2021 Honda Trail 125 ABS First Look: A Legend Returns

September 3, 2020

One of the most loved motorcycles in Honda history was the CT90 and CT110 of the 1960s and 1970s. They were the ultimate boondocking trail motorcycles, taking countless families on excursions into the great outdoors. Sportsmen, in particular, loved the easy to use step-through CTs. Well, the CT is back with the 2021 Honda Trail 125 ABS (aka the CT125).

Building on the Super Cub C125 platform, the 2021 Honda Trail 125 is beefed up and modified for light-duty off-pavement use. The wheelbase and rake are increased, improving stability off-road. The fork tube is one millimeter larger in diameter, and wheel travel is increased in the front (though shorter in the rear). The fork tubes also get protective gaiters.

Weight is increased by 19 pounds compared to the Super Cub, and the seat is nearly a half-inch higher. A centerstand will make maintenance of the chain easier, as well as facilitate tire changes. Also, a rear disc brake replaces the Super Cub’s drum, improving the ABS function.

The same long-stroke fuel-injected air-cooled 125cc motor is used with the auto-clutch four-speed transmission. For off-roading, Honda outfitted the 2021 Trail 125 with a high air-intake for water crossings, as well as an upswept pipe for increased ground clearance. The new exhaust improves the low- and mid-range power, according to a Honda spokesman. With the pipe upswept, a skidplate has been added to protect the motor.

Just in case your battery dies in the middle of nowhere and the electric starter won’t work, there is a kickstarter. Another reminder that the 2021 Honda Trail 125 will be taking you off the grid, it has a 1.4-gallon tank—40 percent larger than the Super Cub.

Along with the solo seat, the Honda Trail 125 has a luggage rack with a huge platform. Expect countless accessories that will interface with it.

Honda is positioning this newest member of the Honda miniMoto family as an adventure motorcycle. Many would claim that the original CT series invented the ADV genre, and we’re glad it’s back.

Senior Manager of Powersports Marketing for American Honda Lee Edmunds relates a story about the CT series: “When American Honda was established in 1959 and began offering the Honda 50, Idaho dealer Herb Uhl started modifying it for off-road use, resulting in Honda producing the Trail 50. That model became ubiquitous in American campgrounds and on motorhome bumpers in the ’60s and ’70s and led to a number of successors. For that reason, the CT brand has a special history with the U.S. market, and it’s great to see it return with the Trail 125 which, like the Super Cub and Monkey, harkens back to a golden era of American motorcycling, but with modern technology and reliability.”

The 2021 Honda Trail 125 ABS hits the showroom floors at $3899, and will be there in November.

2021 Honda Trail 125 ABS Specs

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