During the fifth round of the Petronas Malaysian Cub Prix series in Teluk Intan, we were invited by Boon Siew Honda to take the recently launched 2016 Honda RS150R kapchai for a quick test ride. The RS150R is a new market for Honda in Malaysia, being its first product in the 150 cc category locally.
Priced at RM8,213.94 for the standard, and RM8,374.94 for the advanced, the RS150R comes with a liquid-cooled 149.7 cc, four-valve DOHC engine that produces 15.6 hp at 9,000 rpm and 13.5 Nm torque at 6,500 rpm. A six-speed gearbox with wet clutch gets the drive to the back wheel via a chain, and fuelling is taken care of by Honda’s PGM-FI, which makes the RS150R Euro 3 compliant.
The short test ride was divided into two sessions: a 30 minute test on public roads, and a three-lap sprint on the makeshift CubPrix track. While the time spent riding the RS150R was short, it was enough to give us an impression of what the bike would be like to live with, pending an in-depth review later on.
Getting on the RS150R showed the usual kapchai design cues, step-through frame, small fairing in front, and low seat-height of 764 mm. Grabbing hold of the handlebars revealed them to be set at a comfortable angle for us, although a fellow moto-journalist said he felt they were a little high for him.
Taking the RS150R out on the road revealed that the power was a little lacking in the acceleration stakes. Despite having six gears to row through, sprinting the RS150R from traffic light to traffic light could as best be described as leisurely – albeit faster than the typical 125 or 110 cc stock kapchai, though not by much.
We did put this down to the rider being a little bit on the “too much pizza” side, and assumed that performance would be much better with a lightweight whippet-sized jockey behind the bars. Ultimate performance from the RS150R was felt to be adequate, with a top speed of about 125 km/h on the crowded roads of Teluk Intan.
Hazarding a guess, we think the limit of the RS150R would be about 135 km/h or so, making it somewhat adequate for highway use. Considering that the machine has six-speeds and a manual clutch, keeping it in the meat of the powerband would be easy, compared to the semi-automatic clutch found in most bikes in the kapchai category.
Zipping around town – moto-journalists are easily bored – we put the handling of the RS150R to test with a series of 90-degree corners that book-end the town’s one-way streets. Which is where the RS150R surprised us, somewhat.
Handling was found to actually be quite capable, especially for a motorcycle at this price-point. Doing the kamikaze thing into left- or right-handers showed the RS150 would hold the line, and no “bouncy-bouncy” came from the “boingy-boingy” bits.
Of course, with an 87 kg rider on board, we were probably about two-thirds of the way up the RS150R’s load capacity, but the way the RS150R carved the sharp corners made us grin inside the helmet. During the closed track session, which was laid out on a very basic pattern with only a few corners and long straights, it was hard to gauge the RS150R’s handling on the limit.
There was one diabolical hair-pin, with very close quarters, and sandbags at the apex to catch out the unwary rider. At this point, the RS150R was easy to chuck into the corner, and bring it upright again.
At the chicane, the flip-flop from right-to-left was made without thought, the bike making the transition without complaint, and not bending under the weight of the rider. Pushed a little hard on the straights, the RS150R maintained its composure, the gearbox taking the punishment of redline gear changes without protest.
Right up to the point where we needed to start braking for the corners. Both on the street and the temporary circuit set up for the Malaysian Cub Prix, the front brake lacked any sort of feel, or bite, on the 296 mm disc.
Even a hard squeeze on the brake lever did little. The back brake did, however, compensate for this, having enough bite on the 190 mm diameter disc to lock the rear wheel at will.
That the suspension didn’t wince at this sort of treatment is testament to good component selection by Honda. The front forks, while being a flexy when pushed hard, did absorb the bumps on the road well.
The single shock absorber at the rear end also performed well, only failing to absorb sharp road imperfections. To be fair, most bikes, even at the higher end, fail to do this well, save plush touring rigs.
Up on the instruments, a single dial holds the tachometer, which goes up to a 10,000 rpm redline. The engine cuts out at precisely 11,500 rpm – please don’t ask how we know this.
A trapezoidal LCD readout on the right displays speed, fuel, gear position and the odometer, with a thumb switch cycling through the odometer and tripmeter readouts. During start-up, the displays proudly display the fact that the RS150R has six gears, something we found quite amusing.
Bringing the 2016 Honda RS150R bang up-to-date is LED lighting for the headlights and tail, with separate position lights on the left and right of the front cowl. Fuel for the bike is carried in a 4.5-litre tank, and we didn’t have the RS150R long enough to do any sort of consumption testing.
With a weight of 122 kg, the RS150R was easy to handle, and didn’t show its weight, a little over 10 kg above the class average. We did find the seat a little hard, even during the short test ride. A long ride will reveal its true colours, perhaps needing a little bedding in over time.
The 2016 Honda RS150R comes in two variants – the standard at RM8,213.94 in Matte Blue or Matte Black, and the advanced at RM8,374.94 in Metallic Red and Repsol Racing colours (pictured here), with availability in Boon Siew Honda dealers beginning this month. The closest rival to the Honda RS150R is the 2016 Yamaha Y15ZR at RM8,210.76. We will have a more detailed look at both “supercubs” soon.
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You need to have a kapchai expectation when testing a kapchai. The way you write the article suggests you don’t. As a journalist you need to have a feel of cars and bikes of the same bracket/genere of the one that you are currently testing. My suggestion, try to ride more kapchais for a few days for each type, yamaha 125z/modenas dinamik (the more powerful types), yamaha 135lc, suzuki belang, Honda Future, and of course the ubiquitous Honda ex5.
I owned, and rode on a daily basis, a Honda EX5 for about three-and-a-half years, some 10 years ago. My daily commute then was a 70 km round-trip. That is my basis for comparison for any underbone bike I ride.
Honestly, by the way you wrote, as if the bike is too underpowered, brakes lacking, suspension not advanced enough for you, and if that is compared to your ex5 10 years ago, well I would die to have your superb ex5 sir…
A comparison test with other bikes in its class would be great. Perhaps a slot in Driven too.
this test ride is written carefully with observation and concentration
i am a rider cub chai too
the way u handle and test motor is same same like I do
I own suzuki belang R 150cc and suzuki address 115cc
As for the front brake. It’s same as my Belang R. They need quite some time to cook and grind at least after change oil 2000km for me. After that u really can feel the bite. Same as the hard seat.
You may have a point. The time given for the test ride, as mentioned in the ride impression, was short, and really not enough for the bike to properly bed in. The Repsol advanced model we rode only had 267 km on the odometer. We hope to form a better and more complete impression of the Honda RS150R when we get a unit for full review.
Hi, Mohan, TX for the review. BTW you should also read some of the reviews did by the Indonesian counterparts. They also stressed that while being DOHC & 6-speed, this bike is not actually meant for pure speed as everybody thought. It has also off-road capabilities as emphasise in their commercial videos. Currently everyone is waiting to see how the RS150 against the Yamaha Y15ZR….
Which is about what I found during the (very) short test ride. While the engine of the RS150R is smooth, it certainly isn’t as quick as I expected it to be.
Btw would certainly want to know whats “quick” as per your expectation? Compared to other kapchais?
Waiting for your full review. Currently in the choosing path between Y15ZR, RS150rr, and FZ150.. Daily commute about 40km. Grateful, if you can drop ur opinion which one is the best for my use.
pls go for Y15ZR
Yes, and run them on dynos. Love to see the power/ torque delivery instead of just headline figures.
Beside color, what is the difference between advanced and the basic model, sir?
hi commentor
let me correct
sonic front disc use single caliper
suzuki belang R use twin caliper
while suzuki front disc is larger in diameter compare to honda rs150r
I always enjoy your reviews Mr Mohan. Best of luck to you from a fellow biker. Maybe you can write some Articles on older Japanese bikes or those older British bikes.
Would an article on an older Italian bike from my collection satisfy you?
Well written. These days I enjoy reading bike review more than almost any car review on paultan.org
Aiyo…Mohan…
I was so excited to see the posting of this review, only to go away with more doubts…
You didn’t give me a closure. I was hoping you would tell me this is the absolutely best Kapchai there is right now and nothing will surpass it for a long long time…
Or at least tell me, this is all hype and noise. There already exist the perfect Kapcai in Yamaha (or others) and I shouldnt be looking at this…
I know you had a short ride.
But please give me a closure in telling me what’s the absolute best kapchai there is, in your next detailed review / shoot out. Try not to stand on the fence…
Making such conclusions without making comparisons is just irresponsible and is only suitable for readers seeking entertainment and not an actual buyers guide
Now that the Kapchai has reached the 150cc mark shouldn’t the street bike be like 175-185cc mark. The Yamaha FZ is still 150cc. Back in the 80’s-90’s kapchais were between 70-90cc and the street bikes were 100-185cc range. What are the bike companies waiting for?
You can choose from the ktm duke 200, to the many demak and ktn variants.
Nowadays the street bike is divided into two categories namely the naked bike and the street racer. I’m more used to the naked street bike. My first bike was the Yamaha RD 125 twin cylinders then Honda Hawk 145GL then Suzuki TS185 and now Yamaha FZ150i so i prefer a naked street bike and i don’t the KTM 200 is a naked bike.
there is benelli, bro..
hi mohan, hope you can come out more detail test ride on rs150r and y15zr… lagi best if can compare to belang 150 / fi version
nice write up abang mohan, most of my friends really enjoy the bike section nowadays compare to car section, maybe the negative comment are not so wild yet in the bike section..hahaha.
any way, please do write up the article on your old italian bike..would love to read it.
keep up the good work abang mohan!
Rempit will like the looks but not the power:)
Hi Mohan, interesting article.. seek your opinion.. I am having a Honda future, I travel from the mines to KL, I am thinking to change to new RS150R, but not really sure if the change really worth it..
Well written. Please write more on bikes reviews and news mr mohan.
Kriss 110cc top speed 125km/h
ex5 top speed 110 km/h
LC 135 top speed 130km/h
Y15 top speed 130km/h
RS 150 R top speed 130km/h
5 km more than Kriss power..
Go for rs150.. smooth engine.. handling very good n most important comfartable! Superb when cornering at samantan road! Drop gear and press the throtle max limit n u will see how the power of honda made.
In Oct 2015 I bought a yamaha y15 for my son. In Sept 2016 I bought a honda rs150 for myself to work, 80 km per day. I feel more power in the honda, being dohc. The engine sounds cool for a one cylinder engine. The 6 speed is superb, when going at 90 kmh and above. Both bike gives good mileage at 50km per liter. I modified the honda seat giving more comfort for the rider and pillion. Riding a super kapchai in the traffic and highways of Kuala Lumpur has never been enjoyable.
Hi Rahman, i do feel the seat was too hard for me. it caused backpain to me everytime i ride it. can share about ur seat modification? you change the whole seat or put gel on it. where can i have these mod?
Thanks
I totally agree with the review. However there are few point from my experience riding both super cub model from yamaha and honda. For braking power, there is no doubt from the begining of front disc brake era, yamaha have the best front disc brake regardless any cub model until 150cc. Unfortunately, quality of material made for yamaha cub nowadays were not to the standard. for instance their model have engine oil dried issue since their 1st 4 stroke cub model, yamaha srl/srx. The con rod,crank shaft and piston material were not as though as they look. As for honda, the have made a brilliant decision to launch the rs model. at least we can see the manufacture work hard on the design. Rs 150 has lack of braking issue and handling over the high speed corner. This could be possibly due to rs150 center gravity is higher. Compare to y150 center gravity is lower and more fun at the corner. However rs150 have more riding experience compare to y150. There should be pro and con for both model. For product quality, i would give rs150 a 5 star.
Price highest
How to buy your product rs 150