Honda CG-125

Advantages: Good reliability, fuel economy, ease of servicing, parts availability
Disadvantages: Slow going up slopes.

My Honda CG125 is an 06 plate bought from new. This is the fully up to date model, so has great features such as electric start and front disc brake (more about these later in the review). This bike was made in Brazil rather than Japan. Overall the looks of the bike are a great improvement on previous CG125 designs, especially the smoother lines of the body panels and much larger fuel tank. The only other possible cosmetic improvement I would have ...
...are a pain to clean!). In terms of general performance it's o.k. but not brilliant, but it's a small 4-stroke 124cc bike after all. No problems at all in town, flat roads or downhill. You notice the lack of power mainly when going up steeper inclines, having to change down rapidly to keep some speed up. On a flat stretch of dual carriageway the bike has got up to 74mph (I quickly reduced to 70mph when I noticed though officer). If you have time to ... Read review

Advantages: Inexpensive to run
Disadvantages: Fairly unforgiving

...'impact driver' - shortly afterwards Honda went over to 8mm hex-headed bolts on their new machines. I suspect cordless screwdrivers would probably have helped, but we would have to wait 15 years before they became popular! I fitted a handlebar mounted fairing, which looked brilliant, but also made the bike look a lot bigger, so Plod used to stop me about once a week to see why I was riding what looked like a 'big' bike with 'L' plates! - still, ...
...The five speed manual gearbox was pretty handy, although the engine power meant it didn't have enough guts to 'red line' in top gear - I seriously thought of dropping a couple of teeth on the back sprocket (I mean getting a replacement with fewer teeth, than removing the existing ones with a file!) but never got round to it! The manual suggested the bike was good for 62mph, and although one officer of the law pulled me over and accused me of doing ... Read review

Advantages: Economy and reliability
Disadvantages: Lack of power and looks

I bought my 1992 registered CG-125 about 6mths ago after returning to motorcycles following a 13yr break... I'd never sat my test so had to complete my CBT (Compulsary Basic Training) first to get back on the road and then seek out a reliable, learner legal bike to commute to work on. Previously I'd owned a couple of other small Honda's and found them thoroughly reliable machines, the goal this time again was reliability and also economy for the ...
...I can't grumble one bit, the bike clears almost 90mpg urban, so it's saving me a fortune over the car. Insurance wise I'm 32yrs old and with zero years no claims it came in at only £75ish for third part fire and theft. Road tax on smaller bikes comes in at a paltry £15 a year so there is another huge saving. Parts for the bike are very cheap, but you do need to avoid the dealerships - a battery will come in at £10 if you shop around and a chain+sprocket ... Read review

Advantages: Loads
Disadvantages: Less than all other 125cc Motorcycles

I have a Honda CG125, 2005 year, owned from new I could tell you how good the bike is, like nearly every review of the bike. But I do not wish to bore you with another identical review saying exactly the same. I was amazed to find no websites that support the Honda CG125, so I have created one. http://hondacg125.awardspace.com/ If you like my website, please rate this review as high as possible, since it's the best way for people to find my ...
...everything I can about the Honda CG125 and other makes and models of 125cc bikes, including magazine and owners reviews and reports. I can honestly say, I would not buy any other make or model of 125cc bike. If my Honda CG125 was stolen tomorrow and I won the lottery, I would buy another Honda CG125 for the town/city and winter work, and a 500cc or larger bike for everything else. The Honda CG125 is far from perfect, but all the other makes and ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap,versatile,easy to maintain and economical starter bike
Disadvantages: No-frills,zero cred

...when you have the trusty Honda owners manual and toolkit? The bikes speed isn't awsomely high,but to tell you the truth you aren't looking for speed being a learner.It is great in towns,and can pull away at traffic lights faster than most cars. The dials are basic,no fuel guage,and only an kickstart,but this is a no-frills bike. The bike is great to ride,easy to maintain,cheap and remotely good looking with great consumption to boot.What can I ... Read review

Advantages: On the Road price, Fuel Economy, UK Learner Legal, Practical Size
Disadvantages: Choke is on the engine, not the bars - Wont keep battery charged

...I've had this bike for five months, and have to tell people about it. This is a great 125. I set out to buy a new Honda CG125, but was won by the better styling, better equipment, and lower OTR price of Yamaha's YBR 125. I haven't regretted it. This is a great little 125. And it looks good! I think it's really important to be able to like your bike, and the styling of this one makes it easy to like! On top of that, it's a nice ride. There is NO vibration. Once the engine is broken in, everything is smooth and quiet. (The clocks include a rev counter, which is handy when riding the engine in, and getting to know it. The enging is air cooled, and prone to overheat during the breaking in period. After that, it stays cooler. There is no engine temperature gauge, but if you ride through a puddle and a cloud of steam puffs up at you, you know... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Small, light, cheap, cheap to run, comfortable
Disadvantages: low powered and parts may be harder to get

...but personally I think it looks better than the Yamaha SR and some of the Honda CG125 models, at least around 1998. It's a small light bike (around 117kg) suitable for the shorter person, comes with different colours and graphics, has a 4 stroke engine, alloys wheels, electric start, 5 gears, engine cut of switch and a gear selector display. Has no fuel gauge but does have a reserve so you know when to fill up again. ~ Performance ~ Don't expect anything special but it can beat a few cars off the lights to get you ahead of traffic with its 14hp engine or 10.2kw as they like to state these days. Claims to have a top speed of 65.2 mph but I know for a fact it can go faster, on a dual carriageway I managed to get 70mph on a flat straight section. Personally I wouldn't take this to a race track but if you did you might just get 75mph out... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Styling, comfort, price
Disadvantages: Akward choke, no temp guage

...This is my first bike after passing my CBT. I basically was looking for a runaround so I don't use the car so much for short trips. I looked at the Honda CG125, Suzuki EN125 and a Kymco Zing 125. The Kymco was the better looking, cruiser stlye, loads of chrome, but it was second hand and a bit rusty so I left it. The first thing to strike me about the Yamaha was the size of it. it looks a lot bigger then you would expect a 125 to look. It's not in the same catagory as the Honda Varadero (spelling?) as that thing us huge but it's still plenty bike. I felt a little oversized on the Honda CG125, I'm 6 ft and lanky, but on the Yamaha it felt right. All the pedals, levers and switches are easily accessible and it has the rev counter which is one over on the Honda. The fuel guage is useful also as the CG125 I learnt on didn't have one so you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful