Small but perfectly formed

This is the Keeway TX125 Supermoto – if you can get a ride on one of these, take it. You’ll be as impressed as we were.

Keeway’s TX125 Supermoto is a proper smile maker. What’s more, it doesn’t cost much to get your hands on one. A shade over £2000 sees you with this little orangey bike.

From the obvious styling choices Keeway has made (let’s cut to the chase, it’s got a touch of the KTMs about it), the bike’s Supermoto styling including the savvy upside down front forks really works to sell the TX to you. In the flesh it’s easy to appreciate that all of those angles are in all of the right places.

A high exit exhaust and upright seating position work well for boosting confidence and giving you a great view of what’s going on around you out on the road. Combine that with a clear-to-read analogue (big needle to watch) dash and decent mirrors and everything is made pretty easy for the rider to just get on with instead of having to ‘make do’.

The TMX 125 is not a thrown-together hack either. Okay, it’s not quite your highend Adventurer either – and never claims to be – but what you get is much more than you might be anticipating.

Miles under the belt with the Keeway and you appreciate other touches, like the exhaust note – not totally baffled out under strict Euro 4 legislation.

The suspension is soft enough to deliver a decent ride over less than brilliant British road surfaces but a tad too soft for spirited B-road riding.

The lights are surprisingly good on the little Keeway. Dipped beam is more that good enough to give you a solid view of the road ahead in the pitchest of blacks. On main beam you’ll see everything you need to, no question over the light performance when things get dark.

The commuter question

So would the Keeway make it on to your potential commuter list (especially as it should be on there as a fun little bike costing not-verymuch-cash already)? Yes. It’ll do what you want in your commuter life too. Factor the cost highly in the equation because you get a fair amount of motorcycle for that outlay. The bike’s comfort is really good; the riding position isn’t going to punish your back or wrists for several fills of the 11.2 litre petrol tank and it looks pretty sharp in the motorcycle dressing department. Just one thing to bear in mind before you head on down your nearest Keeway dealer – the bike’s seat height. At 860mm it’s exactly the same as KTM’s 1290 Super Adventure – and that’s a seriously tall-seated big Adventure motorcycle. If you’re 6ft or over you might not find 860mm an issue, but if you a fair chunk under 6ft then try out that sort of seat height before you get too excited about the Keeway. The Chinese bike isn’t heavy, so there’s not the issue of a lot of weight to have to paddle around on tip-toes to factor in but if you’re not confident on a motorcycle then having such a long way to reach down to the floor can add to the stress levels a bit. At least until you get a bit more experience under the belt.