Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - AMERICANS: Would you buy a 125cc motorcycle for the street?

woodsrat · 02-05-2018, 08:09 AM

I'd personally like to see Honda bring these in as an alternative to scooters and as an "entry-level" bike. Interestingly enough there are old guys in the U. S. who either physically can't ride or financially afford anything bigger so there's a market they're totally ignoring as well.

Sadly a nice lady from American Honda, who called me one Saturday in response to my letter pleading for them to get back into the small bike business, told me that "Honda is after a more affluent buyer.". Reading between the lines I gathered this to mean they'd adopted the H-D business model, i. e., big bikes=big profits. A conversation with a local long-time Honda dealer backed this up when he told me there was no profit in small bores. When I asked him what beginners were to ride he took me over to the CTX-700 and said "...these are the new beginner bikes." A $7000, 500 lb. bike that would easily run a hundred miles an hour a "beginner bike"? Hardly.

In my own case after riding for 46 years and owning everything the market offers simple 125's just make sense for the way I ride. I'm really tired of complicated bikes and now enjoy something lightweight and easy to work on. That they're inexpensive is just icing on the cake.

A high tech 125 would be great but I'm not sure I want to spend that much at this stage of the game. A CG-125, sold for well under $2000, is a whole 'nuther story.

02-05-2018, 08:09 AM	#23 (permalink)
woodsrat Beginner Ecomodder Join Date: May 2012 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 104 Thanks: 10 Thanked 26 Times in 20 Posts	Honda CG-125's... I'd personally like to see Honda bring these in as an alternative to scooters and as an "entry-level" bike. Interestingly enough there are old guys in the U. S. who either physically can't ride or financially afford anything bigger so there's a market they're totally ignoring as well. Sadly a nice lady from American Honda, who called me one Saturday in response to my letter pleading for them to get back into the small bike business, told me that "Honda is after a more affluent buyer.". Reading between the lines I gathered this to mean they'd adopted the H-D business model, i. e., big bikes=big profits. A conversation with a local long-time Honda dealer backed this up when he told me there was no profit in small bores. When I asked him what beginners were to ride he took me over to the CTX-700 and said "...these are the new beginner bikes." A $7000, 500 lb. bike that would easily run a hundred miles an hour a "beginner bike"? Hardly. In my own case after riding for 46 years and owning everything the market offers simple 125's just make sense for the way I ride. I'm really tired of complicated bikes and now enjoy something lightweight and easy to work on. That they're inexpensive is just icing on the cake. A high tech 125 would be great but I'm not sure I want to spend that much at this stage of the game. A CG-125, sold for well under $2000, is a whole 'nuther story.