Honda XRM125 DSX

Honda has tried hard to make the XRM 125 DSX as youthful and interesting as possible, and to some extent, it has actually succeeded a bit when compared to many of the under-bone bikes available out there. However, the Honda XRM 125 DSX, in isolation, is a very basic bike, to begin with, as the lack of contemporary feel as well as features to diminish its appeal a bit.

The front look of the Honda XRM 125 DSX has a very interesting bit to look at – its headlamp unit. The pentagonal crest-like halogen headlamp is surrounded by a very sporty and beefy looking cowl, which makes the front fascia of the Honda XRM 125 DSX look very sporty and aggressive. To add in some off-road design credentials, the Honda XRM 125 DSX sports a big mounted fender above the front wheel, which is mounted just below the headlamp cowl.

The side profile of the Honda XRM 125 DSX looks quite basic in appeal, however, the bits which do try to liven up the appeal to a good extent are the red-coloured brake calipers and red colored graphics on the side body panels. These graphics also happen to be the only major differentiating factor from the lower variant of the same bike – the Honda XRM 125 DS. The black-themed engine gets a very useful sump guard below it.

The spoke wheels, as well as exhaust pipe with chrome shield, do look basic, and so does the single tubular pillion grab rail behind the long and comfortable seat of the bike. Nothing much is fancy about the rear profile of the Honda XRM 125 DSX too, with the bike getting a single wide tail lamp cluster, which also comes integrated with clear lens blinkers just adjacent to the main tail lamp.

Even the instrument console of the Honda XRM 125 DSX is very basic and minimalist to look at, with the unit having analog dials for the speedometer, odometer and trip meter. Surprisingly, despite its higher positioning, the Honda XRM 125 DSX does miss out on the handlebar crash guards from the lower-spec Honda XRM 125 DS.

The basic nature of the Honda XRM 125 DSX is quite evident in its rest of the mechanical setup under the skin too. The bike comes fitted with a simple suspension setup of hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and a pair of hydraulic coil springs at the rear, backed up by a rectangular swing-arm. The Honda XRM 125 DSX is the only variant in the XRM lineup of under-bone bikes from Honda, which gets a disc brake setup for both front and rear wheels.

The powertrain employed for the Honda XRM 125 DSX is a four-stroke, single-cylinder, air-cooled, carbureted, 125cc engine, which is paired to a semi-manual gearbox. This basic engine of the Honda XRM 125 DSX is good enough to produce a maximum power output of 9.7 PS, while the peak torque output is rated at 9.55 Nm.

The Honda XRM 125 DSX is a very basic and affordable two-wheeler, and so, the absence of crucial but expensive safety aids like ABS is an expected miss here. However, the disc brakes on both the wheels surely are a welcoming addition here.

The Honda XRM 125 DSX is one interesting proposition – while it rubs off some of the basicness associated with under-bone bikes with its off-road styling bits, it still manages to retain the ruggedness and immense practicality of the same. However, despite its affordable pricing, it would have been good if Honda had equipped the XRM 125 DSX with some more additional features to make it a bit more desirable and not just rely on its off-road inspired styling bits.