this classic Honda advertisement on the web recently via http://www.classicmotorads.com

The MBX80 takes centre stage with the H100 and CB100N with the strap line "cheaper to insure than they look"

Magazine: Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, May 2008: MBX80 restoration

This feature was published in the May 2008 edition on Classic Motorcycle Mechanics magazine. The restoration was done by Steve Mawson, better known for his and his brothers MB5's, check out their website here.