2023 Honda Trail125 ABS makes its Canadian Debut

[tumblingdice54]

Having learned how to ride in 1968 on a CT-70 this new version caught my eye as soon as it came out in Asia. Now that it is finally going to be available in Canada, I'm really excited. Not excited, however, by Honda gouging us for $6420 including taxes and fees. It seems awfully high for a 125 mini-trail bike. You all prepared to bite the bullet and pay such a high amount?

 

[ssaigol]

Yes, as long as I don't tell the wife about the price.

 

[TacoRocco]

Having learned how to ride in 1968 on a CT-70 this new version caught my eye as soon as it came out in Asia. Now that it is finally going to be available in Canada, I'm really excited. Not excited, however, by Honda gouging us for $6420 including taxes and fees. It seems awfully high for a 125 mini-trail bike. You all prepared to bite the bullet and pay such a high amount?

Right?

I looked at the final price and was taken aback a bit. Still, when pricing out a Himalayan that I wanted to get on to, the CT125 is cheaper. I'm trying to get the moderators to add a Canada Regional forum. Where you at?

 

[ChickenChaser]

Having learned how to ride in 1968 on a CT-70 this new version caught my eye as soon as it came out in Asia. Now that it is finally going to be available in Canada, I'm really excited. Not excited, however, by Honda gouging us for $6420 including taxes and fees. It seems awfully high for a 125 mini-trail bike. You all prepared to bite the bullet and pay such a high amount?

The Vespa 150 scooter by comparison is $7,550 out the door. The little Yamaha BWS 125 scooter is a couple of hundred cheaper than the Trail. I am paying $6,306 out the door for my Trail in BC.

The Trail is more versatile and will last longer than the those two. We would love to see $3500 Canadian plus the tax but Honda may not have taken the chance on bringing back the Trail if it was priced like that. Would be around $2,700 US.

 

[tumblingdice54]

I live in Kingston, ON and have had a RE Himalayan for 3 years. It was just under $6400 plus $799 freight and prep and $1100 HST from a Rockland, ON dealer with another $1300 for OEM aluminum panniers and rack, crash bar, hand guards and fork brace. But it can cruise at 115-120 kph all day if I want, has stay-dry carrying capacity and can do 2 up if I want. I've put just about 16,000 km on it. I'm not trying to argue it is a CT alternative at all. It is for a totally different ride and purpose that I'm not selling.

All I'm just trying to say is the CT for $6420 is an eye-watering price. Yes, several have gone around the world (Nathan the postman and C-90 adventures are just 2 of the best examples on YouTube) and I know I would enjoy the hell out of it and have it for the rest of my life. I will probably convince myself of that and put a deposit on one at our Kingston Honda dealer when I get home from winter vacation in 2 weeks. They are getting 2 in the spring. I just hate to pay $1000 too much IMHO only because they are so popular and hard-to-find. But I really should spend the $722 in climate incentives the tax people are giving me this year on something that gets 100 mpg!

 

[ssaigol]

Right?

I looked at the final price and was taken aback a bit. Still, when pricing out a Himalayan that I wanted to get on to, the CT125 is cheaper. I'm trying to get the moderators to add a Canada Regional forum. Where you at?

Toronto

 

[TacoRocco]

I live in Kingston, ON and have had a RE Himalayan for 3 years. It was just under $6400 plus $799 freight and prep and $1100 HST from a Rockland, ON dealer with another $1300 for OEM aluminum panniers and rack, crash bar, hand guards and fork brace. But it can cruise at 115-120 kph all day if I want, has stay-dry carrying capacity and can do 2 up if I want. I've put just about 16,000 km on it. I'm not trying to argue it is a CT alternative at all. It is for a totally different ride and purpose that I'm not selling.

All I'm just trying to say is the CT for $6420 is an eye-watering price. Yes, several have gone around the world (Nathan the postman and C-90 adventures are just 2 of the best examples on YouTube) and I know I would enjoy the hell out of it and have it for the rest of my life. I will probably convince myself of that and put a deposit on one at our Kingston Honda dealer when I get home from winter vacation in 2 weeks. They are getting 2 in the spring. I just hate to pay $1000 too much IMHO only because they are so popular and hard-to-find. But I really should spend the $722 in climate incentives the tax people are giving me this year on something that gets 100 mpg!

Inflation sucks. Right now, even with the 2022 discount, the Himi still comes out to close to just over $9,000 at RE Toronto.

 

[backfill]

Having learned how to ride in 1968 on a CT-70 this new version caught my eye as soon as it came out in Asia. Now that it is finally going to be available in Canada, I'm really excited. Not excited, however, by Honda gouging us for $6420 including taxes and fees. It seems awfully high for a 125 mini-trail bike. You all prepared to bite the bullet and pay such a high amount?

I was curious about this too, so i did a little digging. In 1961, the cost of a 50cc Trail was US $275 as reported in many reviews of the modern bike. Using an inflation calculator, that is just under US $2700 or CAN $3700 today. In 1964, the CT90 version sold for US $350 or US $3300 or CAN $4520 today. At CAN $4971 plus freight, pdi, and levies, the new one is not far off the mark. The tax is on all goods and will vary depending where in the country you live, as will the cost of licensing.

I couldn't find a selling price for the CT110 but I am guessing that including inflation it will be comparable. I also looked up the price of a CT90 on kijiji and found two in good condition, one at CAN $4000 and one at $7000. There was also one in pieces for $1900. These are original, so that drives up the price because they are not making them any more.

Given that the 2023 has a 125cc engine, fuel injection, disk brakes, ABS, etc. I think the price seems reasonable. Could it be cheaper? Probably, but Canada is getting a limited number of the CT125 (at least to start) so if it was much cheaper Honda Canada would not bother importing them. How well they sell will help Honda Canada decide whether to continue importing the CT125.

I suppose we all have to decide if the cost is worth it to us.

 

[ChickenChaser]

I live in Kingston, ON and have had a RE Himalayan for 3 years. It was just under $6400 plus $799 freight and prep and $1100 HST from a Rockland, ON dealer with another $1300 for OEM aluminum panniers and rack, crash bar, hand guards and fork brace. But it can cruise at 115-120 kph all day if I want, has stay-dry carrying capacity and can do 2 up if I want. I've put just about 16,000 km on it. I'm not trying to argue it is a CT alternative at all. It is for a totally different ride and purpose that I'm not selling.

All I'm just trying to say is the CT for $6420 is an eye-watering price. Yes, several have gone around the world (Nathan the postman and C-90 adventures are just 2 of the best examples on YouTube) and I know I would enjoy the hell out of it and have it for the rest of my life. I will probably convince myself of that and put a deposit on one at our Kingston Honda dealer when I get home from winter vacation in 2 weeks. They are getting 2 in the spring. I just hate to pay $1000 too much IMHO only because they are so popular and hard-to-find. But I really should spend the $722 in climate incentives the tax people are giving me this year on something that gets 100 mpg!

There is no getting away from the fact that it is expensive. I’m not understanding your comment about paying $1,000 more because of demand. Are the dealers adding a $1000 surcharge in Toronto? There a few here in BC that were $800 over what Honda had listed with lots being $300 over. My dealer agreed on list price then wanted an extra $300. After some back and forth agreed to list.

In 2019 I bought a 2017 new left over stock VStrom 650 from Argyle Motorsport in Edmonton, Alberta for $6999 plus tax. Paid $250 to get it delivered to BC. In 2020 there were still deals. I bought a 2017 Ural gear up with 750km on it for $7000 plus my 1980 Vespa P200. The Ural was essentially new. They are now $30,000 for the same model in 2023.

Once stock catches up, you will see deals again on motorcycles. Probably not the Trail because there is little profit for the dealer on these and Honda are not known for big discount sales. I was in a dealership 3weeks ago, they sell Honda, BMW, and CFMoto, they had 2 leftover 2022 BMW RT selling for $1,000 off list. This will be the year to see if Demand is slowing down. Will there be left over stock by end of the year? We will see.

 

[ssaigol]

Here is the price in Thailand where they are made and imported from. The price of 84,900 Thai Baht is approx $3,400 Canadian. Add in transoceanic freight and import duties and the price gets to the list price on Honda Powersports Canada's website.

The problem is this same bike is going to Europe and UK this year in addition to the US imports so there is a lot of demand for it.

The other thing is, this model is also on backorder in Thailand with a waiting time of 3 to 4 months (

)

So no, supply will never catch up. Unless Honda exports the Japan built models to US/Canada.

 

[tumblingdice54]

There is no getting away from the fact that it is expensive. I’m not understanding your comment about paying $1,000 more because of demand. Are the dealers adding a $1000 surcharge in Toronto? There a few here in BC that were $800 over what Honda had listed with lots being $300 over. My dealer agreed on list price then wanted an extra $300. After some back and forth agreed to list.

In 2019 I bought a 2017 new left over stock VStrom 650 from Argyle Motorsport in Edmonton, Alberta for $6999 plus tax. Paid $250 to get it delivered to BC. In 2020 there were still deals. I bought a 2017 Ural gear up with 750km on it for $7000 plus my 1980 Vespa P200. The Ural was essentially new. They are now $30,000 for the same model in 2023.

Once stock catches up, you will see deals again on motorcycles. Probably not the Trail because there is little profit for the dealer on these and Honda are not known for big discount sales. I was in a dealership 3weeks ago, they sell Honda, BMW, and CFMoto, they had 2 leftover 2022 BMW RT selling for $1,000 off list. This will be the year to see if Demand is slowing down. Will there be left over stock by end of the year? We will see.

My comment about $1000 is related to what I think the value of the bike is to me personally. A drive-away price of $5500 would make me a lot happier about the deal - paying $6420 is into the area where I will really have to think hard about it before committing. But that's probably standard for all prices in 2023.

 

[ChickenChaser]

Here is the price in Thailand where they are made and imported from. The price of 84,900 Thai Baht is approx $3,400 Canadian. Add in transoceanic freight and import duties and the price gets to the list price on Honda Powersports Canada's website.

The problem is this same bike is going to Europe and UK this year in addition to the US imports so there is a lot of demand for it.

The other thing is, this model is also on backorder in Thailand with a waiting time of 3 to 4 months (

)

So no, supply will never catch up. Unless Honda exports the Japan built models to US/Canada.

I wasn’t aware that they were also making the Trail in Japan. Would make sense to import to North America from Japan as it is closer. I also wasn’t aware of the demand in Thailand, I think it’s really cool that I’m not the only one who thinks this is a really cool bike!

In Thailand, I would imagine that there are plenty of other makes and models that would suit the needs of the general population. How is the Trail viewed over there? Value for money as a utilitarian motorcycle or is it seen as a luxury purchase?

 

[ChickenChaser]

My comment about $1000 is related to what I think the value of the bike is to me personally. A drive-away price of $5500 would make me a lot happier about the deal - paying $6420 is into the area where I will really have to think hard about it before committing. But that's probably standard for all prices in 2023.

Understood, and I do not disagree with you. I guess I will need to wait until mine arrives and had use of it for a while to see if the value is there. YouTube is a great way to see its capabilities and getting you excited but owning and using will be the decider.

 

[ssaigol]

I wasn’t aware that they were also making the Trail in Japan. Would make sense to import to North America from Japan as it is closer. I also wasn’t aware of the demand in Thailand, I think it’s really cool that I’m not the only one who thinks this is a really cool bike!

You are right! It is not made in Japan. Thailand only. Here is a screenshot of the Honda Japan website.

 

[TacoRocco]

Hey all. Check out the Canada Regional Forum that just got added.

 

[Volant1006]

I live in Kingston, ON and have had a RE Himalayan for 3 years. It was just under $6400 plus $799 freight and prep and $1100 HST from a Rockland, ON dealer with another $1300 for OEM aluminum panniers and rack, crash bar, hand guards and fork brace. But it can cruise at 115-120 kph all day if I want, has stay-dry carrying capacity and can do 2 up if I want. I've put just about 16,000 km on it. I'm not trying to argue it is a CT alternative at all. It is for a totally different ride and purpose that I'm not selling.

All I'm just trying to say is the CT for $6420 is an eye-watering price. Yes, several have gone around the world (Nathan the postman and C-90 adventures are just 2 of the best examples on YouTube) and I know I would enjoy the hell out of it and have it for the rest of my life. I will probably convince myself of that and put a deposit on one at our Kingston Honda dealer when I get home from winter vacation in 2 weeks. They are getting 2 in the spring. I just hate to pay $1000 too much IMHO only because they are so popular and hard-to-find. But I really should spend the $722 in climate incentives the tax people are giving me this year on something that gets 100 mpg!

From PA but spent many holidays up fishing on Dog Lake / Rideau / Seeley's Bay. Beautiful country up that way. Perfect Trail 125 habitat

 

[Big Ruckus 06]

Here in Nova Scotia we were hit by Hurricane Fiona in September 22. The forrest look like a war zone with some areas flattened.Most parks in the province the trails still are not cleared. It will be a long time before trails are cleared and passable for atvs. ski doos and trail. bikes.