Coming Soon: Honda Trail 125
Honda Trail 125 Confirmed For US Market
By Ben Purvis
Honda has announced another MiniMoto model powered by its semi-auto 125cc single—one that brings back fond memories of dusty days rambling to and fro at a campsite in the mountains. Step forward Honda’s new Trail 125, the US-market version of the CT125 that was launched elsewhere earlier this year. Officially revealed as a 2021 model, the Trail 125 name is the only real change for the American model, mimicking the naming convention used by the bike’s predecessors dating back to the Trail 50 of 1961.
Those very first Trail 50s were inspired by riders taking Honda’s existing Cub scooter and adding off-road tires, creating a rugged, lightweight, go-anywhere machine at a minimal cost. The recipe remains the same in 2021.
Just like its predecessors, the new Trail 125 is based on the existing Cub, in this case the latest Super Cub 125, which takes the iconic look of Honda’s most successful model and adds modern electronics, ABS, and emissions controls. To turn the Super Cub into the Trail 125, Honda added 0.5 inch to the wheelbase, 1.1 inches to the ground clearance, and 0.4 inch to the front suspension travel. While the resulting 4.3 inches of movement doesn’t make it into a motocross machine, the idea is to make a bike that can cope with dirt roads with ease. It’s a recipe that’s worked before; the bike’s direct predecessor, the CT110, was used for decades by the Australian postal service to get mail to the far corners of the country. Not to mention just about every motorhome seen in a forest in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s had some version of a Honda Trail riding on the bumper—complete with plastic milk crate—ready to explore at a moment’s notice.
A reinforced steering head and new triple clamp makes the chassis more rugged than the Super Cub’s, while the bars are redesigned to allow a tighter steering lock—up to 45 degrees in each direction. Semi-knobby tires on 17-inch wire wheels give grip on loose surfaces, though they’re clearly not aimed at deep mud. The high-mounted exhaust and air intake mean the Trail 125 should have at least some ability to wade through water too, while a bash plate protects the engine if you run out of ground clearance.
Theoretically, the Trail 125 is good for 158 mpg, and with a 0.4-gallon-larger fuel tank than the Super Cub it’s based on—at 1.4 gallons—it would conceivably be possible to cover more than 200 miles between fill-ups. Even if you’re heavy-handed with the throttle.
Just like the Super Cub, the Trail 125 uses Honda’s semi-automatic four-speed transmission—there’s no clutch lever but you kick through the gears manually—and there’s still a kickstarter to back up the electric start.
How much will Honda’s rugged little package set you back? Just $150 more than the Super Cub it’s based on.