While the Morocco Desert Challenge’s new Vintage class is primarily for older cars, Greg Gilson will probably have most of them beat with his bike as he plans to take part on a 1980 Honda XLS 125.

The Honda XLS line was introduced in 1978 to replace the XL. It immediately saw action at the inaugural Paris–Dakar Rally that began later that year, courtesy of Grégoire Verhaeghe (finished 65th) and Alain Quie (retired). Even though most rally bikes today are faster, with the FIM mandating 450cc for the W2RC, 125cc models have continued to see action in major rallies as recently as the 2016 Dakar Rally, where Sylvain Espinasse completed the race on a Husqvarna TE 125.

Gilson acquired his bike in 2018 for €300 ($312.86) before making upgrades like larger sprockets, though it is still mostly a stock bike. Despite being less powerful than most modern bikes, especially those for rally, he has invariably entered the Honda in various races with solid pace. He reached the finish of the 2019 Rallye du Maroc with a broken collarbone, and has won twice in Morocco’s national championship with it.

In November, the Frenchman brought the Honda to the Qatar International Baja, a leg on the FIM Bajas World Cup. While cetainly the smallest bike in the field, he set the 16th fastest time in the Prologue and ninth in Category 1 for bikes up to 450cc. Gilson ultimately placed 42nd overall and 25th in his class with a time of 13:56:26, roughly five hours and 42 minutes behind winner Mohammed Al-Balooshi’s KTM 450 Rally.

The MDC is scheduled for April 5–12. ATVO Maroc will service his Honda.

While his bike is expected to be one of the slower on the grid, Gilson explained his goal is to spread the message, “Limits are in your mind, not the engine!” To this end, he has also expressed interest in bringing the Honda to the 2025 Baja 1000 in November.

Featured image credit: Sam Decout