When it comes to motorcycles, YouTube if rife with the same old nonsense as any other genre. If you are watching a “Ten Reasons I Hate My New Honda XR150,” you are being played like the banjo player in Deliverance. Anyone who hates ten things about their brand new motorcycle should simply stop buying motorcycles. And if YOU hate ten things about your new motorcycle, let me be the first to tell you, you bought the wrong bike.
This post is not my review of the bike. This is just a basic intro in case you are wondering, curious, or looking to blow some cashish. Once I’ve had the bike for a year or so, and once I’ve put it through many more paces, I’ll come back with my lasting impression. Until then, I just wanted to satisfy those who were asking.
The Honda XR150 is not a Yamaha Tenere 700, or a KLR 650, or a BMW dual sport. The Honda is not a DRZ 400, a Yamaha XT250 or TW200, or even a Honda 300L Rally, or Transalp. The Honda isn’t like any of these bikes. I’ve ridden many of these motorcycles, at one time or another, and I can tell you the Honda isn’t even in the ballpark. So, if you desire one of these bikes, and think you can modify the Honda into becoming something it’s not, well, you can’t. But that, as it turns out, is just fine because this bike is pure awesome just as it is. (This does not mean the same basic mods we do to most motos won’t make it even more fun.)
The Honda is a beast built for high speed highway travel. Just kidding. The Honda is a 150cc, four-stroke, single-cylinder dual sport bike with a whopping twelve horsepower. Hitting an true highway will put the fear of God in you because this bike can’t hit highway speeds without serious modifications. But highways suck. And on a motorcycle they are even worse. The Honda tops out about 60mph, and that’s downhill with a tailwind. Uphill, especially at 7,000 feet elevation, I’m looking at 50mph. Add my packs, water, camera kit and now I’ll be lucky to see 45mph. Again, this is entirely okay. Why? Because if you are even thinking of buying this bike you are one of those cool people who loves life at 40-50mph. If you want to run from the police at 160mph you might need to upgrade.
The Honda is light, small and has a low seat height. It’s the only bike I’ve ever had that made me think, “I could teach my wife to ride this.” And then I remembered how my wife is behind the wheel and thought better of it.(Boston driver.) You pin the throttle on the Honda and you learn the meaning of patience. The bike is uber simple. In fact, I’ve already done quite a few modifications myself, including rejetting the carb twice, doing the first service, and adding and subtraction parts, which I will get to in minute. Although the online motorcycle world has some world renowned female participants, it is still dominated by semi-bro-culture men. Men who love to geek out, like photographers, and men who think they need way more moto than they actually do.
This bike was $3000 brand new and is incredibly cheap to insure, maintain and operate. It achieves approximately 100mpg(124mp based on official stats.) and replacement parts are easy to procure. Honda has legendary reliability and this bike has been in operation overseas for approximately ten years. The beauty of this bike is that it works on both road and dirt. Sure, it’s slow, but it’s SO much fun to ride. You never feel like you are sitting on too much bike, and when it comes to the dirt, there isn’t much you aim it at that makes one nervous. Worst case, you dump it. So what, pick it up.
And now let’s talk about what I’ve done to it. What I’ve done already: pegs, Yoshimura exhaust, Tusk tank bag, Tusk luggage, air box modification, skid plate. What will be done in the coming weeks. Tires, handlebars, risers, hand guards, folding shift lever, grips. There will be more. There always is. Don’t hate the player hate the game.
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You have me thinking with this one. I’m still soul searching regarding my Landcruiser. If I head over Snoqualmie pass and do some mild off-roading, I average 10mpg for the day. It seems a tad irresponsible to hold onto something so in-efficient, yet it brings a modicum of joy when I undertake those trips. The heavy bugger was only rated for 15mpg highway when new in ’94 so I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The author’s bike was in the 12-15 hp range, wasn’t it?
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Love me an FJ40 or 60. Keep it, and get the XR.
Yeah, maybe some buyer’s remorse prompted the 10 Things I Hate… video. Or not. Either way, one has to wonder why somebody would even bother except to add to the noise. Maybe that’s the point entirely. It would certainly be a lot more fun to see a video about somebody loving their whatever, talking about the adventures they’ve enjoyed with it and perhaps the tweeks they’ve done to enjoy their adventures further. I’m glad you’re enjoying your Honda. I had a motorcycle once. A Yamaha something that wanted to look like a Harley. It was pretty. Absolutely unsuitable to any sort of dirt track but then, so am I. A nice country road was quite a lot of fun though. My favorite experience was the time I was riding along and ran out of gas. The bike quit but I was still rolling along, suddenly in silence which offered a slice of crystal clarity and presence. It wasn’t supposed to be silent. It was a moment of wonder. I reached down and flipped the switch for the dual tank, got the motor started again and kept on rolling. What I appreciate most about your bike is that it isn’t designed for speed. Nah, you’re just out there, cruising along, seeing what there is to see. That’s a cool thing.
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That’s the point I was trying to make. Talk about where you go and what you do. Camera guys talk cameras and show mundane images. Moto guys talk all the nuts and bolts but don’t show much else. There are exceptions to both.
Had a Suzuki XM Turbo crotch rocket when I was young and indestructible. Sold it after one year, because I became a cop and found out everyone is destructible. Cars and trucks ever since. But sometimes, when I see someone on a dirt bike off the beaten trail…
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those fast bikes scare me..
I’m looking through photos and trying to see if this is what I rented for my last trip in VN. Same size engine, but the local offerings are different than what they have here, and Honda has a factory in Thailand thats to produce bike for the local market (https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/scooter/pcx). Generally, it’s difficult to find a real moto in Vietnam — ie one with larger wheels, real suspension and a clutch. Most everything is a scooter, and some of them are reasonably powerful., but actually not well suited for the agrarian uses that they are put up to. It’s easier to find real motorcycles in Thailand, and it’s actually fully legal for foreigners providing you have a M license wherever you’re fom, and you can still rent and possibly get away with it (maybe have a few $30 roadside “fines” 😉 ).VN is made for this style of bike. Anything bigger is overkill on anything but the huge truck highways, and if you’re on those you’re not seeing the country, + playing with your life.
Thailand works ok for bigger bikes — I rented an Africa Twin there and it was nice… might be just the ticket for long trips….bit day trips it’s way too much bike
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You CAN rent these in VN. A friend and Blurb colleague did just that.
I may have, I rented something along these lines, but I can’t find the pix. There was a german guy in DaNang that was renting almost new well-cared for bikes…but he seems to have disappeared during Covid
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Bummer.
Danielsan, As you know, there are so many elements to the makeup of a particular “motorcycle” that dictate its use (generally by design). Gear ratios, torque range (compression / bore and stroke), power-band, counter and rear sprocket tooth counts, frame geometry, swing-arm length, fork-rake, suspension compression and dampening, center of gravity, front and rear wheel size combinations and tire lug style…All things considered along with one’s riding skills, I would guess this Honda delivers on spec. As you mentioned, time on the bike will tell.
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Jeff, this baby is so slow and so fun. It’s like film, the limits are what make it so good.