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1983Honda XL 125R Paris Dakar

27 fields on record

The 1983 Honda XL 125R Paris Dakar is a Japanese trail bike powered by a 124cc air-cooled four-stroke single making 11.4 hp and 10 Nm. It weighs 109 kg dry and has a 6-speed gearbox and a 9-litre tank.

Capacity: 124.0 ccm
Engine: Single, four-stroke
Gearbox: 6-speed
Dry weight: 109.0 kg
Seat height: 860 mm
Power: 11.4 HP (8.3 kW) @ 10000 RPM

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How it rides

Editorial estimate from the spec sheet - not lab tested

Off-road & trail75%

Cornering48%

City riding30%

Daily riding30%

Touring42%

Two-up20%

Track18%

Best for: Dual-sport motorcycle built for its class - off-road and technical terrain.
Built for: A dual-sport motorcycle from Honda, built around a 124cc engine - a real production model, but this profile is formula-generated from its class and spec sheet rather than individually reviewed.
Not ideal for: Not for highway touring or pillion comfort.

Scores are derived from the spec sheet using the same model across every bike, so they compare like for like.

Will it fit you?

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Your height

Inseam (optional)

Units

At 860mm, a rider of 68.9" with a 31" (estimated) inseam will reach the ground with tip-toe one foot on the 1983 Honda XL 125R Paris Dakar, with a moderate knee angle of around 90 degrees and an upright riding position.

Assumes about 30mm of suspension sag once seated. This is an approximation from category-typical geometry, not a measurement of this bike or of you - sit on one before you buy.

More bikes at 821-900 mm — Long Legs →

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Reliability & safety

Bike Reliability score, safety recalls and owner complaints

Bike Reliability

How the score works →

out of 100Poor

The Honda XL 125R Paris Dakar passed its annual roadworthiness test first time 69.7% of the time, 15.1 points below expected for bikes of the same age and mileage. That beats 13% of models.

This covers every year of the model.

69.7%Passed first time

17.1%Failed outright

13.2%Fixed during test

20,000Typical miles

574Tests

Pass rate by miles ridden

0-10k

70.2%

10-20k

77.5%

20-30k

65.2%

30-40k

56%

All years of this model.

Against its rivals · ranks 1 of 4

#	Model (all years)	Score	Tests
1	Honda XL 125R Paris Dakar	13 Poor	574
2	Honda MTX 125R	11 Poor	3,480
3	Suzuki TS 125	11 Poor	1,904
4	Yamaha XT 125	9 Poor	152

Rivals are the most-viewed bikes on MotorcycleDB in the same category and engine size, from within three years of this model.

From British annual roadworthiness tests, 2005-2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (DVSA MOT test data, Great Britain). How Bike Reliability works.