Motorcycle Explorer August 2015 Issue 7 | Page 161

Design
The XL125 or Baby V as it’s known with affection from those that own one is the ‘baby’ version of
the old XL1000. Rather than being a pint size version of the bigger bike the XL125 retains many
of the stats making it ideal for taller riders and giving much more road presence than most 125s
on the market. With a seat height of 802mm you won’t feel oversized on this little beast and why
it has proven popular for a first bike for the bigger rider. You’re looking at around 150kg of bike,
so light enough to play with but heavy enough to not feel like you’re going to get blown all over
the road if caught in a bit a blustery wind. Go for the post 2007 models for fuel injection and
some upgrades that caused issues with the emissions people before then!
Comfort
Not a problem and the seat is well designed to take a pillion too. Pillion comfort has been taken
into account and because of the commanding size of the bike you get less chance of cramped up
legs at the back. This is a great feature and that is the built in top box rack that comes with the
bike showing that it was made to travel not just tearing down the back lanes of some small
villages. The Honda engine that was designed fo