Kawasaki CT125

In terms of design, the Kawasaki CT125 is actually based on the most affordable 100cc motorcycle, the CT100. There are a couple of design differentiators though, which do little in making the Kawasaki CT125 look subtly different from the CT100, thus making it look equally basic as the latter.

The Kawasaki CT125 has a refreshing looking front fascia for a basic entry-level motorcycle, with the trapezoidal headlamp encased in a decent looking headlamp cowl which is complete with graphics on either sides and a tinted visor integrated into it above the headlamp. Apart from this, the Kawasaki CT125’s front look is very simple with amber-colored turn indicators mounted on either sides of the headlamp and a basic front rounded fender.

The fuel tank as well as side body cowls of the Kawasaki CT125 are exactly the same units as its 100cc counterpart, with even the body decals being the same as that in its smaller counterpart. The similarity doesn’t end up here only, as even the long single-piece seat, as well as slim and curvy rear side body panels of the Kawasaki CT125, has been shared with the CT100. The grey theme carried out for the engine as well as spoke wheels do scream a lot about its commuter genes. 

There are a couple of bits that here are different from the CT100 on the CT125 – the long chrome exhaust pipe is replaced by a more appealing black unit with a chrome shield on its top, and the small alloy pillion grab rail is replaced here by a long tubular grab rail. At the back, the Kawasaki CT125 gets a very simple looking halogen tail lamp, with turn indicators mounted on its lower edges on the rear fender, which serves nicely as the mudguard too.

The Kawasaki CT125 has a not so appealing instrument console behind the headlamp cowl. The twin-pod all-analog instrument console is very basic in terms of the information it offers, with just a speedometer, odometer, and fuel gauge on display. The switchgear too and the long high placed handlebar feels just decent and does not have any special feel to it. 

The Kawasaki CT125 is built on a very basic tubular cradle frame, with a basic suspension setup of hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and hydraulic coil springs with tubular swing-arm at the rear. The conventional setup of suspension is a given thing, for the fact that the Kawasaki CT125 belongs to the lower end of the commuter motorcycle market. The bike has been equipped with drum brakes on both wheels.

The Kawasaki CT125 comes with a simple construction four-stroke, single-cylinder, air-cooled, carbureted, 124.5cc engine, which has been developed completely by Bajaj Auto from India. This engine is paired here to a 5-speed gearbox, and churns out decent performance outputs for an entry-level 125cc engine – 9.7 PS of maximum power and 10.5 Nm of peak torque output. The engine might not impress you with its refinement levels, which are not as fine as its Japanese rivals. And so is its gear-shift feel in general – it feels a bit clunky.

The Kawasaki CT125 reflects its basic nature when it comes to safety as well, for the motorcycle lacks even a single prominent safety feature onboard. There is neither an engine kill switch nor ABS on offer, which has been done to keep costs in check.

For its price, the Kawasaki CT125 offers a mechanically decent package, with a decently powerful and impressively frugal engine, with its easy and basic mechanical setup making it a very friendly and easy motorcycle to ride and commute from one point to another. However, many might find the Kawasaki CT125 to be too basic for their taste.