Honda CBF Stunner 125

Quick Review by Maxabout Team

Honda CBF Stunner is one of the most stylish 125cc bikes ever produced in India. Honda offered a very sporty bike at an affordable price and these two factors made Stunner famous instantly in our Indian market. Recently, the bike has been upgraded to take on the rising competitors including Bajaj Discover125 ST. Let’s try to figure out the changes.

In terms of design and styling, CBF Stunner offered many new things which were never seen before in its class. To make it look sporty, Honda added an integrated semi fairing, split seat and raised rear sharp cowl in this bike. These features continue in the new bike and now it features new graphics on its aerodynamic side cowl. This cowl along with its upraised tank adds muscularity to this bike. Its clear lens indicators and big tinted visor look explicit with its headlight. Front mudguard is partly black in colour and one can also notice the new set of rear view mirrors in this bike. Its black coloured side panels, engine, muffler and alloy wheels are standard in this bike. Its eye catching modernized under cowl matches its body colour. The bike features body coloured grab rail which looks cool with its small tail light. Its sharp rear fender has been revised for some freshness. The Fi variant of Stunner features different graphics and lacks an under cowl. Both bikes look naked due to their semi tyre and chain cover when seen from sideways.

Instrument console of CBF Stunner sports twin circular dials in it. Honda has added a much needed tachometer to this bike. The bigger dial features an analogue speedometer, odometer and trip meter. The smaller dial has an analogue tachometer with white background and there is a small ring attached to this tachometer for its fuel gauge. Other indicators can also be seen in this panel.

Honda has used two states of its 125cc engine in Stunner as this bike is available with carburettor and Fuel Injection technology. The regular variant of Stunner gets a power output of 11 bhp at 8000 rpm from its mono-cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled engine. The torque output of this OHC engine is 11 Nm which can be achieved at 6500 rpm. Its Fi variant gets a power supply of 11.6 bhp at 8000 rpm while the torque output of 11.4 Nm arrives at 6250 rpm. Both variants of this bike use a five speed manual gearbox with on gear down and four gears up-shift pattern.

Honda CBF Stunner has always been quick in the city traffic and that its biggest advantage over others. Honda has used short gear ratios in this bike to keep it on the faster side. As a result of which it does 0-60km/hr in less than 6.5 seconds. The bike moves easily in city traffic with well-matched gear ratios. Even if you compare it with its new rivals like Hero Ignitor and Bajaj Discover125 ST, this bike feels swifter at initial rpms. It has a powerful low and mid-range which helps it in city but sadly it loses out to Discover on highways. The bike suffocates after 7000rpm and that’s when Discover’s additional power at high rpms takes the game away from this bike. Even with a fifth gear, Stunner finds it hard to cross the three digit mark on its speedometer. CBF Stunner’s Fi variant gets its slightly improved torque output much before than the regular variant and that’s quite evident in city driving. The throttle response is very immediate and makes a difference to the performance of these both bikes. The Fi variant is almost a second quicker than its regular variant in doing 0-60km/hr however there is negligible difference in their top speed. The refinement levels of these both engines are enjoyable and the gear transitions are also very smooth.

Both variants of Stunner can deliver a mileage of around 55-60km/ltr in city conditions while on highways these figures may increase up to 5-8km/ltr.

Honda CBF Stunner offers a sporty and high seating posture with its well cushioned split seat. It has rear set foot pegs with single toe gear shifter which is very convenient to use. The knees find it quite comfortable around its fuel tank. Its handle bar is short and offers a nice palm grip.

There is almost no storage space in this bike. For safety, it has a pass button and powerful headlight which confirms you clear vision of roads at night.

There are no changes in this department. Familiar telescopic front forks and 3-step spring loaded hydraulic rear shock absorbers are equipped in this bike. The braking system features a standard front disc brake of 240mm and rear drum brake of 130mm.

Honda CBF Stunner loses out to Discover125 ST in this department. Earlier, it was the most stable bike in its class but now it is not. There are three major factors which made the difference; weight, suspension and wheelbase. CBF Stunner is heavier than Discover which reduces its flexibility at high speeds and in city traffic. Moreover the suspension quality of Stunner feels inferior to the much relaxed gas filled suspension of Discover and to worsen things, Stunner has a short wheelbase of 1271mm which makes it less stable around sharp corners. The high ground clearance (173mm) of Stunner is an advantage as it helps it to move without any worry on our Indian roads.

Honda CBF Stunner is available in four shades: Sports red, Pearl sports yellow, Candy palm green and Black.

Honda CBF Stunner Fi is available in two shades: CBR Red and CBR Silver Metallic.

Despite lacking a digital speedometer and superior ride quality, CBF Stunner still justifies its pricing and name with its thrilling city performance and striking looks. It’s a strong bike which can challenge anyone in its segment and that makes it a complete value for money bike. However we don’t feel the same for its Fi version and don’t expect good results for it as people in India often don’t spend 10K extra for negligible different looks and performance.