Honda Trail 125

Here you go, the logical conclusion to every "We need a smaller, lighter, easy to pick up, cheap to buy and run adventure bike" thread!

Price is a wee bit steep but I like it.

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Alaska 2014: Hotel Budget ZeroXmas in Death Valley, New Year in Urique

I had a CT110 and would have been prepared to do a long trip on it had I not prefered my XR125 but I would take one of these.

So are these Chinese Honda`s or Thai Honda`s?

Mezo.

It is light and it is cheap and I like it but for an extra €/$/£1500 and a still very manageable weight of 145kg, the CRF250 Rally seems like a safer bet for any overlanding aspirations.

The CRF's weight and cost are still very realistic for the fan of smaller bikes as well as opening up highway travel.

Still no doubt a very fun and economical bike to ride, but I think they've priced it too high to tempt me to buy one. If I have that kind of cash, there are other contenders that come higher up the list, IMHO.

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

The CRF may be light, but it still looks like a large bike. It's intimidating for new riders.

This thing? It's got the potential to expand the adventure riding community immensely. Because it looks almost like a mountain bike: "If I get it stuck in the mud... I can just lift it out and carry it to shore!"

And, hey, it and its siblings are priced reasonably against electric bicycles. I know for sure I would rather commute on a Super Cub than on an e-bike! This is the rural equivalent of that.

I have a mountain bike that cost over US$8000 new (I bought it well-used for a bunch less than that). It has no engine, no transmission, no headlight, turn indicators, or horn--not even fenders, brake lights or windscreen, and that $8000 didn't include pedals. It does have a really nice suspension, disc brakes, and it weighs under 25lbs--about 11kg. Official service intervals are around 50 hours, and require full shock rebuilds and other exotic rites.

This is not unusual in the mountain biking world. There are more expensive bikes, and I see them all the time when I'm riding the local trails. Makes even KTMs seem like remarkable bargains.

Just trying for some perspective here.

Mark

Don't get me =wrong, I'm still tempted, but I'm not a new biker. The CRF looks like a diddy bike to me!

On a slight tangent, to feed my motorcycle habit I used to do motorcycle courier work over the summers whilst at Uni'. My first summer the only bike I could afford to ensure was a C90.

One delivery in the business district. The address was down a pedestrianised alley and the area known for ruthless parking wardens. Meanwhile there were many attractive, ladies walking to lunch. So 19yr old me thought "Hmm.... avoid parking fines and impress the ladies!!! What could possibly go wrong?!"

I embraced the bike in a bear hug, squatted and lifted it clean off the ground, to put in the 40cm curb to then wheel it down the alley with me until the delivery was done.

As it made contact with the pavement I smiled to myself smuggly "Hellooooooo, ladies!"

At that moment, it started to tip away from me! I lunged for it, it fell anyway and took me with it. I was now lying on my C90.... That got their attention.

"Goodbyyyyyye, ladies!"

I have never picked up a bike and disappeared out of sight as fast as I did that Thursday lunchtime!

For sure, $3800 for a bike in those terms is not a huge amount. It might not be unusual, but is it usual? My guess is a mountain bike priced at $2000 is already splashing out for many. I may be wrong, but that is my guess.

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

It did make me smile looking at the brochure from AnTyx's link. It could have been straight out of 1969. 'Fully transistorised' ignition was a big thing back then. The only thing that's missing is the reminder that "you meet the nicest people on a Honda" along the bottom. That's not to say it doesn't have the makings of a decent, small, backroads travel bike but I get the feeling the brochure was probably the most expensive item in the development budget. There can't have been many of the parts that make it up that Honda didn't already have in a spares warehouse somewhere.

Can't see any power output figure in the brochure but I don't suppose it matters that much. There's enough of a max power aftermarket in those small engines that if what it comes with isn't enough someone'll double it for you. Nice little thing though and it can't be long before someone heads off RTW on one.

Same drivetrain as the Grom and Supercub - 7 kW.

So 9.5 - call it 10 - bhp. About the same as my - also 4 speed - vintage Suzuki. So it'll roll along at 50mph or so, which for backroads will be fine. Just kind of surprised to see Honda launching something like it on the US market. The picture of minimalist man getting back to nature by the lake is a far cry from I'd have thought was its natural habitat - somewhere in SE Asia. I wonder how many I'll see strapped to the back of RVs next time I'm in the states?

I included these when thinking about what to do next.

Two things put me off

1. Tyre choice. Matters less than on some 700 lb Behemoth, but did I fancy tubed commuting rubber?

2. Price. They will be heavily discounted like the C125's have been, they aren't going to sell at 18 month old CRF250 money, but I didn't want to wait.

The range and everything else can be sorted.

Maybe next time.

Andy

WOW that’s expensive! I’d go with the 250 ideas as above . . .

Looks quite cool, though.

yeah, very good for senior citizens for shopping or fishing...

Well, we're all headed in that direction. Some faster than others.

It's a much better option than sitting in your barcalounger (whatever that is?) and watching TV, no?

.............shu