New 2023 Honda Trail Explorer CT125 Launched in Thailand

[milkecrate]

tool kits are really not std anymore. I bought all mine from partzilla to stuff in the box think it was 20 bucks.

Yea , I have been getting that feeling.
I have a Yamaha who's spark plug can only be accessed by the factory plug socket.
All others are to thick or too long/short.
if too long , you can't clear the frame to remove it.
Anyhow, many many many years ago I priced out the tool kit.
Only cause I wanted another plug socket.
Cheap screwdriver , cheap pliers and the socket.
$75..... way back when that was big money.
I almost fainted.
I leave the socket at home for fear I'll loose it.

 

[TrailBoss]

Personally, I think all bikes should come with at least a basic set of tools. For me it's like newer cars which don't come with a spare tire anymore. Sure 90% of the time you won't need them, but when you do, you'll be glad it's there.

Couldn't agree more. I got a flat for the first time in over 20 years last week. Thank goodness my 2004 vintage car still had an actual (though donut) spare tire, because no can of fix-a-flat was going to seal a 1/4" hole. Maybe if I'd of had a plug kit and a can of fix-a-flat... It's just plain stupid that spare tires are a novelty these days.

 

[Kev250R]

This is my fluke-flat. Took a lag bolt to the sidewall of my Tacoma on I-10 headed towards Palm Springs a little over a year ago. No way any sort of Tire Sealant would have fixed this! *maybe* a couple of tire plugs but I wouldn't have trusted them at highway speeds. Thankfully Toyota still includes a full-size spare (and a decent jack) on their trucks so I changed it and was back on the road 30 minutes later. I bought a new, matching tire in Palm Springs and continued on my trip, which was may more convient then waiting for a Tow Truck to a Tire Store and hoping they had the Brand/type/size tire I needed. What made me not happy was that tire (and the truck) had ~10k miles on it when that happened.

 

[G19Tony]

Couldn't agree more. I got a flat for the first time in over 20 years last week. Thank goodness my 2004 vintage car still had an actual (though donut) spare tire, because no can of fix-a-flat was going to seal a 1/4" hole. Maybe if I'd of had a plug kit and a can of fix-a-flat... It's just plain stupid that spare tires are a novelty these days.

View attachment 3925

I just bought a 22 Ford Maverick. It came with a donut. I promptly found a steelie on Ebay, and a Conti that closely matched whats on the truck and put it up. I feel much better having a full size spare.

 

[Kev250R]

I just bought a 22 Ford Maverick. It came with a donut. I promptly found a steelie on Ebay, and a Conti that closely matched whats on the truck and put it up. I feel much better having a full size spare.

I would have done the same thing; I have four trucks and three of them carry a full-size, matching-sized (not necessarily brand) spare tire. Even my Silverado which has 33" tires has a 33" spare tire crammed under it's bed. BTW I'm starting to like those Mavericks. I'm seeing more and more of them running around my area.

FWIW Donut spare tires on trucks aren't necessarily a new thing. My Grandfather drove an '88 Mazda P/U which came from the factory with a donut spare tire under the bed, which was odd since on that truck there was plenty of space for a full-sized (the truck had 14" or 15" wheels stock) spare tire and wheel which would have matched the stock size and would have been able to carry whatever load may have been in the bed of the truck, had it ever actually been loaded. I remember seeing that as a kid and thinking it was odd.

My last bit on tires; I've had good luck buying and using used tires as spare tires. The cost is a lot less then new (I think the last one I bought from the no-name tire store in the bad part of town cost $25 mounted) and they seem to last a very long time when they're kept out of the elements.

 

[Bullwinkle]

One more noticeable change I spotted on the video. The red version now has a new HONDA logo on the side,
more in keeping with the 2 other bikes, white with a black drop shadow. What is weird is that I just ordered new logos from Webike last week that are for one of the other bikes, white with a black drop shadow.
I guess Honda thinks it looks better also.

 

[dmonkey]

One other nice update with the new motor, it takes an oil filter cartridge. The cover for it is the circle seen behind the rear brake lever's foot pedal when viewed from the side.

 

[SneakyDingo]

One other nice update with the new motor, it takes an oil filter cartridge. The cover for it is the circle seen behind the rear brake lever's foot pedal when viewed from the side.

Does that replace the spinner, or does it take a cartridge AND have a spinner?

 

[dmonkey]

Great question. It seems Honda ditched the spinner on bikes with a manual clutch, but it still remains on bikes with the semi-automatic one-way centrifugal clutch, which makes sense because the centrifugal/primary/one-way clutch is a wet clutch same as the shifter clutch.
Manual transmission
2020 Grom motor clutch assembly with "rotor, oil filter"
2022 Grom motor clutch assembly without spinner
For a better visual of what it looks like without the spinner, you can watch a 2022 Honda Grom Oil Change and Oil Screen Cleaning video on YouTube.

Semi-automatic transmission
2020 Super Cub motor one-way clutch assembly with "cover, oil filter"
2022 Super Cub motor one-way clutch assembly with "cover, oil filter"


For the newer Grom the owner's manual no longer lists "Engine Oil Centrifugal Filter" as an item to clean on the maintenance schedule every 8k miles.
2020 Honda Grom owner's manual (with centrifugal filter maintenance)
2022 Honda Grom owner's manual (without centrifugal filter maintenance)

Something I found interesting is that for the newer motor with the oil filter cartridge, Honda recommends changing the oil filter only every 8k miles, while oil change intervals remain at the same old higher frequency of the 600 mile break-in service and then every 4k mile interval. Yes one might think "duh, that filter has way more capacity to catch debris than the prior configuration that lacked it, so it's reasonable to have a longer service life than 4k miles", and that's true, but think about how this was an opportunity for Honda to recommend you buy a consumable item, which for many would be the OEM part and through their local dealer, and Honda didn't take that opportunity. That's Honda showing a little common decency when the norm for many manufacturers has shifted to recommending owners take it to the dealer and have them replace consumables prematurely.

From the 2023 Honda Super Cub owner's manual, which is likely the most comparable to the 2023 CT125 released in SEA since it has the semi-auto transmission and the 2022+ model year Super Cubs have the new Euro5 compliant high compression motor:

 

[dmonkey]

The Thai Honda MotoPub site doesn't seem to have published the 2023 owner's manual yet, but Honda Japan Motopub did.
2023 CT125 Hunter Cub Owner's Manual (Japanese)
At quick glance, all 4 gear ratios are the same but Reduction ratio (primary / final) changes from 3.350 / 2.785 to 3.421 / 2.714
If the JP and TH bikes happen to be the same then it has a 38T rear sprocket according to Thai Honda's Parts Catalog, it doesn't show the front (yet). **Update** It now shows 14T for the front sprocket.


Oil filter is definitely there. 1.00L total, 0.80L change without filter, 0.85L change with filter.
The manual is even nice enough to show how to take body panels off without breaking plastic tabs!

 

[zigzagjoe]

Interesting if so, as it seems like any performance improvements would be purely the new engine / tuning as the gearing seems to work out to a wash. Attached the doc I used to calculate the below images.

2022 on left, 2023 on right

 

[meuhey]

Can anyone confirm if the new ja65e engine now has piston cooling jets? I remember hearing about it before but cannot find info on that.

 

[dmonkey]

Can anyone confirm if the new ja65e engine now has piston cooling jets? I remember hearing about it before but cannot find info on that.

Yes, one piston oil jet. Part 6 in this diagram and Honda P/N: 15201-K1M-T02



The older engine also has a small oil jet in the RH crankcase around the same spot, but without the nozzle bend so probably not as effective.

 

[KMA]

picked mine up June 16 $4468 OTD N/W OH.