In case my stories with a 200CC bike don’t inspire, here’s a fellow doing awesome things with a 125 CC bike.* Note: it’s a series of episodes, but what better thing are you watching?
*If you feel like using the price of gas (or motorcycles) as an excuse… don’t! The Honda CT125 is said to gets around 112(!) miles per gallon. My Yamaha TW200 supposedly gets around 78 MPG. (I top off from my Rotopax so don’t know exactly what I get, nor do I care.)Even in the Bidenverse, gas prices are just not an issue with these little beasts. The bikes themselves are pretty cheap too.
** If my 200cc Yamaha just seems too powerful and this guy’s 125cc seems overkill (and we both seem too sane) tune into Ed March’s C90 adventures. The dude rides a C90 fearlessly. He rides it EVERYWHERE!
I’ve never ridden a Honda CT125 but I wouln’t ignore them as a “toy”. Small bikes aren’t necessarily “lesser”. I’ve been blown away by the performance I can wring out of a Yamaha TW200! Little bikes have more heart than you can imagine, they’re gobs of fun, and they punch above their weight class.
Here are additional links:
https://www.cycleworld.com/story/motorcycle-reviews/2021-honda-trail-125-review/
https://youtu.be/ixCkemtL8qg
Absolutely agree! We are re-discovering what we knew back in the 60’s. Big bikes have their place but the small ones are so much more versatile. They sip fuel and provide way more grins per mile.
Engine bloat went nuts a few decades ago and I suppose it never stopped getting nuttier. I bought an 1100cc cruiser in 1999. Even back then it seems like marketing departments had pushed engine bloat to ridiculous levels.
People of 1999 looked at my brand new 1100cc V-twin (Honda Shadow) and asked “does it have enough power to go highway speeds?” I was shocked. “How fat do you think I am?” I could be fat like a hippo and the 1100cc will still haul interstate miles like a boss. Most of the time it’s twice what I’d ever need. For any non-motorcycle rider looking at ’99 bikes the smaller 750 cc Honda Shadow was almost exactly as cool. Riding along with the smaller Shadow I didn’t notice much difference in performance between the two. From a practical standpoint my bigger bike was just another 350cc of chrome and slightly shittier MPG. (The reason I got the larger 1100cc was to get superior, but uncool, components like shaft drive!)
I figured it would top out but a few years later the Goldwing “upgraded” to 1800cc and the ST1100 I coveted but never bought was upgraded to a 1300cc. (Both are nice bikes by the way.)
It doesn’t take a lot of displacement to make a bike fun and they can be cool too. James Dean rode a 500cc Norton fer crissakes. Henry Winkler acted the role of an archetypal cool dude greaser motorcycle rider Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days. His prop bike was a 500cc Triumph Trophy TR5. If it’s cool enough for Fonzie it’s cool enough for anyone.
That said, I can’t believe how much fun I’ve had with my 200cc Yamaha TW. Really shocking how much fun it is. Having been reminded of little engines that offer big fun, I can’t help but think a Honda ADV350 scooter must be a complete blast. If I lived in a warmer climate I’d add one to my garage in a heartbeat.