Rumors

[oldskool]

When I picked up my CT 125 last week the salesman said that the availability of the ct would not be any better in 23. He said they expect more Groms and few if any CTs. Doesn't make any sense to me. It is not like he was using psychology to get me to buy they already had my money. Maybe he was trying to help SWMBO see that it was a smart buy

 

[SneakyDingo]

When I picked up my CT 125 last week the salesman said that the availability of the ct would not be any better in 23. He said they expect more Groms and few if any CTs. Doesn't make any sense to me. It is not like he was using psychology to get me to buy they already had my money. Maybe he was trying to help SWMBO see that it was a smart buy

I think it's unlikely the CT125 availability will ever exceed that of the Grom. I think it's more likely that the CT125 will continue to slowly creep up in price while being widely unavailable. It's just... manufacturing, shipping and a lack of motivation. The more real comparison would be the C125 Supercub against the CT125 - if you saw availability of the Supercub climbing while the Trail 125 remained the same, either there's more demand, or there's something with the mostly-metal fabrication portion of manufacturing these bikes that makes it much less attractive from a financial perspective.

Just looking at the wheels alone, cast vs. spoked wheels makes making the Grom and Supercub easier (from a labor perspective - not having to true wheels cuts down time even though that process is largely automated nowadays). That's before you throw in that rear rack.

 

[dmonkey]

The CT125 is likely a hot seller in every market it's available in, Honda even mentioned it in their foreign business report filed with the SEC when talking about sales in Japan.

Honda’s consolidated unit sales in Japan increased 4.9% to 215 thousand units in fiscal year 2021, mainly due to the effects of launching the new CT125 Hunter Cub model.

With the official Honda accessories launched for the 2023 model year bike in Japan, I think it's safe to say they plan to continue production for at least a few years to capitalize on the accessory market as well. Whether or not that means the USA will see the same new model and accessory availability remains to be seen, but I think it's promising.

 

[m in sc]

groms just sell better to a wider audience TBH. Honda has done this with lots of models though.. the cb1100, the GB500, etc, to name a few.

 

[oldskool]

Neither the Supercub nor the Grom hold any charm for me so it is hard for me to see it but nobody ever said I was "normal". Ya you pay a little more for the CT but you get a lot more IMHO. If I understand correctly the CT is very popular in the SE A market so maybe they are filling that market first I thought I read that Honda is having issues meeting pollution standards for the western markets. Perhaps all play some role here, at least I got mine

 

[dmonkey]

The updated high compression 125cc engine that is in the the 2023 Model Year Hunter Cub 125 in Japan meets the Euro 5 emissions standard which is pretty dang strict. It's mostly motorcycles that have older engine designs that are being dropped for emissions, like the CB400 Super Four. Ones that Honda has sunk the $$$ into redesigning, like the updated Gold Wing 1800, are in the clear... though Honda do keep announcing the end of the Gold Wing, they also keep bringing it back. WingDings forever.

 

[orbitzor]

I spoke with 4 dealers (Cub Houses) here in Thailand when looking for both of my CT's. Both of them said the same thing, they would be hard to come by into next year, even here in Thailand where they are made. One of the dealers told me that most dealers here in Thailand were only allotted on 1 CT....despite them being built here. I was quoted 3 months waiting time everywhere I went here, except the last dealer that got my 2 bikes within a couple of weeks. At the shop in Chiang Mai, I ran into another American that was looking at buying one here in Thailand and trying to figure out what it would cost to ship it back to America. In the 3 months I have been looking into the CT, I have only seen one other one on the streets so they do seem very rare.