The New Honda CB150X Is A Baby ADV Ready To Explore

The smallest adventure bike in Honda’s lineup is ready to hit Indonesian roads.

By: Enrico Punsalang

Nov 17, 2021 at 8:38pm ET

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Normally, when you think of adventure bikes, rugged, off-road ready machines such as the KTM 790 Adventure come to mind. I mean, of course, adventure bikes need to be ready for anything ranging from highway stints to off-road terrain, right? Well, as it would turn out, adventure can mean many different things. You see, in Indonesia and other densely populated Asian countries, riding in the urban jungle could be seen as an adventure in itself.

Perhaps this is why Honda thought it fit to release the CB150X—a tiny, lightweight, road-biased adventure bike based largely on the CB150 naked platform. Just like its bigger sibling, the CB500X, it gets full-blown ADV styling with a fairing, tall windscreen, and long-travel suspension. It is, however, clear to see that the CB150X isn’t designed for off-road use thanks to its 17-inch wheels and road-focused tires. It is, therefore, more of a small capacity touring motorcycle with adventurous styling. Despite that, I’m certain that the little CB150X will be more than capable of handling the light trail here, or the occasional gravel road.

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Similar to the other bikes in Honda’s model lineup, the CB150X employs sharp, aggressive styling, accentuated by a muscular fuel tank, sharp tail, and a beak below the headlight. It gets a belly pan, passenger grab rails, and a thick, two-up saddle suggesting it’s more than ready to ride two-up for long distances. Indeed, cover long distances you will, but not in speed, as the CB150X is powered by Honda’s 149cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine which has just 16.5 ponies on tap. Similar to the CB150R and CBR150R, the CB150X gets a six-speed manual transmission. Expect it to hit a top speed of around 80 miles per hour.

As far as features go, the CB150X is rather barebones with nothing more than LED lights and a monochrome LCD instrument panel to show for. Surprisingly, the bike doesn’t come with ABS. The bike does, however, get Showa inverted front suspension, and a preload-adjustable rear monoshock. Pricing for the new CB150X has been pegged at the equivalent of $2,250 USD. This is undoubtedly pretty good value considering how versatile this bike could be, especially in places like Indonesia and other emerging markets.