After several months and shipping it over 1000 mi...

[SneakyDingo]

1966: "You meet the nicest people on a Honda."
2022: "You meet the nicest potato dogs on a Honda."

My bike arrived this morning. The shipper said he got a flat tire, but honestly I kinda feel like he just got a late start. I said "7am?" and he was all "Sure!" (I was expecting him to suggest a more reasonable hour but ok, I'm always awake then anyway.) What can I say, potato dog approves of the purchase[1]. I am now 1 step away from the finale of all of this jumping through hoops and paperwork, but the fedex shipment needs to arrive first.

With it slightly below freezing and still some ice on the ground, I set out to re-learn how to ride a motorcycle. Despite keeping my roadcraft in practice with riding bicycles that are honestly about the size and shape of a CT125, oof did I feel out of practice. I knew I'd have to relearn how to shift because there was no hand clutch. I stuck to back roads and parking lots until I got the hang of it. I'm not so old I don't remember my first lesson on a motorcycle nearly 15 years ago, so I zipped over to the local parking lot, did the same motions until I got a feel for the bike, did some emergency stops, U-turns, up and downshifting at speeds, and hit the horn a bunch trying to get the indicator on. Decided when I could do a U-turn at 1 mph at the tightest radius the bars would turn at I had a pretty good feel for the handling and then went out on the back roads for a light spin. Made sure to stop regularly and check that I wasn't doing a death grip on the bars, and realized at some point I'd left my license at home in all the excitement.

Later in the day feeling a lot more confident in myself, went to the Honda dealer and said hi to Salesman Tim. Tim had been a HUGE help with me getting an idea of whether the bike would fit ok and was the one that said, "if you find one in Vegas, buy it." He's still fielding daily calls for the bike too. Went through all their gear, found two jackets I liked and ordered one of their premium jackets in a size up, as well as picked up some 10W30 oil for that first oil change. Ran an errand on the way home of getting burritos, and contemplated the numerous times I'd done the same trip on a Gotway MSX 100V electric unicycle (EUC). It felt slightly slower but much, much safer. I realized this was especially true when an inattentive woman pulled out from a side street directly in front of me and I was able to comfortably slow down[2].

For the final ride of the day headed over to the shops about 20 minutes away. I'd just taken a nap after assembling my bike cover and it had started raining. I was especially motivated because the Amazon store wanted a ridiculous $12 shipping per item on the thing I want that only costs $17 each, and it was maybe 20 minutes riding away. Do you know how many tanks of petrol that would pay for?!

I don't have wet weather gear yet and I won't say it was pleasant, but I felt comparable to going for a bicycle ride in the rain. Slightly uncomfortable but nothing crazy. There's a ton of construction going on there making getting in and out really difficult, so I leveraged the fact I had dealer plates and a narrow profile to utilize some pedestrian accessways and grassy areas to get to the store front . I also hit up Home Depot and bought some hardware in anticipation of the rear crate arriving tomorrow or the day after. Right as I rolled into my driveway, I saw the fuel gauge drop down one of the little bars, right around the 40 mi trip meter mark.

I'm super happy that it's finally arrived. It is a shade slower than I expected, but I also think that I'm not fully revving out the engine which is ok, this is the first 100 miles of riding we're talking about. I give a lot of credit to @SomeGuyRides doing the TAT on one for giving me a very, very fair and balanced set of expectations for how the bike would perform, which I would generalize as "a large, low travel suspension bicycle" - honestly, it feels so similar to my Tern GSD electric cargo bicycle it's kinda spooky, which is also a good thing since that is a far less capable vehicle so I'm not asking too much of the humble Honda. Can't wait to see where it takes me in the future .

[1] She's a Norwich Terrier in case anyone's wondering. Her name is Abby. We call her potato dog in several languages.
[2] On a Gotway MSX, when you slow down hard the wheel shakes side to side. It has to do with the delivery of power and gyroscopic effects on the wheel. Generally it's not a problem but early on with some defective circuitry I earned the hole in my motorcycle jacket from this going wrong. So the CT125 is way safer in that sense.

 

[dmonkey]

Congrats on getting the bike! It should pick up a tiny bit more pep once it's broken in and the first oil change is done. Will your cargo crate setup be potato dog compatible?

 

[SneakyDingo]

Congrats on getting the bike! It should pick up a tiny bit more pep once it's broken in and the first oil change is done. Will your cargo crate setup be potato dog compatible?

Good to hear. I'm planning on doing the first change + gold plug install at around the end of the first tank of fuel, which was why I picked up the smaller, cheaper bottle today, rather than the 1 gal option.

RE: Compatible? Yes, absolutely, she's fit in a bicycle side pannier before. Would I actually put her in there? Not willingly unless I was able to keep the revs low for comfort. She has a backpack she rides in that works reasonably well; I think I prefer that slightly to the crate as it is a more comfortable ride for her with fewer vibrations and me acting as a giant shock absorber and windbreak. We might test this in a few weeks, when she has a vet appointment; if it's raining I'll probably take the motorcycle over the bicycle.

One thing I greatly appreciate with every bike I have is these backpack straps are not infallible; if they do break I know I can get her home safely and easily. I think her regular doggo crate would fit on the rack as well, although I'd probably want to modify it slightly to strengthen the mount point.

 

[dmonkey]

Some motorcycles ship with break-in oil in them that is intended to be run up to the first service interval, and there's also assembly lube that comes out with the first change. I don't know if there's break-in oil in the CT125 at first, but you could call your dealership and ask if that's the case. Something to consider before flushing the oil early.

The backpack looks like a comfy setup! She's lucky to have you as a windshield

 

[AZ7000']

Our dog does great in her basket and the milk crate, fake grass in the bottom gives her great traction.

 

[SneakyDingo]

-- Odometer reading: 88 mi.--
This bike continues to amuse me. The first people to compliment me was an Asian couple; given their accents, I would not have been surprised if the humble cub had been family transport at some point. The second was an older white guy in a huge pickup truck, literally holding up half a block of traffic just to say how much he liked the bike. Amusing, but also slightly terrifying.

The funniest, by far, was earlier today. My previous riding gear needed replacing. My local dealer suggested going to the nearby BMW dealership for boots after striking out several times. I walk in, there's a fairly young lady and three guys shooting the shit with each other. The woman gets up, says hi and helps me look at some boots. She rides a high end Ducati, something I can appreciate but has too many dollars in maintenance and modifications to suit me.

I love the first boots I put on, but it's hard to say if they'll work well with the CT125. I ask if I can try them on the bike which is parked outside; she hesitates for a moment so I add, "If you don't mind something that's not a BMW being in here, it'll very easily fit through the front door and I can try it in here instead." She seems relieved since the boots aren't supposed to leave the building[1]. Quick as a whistle, I pull the boots off and head for the door without putting my shoes back on. Who needs shoes on the Cub variants anyway? This is Malaysian safety gear at its finest!!

As I roll up to the front door, the woman helping me says, "Aww that looks like a fun bike" in a slightly amused, slightly not-taking-me-seriously way.

The instant I roll in the door... "WHOA IS THAT A HONDA TRAIL?!" All 3 of the guys at the front desk stand up and 3 service techs pop out from the back office. A few of them walk over. Two of the other BMW riders in the store looking at gear also wander over to have a look. "I didn't think they even made these anymore" says the oldest guy. "I heard they were making new ones of these but I've never actually seen one" says another. The sales rep helping me seems to recognize that this bike is something special but doesn't have that nostalgic connection herself.

The service I get from the sales staff substantially improves in a very short period of time. The boots are perfect. I thank the woman for helping me, pay her, and one of the techs helps me roll the bike out the door.

Who knew. Even in a BMW dealership you meet the nicest people on a Honda.

[1] Honda almost insisted that I try the boots on my bike, outside the dealer, so this was slightly amusing to me.

 

[Shoot870p]

These do draw attention for sure. Still low mileage and breaking it in!
shoot870p

 

[AZ7000']

I rarely get a ride in without people getting stoked and telling me about their experiences with old ones. Fun stuff.

 

[fmdualexhaust]

So which BMW boots did you buy?
I wore my road boots a few times on the Honda but after a few times in the mud, I thought no.
Got a pair of cheap off road boots.

 

[SneakyDingo]

So which BMW boots did you buy?

Hahaha in all my excitement the best I could do without looking at the boots is "black ones". And after searching online for them without much luck, "Black Motorrad ones".

Apparently the actual name is BMW Motorrad CruiseComfort Boots, P/N 76221541333, although the place where it was written is not in English so I thought it was part of an address.

Not gonna lie, I'll probably use something different if I'm doing serious offroading, but I might also consider that I won't be moving that fast and hiking boots could probably get me pretty far.

 

[dmonkey]

I've been wearing a boot with a really similar design to that for the past year and a half and really like it, I imagine the BMW ones are even nicer.

Tour Master Solution 3.0 WP Boots | 30% ($42.00) Off! - RevZilla

Touring on your motorcycle is not just for nice days. You have to be ready for all conditions. The Tour Master Solution 3.0 Boot has a long history of…

www.revzilla.com

The only downsides for me are that velcro wears out and needs to be "revived" after so much use, and they definitely get toasty on those 90*F+ days.

 

[fmdualexhaust]

That's pretty much the boot I have.
I think the ones you got superseded mine.
Mine are 5 years old and still look like new.
Comfortable to walk in too.
I think you will be happy.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I was looking for the same boot I wore from about 12 years ago. I went to that shop because the guy at Honda told me they sold Sidi, but after I got there I was told that was old information. Just goes to show how much influence our old boots can have on us!

 

[CTReiko]

Some motorcycles ship with break-in oil in them that is intended to be run up to the first service interval, and there's also assembly lube that comes out with the first change. I don't know if there's break-in oil in the CT125 at first, but you could call your dealership and ask if that's the case. Something to consider before flushing the oil early.

No "Break-in" oil in the CT. Just regular ol GN4. Most likely topped up with bulk GN4 as well if the PDI was done correctly before it was taken home.