Honda Rebel 125 and Kawasaki EL 125 in the test

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Short test, Honda Rebel 125, Kawasaki Eliminator 125

Honda Rebel 125 and Kawasaki EL 125

Weighing less than three hundred pounds, just showing an eighth of a cubic capacity and still surrounded by a touch of freedom and adventure: Quite rebellious, these tiny Kawasaki EL 125 and Honda Rebel 125 choppers.

HHang up, shut down PC. Finally the end of the day. Get out of your jacket or smock, into your motorcycle clothes and swing into the saddle. For reasons of age or lack of a driver’s license, was it only allowed to be a 125? Never mind, with choppers anyway: California is always and everywhere, and the fact that larger motorcycles perform better and can do almost everything better becomes less important once the airstream caresses your face.

The buddy turns the corner and together we go through the traffic chaos of rush hour. With low weight and low seat heights, the Kawasaki EL 125 and Honda Rebel rob the city traffic of its horrors. Any gap, no matter how much, is enough to gain an advantage over drivers. And for traffic light sprints of the more harmless kind, the offered performance is always enough.

Finally escaping the city, the friends can take a deep breath and relax. Despite the small displacement, in the case of the Honda even distributed over two cylinder units, both engines allow comfortable gliding in high gear. If only there weren’t any mountains or road users traveling even more slowly. Shift down one, two or even better three gears and boldly turn the gas is the motto in such crises. Fortunately, the five-speed gearbox plays just as smoothly as it is precise – and after the incline it’s quiet again. The amazement remains at how extremely easy-revving both engines are. Since choppers generally do without a rev counter and the Honda only helps its driver with shift markings in the speedometer, it is largely left to the feeling of hitting the right shift points.

Sometimes the Honda buddy looks enviously over at the Kawasaki: In terms of acceleration, the EL is clearly superior to its base. But both of them voluntarily settle back to around 70 km / h because their four-stroke engines give off considerable expressions of life despite the low moving masses. The hard vibrations of the Kawa single and the roaring instrument console are really annoying in the long run. The Honda makes a more solid impression, nothing rattles and rumbles. But the vibrations of the twin can also wear down in the long run, albeit of a much finer kind than those of the Kawasaki.

The disc brakes in the front wheels are characterized by high hand forces but a good pressure point. And because they adequately support the rear drum brakes, which can be easily adjusted, the stoppers of both test persons can be described as sufficient all round.

Slowly the very best becomes noticeable: While the forks largely compensate for almost all the rigors of German road construction, the rear suspension struts capitulate pretty quickly. The Honda messes up a clean line, because despite maximum preload it hits mercilessly and apparently does without any damping. The Kawasaki offers only slightly more reserves: Although it tends to bottom out when fully pre-tensioned, the selected line remains largely unaffected thanks to better damping. The sitting positions are also not conducive to the meat of the seat – as if carved in stone, without sufficient freedom of movement.

The sensory glasses have long been stowed away, the moon shimmers in the mild night. And the chrome round headlights only insufficiently illuminate the darkness. Quickly past the gas station. Despite constant full-load driving, tea consumption is pleasantly low at around 3.8 liters / 100 km for the Eliminator and 4.4 liters / 100 km for the Rebel. Then off home, fall into a comfortable armchair. The buttocks burn. As if you had been on the road with American heavy metal.

Technical data Honda – CA 125 Rebel

Air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke engine, an overhead, chain-driven camshaft, two valves per cylinder operated by rocker arms, wet sump lubrication, a Keihin round slide carburetor, Ø 18 mm, contactless capacitor ignition (CDI), no exhaust gas cleaning, electric starter, 156 W three-phase alternator, 12 V battery / 6 Ah.Bore x stroke 44.0 x 41 mm Displacement 125 cm³ Compression ratio 9.4: 1 Nominal output 11 HP (8 kW) at 9500 rpm Max. Torque 0.9 kpm (9 Nm) at 6000 / min Piston speed 14.4 m / sec at 10 500 / min Power transmission Primary drive via gear wheels, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, five-speed gearbox, O-ring chain. Chassis single-loop frame made of tubular steel, with split lower beams, telescopic fork, Standpipe diameter 33 mm, two-arm swing arm made of steel profiles, two spring struts, with adjustable spring base, front disc brake with double piston caliper, Ø 240 mm, rear drum brake, Ø 130 mm, spoked wheels. Front suspension 140 mm, rear 75 mm, front rim 1.85 x 18 rear 2.75 x 15, front tire size 3.00 P 18 rear 130/90 P 15 Dimensions and weightsWeight fully fueled * 150 kg Permissible total weight 329 kg Payload * 179 kgTank capacity / reserve 10 / 2.7 litersEquipment / PriceWarranty for two years with unlimited mileagePrice including VAT. 6550 MarksAdditional costs 195 MarksMobile performance / measured valuesMaximum speedSolo (with passenger) 97 (91) km / h Acceleration (with pillion passenger) 0-60 km / h 7.7 (10.2) sec 0-80 km / h 16.5 (21.9) seconds Speedometer deviation display / effective 50/47, 80/77, 100/97, 100/97 fuel type normal fuel consumption in the test 4.4 liters / 100 km theor. Range 227 km * MOTORCYCLE measurements

Technical data Kawasaki – Eliminator 125

Air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke engine, an overhead, chain-driven camshaft, two valves operated by rocker arms, wet sump lubrication, Keihin constant pressure carburetor, Ø 30 mm, contactless battery-coil ignition, secondary air system (KCAS), electric starter, three-phase alternator 105 W, battery 12 V. / 9 Ah.Bore x stroke 55.0 x 52.4 mm Displacement 124 cm³ Compression ratio 9.6: 1 Nominal output 12 HP (8.8 kW) at 9500 rpm Max. Torque 1 kpm (10 Nm) at 8000 / min Piston speed 17.5 m / sec at 10 000 / min Power transmission Primary drive via gear wheels, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, five-speed gearbox, chain. Chassis Double loop frame made of tubular steel, telescopic fork, standpipe diameter Two-arm swing arm made of steel tubes, two spring struts, with adjustable spring base, front disc brake with single-piston caliper and floating brake discs, Ø 260 mm, rear drum brake, Ø 130 mm, spoked wheels, front suspension 130 mm, rear 60 mm, front rim size 1.85 x 17 rear 2.75 x 15, front tire size 90/90 H 17 rear 130/90 H 15 Dimensions and weightsWeight with a full tank * 144 kg Permissible total weight 329 kg Load * 185 kgTank capacity 13 litersEquipment / PriceWarranty for one year with no mileage limitPrice including VAT. 6690 MarksDriving performance / Measured valuesMaximum speedSolo (with pillion) 102 (95) km / h 60 km / h 5.8 (7.8) sec 0-80 km / h 10.9 (15.6) sec Speedometer deviation display / effe active 50/49, 80/80, 100/100, 102 / 102 fuel type normal fuel consumption in the test 3.8 liters theor. Range 342 km * MOTORCYCLE measurements

Other competitors

The solid chopper growths from Japan include the Yamaha XV 125 Virago (ten hp, 6990 marks) and – with slight cutbacks in terms of features typical for choppers – the Suzuki GN 125 (twelve hp, 4790 marks) Big Japanese brands still have a number of exotic products on the 125cc chopper and cruiser market. The Daco Chopper 125 (9.3 hp, 5,500 marks) from China is one of those with a four-stroke engine. It is fully equipped and offers a lot of fringes as an extra. With the Daelim VS 125 (14 PS, 5990 Marks) and the Hyosong Cruise 125 (15 PS, 5790 Marks), South Koreans also mix in with the very small choppers. The Horex Imperator (twelve hp, 4800 marks) comes from Germany, but its heart comes from Taiwan. The antique design is strongly reminiscent of Werner’s Horex self-made. Another exotic comes from China: the Jincheng JC 125-8 (15 hp, 4990 marks). Their engine can be brought to life with both a kick starter and an electric starter. Kymco Zing 125 (eleven PS, 5745 marks) is the name of the baroque offer from a large Taiwanese two-wheeler manufacturer: Driven by a single-cylinder built under a Honda license, the well-equipped machine is a relatively heavy chunk. The Lecson Knight 125-2 (eleven hp, 5198 marks) also comes from Taiwan, and its features and weight are on par with the Kymco Zing. The last Taiwan chopper is the SYM Husky 125 (eleven hp, 6290 marks). The extensive equipment and the high weight do not show any relationship to a sled dog. WP VZ 125 Classic (eleven PS, 5650 Marks) is the name of a small China chopper that, apart from the stickers and the side covers, is very similar to its conspecifics from Taiwan. Certainly daring in terms of sound, feeling and power from the low revs, but completeness For the sake of this, the two-stroke engines should also be mentioned: the Fantic Custom 125 (15 hp, 6980 marks) and the Aprilia Classic 125 ( 15 hp, 7490 marks), both from Italy.

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