KSR Moto GRS 125: First Review!

Author: Iggy Grainger Posted: 16 Mar 2015

KSR Moto GRS 125

Designed by Kiska in Austria, this good looking and affordable KSR Moto GRS 125 bears more than a passing resemblance to a KTM Duke 125. A bit like the popular orange Duke, the GRS 125 also features a brightly painted steel trellis frame, upside down forks and a rear mono shock.

The four stroke 125 has a manual choke but starts easily enough on the button and despite being straight out of the crate with zero miles on the clock it was raring to go. The riding position is comfortable and neutral, with no strain on the wrists, thanks to the upswept wide handlebars. From the saddle the instruments look the part and include a great looking digital display with a large speedo, fuel gauge, trip, time and gear position indicator. They’re all well laid out and easy to read, as is the large analogue tacho.

Powered by a simple air-cooled engine the bike is smooth and the gearbox felt light and easy to use. This bike is likely to be ridden by a novice as his or her first 125 and it really is a great bike just to jump on and feel at home with, it’s very simple to ride, light, easy to manage and low enough for most riders. One welcome addition for novices is a handy gear position indicator, it’s always useful on any geared bike but many are missing this simple function. Not having to guess what gear you’re in is one less thing to worry about during those worrying first few months on the road. The new engine was surprisingly nippy from the off, it’s lively enough to allow you to cope with faster flowing traffic, there’s also no need to worry about beating other vehicles away from a standing start, it’s no slouch. This engine is also fitted to a few of the other KSR machines and has proved to be reliable and quite fuel-efficient. During the road test the GRS behaved impeccably, despite still needing to be run in the bike would hit 60mph quite easily, so expect to see a bit more once loosened up. Some bikes don’t like cold, damp weather but it didn’t affect this bike one iota, the bike never missed a beat, or stalled at a standstill.

With upside down forks, a beefy mono shock and discs at both ends the GRS should be fairly competent on the road and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The suspension handled the post winter potholes admirably; no harsh or uncomfortable bumps and it didn’t feel soggy in the slightest. I was slightly concerned about the brand of tyres fitted as standard but the Magsports (no I’ve not heard of them either) didn’t cause any worries, despite much of the test being done in the wet. Those wide bars, nifty instruments, lively engine and willing nature translate into a great fun, good looking, no frills novice friendly bike.

Let’s just mention one major point; this bike costs just £1999 on the road, now that’s quite a lot of bike for the money. £2000 is the kind of cash a lot of people pay for a half decent mountain bike these days, never mind a capable, good looking and reputable 125cc motorcycle. It offers great value for money and comes with a two-year warranty for added piece of mind. Why buy a used 125 when you can get a brand new one bike as good as this for less than £2000?

TECH SPEC: 

 A brand new 125cc novice-friendly bike for under £2,000. Would you recommend an unfamiliar brand?