Honda Trail 125

[oremike]

I remember when import beers like Hamms, Rainer, Oly or Hidelburg was 3 quarts for a buck.

 

[Mikej]

Damn, you must be older than me. When I was in High School, Blitz was $4.40 a case

Maybe? I THINK, I remember that Beer-Beer, Cascade and Bohemian could be had for $1.97 a12 pack? That'd be about the same time?

 

[kmk1012]

It started before that where I grew up. Come deer season in Utah, Salt Lake Valley, opening morning of deer season, with a decent pair of binoculars, you would see hunter orange dots here and there across the West face of the Wasatch Mountains.
A local man developed an off road "Machine" for deer hunters. He called it "Tote Goat".

Tote Gote - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Dad was deer hunter, as were other family members. But he was also a teen during the depression. He was very frugal. And a jack of all trades sort of person. Along with one of my uncles he decided to make his own Tote Goat. So in the early '60s he did just that. I don't exactly know when though. May have been '59-'60? That's me in the pic and I was born in 1955.
View attachment 1820568
All parts were sourced, pipe bent, welds done, seat made and forks had two sized tubes with springs for suspension, all done by him.
Powered by 6 HP Brigg's and Stratton motor. Two bicycles brake levers and cables supplied brake and throttle. To start the motor you would put a left hand on the right bar to control throttle while pulling the starter. When the motor fired you would need to immediately switch hand to operate the brake to stop the goat from going forward if the centrifugal clutch started working. When we rode, my position was in front of him, holding on the the handle bars. When we got to a steep a spots, he'd say, "Lean Forward!" He had quit deer hunting by then, so these rides were just for pleasure.
There was also another contraption they built, but not sure how well it did. It was a motorized deer cart. Something like this...
View attachment 1820645
But with a little 2 HP motor and the operator had throttle and brake on the handle bars.

Now that I think about it? I don't remember how he got the tote goat to the mountains?! But I do remember how many places there were in those Wasatch Mountains to ride! Because I did a lot of riding there for the rest of my life in Utah before I moved here in 1983.
In 1964 Honda came out with their "Trail 55". He gave up the old tote goats, and bought a Honda 55. Sometime later he upgraded, bought a Trail 90, and passed the old 55 down to me. By that time he'd bought a 1964 Ford Econoline Van. We'd put those Honda's in the back of the van and take them to the mountains and ride all day together. Those 55s had the high/low gear range option. Though you had to get the tool kit out, and an extra piece chain that was stashed in the swing-arm tube, and unbolt the large rear sprocket from the hub, put it over the small gear and bolt it on, and add the extra piece of chain. After that it was slow, but it would really climb with that low gear ratio!
After I over revved that 55, and bent a rod, it was time for him to get a newer model Trail 90. So I got his 90. That gear change was better because all you had to do was turn a bolt on the transmission to get low range. I rode that Honda 90 until I got the job at a Honda shop wrenching when I was 20.

My late grandpa gifted me a 40's vintage tote goat that I rode and rode as a kid. It is in need of some work and restoration. I gifted it to my 14 year old son who is currently restoring it and doing a very nice job. It a Blazer brand almost all original aside from the B&S engine. I'll post some photos as it gets back together. He has it completely disassembled and stripping the paint off, most has been primed and we will paint it in the coming month or so. That thing has two gears, slow and slower but will climb a tree. Top speed is around 18mph.

 

[Mikej]

My late grandpa gifted me a 40's vintage tote goat that I rode and rode as a kid. It is in need of some work and restoration. I gifted it to my 14 year old son who is currently restoring it and doing a very nice job. It a Blazer brand almost all original aside from the B&S engine. I'll post some photos as it gets back together. He has it completely disassembled and stripping the paint off, most has been primed and we will paint it in the coming month or so. That thing has two gears, slow and slower but will climb a tree. Top speed is around 18mph.

I remember the "Blazer" brand. They had a 2-speed shift if I recall correctly.

 

[hongkong2]

In the early 60's I remember driving from SF to Longview in my Volvo 544 for $20 round trip, gas was .30 gal. In order to save gas I'd fall in behind a semi and draft it for hrs, good times.

 

[WAYNO]

in the really old days, we weren't given full fairing road bikes that would do 120mph or more. Since we had to buy our first motorcycles ourselves, we bought and learned to ride far smaller machines than kids are used to now.

A Honda 50 Sport, or Trail 90 were for the coolest of the coolest kids. And nobody put them down because they didn't have a windshield or fairing. My first motorcycle in 1969 was a Yamaha Trailmaster 80. A direct competitor to the Honda Trail 90.

Folks have forgotten, or have never experienced, these smaller motorcycles were made for trail riding, hunting, riding to school, etc.

And if the spoiled kids now could only know, these Trail 90's were terrific.

I've ridden Harley's for a lot of years, and I could own anything I wanted. Now, I would like to have one of these new Trail 125's.

 

[dangerranger60]

I started riding a belt driven tote goat with 2 speeds. In 69 I got a Honda 90 and thought I had found freedom! at that time farm kids could get a off highway drivers license at 10 years old. DR

 

[kmk1012]

I remember the "Blazer" brand. They had a 2-speed shift if I recall correctly.

Yep, up for "high" and down for low. Pretty indestructible design

 

[ma96782]

A while back.....
Even "Paddy Doyle" retired his old Honda (after touring of all of the providences of Thailand) with a new 125 Honda Trail Bike. Meet.....Zelda.

View: https://youtu.be/PWhs5Wtq2yw?si=Xb4fcohA9m2LDeoM


Aloha, Mark

 

[Certaindeaf]

Wasn't it in Long Way 'Round where they abandoned their BMW pigs and took up ancient design chinese copies of 90cc bikes that any local could repair with a gob of gum?
They were much happier.

 

[Jim Horn]

Circa 1982 I got a speeding ticket and was offered the chance to do community service to clear my record. So I agreed to help Sonoma County who had a shop full of Trail 90s all in need of work. Got most of them running fine. Of course, as each came to life, it needed significant testing to verify its capability. There were quite a few times a bunch of them were involved in group races around the county facilities!

Definitely not up to my V45 Sabre at the time, but still lots of fun!

 

[Mikej]

In the early 60's I remember driving from SF to Longview in my Volvo 544 for $20 round trip, gas was .30 gal. In order to save gas I'd fall in behind a semi and draft it for hrs, good times.

Dad bought a new Ford Econoline Van in 1964. We were in The Salt lake Valley. We took that van on a road trip Texas shortly after purchase to see some land that his mother bought many years before. I remember seeing gas in Texas at .18/gal. at that time.

 

[The Heretic]

THE HONDA TRAIL 125 mini motorcycle puts out a grand total of 9 horsepower. With its twist-grip throttle pinned in fourth gear, it can reach 55-60 mph—highway speeds. But lacking any kind of fairing or windshield, it leaves riders exposed to the elements and to whatever emasculating insults or half-finished milk shakes that motorists wish to hurl at them.

It has wire-spoke wheels, a wee rear cargo rack and a step-through frame, like a child's bicycle. Even I—whose resemblance to Elvis has been often remarked upon—look like a dork riding one.

But don't be fooled. This little critter is a beast, a honey badger. It will take riders deeper and farther into the backcountry than any big European dual-sport rally bike from Ducati, KTM or
BMW —certainly, farther per dollar. The Trail 125 gets about 150 mpg.

The design is ancient. Based on the Trail 110 that remained in production for more than three decades (1980-2013), the formula dates all the way back to the 1960s-era CT90, which was marketed to farmers and outdoor sportsmen as an alternative to horses.


https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/cars/...32qrvx4e0ho&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink


View attachment 1819679

1) It weighs 260# - weight is a huge factor off-road. That is the same weight as my Husaberg 570 which makes about 50+ HP stock (easily more with a simple mods) and can reach 90MPH with dirt gearing, more with street gearing. My Husaberg, which gets about 30-40 MPG and currently has 4.5 gallon capacity (extra underseat fuel tank) has about the same range, and I can add another 3-4 gallons with two more aftermarket fuel tanks.

The 150 MPG claimed for the Honda is actually much less when taking it onto trails or at top speed on the road - 150 MPG is best case; putting around at low speeds. If I putted along at 55 MPH on my Husaberg I would get more like 50 MPG. Motorcycle fuel mileage decreases a lot at/near their top speeds, especially highway speeds where wind resistance becomes much more of an issue than with an enclosed vehicle like a car.

2) The Honda is not as capable off-road as many dirt only bikes like my Husaberg, or my Beta Alp. The Honda is also not anywhere near as capable on any kind of road (paved, dirt, gravel) due to its limited speed - which becomes an issue if you are being chased by a car (or more powerful bike) or you need to pass a car/truck, or you are going up a steep hill (e.g., going over the Cascades or the Coastal range).

As with many things, there is no "best" motorcycle. My Husaberg is/was an expensive bike - easily 2.5X the cost of the Honda. Also, getting parts/service for a Euro bike (KTM/Husaberg, Beta, Husky, etc.) is nowhere near as easy as getting those things for a Honda (or Suzuki/Kawasaki/Yamaha).

Everything has pros and cons.

 

[Flopsweat]

... which becomes an issue if you are being chased by a car ...

Do you get chased by cars a lot?

 

[The Heretic]

Do you get chased by cars a lot?

When I rode bicycles, yes - yes I did - often enough to where it is a consideration for SHTF. The problem with a bicycle (powered or not) or a motorcycle, is that larger vehicle can and sometimes do, try to run you off the road. In a SHTF situation, it is a risk.

Being able to keep up with traffic is important.

 

[Flopsweat]

When I rode bicycles, yes - yes I did - often enough to where it is a consideration for SHTF. The problem with a bicycle (powered or not) or a motorcycle, is that larger vehicle can and sometimes do, try to run you off the road. In a SHTF situation, it is a risk.

Being able to keep up with traffic is important.

To be fair, it did happen to me once, on the freeway. It stays with you.

 

[The Heretic]

Wasn't it in Long Way 'Round where they abandoned their BMW pigs and took up ancient design chinese copies of 90cc bikes that any local could repair with a gob of gum?
They were much happier.

Much easier to ride a smaller bike over rough terrain than a 500#+ Adventure Touring bike. BTDT.

 

[Flopsweat]

Much easier to ride a smaller bike over rough terrain than a 500#+ Adventure Touring bike. BTDT.

View attachment 1844215

Reminds me of the Rokon. I never had one, but I'm not done buying shet yet.

 

[The Heretic]

Reminds me of the Rokon. I never had one, but I'm not done buying shet yet.

View attachment 1844223

Christini AWD Hybrid (electric and gas)

 

[Benchrest]

Cottage Grove

I might be very familiar with that area, and Dorena lake

Didn't know it was a bubblegumty little town until I left the bubblegumty little town. Now I'm a tad wiser, and, at times, miss that bubblegumty little town

Lots of good times growing up there