[Dax] Getting my Ducks in a row

[dmonkey]

This thread is meant to (roughly) document mods and maintenance on my USA market 2025 Dax 125. "Ducks" is a play on "Dax", similar to how the "Cub" is sometimes called a "turnip" because both words are "kabu" in Japanese.

Customizations so far:

• OEM rear carrier (thanks @vintagegarage !)
• OEM saddlebag and saddlebag support
• Propeller helmet duck found while searching for snacks at a Daiso
• Cheeky Seats seat cover
• RK BL420MRU sealed chain
• MotoSkill center stand
• ASV F3 Series Sport Brake Lever
• SP Takegawa Sports Exhaust (Stock Look Style)
• KITACO Left Handlebar Switch (for hazards)
• DRC Meter Protective Film
• H2C Side Cover Sticker
• Kitaco Front Carrier Black
• Kitaco Stainless Basket
• MNNTHBX Oversized Kickstand Pad

The OEM saddebag is small but offers good rain protection. I've used it to carry lunch, light grocery hauls, a jacket, a tool roll, small packages to mail, and odds and ends from the hardware store.

I didn't find the factory seat to be greatly comfortable, but it's nowhere near as bad as the stock seat on the Trail. I like the look of the Cheeky Seats cover, but didn't find it to be a great comfort upgrade. I still find myself moving up and down the long seat, changing my position so I don't need to get off the bike and take a break after about an hour.

For the chain there are pretty limited options of sealed chains in #420 so I settled for RK's black chain.
OEM chain is 1 lb 11 oz

RK 420 MRU chain is 1 lb 14.2 oz

The MotoSkill center stand has a little shimmy to it and when I go to deploy the side stand with my left foot I often land on the center stand instead. Good news is I haven't scraped it yet, which tends to be the one thing that makes me not want some center stands, when their deployment arm touches ground first on a left turn. Other than the shimmy, which seems to be from how the hardware fits to the OEM exhaust hanger on the frame, the quality seems to be good. I went with the MotoSkill one because it's what DaBinChe ran on his Dax in the 2025 Scooter Cannonball Run. The T-Rex stand tempted me but I read a review that the Dax easily rocks off that stand, which surely would happen if I installed it on my Dax. I don't think I will regularly park the Dax on the center stand like I do for the Trail, but I wanted a center stand for easier tire service away from home. For service at home, I have a set of Vevor stands that fit the Dax great. The center stand install required a 24mm wrench, not a socket but a wrench. I had to dig through my spill over of odd size wrenches to find that one, buried with the SAE wrenches 1" and larger. One could use a crescent wrench, but I try to only touch those to plumbing.

The ASV sport brake lever is adjustable which is nice, but mostly I just wanted a "shorty" lever for 1 and 2 finger pulls.

The Kitaco left handlebar switch install was pretty much the same as for the CT125 other than the turn signal relay location being different.

Hazards and Passing Lights on Left Handle Switch

The Honda CT125 doesn't come with hazard lights / four-way flashers / park-anywhere lights and that's a feature I find myself wanting to make use of on occasion for temporary parking or for extra visibility. * Check your local laws before using hazard lights. In many states there are few...

hondatrail125.com

The DRC meter protective film came in a 2 pack and I messed up the install of the first one by getting dust on it so I moved it to the CT125 where the display is already scratched up anyway. After install and smoothing the bubbles out on the Dax display, the next day one area had started to peel off again so I pressed it down. I think that's just a result of the screen protector stretching around the curved screen. I'm hoping time and sun exposure will help it settle.

I didn't like the blank side cover on the USA market bike so I went with the H2C side cover sticker.

For the Kitaco front carrier I wish it came in stainless/chrome as that's part of the theme of my Dax, but the black doesn't look too out of place. Similar to the spring on the OEM front carrier on my Honda CT110, the spring on the Kitaco basket will rattle if you don't have anything pinched in it. The basket is great for around town, but for any higher speed rides (50mph+) I try not to have anything large in it because it does catch wind and negatively impact the bike's steering at higher speeds or in high wind if there's something large in the basket.

OEM exhaust (just the 2 piece exhaust with clamp, rubber vibration dampers and heat shields removed) is 9 lb 10 oz
SP Takegawa exhaust (just the exhaust again) is 7 lb 5oz
The Takegawa exhaust was a compromise of keeping the bike looking stock and having a slightly lighter and more free flowing exhaust. It is louder than stock but doesn't sound as good as a Yoshimura. It also let me eliminate the bottom exhaust mount under the frame which cleaned up the center stand install.
Thai Honda tightened the exhaust nuts at the head studs an insane amount, the factory exhaust gasket had been crushed so much that it took me 30 minutes of working at it with a pick to get part of the coiled gasket free where I could pull on it with pliers and unravel the gasket to remove it.

The MNNTHBX kickstand pad was expensive for what it is, but cheaper than price + shipping + tariff on an import one.

I meant to post photos of these things, but am getting "Oops! We ran into some problems." so I'll try again later.

 

[dmonkey]

Another one, the Tricago USB Accessory Kit. I typically avoid cheap Amazon accessories, but I've had a similar USB setup on the CT125 for years now and it's not given me any issues so I went with one for the Dax as well.

Photos are working again!

Here's the propeller helmet duck I found at Daiso. The most important farkle.


OEM DID chain


RK MRU chain

Side by side. RK chain on top, OEM DID on bottom



MNNTHBX kickstand pad/foot


Handlebar drill jig fitted for drilling a new alignment pin hole for the Kitaco left hand switch assembly with hazard/4-ways flasher button


Replaced the turn signal relay with the one provided by Kitaco. Maybe not necessary, but they provided it so why not.


Applying the DRC meter protective film. The yellow layer peels off after install.


You need to remove, or at the least loosen, the exhaust to install the MotoSkill center stand so I waited until the Takegawa exhaust arrived to bundle those installs together. Here's the bike on the Vevor rear stand, which took some adjusting but is stable now that I have it dialed in for the Dax swingarm dimensions.


Center stand installed. It came with a black rectangle insert for retaining the factory exhaust mount that it replaces, but the Takegawa exhaust will not make use of that so I replaced the insert with 2 washers instead so it's shimmed out to the same dimensions on the center stand pivot bolt. No instructions were provided, but this video was useful as a reference:

I taped the center stand in the up position, shortest reach for the spring, and got to put my Motion Pro spring puller to work again. For this spring pull it wasn't necessary and a screwdriver could have done the job, but the right tool made the job easy, and less dangerous.

 

[dmonkey]

As I mentioned, the factory exhaust gasket was crushed way more than I expected. It would have been easier to pick at on a lift, but I have a different project on the lift now so half the difficulty was laying on the ground picking at it upside down.

Here's the crushed exhaust gasket. The inner surface of it has carbon on it so it somewhat blended in. The exhaust had been tightened so much that the removed header has imprinted lines from the gasket on it. What you are seeing a little higher in the head is the o2 sensor. I reinstalled the exhaust nuts so I wouldn't damage their threads if the pick slipped.


When I finally dug a piece out I pulled on it with pliers and uncoiled it.


This is what it looks like without the gasket, in case anyone needs a reference photo to see if theirs has the gasket in place or not for exhaust swaps.


And with the new gasket installed


Takegawa sport exhaust fitted


You need to carry over the rubber vibration dampers from the factory exhaust, including the ones that the heat shield slides onto.


After installing the exhaust I went for a ride to check for exhaust leaks and put some miles on for the ECU to adjust (what it can) for the new exhaust.

Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins, CO at 5,430 ft. There is a heck of a climb up to the reservoir, a steep grade that's a good test for small bore bikes, and I at least was able to keep it over 30 mph.

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

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The very small gold & silver mining town of Masonville, CO. There's a full size mercantile building across the street from it.




Just hit 600 miles on the bike last night after a ~100 mile ride. Will be changing the oil and rechecking fasteners later today.
Here you can see the Duck, basket, and the USB port I run a Beeline Moto II off of.

 

[BergyPatty37]

Not sure why @dmonkey but the majority of pictures I cannot see. Just the video link and one of the chains. Not sure if anyone else is having this issue as well

 

[dmonkey]

600 miles, first service. Honda's maintenance schedule in the owner's manual calls for Honda Diagnostic System (skipped that, no DTCs), replacing the engine oil, inspecting engine idle speed, and inspecting the clutch system. Engine idle seems fine to me, on cold starts it fast idles and then I notice when it kicks down to lower RPM once warmed up. It's still shifting smooth so I left the shift clutch alone. For the oil change though the schedule doesn't call for it I replaced the oil filter. I figure if I am already changing the oil I may as well do the filter, and I especially wanted to since the first oil change on bikes tend to carry a lot of swarf and contaminants from assembly and break-in as Ryan F9 documented across a few brands.

For the oil change everything felt overtight from the factory. The drain plug and the oil filter cover. I followed the manual's "After draining& engine oil filter change 0.90 US qt (0.85 L)" and put that much back in sealed with a MP-01T Gold Plug, rode the bike around the block a bit, let it cool a little, then pulled the dipstick and wiped it clean, pulled the bike upright off the side stand so it was straight and level, inserted the dipstick without threading it, pulled it out and it had missed the dipstick. Similar to what @BaldRider found for the JA65 Trail 125, Honda lied to you again for the Dax!

I just kept adding a splash of oil at a time until it landed on the dipstick and then one more to get it near the top mark. I will say that I much prefer the earlier engine's dipstick, though it eventually stains which makes it hard to read, the smaller range on the newer engine's dipstick is annoying and the black dipstick is even harder to read.

An annoyance introduced by my mods, the Takegawa exhaust is right under the oil drain plug. I wrapped the pipe in tinfoil to help keep oil off it, but there isn't room to get a socket on the drain plug anymore. As some of you can imagine, it bothered me that I couldn't then torque the drain plug to spec with a torque wrench Will have to pick up a crowfoot wrench for next time.

Photos not working again... will try again later.

 

[BaldRider]

At least they are consistent