Retro Honda CGX150 Revealed - With a Catch

We wanted the GB350, and didn’t get it. We wanted the Hawk 1100, and didn’t get it. Honda has now announced the CGX150 for the Asian market, and we aren’t going to get this one either.

You always want what you can’t have, is how the saying goes. The latest announcement from Honda’s subsidiary in China is just another example of this. The bike in question is one of those simple, stripped back and decidedly old-school machines that you just know would sell in droves if it did make it to UK shores.

Power comes from a fairly historic-looking air-cooled single, producing a claimed 12bhp at 7,500rpm and 9.2lb ft at 5,500rpm. Delivering the power to the rear wheel is a suitably retro five-speed gearbox, and braking at both ends is taken care of by a single disc and single-piston caliper at the front and rear. That’s not tonnes of braking power for a modern bike, but with a reported wet weight of under 130kg, even those diminutive stoppers should be enough to haul the little roadster up without too much trouble.

Really though this bike isn’t about the specs, the equipment or the performance, this bike is all about that lovely retro cafe racer racer styling. Riders of a certain age will remember another much-loved motorcycle from Honda’s sizable back catalogue that is reminiscent of CGX150, the GB500 TT. The GB500 was an ironic bike by all accounts, being that it was inspired by the British-built single-cylinder machines of the 60s and 70s, yet not officially available to buy in the UK. Sadly it looks like the CGX150 could be going the same way. And while not bringing a 150cc geared bike to market here does make sense (seeing as they don’t sell in huge numbers in much of Europe) it should be too difficult to switch it out for a 125cc engine, making it a much more viable option on UK and European roads.