FB Mondial HPS Ubbiali 125 Review | How GOOD is this £4,399 Italian Stunner?

Hello Bike Matters fans, welcome back to the studio and today we're going to be looking at an offering from FB Mondial, so it's Italian design, Chinese built, it's the HPS 125 UBR link. So a little disclaimer before we begin the video, this bike came to me at 7 miles on the clock, it's still taking its baby steps, it's not quite walking yet, it's been run in still, so when I talk about things like fuel economy and top speed, it might not be quite in line with what FB Mondial have on their website. I'm going to give the most honest review I can, bearing in mind the condition this bike came to me in. The UBR link is powered by a 125cc liquid-cooled single cylinder engine, puts out 13.4 horsepower at 9,750rpm and 10 newton metres of torque at 8,000rpm. Now it's got a 6-speed gearbox which is quite great, you know the gears themselves are really well spread out, they're not very short which is surprising for a 125, you know, often with 125s I find that the gearing is incredibly short, hardly touching first gear, but with this the gears are quite long which I'm a big fan of. The gear changes themselves actually sound quite clunky but they do not feel that way at all, it's incredibly precise, no false neutrals or anything like that, I'm really impressed. So in terms of top speed, I got 67mph out of it, but it was very vibey at that top end, so I think for everyday top speed you're probably going to be looking at sort of 60-65mph to be sitting comfortably. When it came to acceleration, up to 45mph it's a very sprightly machine, but between 45 and 60mph things do start to slow down, you kind of lack that top end pulling power, so when it comes to overtaking on dual carriageways and things like that it's going to be quite calculated, you're going to have to really think about it and build up your speed, but it is capable of those dual carriageway speeds if that's part of your commute and if you want to go there. So as you guys can see we've got that twin shotgun exhaust down there, it looks amazing, it looks fantastic, it's really, really nice, it works really well with the rest of the bike but unfortunately it just doesn't quite sound as good as it looks. It still sounds good, but definitely not as good as it looks. So one final note about the engine is that it absolutely hates the lower rpms, you really have to rev the pants off it to get it to go anywhere and to not stall at low speeds. This could just be a compression issue, you know, it's still in its running in phases, but it does affect your fuel economy, silver lining might be that it makes for a more engaging ride, it's not the end of the world but it's just something of note. So onto looks now and this bike really speaks for itself, it's gorgeous, this is a special edition with loads of attention to finer details. We've got it here in the blue and silver colourway with gold accents used on Carli Ubialli's 1951 Grand Prix winning model and neo-retro features just run through this bike from head to tail lights, you know, we've got this great headlight up front, we've got these bar end mirrors, the belly pan down there which looks fantastic, the diamond quilted premium seat, twin shotgun exhaust, just so many cool little independent features that all come together to create a real head turner. There's nothing like this in the 125cc category at the moment, it's so unique and we here at Bike Matters are massive fans as I'm sure you guys at home are too. Up front we're running a single wavy disc with a two piston caliper and to the rear we're running a single wavy disc with a single piston caliper. Now this bike does benefit from ABS which is really nice to see from these Chinese built offerings, it's kind of that safety net that it gives you in your early days of riding where you're not going to lock up the wheels, you know, the inevitable panic braking, I wish I had that when I started riding. The biting point's sort of half way in on those levers front and back and once you get to that point you can give it that extra squeeze and kick in the ABS which does help and bring you to a swift earth stop. When it comes to looking at other ABS 125 models I've run in recent times, these don't quite hold up to the same standard, not too impressed with braking here. We're rocking these gorgeous gold forks up front with a healthy 97mm travel and to the rear we've got these classic style twin shocks with golden reservoirs which I think is a nice touch. Now the ride itself is quite firm, by no means bone breaking but it's not at all plush, however I'm a massive fan of this, I really think it adds to the classic racer feel, this thing is more than happy to be thrown down the country lanes pinning that throttle and whether you're sore or not you're going to have a massive smile on your face so I'm a big fan of this factor, I'm really happy with this suspension setup here. For wheels we're running an 18 inch wheel to the front and a 17 inch wheel to the back, both spoke which is a really nice touch. Now interestingly Mondial claim to have a 130 on the back, when I saw this it was a 140, I knew it was a 140 and I've checked and it is a 140 and that's only a good thing. This bike feels really planted on the road, corners things like that, you grip it really well and the dimensions here I think they're just perfect going for that classic racer type feel and it feels like a big bike so overall I'm really happy with the tyres and wheels here. Weighing in at 137kg with a full tank, this is a relatively lightweight machine and with those 13.4 horses power in it, it's got a decent power to weight ratio, it's sprightly. Now at low speeds and things like that it handles exceptionally well and when it comes to manual handling there's no issues whatsoever, especially with these lovely wide bars you've got good control, I think this is going to be an accessible machine when it comes to weight. When it comes to the seat we've got this handsome blue diamond quilted seat and it measures in at 785mm. Now I'm 6ft and I got along with this bike really well, you does put you in a sportier riding position but it's by no means uncomfortable. I ride sports bikes so I'm quite happy so it might be an issue for some people but ultimately tall, tall people, definitely have a sit on one of these before you buy it. Whereas if you go to the younger end of the spectrum, Brett's 5'6 and he got along with this really well. He's able to flat foot it and he found it quite comfortable, again in that sportier position but by no means back breaking. Now we're quite happy with the seat height here but what we're not happy with is the seat. After about an hour things did get very sore down there and I must say I kept having to take regular breaks but ultimately this is a 125, no one's going to be touring on this and they're not going to be doing any long, long commutes to work and stuff like that but not the end of the world, just something of note. Looks amazing, doesn't feel amazing. For fueling we've got a 9 litre tank here which is quite average for the 125cc class. Now Mondial claim around 80 miles to the gallon on their website but I got nowhere near that, much closer to 40 miles to the gallon. That's going to be for two reasons. One, it's quite a revvy bike but two, it's still running in phases so it does get the benefit of the doubt. I think in the real world you're probably going to see about 150 miles to 180 miles of full tank which is pretty good. So I'm quite happy with this tank size and real world fuel economy. Now I just wanted to take a minute to give a shout out to Lexham Insurance. Lexham Insurance will power us here at Bike Matters. If it wasn't for them we wouldn't be able to bring you guys the content that we do. They're also doing us a pretty sweet deal. If you click the link in the top right hand corner of the screen now you can get up to £20 deducted from the insurance premium. We get to keep making videos, you guys get a discount, everybody's happy. So on to tech now and other than ABS and sequential indicators there isn't any. The switch gear is also really basic here which is a massive shame, missing out on things like a dip switch and hazard lights. And in this new era of 125s I really feel like full safety switch gear should be there as standard and with these sequential indicators I feel like they've just missed the mark by not having hazard lights but it is what it is. Bizarrely atop this lack of tech and basic switch gear setup we've got a full colour TFT display which is a great thing and it does look amazing. It's got some great features there. We've got a speedo, a rev counter, gear indicator, temperature gauge, fuel gauge, an odometer, a voltage meter and a clock. It also has adaptive lighting and a dual design so basically when you're riding at night you've got a black background with white text to make sure it's clear and nice and during the day you've got a white background with black text and it is really a great display but it just feels kind of wildly out of place on this neo-retro machine. The Ubiali comes in at £4199 plus on the road fees. Now this price line sort of puts it between the Chinese budget offerings and the Japanese market dominating big four. You get the undeniable Italian design, good performance specs and ergonomics but it's running that Chinese built engine and chassis. I can't tell you how long one of these will last on the UK roads or what the resale value will be but time ultimately will tell. Now for 300 quid more you can pick up a Honda CB125R which is a great bike and for £700 more you can pick up the class-leading Yamaha XSR125. However I feel like some people might go for this one based on looks alone. It is an incredibly uniquely styled bike, there's nothing like this on the road and I do feel like if you look after this bike it will look after you. So in summary this is an incredibly unique bike and it does look fantastic. This colourway is gorgeous and all these fine details, the seat, the twin shotgun exhaust, the belly pan, the gold accents, the bar end mirrors, they add up to create one of the best looking 125s out there on the road today. It has a decent spec when it comes to performance, by no means the best but full head and shoulders above a lot of the budget offerings from China but that does come at a price. £4199 is a lot of money in today's market and when you think you can get a Honda for only a few hundred quid more it does put things into perspective. However I know for a lot of people they're going to see this bike, its character and they're going to know it's exactly what they want from a 125. So that brings my review on the Ubi Ali to an end. 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