2023 Honda Trail125 Ride Review
Single-track, double-track, dirt roads, and urban, we rode it all on the Trail125.
With the explosion of electric bicycles, motorcycles, and scooters, you have to ask yourself if the inconvenience is really worth the many hassles that currently come with them. In this context, the conversation is about urban transportation, not about highway-capable machines. We’re talking about getting to work, to school, running errands, and the benefits of finding plenty of parking in the city. There are a ton of internal combustion options that are not only competitively priced, but get amazing fuel efficiency and offer convenience that the electrics can’t currently match.
Honda’s Trail125 is totally at home in the Colorado Rockies.
Honda’s Trail125 is a perfect example, a modern interpretation of a tried-and-true platform that got so many riders on two wheels as the Trail series, starting back in 1961. The more things have changed, the more they’ve remained the same. The Trail125 offers the same utility, excellent fuel mileage, and fun demeanor as the model always has. For 2023, the engine gets some updates (which we will touch on shortly), however, our test unit is a 2022 model.
First, let’s talk about the engine, because that’s what really sets the Trail125 apart from the EV crowd. At its core, you have a 124.9cc air-cooled single, with an overhead cam with two valves. Unlike the CT90 and CT110 of five decades ago, the Trail125 gets Honda’s PGM-FI fuel injection. Power is sent to the rear wheel by a four-speed semi-automatic transmission with an automatic centrifugal clutch. For 2023, Honda has changed the bore and stroke measurements from 52.4 x 57.9mm to 50.0 x 63.1mm and increased the compression ratio from 9.3:1 to 10:1. Otherwise, the two models are virtually identical. They even have the same claimed peak power and torque.
Honda’s 124.9cc single is fuel injected and fires up instantly no matter the ambient outside temperature.
One of the single best attributes of the Trail125 is its simplicity. No need to worry about if it’s fully charged; just flick the key on, hit the starter, and you’re in business. With 1.4 gallons of fuel and a recorded 112-mile average mpg, range is typically pushing 160 miles. When bouncing around town on short trips is the normal use case, fuel lasts a long, long time. Like weeks or even months.
Most of our time with the Trail125 this go-around was spent high in the Colorado Rockies with a garage base camp at 6,600 feet. The last time we put the pre-2023 generation on the Cycle World dyno in Irvine, California, it produced 7.9 hp at 5,710 and 7.4 lb.-ft. of peak torque at 4,650. At more than a mile above sea level in Eagle, Colorado, it’s not likely making quite that much power.
One thing the early-generation Trail models didn’t have is hydraulic brakes with ABS. The 17-inch IRC tires provided good grip on road and off.
Friendly is a word that perfectly describes the Trail125. The simple auto-clutch means you don’t have to teach a new rider how to feed out a clutch lever and roll on the power. It’s simply gas it and go, and then grab the next gear. Near scooter simplicity, but more engaging. Neutral is at the bottom and then four shifts up, which means “motorcyclists” will occasionally find themselves shifting down to neutral when they thought they were in first if you aren’t counting shifts. To keep progress smooth, backing off the throttle and then making your shifts keeps the auto-clutch from getting jerky. While blipping the throttle on downshifts just a touch makes those gear changes smooth and lurch free.
Around town, the Trail125 is light, nimble, and easy to ride. It weighs a claimed 259 pounds with a full tank of fuel, and carries that weight low. The Trail125 flicks through 90-degree corners with ease and makes mincemeat of the roundabouts that litter this small town. An ultralow first gear allows quick getaways from stops in an urban environment. Another modern addition that the old Trail didn’t have is ABS on the front brake, which is a twin-piston hydraulic unit biting on a 220mm disc. Out back is a single-piston hydraulic unit and a 190mm disc, but without ABS, which is just fine by us, as we’d prefer being able to lock the rear wheel when riding in the dirt.
Urban riding is right up the Trail125’s alley.
After spending months and months with the Trail125, we fell in love with it. It’s funny how many people are drawn to it, and they are usually shocked when we tell them it costs less than $4,000. You honestly can’t get a decent mountain bike for that kind of money anymore, let alone a good-quality electric bike or pedal-assist bicycle.
With the Trail125 you get amazing utility—fun transportation, dead-reliable Honda performance, an ideal backroad and campground explorer—all in a street-legal package that sips fuel more efficiently than the best hybrid-car misers on the market. As for our argument as an alternative to the wave of ebikes that are invading every town in America, we’d make a strong case that they don’t stand a chance of competing with the simplicity, convenience, and performance of the Trail125. The only question now is deciding what to get rid of to make room for one in our garage.
Check our inventory of the 2023 Honda Trail 125