[USA] American Honda Confirms Honda Trail 125 return for 2023

[BaldRider]

I would also like a Dax. Part of me thinks that none of the minimotos really compete with each other much so offering the Dax wouldn't hurt sales of the others. Another part of me thinks that the majority of minimoto offerings are throwbacks/retro and there isn't a lot of room for another one. Even though they have different uses, the Dax could pull sales away from current offerings the way other 125 varieties didn't. Honda probably had the same conversations internally.

The Navi...I'm not smart enough to know why that came stateside.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I would also like a Dax. Part of me thinks that none of the minimotos really compete with each other much so offering the Dax wouldn't hurt sales of the others. Another part of me thinks that the majority of minimoto offerings are throwbacks/retro and there isn't a lot of room for another one. Even though they have different uses, the Dax could pull sales away from current offerings the way other 125 varieties didn't. Honda probably had the same conversations internally.

The Navi...I'm not smart enough to know why that came stateside.

I agree. IMO the minimotos vary mostly by style and what surface you're riding on but since I don't own them all, take this this with a grain of salt. Grom and Monkey, Trail and Cub, and the intermediate between them (classic styling with the semi-auto shifter) is the Dax. Adding to that lineup IMO hurts Honda more than helps.

The Navi I think was more of a marketing stunt - a super cheap alternative for people who didn't want a Metro 50, which is like $800 more and you look like you're on the historically uncool moped (Cubs, Vespas and Burgman 650's excluded). I think it was also a cheap way to be testing the waters for whether it was viable to bring those pocketbikes over to the USA.

 

[Kev250R]

I agree. IMO the minimotos vary mostly by style and what surface you're riding on but since I don't own them all, take this this with a grain of salt. Grom and Monkey, Trail and Cub, and the intermediate between them (classic styling with the semi-auto shifter) is the Dax. Adding to that lineup IMO hurts Honda more than helps.

The Navi I think was more of a marketing stunt - a super cheap alternative for people who didn't want a Metro 50, which is like $800 more and you look like you're on the historically uncool moped (Cubs, Vespas and Burgman 650's excluded). I think it was also a cheap way to be testing the waters for whether it was viable to bring those pocketbikes over to the USA.

I think it would be good for Honda to bring another mini-moto to the market. These types of bikes seem to fill a nche that most other brands (except for Kawasaki with the Z125 Pro) have overlooked. In my area I see at least one Grom a day, and at least once a week see A Monkey or a Navi. There are at least two other Trails in my neighborhood I see buzzing around. My point is People are buying these bikes and except for the Navi are spending $$ to get them.

I was all-in on getting a Navi when they first came-out but have since changed my mind on buying one. If I had a new rider in my life who needed a starter bike I'd buy one today. I live in a college town and see a few of them buzzing around the area where the college is.

 

[oldskool]

I think it would be good for Honda to bring another mini-moto to the market. These types of bikes seem to fill a nche that most other brands (except for Kawasaki with the Z125 Pro) have overlooked. In my area I see at least one Grom a day, and at least once a week see A Monkey or a Navi. There are at least two other Trails in my neighborhood I see buzzing around. My point is People are buying these bikes and except for the Navi are spending $$ to get them.

I was all-in on getting a Navi when they first came-out but have since changed my mind on buying one. If I had a new rider in my life who needed a starter bike I'd buy one today. I live in a college town and see a few of them buzzing around the area where the college is.

Must be a college town thing. Outside of a showroom I have not seen one "minmoto".

 

[Kev250R]

Must be a college town thing. Outside of a showroom I have not seen one "minmoto".

Maybe so, though I travel all over Southern California and see them in other areas as well, however we have nearly year-round weather for riding here so that might make a difference as well. Many of the mini-motos I see appear to be used for commuting. I see more Groms then anything else out there.

 

[m in sc]

they are all over the place around here and college kids aren't riding them, but especially in charlotte, (15 miles north) there's just tons of them. theres 3 people in my neighborhood alone with groms, and a trail oner about 2 miles away, but theres a few more. all adult ridden. few monkeys as well. in rock hill, ive probably seen 20-30 of them buzzing around, groms, monkeys, etc. hell i saw a dude just flat out getting it on a ruckus today going the other way (with jealousy in his eyes as i was on the trail. lol. ) market would def support it.

 

[dmonkey]

Pretty much the same places I see other small motorcycles or scooters it seems that I will end up seeing a Honda miniMOTO. Most often the Grom or Super Cub which reflects their age and popularity.

Honda have quite a few more "Cub" family miniMOTOs offered in Asia, but the market is much different to justify that wider assortment of similar models. They even offer a 110cc variant of some of the 125cc bikes, a model that is barebones, economical, and sold at a lower price point for commuters and businesses. I can't picture many Americans wanting to pay less for a lower displacement version of something like the Super Cub. If anything, the opposite.

Considering the Dax is a retro bike of one that was sold in North America, as the Trail 70, I think Honda is missing out and we are missing out. Especially with it having the 125cc in common with the rest of the NA miniMOTOS (sans the Navi with its Honda Activa engine, not in the Cub family). I guess that's the trade off for NA and the United Kingdom. The UK gets the Dax, us westerners get the Trail, and we all yearn for what we can't have.

https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/125cc.html
https://www.honda.co.jp/motor-lineup/
https://www.thaihonda.co.th/honda/motorcycle
https://www.honda.com.vn/xe-may/san-pham

 

[SneakyDingo]

We have a dedicated shop - and a good one at that - to minimotos and vespas, but I still don't see them that often. I've seen maybe 2-3 Monkeys in 2 years, 1 grom, and 2 CT125's. Even the cubs, I don't see that often, there's one guy who I see multiple times (same guy) on a black C125 and I see random people riding one every 3-4 months, but that's about it. I ride past three schools (1 is a technical college) twice daily, and here it seems like every man and his dog is driving a very empty SUV or pickup. I can't tell if it's the hills, or the sh*tty drivers, or just that generally people lean towards electric bicycles here since the bike trails are pretty good, but they're not as popular.

 

[Eury]

Here in south eastern NH I see them pretty regularly (not just in my garage). Besides a ton of Ruckuses (Rucki?), there’s a lot of Groms and a fair amount of Monkeys. I’ve only seen one other Trail besides mine and no Cubs.