Honda CG125 Review

Overall Rating

Bullet-proof engine, very very easy to work on and maintain, even if you have no previous experience of bike maintenance. Very economical. Easy to ride.

Absolutely no security whatsoever on models as old as mine (1987). Very poor build quality on the Brazilian built model like mine (the CG125BR), compared to the Japanese built bikes. Unreliable electrics due to poor connectors used on the Earth connections. These often "unplug" themselves which results in indicators, headlight, etc., not working. Finding the guilty connector can be hard work and time consuming especially if it's where it usually is - in the wiring loom behind the headlight, which required the headlight to be disassembled. Easily fixed once you find the dodgy connector and plug it back in, it hard wires it.

I recently sold my 3 month old Yamaha YBR as I was about to do my Direct Access Test and I also have a Suzuki GS500. So I assumed the YBR would not be getting much action and sold it. A very bad move, as I failed my first DAS test and so, could not legally ride the GS500 and also had no 125cc bike to ride ! So I bought a 1987 Honda CG125 with long MOT for £280.

The bike looked great for its age - it's the really old shape CG, in black. It looks more like a 70s bike than an 80s bike! While riding the bike home, I noticed the RH side indicators were not working. After hours of investigative work (mainly thinking the relay would be to blame), I discovered that the relay was fine, as were the bulbs. The problem was that an Earth connector, located behind the headlamp, had disconnected. After fixing this, all works well on the bike but I have since discovered (via the net) that this is a very very common problem on these Brazilian built CG125s. The build quality and components are far inferior to the Japanese built Honda's. I would go as far as to say to avoid the Brazilian Honda's if you can. To clarify, I am not talking about Chinese copies or any company selling copies of the CG125, production of the genuine HONDA bike was moved to Brazil for a while, and the bikes from this period (like mine) are inferior. Power is also slightly lower at 10hp, compared to 11.5hp from the Japanese variants.

Aside from these build issues, the bike starts first kick (kick start only on this model) every time. It is comfortable to ride but like most air-cooled commuter 125s, greatly under-powered. The YBR felt a lot more sprightly and eager but then it was 19 years newer!

The CG125, especially old ones like this, that cost only a couple of hundred quid, are great as a first bike or to learn to ride on, or to commute with costs almost as cheap as walking! The CG, like the YBR, does over 100mpg, even as a 19 year old bike.

Top speed on my 19 year old bike is an indicated 62mph, which means it's probably doing about 52-55mph, which is as fast as you would want to go on this type of bike.

If you want a really cheap bike that will start every morning and get you where you want to go, this is a good bike to go for, but if you get a Brazilian model like mine (designated the CG125BR), you should be able to do basic maintenance as things (mainly elecs) will most likely go wrong at some point.