We Filipinos have a long-standing love affair with off-road capable motorcycles. Commonly known as “dual sport” bikes, these machines, regardless of displacement, are designed for both on road and off road use. With the current condition of our road networks, it’s no wonder these type of bikes are a crowd favorite. Most manufacturers in the local market have at least one dual sport offering in their product line-up to be able to compete for a slice of the much-coveted pie. Market leader Honda, has a few, but the most popular is the XR 150L.
The XR 150L is powered by a 149.2-cubic centimeter, air-cooled single cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. It produces 12.5 Newton-meters of torque at 6,000 revolutions per minute and offers good acceleration whether in urban traffic or even on steep mountain road. The XR’s engine also features an internal engine balancer that keeps handle bar vibration to a minimum. You won’t end up with numb hands even after spending hours on the saddle...and what a comfortable saddle it is. Contoured to better hold your tush, it also lowered seat height to a reasonable 825 millimeters, as opposed to the competition’s 840 millimeters. To a 5’11” rider like me, it may not seem significant but majority of Filipinos have an average height of 5’6.” Regardless of ridaing skill level, we all need to be able to put our foot down at stoplights.