Honda MSX125 (NAVi’s big bro); Already spotted testing in India

Honda stunned the Indian market last year, when it introduced the NAVi, a super affordable mini-bike based on the Activa. The NAVi has proven to be quite popular here, and soon Honda could introduce the NAVi’s bigger brother, the MSX125, also known as the Grom.

Wait. What?

Yes, the Japanese two wheeler giant has already begun testing the MSX125 in India. The mini-bike was spotted in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh by the folks at GaadiWaadi, who have a bunch of spy shots to show. The test mule was wearing Gurgaon plates, hinting at the involvement of Honda India’s R&D wing.

Coming to the motorcycle itself, it’s designed to offer the maneuverability and compact-ness of a mini-bike while offering all the key features of a full-sized motorcycle. To that end, you have chunky upside down front forks, a rear monoshock, seating for two, and even ABS assisted disk brakes on both wheels.

It’s powered  by a 125 cc four stroke, horizontally inclined air cooled engine that makes 9.65 Bhp-10.9 Nm. The engine is fuel injected, and is mated to a four speed manual gearbox. So, the MSX125, though small and light, promises to be perky in terms of performance and offer everything that a premium bike in India does.

It gets an LED headlamp, tail lamp and turn indicators. Ground clearance is ample at 160 mm. Wheelbase stands at 1,200 mm while kerb weight is a light 102 kilograms. The mini-bike runs on chunky 12 inch tyres shod on alloy wheels, and has a claimed fuel efficiency of over 60 Kmpl. With a 5.5 liter fuel tank, effective range is over 300 Kms per tank.

Mini-bikes such as the MSX125 are extremely customizable, and offer a large range of accessories for buyers to choose from. These bikes are very popular in South East Asian countries such as Japan and Thailand, and are especially suitable to smaller framed riders.

Given that most Indians are not very big in terms of build, they’ll be right at home on the MSX125. Don’t expect it to come cheap though. If Honda decides to sell the MSX125 with ABS and fuel injection, the mini-bike could cost ‘premium’ 150cc motorcycle money. Expect to pay about 80,000 rupees for this bike when it lands here.

As more and more Indians want to try something new and funky, the MSX125 could find a fair share of takers here, if Honda manages to price it sharply. Moreover, with more women taking to motorcycles rather than scooters, the MSX125 will provide an excellent starting point. Bring it on, Honda.