If you've read my 'About this blog' page, you'll have some idea of why I bought a Honda CB125F.
My commute is less than nine miles each way, and mostly on rural roads, and I felt a 125 would have enough of a turn of speed to keep me happy. Of course, in my head I was thinking back to my days as a 17 year old hoodlum on an RD125LC. THAT did have a turn of speed. The CB, being a four stroke of course, would be slower, naturally. |I wasn't prepared for just how much slower.
The RD had been tuned somewhat and had an offensively loud Micron pipe on it. It would go off the clock. The clock went up to 100mph. What that translates to in reality I can't be sure, but I'd guess it was well over ninety. The front end would lift quite willingly.
The CB, downhill will do between 65 and 70, hitting the redline in the process. It doesn't have much n the way of acceleration. It runs out of puff up even fairly mild inclines and requires a change down the gears. If I catch up with someone slower than me, unless they are going significantly slower than me, overtaking isn't really an option. In short, it's a bit staid and dull.
On the other side of this it's still a bike and I still enjoy riding it. I only used it for a couple of months before I got furloughed for a while, but even in that time the British weather took it's toll. The chrome on the shocks has had a visit from the rust fairy. I suspect to keep that at bay you'd need to wash it obsessively, and that's not for me. I'll wash it, but not often enough maybe. I've now tried applying a bit of ACF 50 to the shiny parts in the hope it'll keep the worst of the approaching winter weather at bay.
Early thoughts:
Pros:
Economy seems good. Haven't worked it out but seems to run forever on a full tank.
Handling is okay. It's no sportsbike but it goes in and out of corners easily enough.
It looks okay. too much plastic, maybe, but it echoes the styling of its bigger siblings.
Cons:
Corrosion, corrosion, corrosion.
The standard tyres (CST), whilst fine in the dry, are absolute ditchfinders in the wet and don't inspire confidence. Country roads tend to be littered with little muddy bits and this means good tyres are essential. Will be replacing as soon as funds allow.
The drive chain seems to made of cheese for some reason. have had to adjust it far more frequently than any other bike I've owned, big or small. Whilst I'll keep it until it wears out, I'll be replacing it with a much better quality item.
Headlight is terrible. Almost as bad as the C90, and that's quite bad indeed. Fortunately I don't spend too many months riding in the dark, and I know the road very well indeed.
In conclusion, it's a competent, yet largely dull little bike. It's certainly saving me a fortune over running a car, and riding is riding, after all. At a guess I'll run it for a couple of years and replace it with a CB500F or similar. Still cheapish to run, but with a bit more performance.
