Honda Unveils 150 SS Racer Concept Bike

Honda Unveils 150 SS Racer Concept Bike

Today at the Bangkok Motorshow Honda Thailand pulled the cover off of their new futuristic 150cc SuperSport Racer. With an aggressive stance, an array of high performance parts, quite a bit of carbon fiber and some trick tech features, Honda's newest concept bike is seriously cool.

Though very little technical information has been revealed about the 150 SS Racer, a decent amount can be learned by examining photos of the futuristic little machine. It's clearly a single cylinder engine, (the name suggests a 150cc displacement) although whether it's a modified Grom engine, a tuned CBR150R engine or a completely new power plant altogether is unclear. What is obvious about this concept bike is its very essence oozes with high end touches that together make up the sum that is the 150 SS Racer.

The bike has a high-tech color TFT screen along with front and rear cameras. Whether those cameras exist as part of the offering or are there for proof-of-concept and testing reasons is anyone's guess. An over-sized racey exhaust beautifully adds to the sporty look of the bike, as does the aggressive yet minimal bodywork and sharp angles. The tail section looks like a cross between the Ninja H2(R) and the RSV4 on the top, and a cross between the Panigale and new R1 with the wind tunnel holes cut out of the seat from the back or bottom. Though none of it looks out of place on the 150 and simply adds to its overall style.

The LED lighting is nothing more than a vertical red strip on the tail, but up front it's housed in a classic circular mono-headlight like that of the Ducati Monster or Honda CB###(#). The idea of a 150cc SuperSport is actually a brilliant concept, anyone who knows how much more fun it is to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow should know what I'm talking about. It would appear Honda is looking to potentially offer a motorcycle built with that exact purpose in mind.

The single-seat set-up makes the 150 SS Racer's intended use abundantly clear. The bike's see-through side panels likely serve some purpose but what that is yet is a mystery. Number plates? Passenger peg mounts? Who knows?

The front and rear fenders are both carbon fiber, as are the retro-inspired flat-disk wheels. The carbon fiber on the bike pairs wonderfully with the turquoise accents with the light contrasting off the dark. Though not all the carbon parts are likely to make it into production, (and that's if this vehicle ever sees production), but because this is clearly an all around high-end machine it wouldn't come as a huge surprise if they actually appear on production models or stick around as an add-on option.

With the success in recent years that manufacturers have been having with bikes like the Grom and Z125, it's clear that small displacement machines have a steady market. This is especially true in places like South-East Asia. The idea of offering a premium version of the micro-displacement offering may not be a bad idea right now. In the US it's likely a decent amount of these bikes would be purchased simply to be used as high-end pit-bikes.

Every year dozens of motorcycle companies release concept vehicles with the vast majority of them never seeing the light of day (production), but a slightly toned down version of the 150 SS Racer isn't that far fetched. Whether or not that happens, the little Racer is undoubtedly one badass little machine and some great (and rare!) small displacement bike-porn.