The TGB R125X is the 125 cc member of the R series in the Taiwanese company’s model list. Where the larger TGB machines are quads of 500 cc and more, this one carries a displacement that belongs to the small-vehicle end of the programme, and it stands in the list beside the even smaller R50X.
TGB R125X at a glance
| Maker | Taiwan Golden Bee Co., Ltd. (TGB), Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Model | TGB R125X |
| Smaller sister | TGB R50X |
| Place in the range | listed among the company’s known models |
| Engines | mainly Morini units, licence-built Moto Franco Morini designs |
| Assembly | Taiwan: Youn-An and Ping-Tung plants |
| European presence | more than twenty years; leading quad and ATV maker in Europe |
| German distribution | ZEG from 2001; Leeb of Austria from 2008 |
| Technical data in the source | none: the model name and displacement are all the source gives |
No Wikipedia page exists for this model in any language. The page is built from the Polish, German and English articles on the manufacturer, Taiwan Golden Bee; the source gives no technical data for the R125X itself.
History of the TGB R125X
Taiwan Golden Bee was registered in 1965 as Taiwan Vespa Co. Ltd., building Piaggio scooters under Italian licence, and became Taiwan Golden Bee in 1978 when its own vehicle production began. From scooters the company moved into quads and all-terrain vehicles, and it is in that field that it has spent more than twenty years on the European market, where it ranks among the leading makers.
The R125X sits in the smaller half of that programme. In the manufacturer’s list of familiar models it appears with the R50X, while the quads of the range grow from 250 to 1000 cc under the Blade, Target and Gunner names, and the two-wheel side is covered by scooters from 50 to 300 cc. Beyond the designation the sources give nothing: no power, weight, dimensions or production dates are published for the R125X, and no encyclopaedia has an article on it in any language.
The company itself is easier to describe than the model. It makes most of its bodywork in-house, takes cockpits, handlebar switches and engines mainly from Morini, whose engines are licence-built Moto Franco Morini designs, and supplies complete continuously variable transmission systems to Piaggio, Rotax/Can-Am, Peugeot, Polaris, Minarelli, Morini and SYM. Its two factories in Taiwan, Youn-An with 270 employees on 31,260 square metres and Ping-Tung with 170 employees on 21,623 square metres, run on capital of NT$190 million, about four million euros.
For German buyers the marque has passed through three import arrangements: Auto-Teile-Unger brought in the Ergon 50 and Akros 50 scooters from 1995 to 2001, the Cologne cooperative ZEG held the exclusive import from 2001, and since 2008 scooters and quads have been distributed by the Austrian importer Leeb.
Design and features
- 125 cc: the displacement in the model name puts it below the company’s large quads.
- R series: it is listed together with the smaller R50X.
- Morini engines: the company fits mainly Morini units, licence-built Moto Franco Morini designs.
- Taiwanese production: assembly is split between the Youn-An and Ping-Tung plants.
TGB R125X versions
- R125X: the version named in the manufacturer’s list.
- R50X: the smaller model of the same series.
- Larger alternatives: the Blade, Target and Gunner quads from 250 to 1000 cc.
The TGB R50X is its smaller sister, and the TGB Blade heads the larger end of the range. More machines are in the TGB collection.
Sources
- Taiwan Golden Bee, Polish Wikipedia: model list with R50X and R125X
- Taiwan Golden Bee, German Wikipedia: company history, plants, market position, importers
- Taiwan Golden Bee, English Wikipedia: origins and transmission supply
