WORDS: Chris Bailey PHOTOS: Gary Chapman
Having recently passed my CBT, I was on the lookout for a motorbike which was capable of getting me from A to B, as smoothly and stylishly as possible. Enter Bluroc’s Tracker 125. With its rugged neo-retro looks and the deep rumble of its engine, it definitely turned more than a few heads. Read on to discover how it faired through a month of real-world riding, and whether it’s the right bike for you.
You may have heard of Bullit Motorcycles – a Belgian brand who have been producing great-looking and affordable retro-styled 50cc, 125cc and 250cc motorbikes since 2013, such as the famous Bullit Hero. What you may not have realised, however, was that towards the end of 2021 it changed the brand name to Bluroc, in a move designed to show its global ambitions and create a new identity focused on future development, whilst still providing a range of learner-friendly machines with classic looks and modern instruments.
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The Tracker 125 is Bluroc’s most recent offering and is available in two varieties, matt black with gold, or steel grey with orange, and both options are equally stunning. I had been admiring the look of it for days on the Bluroc website and yet when I finally saw it in person for the first time my first thought was, ‘Oh well, that’s a bit pretty isn’t it!?’ The singular round LED headlight is striking and stands out, especially given the minimalistic design of the front end of the bike. The digital display, whilst on the smaller side, gives a very clear indication of current mph, rpm, miles done and fuel, as well as a gear indicator, which is always a win in my opinion, along with an additional green neutral light.
The indicator switch is ever so slightly longer, too, which I’ve found to be a great little quality of life improvement, as someone who, whilst wearing winter gloves, has been guilty of accidentally trying to turn off the indicator and signalling the other direction by mistake on other bikes. The brake light is high up and visible, as is incorporated into the back of the seat (more on the seat shortly). My only two concerns initially over the design where that there wasn’t much space between the handlebars and the mirrors (although I quickly got used to taking my hands off the bars in a way which didn’t affect it), as well as the fact that despite being a 125cc, there wasn’t masses of space for L plates to go. The fork at the front was too big for my L plate to go round, so I ended up using a few cable ties instead. However, at the rear of the bike your only real option for putting your plate on involves covering up a reflector.
From my first ride, I could feel that the Tracker has some power behind her, which is no surprise considering she’s powered by a four-stroke, single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine, with a twin cam providing 11kW of power. From the moment you hit the electric ignition you can hear the deep rumble of the engine rolling out of the twin exhausts, and it keeps that delightful low growl as you work your way up all six gears.
Despite you being in quite an upright natural riding position on the Tracker, it still manages to hit the high 50s when riding into a headwind, and as soon as you start to duck down over the handlebars it can quickly make its way up to the national speed limit. Having felt the power when riding around town and countryside, I took it on to a dual bypass and was thrilled to find that it could just about make its way past 70mph, which not all 125s are capable of doing.
The brakes run off a single 300mm front disc, and a 220mm single disc on the tail end, connected through CBS (Combined Braking System), and I have zero complaints about how the Tracker was braking at all, as I never had any issues or felt I needed them to be any more or less responsive whether I was riding through towns, riding in pouring rain, or having to brake suddenly when cars in front of me suddenly slammed theirs on. Any situation I found myself in, both front and rear brakes responded beautifully and never left me feeling not in control of my speed.
Bluroc labels the Tracker as being for those who want a lively and fun motorcycle, and I really can’t argue with that; I’ve had a brilliant time whether I’ve been dipping it down around the sloping countryside corners, or really opening it open on the straights, which has all been aided by the firm suspension, which comes in the form of an upside-down fork at the front and mono shock suspension on the back end. This firmer suspension really makes you feel like the bike is gripping every inch of the road you’re travelling, even on rain-soaked streets. However, the downside of this firm suspension is that you can feel every slight bump and dip in the road, a great trade off if you live somewhere where the majority of your journeys will be across roads which are in great nick, but if you’ll be going across less maintained roads you’ll quickly know about it. There’s a two-mile straight not far from mine which I’ve travelled down dozens of times in both cars and other bikes, and until riding the Tracker I would have sworn that this road was perfectly flat.
My first time going down it on the Bluroc, I had to seriously consider pulling over for a couple of minutes to give both my arms a chance to recover from the intense pins and needles they were feeling after being shaken around from that stretch. Luckily, roads that irregular are rare enough (even here in Lincolnshire) that it shouldn’t prove an issue for most riders. I’ve now gone down the same stretch a couple more times, and now that I know what to expect, I make sure to keep my arms nice and relaxed and it’s not affected me as badly since.
A special mention has to go to the headlights. I’d been warned off of halo lights from a few experienced riders who have had some bad experiences with their circular headlight amounting to little more than a nightlight; some people try to avoid night riding due to the additional risk from wildlife and harder-to see-hazards, etc., but I find riding along quiet roads at night to be such a serene and peaceful experience, so a decent headlight is fairly high on my list of priorities.
I’m thrilled to say that the Tracker’s headlight is more than up to the job. The first thing you’ll notice when you take it out at night is that the dipped beam vastly brightens a huge strip of the road, and never once whilst riding at night did I feel like I wished it could be a little bit brighter or that I needed to switch to full beam to really see where I was going (which is for the best as the full beam itself feels like more of a signalling light than a tool for illuminating the way), and whether I was riding through pitch-black countryside or the village streets closer to home I could always see exactly where it was I was headed.
To sum up, the powerfully-built engine, the responsive brakes, the firm suspension and the thick back tyre all come together to provide a riding experience which isn’t just an entry-level way of getting from one place to another, but a genuinely fun experience throughout your entire journey, and whilst there are a couple of smaller points like spacing between mirrors and handlebars, and the fact you’ll know exactly when you’ve gone through a rough patch of road, these do nothing to subtract from what is a very well put together little bike which feels at home whether your leaning it round twisty roads or letting the engine have its way as you soar down a bypass.
The Bluroc Tracker is currently listed at £3,999, which is a bit more than a lot of 125s on the market, but for anyone looking for a thrilling ride it is almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face, and if you love retro styling then it is definitely worth considering digging that bit deeper into your pocket to meet that price tag, as long as the main bulk of your journeys are going to be on reasonably well-maintained roads. However, if you anticipate a few topsy-turvy roads, your arms and behind will definitely thank you for looking for something with much softer suspension.
Tech spec
Bluroc Tracker 125
Price: £3999
Engine: 125cc single-cylinder, four-stroke, twin cam
Power: 11kW
Transmission: 6 manual gears
Suspension: (F) Upside-down fork (R) Mono shock
Brakes: CBS, (F) 300mm Single disc (R) 220mm Single disc
Wheels/Tyres: (F) 110/70-17 (R) 150/60-17
Seat height: 830mm
Weight (empty): 110kg
Fuel tank: 12 litres
Warranty: 2 Years
Contact: www.blurocmotorcycles.com
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