Back in 2011 Ed March shipped his C90 Super Cub to Malaysia and rode it back through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam Nepal, India, Dubai, Iran, Turkey, and Europe.

If you know Ed then you know his character, and if you don’t know him then the video below will give you an insight into his quirky English humor. Love him or hate him, he’s OK with it either way

A couple of years earlier, in 2009 inmate Nathan The Postman rode his Honda Trail a little further from Australia back to England. I interviewed him a few years ago; you can read it HERE.

I know you are thinking  they are just eccentric English guys, and there are not many people out there who would do the same.

Maybe you don’t speak Spanish and follow Pablo Imahoff along with his other million or so followers across social media as he rides his Super Cub right now, from Argentina to Alaska? And there are many others, if you look them up on social media.

So maybe you want to join this minimal cc club. You are OK with a slow adventure but not that slow that you succumb to having to pedal a bicycle. So, would you go Super Cub or Trail 125 in the new era, a decade or so later?

Jump into Battle Scooters part of the forum, yes we have a scooter section on ADVrider!!!

You’ll see there is interest in these two models – Super Cub thread and Trail 125. With a combined 1.3 million views of these two threads, I’d say there is quite a bit of interest in smaller motorcycles.

So how do they stack up against each other? Which should you choose to channel your inner Ed/ Nathan in 2022?

I just rode the Super Cub 1,400 miles across Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona on the southern route to find out, I’ll do a separate article solely about that ride. And, I just happen to own a Trail 125 so I’ll speak from my experiences. I’m sure there might be a little opposition in the comments, but it’s to be expected because people love these little bikes!

*********************

Was a Super Cub or Trail your first bike or nearly your first bike?  Did you own or have access to one as a teen? For a lot of riders 30 or so and older, the answer to that is a very firm YES! It’s why these two models are making a comeback (although they never actually went away).

Back in 1953, Mr. Honda added a small motor to a bicycle that he called the Honda Cub. This was post-World War II, and there was a demand for cheap transportation. Honda succeeded with this little add-on 50cc motor, bolted to a Kumotsru Cycle Co. bicycle.

With this success, the Honda Company went on to develop the Super Cub Motorcycle. This one from 1965 is a good example of the early styling that has stayed its course with the model.

Back around 2008 when production hit 60,000,000 (sixty million units) Honda projected that they would produce 100,000,000 (100 million) Super Cubs and its offshoots by 2017

image – Wikipedia

One hundred million of anything is a staggering number. Honda did this by not only producing the motorcycle in Japan but adding production in other countries too.

• 1958 Yamato Plant, Japan
• 1959 Hamamatsu Factory, Japan
• 1960 Suzuka Factory, Japan
• 1961 Taiwan
• 1963 Belgium
• 1966 Bangladesh
• 1967 Thailand
• 1969 Malaysia
• 1971 Indonesia
• 1973 Philippines
• 1976 Manaus, Brazil
• 1980 Mauritius
• 1981 Colombia
• 1981 Nigeria
• 1985 India
• 1988 Mexico
• 1989 Brazil
• 1991 Ōzu, Kumamoto, Japan
• 1997 Vietnam
• 2002 China
• 2004 Laos
• 2005 Cambodia
• 2006 Argentina
• 2007 Peru

Honda made a 2018 model year special edition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Super Cub production, with a celebration at the Ōzu, Kumamoto factory where the 100 millionth Super Cub was produced in October 2017. The new version was born, the one you see in dealerships today, if they can keep them in stock for more than a minute!

And if you read that and thought, “Well I’d prefer a Trail 125”, then go to a dealership and see how long the projected wait for one of those is? Some dealers are holding dozens of deposits and projecting new customers might have to wait until 2023, 2024 and one dealer I spoke with said 2025 or never because his list was so long!

The new version of the Super Cub is NOT Ed March/ Pablo Imahoffs bike. It has changed with the times and rightly so.

I won’t reguratate the Honda website specs in this review, you can go and read those for yourself, I’ll do it more as a rider would explain it to another and what they like and don’t like

First, the Bad:

The key fob with an array of electronics wizardry to go along with it.

You need to be within a few feet of the bike for this to be active, step away 10 feet or so and the bike makes a little chirp to let you know no one can jump on it and ride off.

It does a little more than that. On that key fob, it has three buttons that work alongside the main switch just below the bars

With it you can start the bike, by pushing it in, then twisting. You can also lock the handlebars (electronically activated) by turning them to the side, and also activate a built-in alarm and a find-my-bike feature.

You also can activate the electronic seat release to put fuel in the bike; that little black button is the electronic seat release

So all the above is great, or is it? Yes and no!

If your battery dies, or the voltage is dramatically reduced by the cold, or the battery in the fob dies then what? If you don’t already have charging leads attached, getting to the battery isn’t easy.

If you were riding and you keep your tools under the side cover, you need to access the under-seating area to push a release button for that side cover to open!

Getting to the battery is possible with the seat down, but it’s not easy with the way Honda made the plastics interlock to each other with tabs; you must remove a screw, so you need to carry a tool for that!

I’m surprised that there isn’t a button on that fob as a seat release as a backup. And there’s no kickstart as a back up. Adding this would eliminate the main concern with the electronics.

The mirror width won’t be wide enough for most westerners unless you like to admire your shoulders, so $15 on mirror-widening extensions is almost a given unless you want to buy complete new mirrors.

You will most likely test the limits of the suspension if you (or you and your gear) weigh more than 200 lb.

The seating position is a little snug. It measures around 27 inches/68cm from the back of the seat to the bars, which of course are in a fixed position and can’t be moved forward because the plastics are in the way. If you’re a bigger person this might not be the bike for you! The bars on the Trail 125 are about 2 inches further away and can be rotated forward too.

How are you going to attach your luggage? If you plan on using a rack and a big duffle, don’t expect it to last

The mount for the stock Honda rack uses a couple of 6mm bolts into the fender and its support underneath. A better plan is to use saddlebags and a smaller top box like Ed and Pablo.

The pegs, this one surprised me…they are glued on, seriously! No way to attach them firmly with a bolt, and I was surprised how easily they came off.

The neutral:

MPG, it has a great economy as expected, it sips fuel, riding across the country I averaged around 92mpg (US Gallon)/3.07 L/100km. Expect to hit reserve when you are riding consistent long distances at around 65 miles/105 km, but around town that will jump to 110 miles/ 177km.

Keep in mind it has a tiny tank, a little less than a gallon (0.98 US gallon/ 3.7L). Carrying extra fuel is going to be a requirement, if you’re traveling in remote areas.

You might have read 188mpg somewhere. Remember that claim is an imperial gallon, so that’s 157mpg for a US gallon and if you are of western body mass, good luck reaching that target, but it’s fun to try.

The good:

For the price of $3,799 + fees (in the US), you will have to agree that the fit and finish on the bike is top-notch, and it feels like it is worth a lot more.

Rather than the previous 50cc/ 70cc/ 90cc versions, it is now a 125cc, and it sports fuel injection.

The ride is smooth; a little slow when it’s brand-new, but once the motor broke in and reached around 300 miles it added a couple of mph, same again at 500 and 1000. Once those milestones were reached, riding along at 45-55mph was normal, but add a hill or headwind and expect it to slow considerably.

I found the seat comfortable, surprisingly, and it makes you sit very upright with the rider’s triangle.

The top speed has increased a little too, with a slightly bigger engine and a little less than 10hp. The ride is smooth. The gear changes are smooth as well from the four-speed transmission, with the centrifugal clutch.

The gauge cluster is very good; it’s easy to read in all lights, and gives you all the information you need.

The headlight was OK in the dark, better than other smaller bikes I’ve owned, maybe because it’s LED?

At 236lb/107kg, it feels a lot lighter, which in turn helps with the maneuverability.

Also, it has ABS on the front which is a nice addition, and the front brake are so much better than the older models because now it has a disc. You still have a drum on the back, which is a little spongy.

I remember riding a C90 back in the ’80s and this new C125 Super Cub is not that bike; it is very well suited for in-town riding, easily keeps up with normal traffic speeds, and accelerates at a good pace so you aren’t “in the way” as you pull away from light.

In conclusion, for me, if it had a kickstart and bolt-on pegs there would be very little to complain about, so here’s to the next hundred million!

…and of course, “you meet the nicest people on a Honda” 

Look for article number two about the Trail 125.

*all images rtwPaul unless noted, video from their respective owners YouTube channels