1970s Honda CB 125 // First Ride Impressions

[@bsimpson6204]

I had one in 1974, it was a brilliant little bike, top speed was 65mph and the handling was massively improved after fitting an Avon SM rear tire. I can only image how good it could have been with decent shocks (Girling) and an Avon rib on the front to match.

[@ScramTours]

We tried to keep this one as stock as possible - germans regulations are quite strict when it comes to changing anything from original manufacturers parts. And those are hard to come by on a bike that old. But sooner or later we'll take the time and upgrade a few things - the bike deserves it!

[@AbeMohamed-vw6xp]

without a doubt it is better than the current ones.

[@ScramTours]

@@AbeMohamed-vw6xp If you know your way around the "old" Tech a clear yes!

[@juergenjung6872]

My heart beats faster...😊 But the same problem with the speedometer as with my CB 500 four: the inner cup is rubbing against the pointer roller. Can be fixed but adjusting the Cup a bit...

[@SouthWest-jj8yu]

Great to see a little 70’s bike that was my era start of my bike riding. Of course 125’s weren’t that popular as you could ride a 250cc so that’s what most went for.

[@ScramTours]

@@SouthWest-jj8yu yeah in Germany Most Sold are 125s because of the restrictions of the drivers license. Apperrently this specific model seems to be quite rare. We had to weld in new threads for the sparkplugs spark plugs because they were blown out of the engine block. Quite amazing that that bike runs at all to be honest. Those old Hondas really are something else.

[@SouthWest-jj8yu]

@@ScramToursyeah in the UK it’s 125 now but back in the 70’s it was 250 so they were most popular, and mostly two strokes that tended to be faster although they were on poor tyres and weren’t so good in corners.

[@ScramTours]

@@SouthWest-jj8yu Must have been quite the adventure on english roads back then. Or were they better Back in the day? Our tour this year through the Peak district to Wales was more adventure than we bargained for :D

[@SouthWest-jj8yu]

@@ScramToursI can’t remember what the roads were like back then but they were quieter much less traffic. I was in rural Scotland and used to commute to Edinburgh for work where I could park in the city centre. I had a few 250’s before moving to 400’s anything bigger than that was considered a big bike so the middleweights of today were the big bikes of the past. My first 250 was a Yamaha RD250E it had a race modified engine with carb mods and expansion chamber exhausts. For the time was very fast but like many bikes back then straight line speed but no brake or suspension changes. Tyres were awful they seemed to have been made in a square shape from hard plastic, they could cope in the dry but terrible in the wet and as I biked all year round often in snow could lead to scary times.

[@ScramTours]

@@SouthWest-jj8yu To be fair - english tyres seem to be pretty messed up even these days. Never seen that many broken tyres on the side of the road anywhere else. But your bike must have sounded amazing back in the day! I somehow expected that england figured out tyres for rain faster than most other countries. :D Must have been amazing to ride back in the day non the less. Especially in the more rural areas of Scottland a few less cars and especially busses would have made a few corners a bit less sketchy. :D

[@anemone104]

Had a speedo a bit like that in a CG125 from '78. Only mine read steady up to an indicated 60 and then would whiz right round onto the stop until you dropped the speed back below 60. Top speed? No clue, but not that fast as it only made a claimed 11 BHP.

[@ScramTours]

Sounds quite entertaining to ride at least! :D We tried measuring this one with GPS and another bike. Respectable 108 Kmh. Not too bad!