What do you think of the bike now?

[TRF90]

I do not know if this will help, but try riding with rear brake on to stabilize the bike. Tip from MC RIDER, YOU TUBE channel. But taking off from a stop problem ,is it does not have enough power in stock form. I can spin gravel when taking off, and even when going into second. It actually is unsafe due to lack of takeoff power as it comes off dealership floor.

This is a bike that really responds to break-in miles and gearing. After I passed 500 miles, and put that 13 tooth front sprocket on, the low end power has been just fine. Just came back from a ride that included a steep off-road climb out of a canyon. Not dirt bike hill climb stuff, but something that would put a smile on your face if you were driving a Jeep. Considering what it is, the little bike did well. In fact, part of the fun is figuring out how to get places with just enough power on tap.

 

[SLO]

This is a bike that really responds to break-in miles and gearing. After I passed 500 miles, and put that 13 tooth front sprocket on, the low end power has been just fine. Just came back from a ride that included a steep off-road climb out of a canyon. Not dirt bike hill climb stuff, but something that would put a smile on your face if you were driving a Jeep. Considering what it is, the little bike did well. In fact, part of the fun is figuring out how to get places with just enough power on tap.

With the SHINKO 244 3/0 tires it will run faster,as it can rev up,and larger diameter tire at same rpm = more ground speed. Do the math if you want,but I already did.

 

[SLO]

With the SHINKO 244 3/0 tires it will run faster,as it can rev up,and larger diameter tire at same rpm = more ground speed. Do the math if you want,but I already did.

That is of course with the 13 tooth front sprocket. Went back to 14,then back to 13 tooth. That's what it wants.

 

[SLO]

I think the extra 100 pounds is the biggest difference, it affects everything on the bike



Can we agree to disagree?

I love mine,and feel safer on it than my KTM 390 ADV , or my DR 200. Actually ride faster on roads I ride,and enjoy the heck out of it. I bet if someone took a picture of my face after riding all three, The smile factor would tell the tale.

 

[Backwoods]

Got my 23 today, I like it more than the 22. Peppy, sounds quieter and shifts real smooth with heel shifter.

 

[MiteeWidge01]

8000 k on mine and no issues what so ever. replaced OEM chain with a 428 vx o ring chain which made a significant improvement to gear changes by eliminating the chain snatch that the smaller chain imparted. Bury me with this bike.

 

[DJ427]

I love this bike, as I putt around slowly through nearby neighborhoods, I find others like it too, I can tell most have no idea what it is

 

[ROGER4314]

After more than 50 years of riding and 30 bikes, I sold my Harley XL1200c and gave it up. It was a big mistake and regretted the loss of "Wind Therapy". I bought the CT125 for the same reasons that most of you list as "cons". It is slow...... OK, so am I at 76. It has that step through design frame for a guy who is fighting Arthritis, works great! Fuel use is minimal and with Biden Jacking with the economy, that's a real plus.

The engine is familiar because I owned the old Hondas like the "65cc". That bike had a weak second gear, so every so often, I'd remove the head and cylinder, split the cases and replace the second gear. I put a huge rear sprocket on that bike and climbed monstrous hills with it. There's nothing to be afraid of working on it. Valve clearance is a snap to check and adjust.

Insurance is $123 full coverage for a whole year, so that's nothing to sweat.

The heel/toe shifter has to go. My shoes are 12EEEE and that simply doesn't work. I'll cut the back part of the shifter off and recognize that it's a common remedy.

I'm really happy with the bike. It's like coming home after being gone for a while!

Flash

 

[RedRyder]

New member. So far so good - it's what I expected. But in researching this forum and scouring YT videos on the bike, I have observed an interesting phenomenon. I don't have enough data to suggest this is common, but I've seen it enough to wonder if it's a trend. When people get this bike, they seem to love it, and sing its praises. But after perhaps a year of riding, invariably I've seen people selling it for something else. While they continue to claim they love the bike, nonetheless they sell it for something faster. QuasioMotard seems ready to sell his, claiming it's not a city bike. On2Feet took his on an amazing loop of some incredibly technical terrain, but is selling his. I see the user Bryan Church, after his somewhat unlucky first attempt at the Continental Divide trip, has sold his (though for medical reasons, it seems). Of the ones for sale, some people seem to get them home, discover they are not fast enough, and sell them with less than 20 miles on them.

I have a theory about this observation. As I understand it, this is the single most popular bike in the world, selling over 100 million units. But, for lack of a better way to explain it, this is not an "American" bike. This bike thrives in East Asia, Asia, and South Asia. But the style of riding and highways systems in those countries is nothing like what it is in the US. I spent three weeks in Pune, India, about 12 years ago, and 125cc bikes were all over the roads, vastly outnumbering cars. But I never saw them on highways. They are used as service vehicles/commuters. I witnessed families of five riding on one scooter, and a propane delivery man balancing 5 20lb propane tanks on his scooter for delivery. Women ride the rack sidesaddle with skirtguards over the chain. They are the modern equivalent of an oxcart.

Americans do not use 125cc scooters like the Trail Rider this way. The common complaint is lack of highway capability, something not even considered in other countries. To cut to the chase, Americans want performance, while the rest of the world wants utility. When the CT125 doesn't "perform" to the expectations of Americans used to the US highway system, they grow tired of it, and give it up for something faster. The TW200 seems to be the bike of choice when they get a replacement. The SuperCub is also in that category. The ADV150 also seems to be an up-and-coming choice. So far, I am quite happy with the Trail, having numerous amounts of back roads, state forest land and trails to ride within my area. I have bought a Mototote C3 so I can haul it to further locations, set up a base camp, and ride in that region. By nature I am more of a utilitarian person, so the Trail fits me very well right now. Its low weight is also a great advantage for me as I get older. I would welcome any thoughts on my theory, and I will to stress in the strongest terms it is JUST a THEORY based on limited evidence and my experience in India.

 

[TRF90]

I think you're onto something there. I've been riding a long time and I've had many motorcycles. Just got back from a 100 mile ride with a buddy. Speeds varied from 50 to 80 mph. I was on my Triumph T100 he was on his Can-Am. My rides on the Trail 125 tend to be of the 30 minute variety on desert trails near my house. Just something to blow the cobwebs out of my mind after work. When riding it on secondary highways, I tend to run the edge of the road and wave people around me. That gets old in a hurry if you need a bike that will keep up with traffic. For riders with a need for speed, it's a great second, third, or fourth bike.

 

[Cardinal Direction]

I mean you ain’t wrong. The whole thing is the American infrastructure isn’t really built for this category to be efficient. It’s a double edge sword, at the same time we have an amazing interstate system. However for us ok with less efficiency but good utility it shines.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I think about it a lot when I think about what I'd do if the bike got stolen given these experiences. I would agree with that assessment.

American infrastructure, FHWA roadway engineering guidelines and police enforcing speeding laws (particularly in Seattle) do not lend themselves to smallbore bike friendliness. I think what really made for a good experience for me personally is that I spent a huge majority of my time on bicycles before getting this bike, so my navigation in particular but also other expectations are all aligned with "fast bicycle." Even then, those guys get to use bicycle trails and bike lanes. It's especially noticeable since this is my only motorcycle.

 

[TeamTrail]

I love this bike. The love affair grows stronger with each ride. Don't think I'll ever sell it.

My only complaint is I wish it had another gear for more speed. It doesn't like being at 65-70kms/hour and there are times in town I wan to be at that speed.

 

[oldskool]

I love this bike. The love affair grows stronger with each ride. Don't think I'll ever sell it.

My only complaint is I wish it had another gear for more speed. It doesn't like being at 65-70kms/hour and there are times in town I wan to be at that speed.

I still try to shift into ghost gear once in a while, but its never there The reality is the little engine just doesn't have the sand to use another gear except maybe downhill with the wind at your back. 80 Kph is within the bikes capabilities, 65/70 kph is no sweat. I find 45 MPH, 73 Kph to be the sweat spot on mine.
It takes a little time to get used to the idea that those high RPMs are not too hard on the little engine when you are used to riding something with a bit more grunt that cruses at half the rpms or less.

 

[ROGER4314]

The limitations of the CT125 are exactly why I chose it. During the 50 years, of riding, I traveled extensively on some large, roadworthy motorcycles. That's just the problem............. My can do, didn't stay in line with the want to. I missed the feel of the wind and thought I wouldn't miss it. I was wrong! The 17 mile route through local neighborhoods is the same path I rode 3,000 + miles on bicycles in 2011. I get the "wind therapy" but don't pay the price of trashing my body that the long trips caused. The two longest trips were 6,000 and 8,000 miles all over the western US. If I tried that at age 76, they'd take me off of the bike and lay me out on a stretcher!

I could afford a bigger bike, but the CT125 is perfect to keep me throttled down in keeping with physical limitations. I wish it could be different, but the little Honda is perfect for my abilities.

Flash

 

[Tex68w]

I am one of those on the fence. I've had mine for nine-ish months now and I have gone through the entire spectrum of emotions with it lol. At first I loved it, just on looks and nostalgia alone, then I got into the mod phase which kept me occupied and entertained. Now that it's pretty much setup how it'll stay I am simply riding it and I find myself a bit underwhelmed.

Now let me preface this by saying that I have been riding since I was 5, I have had nearly 40 different motorcycles/scooters in my 39 years on this planet, some of which had 215hp and would nearly touch 200mph so I have a varied scope of power, utility and styles. I bought this bike partially on looks and nostalgia and partially to serve as a run-about for around town in good weather and possibly for the occasional vacation tag-along. It serves those roles well but it leaves me wanting so much more in the power department and I wish it had the two-speed case like the 90 I had growing up. I know what it is and what it isn't now and I am learning to accept that and find a way to appreciate it with that in mind.

At the end of the day I have to tell myself that while I wish it had more power and comfort that's really not the point, it's supposed to be exactly what it is and you have other options to fill in the space and roles for what it isn't. It's slow, kinda heavy for its size, and it needs more power, more cockpit room and a more comfortable seat but it doesn't have those things and that's kind of the humility in it and I need to remind myself of that from time to time. I can't make any guarantees that it'll stick around for the long haul but I promised myself that I'd give it a year and then reevaluate things from there. Until then I am going to continue to ride it, tweak it and make memories.

 

[Just_Jack]

114 miles in on a brand new 2023 and I voted “Better than expected!”

I bought my CT125 primarily as a grocery go-getter and urban commuting bike for riding city streets in the San Francisco east bay on roads ranging from 25-45mph and it’s been great for that so far. The only things I don’t love are how short first gear is (a PITA in stop and go traffic) and that the transmission is a bit jerky when releasing/applying the throttle in 3rd gear. I’m obviously still really early in my break in period so I’m hoping that smooths out over time or I just get more used to it.

I rode scooters and mopeds in college in the early 2000s, starting with a 49cc scooter and working my way up to a 180cc Yamaha Riva. I was always interested in the Honda CB and CT bikes but didn’t want a ride that I’d have to do a lot of maintenance on. Picked up a Honda Ruckus a couple years back and had a blast riding it around for a while but it tops out at around 35mph which just isn’t fast enough to keep up with the aggressive drivers in the Bay Area. Been riding public transit to my job because there’s very limited car parking at my office but there’s plenty of spots for motorcycles and they’re almost always empty. I hadn’t heard about Honda’s mini Moto line until I saw a Navi parked at the subway station and it got me curious enough to look it up. As soon as I saw that they had brought back the CT I knew I had to get one. Don’t have a carrier for it yet but I’m planning on taking it to the Sierra mountains this summer and bumming around the fire roads on the weekends.

Technically a Super Cub might be slightly more practical for what I’m doing but I never liked how shiny and plastic they look, especially with the two-color body plastic. The new model year version of the Super Cub where it’s all one color and a matte gunmetal gray is pretty sweet, though, so I might pick one up on the used market in a few years if the price is right.

 

[TeamTrail]

I still try to shift into ghost gear once in a while, but its never there The reality is the little engine just doesn't have the sand to use another gear except maybe downhill with the wind at your back. 80 Kph is within the bikes capabilities, 65/70 kph is no sweat. I find 45 MPH, 73 Kph to be the sweat spot on mine.
It takes a little time to get used to the idea that those high RPMs are not too hard on the little engine when you are used to riding something with a bit more grunt that cruses at half the rpms or less.

This is my experience now as well after first season of riding. Agree on all points.

If one requires more speed with less fuss then that's another bike not this. This is perfect for what it is. Still loving it myself - miss riding it as up in Canada it's a bit too chilly now. I require at least 10 degrees lol.

 

[Fishwishin]

When I was growing up my friends family had two CT90’s. This was in the late ‘70’s. Much later in life (c. 2015) I bought two 1982 CT110’s to recapture some childhood magic.
The 110’s were FUN, especially with the HI/LO gears, but my California fuel wreaked havoc on the fuel lines and carburetor gaskets- I seriously could not keep them reliably running from season to season. I sold the 110’s in 2019 with no idea CT125’s were coming right around the corner.
Whenever the CT125’s came out my wife and I were immediately interested, but we all know how it went with signing up to get in line for those early bikes. I am not partial to all of that red the bikes had on them, but seeing as how that was the only choice I was ok with ending up with a red bike. This year when the greenies came out I decided I HAD to have one and called around until I found a nice shop in Santa Rosa to sell me one with agreeable terms. My wife on the other hand was not going to have a green bike because she HAD to have a red - off to the used market we went for her.
So now we have a green 23 for me and a red 22 for her. The bikes are exactly what I thought they would be and they are more reliable and more robust that the 90’s and 110’s. Even though I am sometimes looking for more speed than the 125 can give me I am not disappointed in the bike. The bike is giving me what it was designed for and I knew that going into it.
I may add a second bike for me one day, but I will not be giving up my CT125 until I can ride no more.

 

[m in sc]

in about a month and a half i'll have had mine 3 years. since the motor is the same base/cyl/head as a grom, its understandable that we in the US are disappointed. The stock early groms performed way better stock than the 1st year trail did.. and honeslty, most assumed the power/top speed would be comparable. .

when i bought mine, i was actually going to get a new stock grom to commute on, and then they announced this, and i was like 'great'. you would have assumed that the top speed would be roughly the same, the 1st gen groms would do 62-64 dead stock flatland. these were struggling to hit 55 and it was, absolutely, a disappointment.. for good reasons i would think. Now, i knew it wasn't going to be a highway bike, so left it stock for about 1k then decided to go minimal big bore kit, and how, with a lot more mods than it should have taken, i can hit 60+ reliably, and top out at (ive seen) 65 ish flatland sitting upright. this is fine as it was basically going to be commuter duty. I ride mine mostly in town and out int he country, and im sorry, traffic is on average around 50 mph at times, sometimes faster. Honda really should have used a different tune on the ecm, that's the biggest fault on this bike. They could have and should have used one similar to the grom, at least for 3rd and 4th gear duty, and still hit emissions and all that stuff requirements. I mean ffs, my 56 year old 4 speed 115cc kawasaki can run circles around this thing stock to stock power wise.

I don't think you will ever see a dual range transmission on these, either. they will just point you to the actual off road bikes.

That being said, i still really enjoy riding mine. the slight bump in HP and the conversion to a manual clutch, for me, mad it much better to live with. I was concerned when i bought the XR150L it would 'take the place' of the CT125, but it didn't,, they are riding style different enough that they are each fun in their own way.


So, i don't regret buying it and enjoy it a lot. And that says a lot since its 1 of a collection of 13 running/riding bikes i own.