No More Honda Cbr150, Phantom Ta200 And Sonic 125

[Myaimistrue]

Love my 2003 cbr150 and am thinking of trading it in on a new one before they're no longer available, but am thinking that it's replacement might be worth waiting for. Seems like no one really knows what is next, not even the dealers. Please keep us posted!

[visions]

Love my 2003 cbr150 and am thinking of trading it in on a new one before they're no longer available, but am thinking that it's replacement might be worth waiting for. Seems like no one really knows what is next, not even the dealers. Please keep us posted!

Had my bike serviced yesterday...main city Honda Dealer.

I said about CBR150 not being available in future.....they looked at me like I was from outa space and said of course they are available. Knew nothing of "no future delivery"

They have 1 black and 1 red available now. 4 used bikes with 18K to 22k km on the clocks all very tidy clean bikes.

Im not saying the 150 will be available or not...just repeating my experience yesterday TiT who knows?

[jackcorbett]

Presently at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi. I've made no secret of my being a fan of the automatics, particularly of the top of the line models from Honda and Yamaha, formerfly the Air Blade from Honda and the PCXi that recently replaced it and of the Yamaha 135 c.c. Elegance which I own and like very much. I find this bike to be ideal for in and around Pattaya where I live. But Krabi is different. Here there is not nearly the traffic or the rude behavior on the road. One is likely to drive longer distances, there's a lot of sharp curves and large hills. So I rented a nice blue Honda 150 CBR with only 2500 kilometers on it and find it to be ideal for these driving conditions. It's got a relatively large fuel tank and I've read it gets great fuel economy. So that's comforting because out here I could easily get lost in the sticks. Handles great. Of most importance to me is the riding position is much more comfortable than I thought. Not a drawback at all and I"m now 62. This is probably an ideal bike for driving all over Thailand. Back in the U.S. I'd be on the interstates and just set the cruise control at 80 or whatever. But those conditions do not exist here and driving at 60 to 80 kilometers is much more realistic. I like this bike a lot more than the Honda Phantom as it is much lighter and sportier with better handling. Bottom line is I don't know why Honda would want to be in a hurry to change it.

[visions]

Presently at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi. I've made no secret of my being a fan of the automatics, particularly of the top of the line models from Honda and Yamaha, formerfly the Air Blade from Honda and the PCXi that recently replaced it and of the Yamaha 135 c.c. Elegance which I own and like very much. I find this bike to be ideal for in and around Pattaya where I live. But Krabi is different. Here there is not nearly the traffic or the rude behavior on the road. One is likely to drive longer distances, there's a lot of sharp curves and large hills. So I rented a nice blue Honda 150 CBR with only 2500 kilometers on it and find it to be ideal for these driving conditions. It's got a relatively large fuel tank and I've read it gets great fuel economy. So that's comforting because out here I could easily get lost in the sticks. Handles great. Of most importance to me is the riding position is much more comfortable than I thought. Not a drawback at all and I"m now 62. This is probably an ideal bike for driving all over Thailand. Back in the U.S. I'd be on the interstates and just set the cruise control at 80 or whatever. But those conditions do not exist here and driving at 60 to 80 kilometers is much more realistic. I like this bike a lot more than the Honda Phantom as it is much lighter and sportier with better handling. Bottom line is I don't know why Honda would want to be in a hurry to change it.

!! 

Honda sold round 1000 CBR 150 in Thailand in January this year...Thats no small number

Cant see too many companies deciding to forgo that turnover

Im age 67 and now done over 70,000km on a CBR150

Ive also ridden Phantoms and give me the CBR anyday. better in all departments.

On a trip can get 300km from a tank full. I usually refill about 200km (200 baht) to keep a sure reserve.

I cruise at 7000 to 7500RPM sometimes up to 8500. Have done 500km non stop except to fill with fuel but not get off the bike.

Whatever Honda replaces this bike with, will have to be damned good!!

[VocalNeal]

150 is a strange size? CBR 150 never made it to Indo which is a huge market because they have Tiger (no relation) 197cc.

125 I understand because some countries have rules for younger riders. Could it be that there is a larger capacity bike in the wings? I seem to remember rumors of a 250 twin Phantom replacement.

Yamaha used to have a 180 twin if I remember, not that this is relevant to this thread.

[visions]

Maybe the Bkk Motor Show will reveal more what Honda....or the others are doing about a replacement....but dont hold ur breath waithing...

[jackcorbett]

Presently at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi. I've made no secret of my being a fan of the automatics, particularly of the top of the line models from Honda and Yamaha, formerfly the Air Blade from Honda and the PCXi that recently replaced it and of the Yamaha 135 c.c. Elegance which I own and like very much. I find this bike to be ideal for in and around Pattaya where I live. But Krabi is different. Here there is not nearly the traffic or the rude behavior on the road. One is likely to drive longer distances, there's a lot of sharp curves and large hills. So I rented a nice blue Honda 150 CBR with only 2500 kilometers on it and find it to be ideal for these driving conditions. It's got a relatively large fuel tank and I've read it gets great fuel economy. So that's comforting because out here I could easily get lost in the sticks. Handles great. Of most importance to me is the riding position is much more comfortable than I thought. Not a drawback at all and I"m now 62. This is probably an ideal bike for driving all over Thailand. Back in the U.S. I'd be on the interstates and just set the cruise control at 80 or whatever. But those conditions do not exist here and driving at 60 to 80 kilometers is much more realistic. I like this bike a lot more than the Honda Phantom as it is much lighter and sportier with better handling. Bottom line is I don't know why Honda would want to be in a hurry to change it.

!! 

Honda sold round 1000 CBR 150 in Thailand in January this year...Thats no small number

Cant see too many companies deciding to forgo that turnover

Im age 67 and now done over 70,000km on a CBR150

Ive also ridden Phantoms and give me the CBR anyday. better in all departments.

On a trip can get 300km from a tank full. I usually refill about 200km (200 baht) to keep a sure reserve.

I cruise at 7000 to 7500RPM sometimes up to 8500. Have done 500km non stop except to fill with fuel but not get off the bike.

Whatever Honda replaces this bike with, will have to be damned good!!

[jackcorbett]

Honda sold round 1000 CBR 150 in Thailand in January this year...Thats no small number

Cant see too many companies deciding to forgo that turnover

Im age 67 and now done over 70,000km on a CBR150

Ive also ridden Phantoms and give me the CBR anyday. better in all departments.

On a trip can get 300km from a tank full. I usually refill about 200km (200 baht) to keep a sure reserve.

I cruise at 7000 to 7500RPM sometimes up to 8500. Have done 500km non stop except to fill with fuel but not get off the bike.

Whatever Honda replaces this bike with, will have to be damned good!!

Couldn't do a thing with that post of mine above at the resort back in Ao Nang.

I agree with you. The CBR 150 is one fine machine for Thailand. I can see a guy buying whatever he likes for the sound of a larger engine, style, etc but realistically for the kind of conditions here in this country what works in the U.S.A. is not the thing to have here. When I rented the CBR 150 in Krabi yesterday I noticed my Thai girlfriend was really uptight whenever I'd give the bike its head, even in small doses. After 20 minutes I dumped her back at our hotel and went off alone. I got up to around 90 km per hour once but that was even a bit much for driving in in the danger zone. Years ago in the U.S. I once took my BMW 100 Krs up to 220 kilometers per hour or so. I'd cruise at 80 to 100 miles an hour but that was on U.S. four lanes where the average driver one encounters is not a complete idiot. When I got back to my hotel aftre a couple of hours I found out my girlfriend was terrified because she had been in a bad accident a few years ago due to a hit and run car driver smashing her bike. Her girlfriend was nearly killed and my girlfriend was unconsciouis for more than an hour and it took three or four months for her to recover from her injuries. A year and a half ago the owner of the guesthouse I stayed at for 11 months was hit by a hit and run car driver and hospitalized for two weeks. In the same two week period a fellow condo owner was hit by hit and run motorbike taxi driver and was hospitlized with a severe shoulder injury. Within the same two week period his best friend was hospitalized when his motorbike crashed. ABout one year ago a pedestrian was hospitalized by a hit and run motorbike driver at Soi 18 1/2 in Naklua and about two months ago at the same location Soi 18 1/2 another pedestrian was killed by a hit and run pickup driver.

Bottom line is this. There is no sense of responsibility here in Thailand from many if not most drivers and the police and politicians do nothing to see that there is. So driving at the cruising speeds the larger bikes are capable of amounts to a death wish. My thoughts are the CBR 150 is capable of getting all around Thailand at the kinds of speeds it is reasonably sane to drive at. It feels very solid, handles very well and it has large enough tires to be very stable at the speeds it's capable of. Has six gears so it has long legs. It is very narrow so it's right in there with Waves, Nouvos and the like at threading through traffic that will leave much larger bikes behind. I also found that it's very light and well balanced so I can easily pick up its front end and move the bike around to get it in and out of the smallest parking spots. It's going to be very capable of going cross country due to its relatively large fuel tank and excellent fuel economy. So it's a very practical machine for being an all around performer in this country, and it costs what? All of 60,000 baht or so?

Something like thirty years ago I remember my Dad telling me that the owner of a motorcyle shop told him that the most fun he ever had on a motorbike was driving a 175 c.c. machine. After putting a few kilometers on the Honda 150 I have to agree. My 1000 c.c. BMW was too much for city driving and it never felt right until one was going at least 80 miles an hour on it. I'd much prefer the 150 CBR for driving around Thailand. So I can't see HOnda wanting to tamper much with a great thing. As for that 250 c.c. Yamaha that might be coming out, it's a low slung cruiser, and if it comes out it just doesn't have the riding position that will make a man feel part of his machine and on top of his driving.

[mcgriffith]

I hope Honda comes up with something fuel injected a bit bigger than the CBR125i.

They purpose-built the CBR150R here in Thailand for export to other countries, mostly the Phillipines.

Doesn't seem logical to build an old model- and a 125cc ?

I'll just hold on to my 150....it's still a gem bike IMHO.

A 185, fuel injected will get my attention however....

[Soi Sauce]

The difference being that any current 223 bikes don't really fill the position that the CBR 150R has enjoyed.  Having looked around, the 223 engine isn't that different from Tiger's offering in terms of performance; this could be a positive since that segment of the market has been overlooked, but a Boxer is not a CBR and as stated earlier I don't see how they can massage the 223 engine to provide the sporty caracatheristics that people expect from such a bike.

Dave_Boo,

I agree the reworked 223cc engine with fuel-injection will never create a pure sport bike, I not believe that Honda is going that way. I have more the idea that Honda will use the new reworked 223cc engine to power a supermotard style motorcycle. And maybe an enduro/trail bike.

Pure speculations this could be a modern version of the XR230SM and the XR230. But would this motorcycles be successful in Thailand?

If the success of those litlte Kwakas is anything to go by, these would sell and sell everywhere. Off-road style looks the best on small bikes and image is important here. can foresee a huge after-sales ad-on maket also if they're introdiuced.

PS> If it ain't got Honda written on it, why buy it? nothing compares.

[PeaceBlondie]

I cruise at 125 kph safely.

[jackcorbett]

I cruise at 125 kph safely.

I have no doubt the bike will handle that from the standpoint of overall handling and stability. My point was there's a lot of traffic even where I was going near Ao Nang Beach in the high season (although I didn't get too far out on the more remote roads) and there's just too many unexpected sudden developments occuring such as a food kart suddenly entering the roadway, a Thai driver suddenly pulling out in front of you from a dead stop at the curb without looking, someone deciding to drive against the flow of traffic, or a drunken Westerner suddenly starting to lurch across the street. With all of this going on I think driving much past 50 miles an hour on a bike makes it nearly impossible for the mind to comprehend such sudden developments, for the body to react to them by giving the correct inputs to his motorbike. To make my point, if I had my old BMW K 100 RS back and was driving it here in Thailand that bike will do zero to 100 miles an hour in 7 seconds. Sixty probably arrives in 3 seconds. That bike was very stable at 100 miles an hour and driving at 80 seemed almost as if one were standing still. Say I took it out on 2nd Road here in Pattaya and goosed it just for a couple of seconds. Say 2nd road was clear. In 2 seconds I'd be up to 50 miles an hour but during that 2 seconds a lot can happen and on 2nd road probably will. At high speeds the bike's a great handler and it will stop extremely quickly, but this is just too much bike for Thailand, especially in the city. And I'd probably get myself killed in very short order goosing the throttle just for a couple of seconds in such places as 2nd Road, Beach Road or even Third Road. Moreover, while driving the bike slowly in traffic it feels just too heavy. And in a lot of situations the 504 pounds dry weight of this machine is a lot to wrestle around when you try to get into really tight parking places. I really did like the CBR 150 which had a very light feel to it as far as dawdling around in slow traffic and its riding position was far better than I expected. I noticed a slight tingle in the grips from vibration but I was having so much fun driving the bike that after awhile I stopped noticing it.

If I lived somewhere other than Pattaya where I'd have more driving on two lane country roads, I would have been looking at something like the Ninja 250 R or the Kawasaki ERn 650. Well.....at least for now I'm not going to be trading my Nouvo Elegance in for a CBR as I still think it's more suitable for the very heavy traffic conditions here in Pattaya and I need its carrying capacity for such tasks as bringing home 11 bags of groceries or stapping a desktop computer behind me on its long seat. But after driving the 150 I can't see spending the money for the Ninja or its larger brother when the CBR can be had for just 60,000 baht considering it's got all the power I need. And back in Krabi looking at much larger bikes such as the Steed alongside of the CBR. I was thinking..."No way I'd enjoy driving that bike nearly as much."

[Kalyan]

No doubt about the CBR150 - it seems to be earning high marks as a junior track racer (was featured prominently in an Aussie bike magazine a couple years back) and as a daily workhorse.

I was fairly interested in an upgrade to the CBR150 but decided my famous-for-illegal-Malaysian-racing Yamaha moped gave me similar capabilities. So Phantom it is. And not just any Phantom...

[powderpuff]

All this Honda confusion is great news for the Kawa Ninja 250. A real motorcycle.

[PeaceBlondie]

Jack, I go 125 kph on an elevated freeway in the fast lane. And 115 kph on an open 2-lane road. I could not exceed 90 kph on the Phantom.

[jackcorbett]

Jack, I go 125 kph on an elevated freeway in the fast lane. And 115 kph on an open 2-lane road. I could not exceed 90 kph on the Phantom.

A German fellow condo owner put a fair number of miles on a Phantom. He told me my Yamaha 115 c.c. MX (I had then) was as fast as his Phantom and choosing between the two was a matter of personal preference. He bought a new Phantom last year as he seems to be having problems with them after about 25,000 kilometers. If I took what he says as gospel with its approximately 25 % greater power over my old Nouvo MX, my Yamaha Nouvo Elegance would outperform his Phantom. However based on figures I've seen the power to weight ratios of all the respective bikes would not support this conclusion. The Phantom weighs a little over 300 pounds dry although it looks a lot heavier. My Nouvo Elegance is around 230 pounds dry, and the CBR would be somewhere around 250-260 pounds. Horsepower for the 115 c.c. Nouvo MX is 8.9, for the Nouvo Elegance it's about 11.2 and for both the Phantom and the CBR 150 it's about 17, again from what I can find from such sources as Wikipedia. EVen the Honda Rebel sold in the U.S. as Honda 250 twin but which only has about 230 cc's reputedly has only about 17 horsepower--no improvement over the smaller 200 c.c. single cylinder Phantom.

Obviously the strongest bike here is the 150 CBR but I'd think the Phantom and the Rebel should each do about 70 miles an hour or a tad more which is 120 kilometers per hour with the 150 CBR doing a bit more but with far superior handling and all around performance. Why only 90 kilometers per hour out of the Phantom for you?

[visions]

Jack, I go 125 kph on an elevated freeway in the fast lane. And 115 kph on an open 2-lane road. I could not exceed 90 kph on the Phantom.

Peaceblondie, Is the engine on your bike standard or include performance mods? I seem tyo remember you have right?

Just wish they would upgrade the 150 with CBR 125 fairings, 250 V twin, wider rims and twin discs up front!!

Wouldnt be a bike to touch it then. (For Thailand driving conditions) Couldnt be that hard or cost that much more as most of the parts/tooling is already in Hondas supply chain.

Nice to dream....

[PeaceBlondie]

Both mine were box stock. 140 indicated top speed, weighing 91 plus a backpack and tank bag.

[gmac]

All this Honda confusion is great news for the Kawa Ninja 250. A real motorcycle.

Don't think anyone would argue about the qualities of the Ninja it's the price that's the issue. When you could buy a bike as good as the CBR for less than half the price it was always going to struggle. If Honda don't come up with a similarly priced replacement maybe we will see a few more Ninja's on the road. Then again if Honda were to pitch in with an offering at around the Ninja's price they may well lose out at the bottom end of the market themselves, though not necessarily to Kawasaki, with the more economically challenged amongst us possibly opting for the Tiger Boxer instead. Not a sports bike but at least a reasonably solid alternative to all the step through scooters dominating the market.

[canuckamuck]

I am hoping that a V twin cruiser (200cc+) will appear with a Honda badge. I have had my CBR 150 since 2003, and I am looking to change to a cruising bike. Rumor on another thread is that Yamaha might put one forward, I hope Honda does the same so there is some choice. I also hope they manage to come under the B 100k mark, but I really doubt that will happen.

Edited March 20, 2010 by canuckamuck

[visions]

All this Honda confusion is great news for the Kawa Ninja 250. A real motorcycle.

Don't think anyone would argue about the qualities of the Ninja it's the price that's the issue. When you could buy a bike as good as the CBR for less than half the price it was always going to struggle. If Honda don't come up with a similarly priced replacement maybe we will see a few more Ninja's on the road. Then again if Honda were to pitch in with an offering at around the Ninja's price they may well lose out at the bottom end of the market themselves, though not necessarily to Kawasaki, with the more economically challenged amongst us possibly opting for the Tiger Boxer instead. Not a sports bike but at least a reasonably solid alternative to all the step through scooters dominating the market.

Surely if Honda did in their wisdom come out with a larger 250 (or whatever) engined bike, hopefully a CBR, then it would make commercial sense to start supplying the CBR 125 to the Thai market, to keep the bottom end sales alive. After all its made here anyway. Just seems so logical to me.

[gmac]

All this Honda confusion is great news for the Kawa Ninja 250. A real motorcycle.

Don't think anyone would argue about the qualities of the Ninja it's the price that's the issue. When you could buy a bike as good as the CBR for less than half the price it was always going to struggle. If Honda don't come up with a similarly priced replacement maybe we will see a few more Ninja's on the road. Then again if Honda were to pitch in with an offering at around the Ninja's price they may well lose out at the bottom end of the market themselves, though not necessarily to Kawasaki, with the more economically challenged amongst us possibly opting for the Tiger Boxer instead. Not a sports bike but at least a reasonably solid alternative to all the step through scooters dominating the market.

Surely if Honda did in their wisdom come out with a larger 250 (or whatever) engined bike, hopefully a CBR, then it would make commercial sense to start supplying the CBR 125 to the Thai market, to keep the bottom end sales alive. After all its made here anyway. Just seems so logical to me.

'Logical'.....now there's a novel word in Thailand! But yes, it certainly would seem to make sense.

[Richard-BKK]

As it seems no smaller engine CBR is coming to Thailand...