Honda CG125 (1975-current)

I bought my cg from a salvage yard for 60 quid in 2007. it had 10k on it. All I've needed to do to its engine since is change oil,clean filters, new plug every once in a while although not mandatory. love it to bits. will never get another bike like it. it has never let me down always got me home even when i was so skint i accepted a tank of 50/50 petrol and diesel stuck it in and off she went. shell bumble away at 60 easy and i have had 75 out of it in the right conditions and that was when i was 16 stone! she is approaching 50,000 miles now and piston rings are worn now but she still starts and takes me where i need to go. If i was given £2000 to get another bike with i would rebuild the engine on this one and go again. I recommend this bike to anyone who is new to bikes. it is more forgiving than any scooter even though mines got 2 buckled wheels it still handles well. well done honda great bike. shame they replaced it with the crf :(

I bought my R-reg model in January 2011 and wow what a first bike! It was kick start too...the way bikes SHOULD be started ;) It did 120mpg around town(200 miles to £10!) and it was only £164 to insure TPO and I got 73mph (on the clocks haha). I would recommend one to anyone and the only thing that went wrong with it was a puncture! They may not be the prettiest or the best handling (although I could outhandle my mates when they were on their posh 125s hehe).Built to last, parts are plentiful AND very cheap! £35 for a chain and sprockets and £40 for a pair of rear shocks! Can't grumble at that! I did 3500miles on mine in just 4 months before I passed my bike test and bought a GPZ500. My trusty little CG was fantastic on the Mod.1 test and for the Mod.2, it was re-assuring to have a bike so easy to ride that you could just concentrate on the test in hand! I paid £580 for my CG and 4 months later I sold it for £600. --Mikey B--

Been riding since 1966,last bike was NTV650.Time to retire,duff knee from kicking too many brit singles into life, need a bike to keep me sane,chose the Cg 125, no regrets. Managed to find one of the last carb versions,3 years old with 157miles only,as new. First ride i couldn't stop laughing it was so much fun!Miserly on fuel,bit bouncey but good handling, just nail it through bends to keep your speed up and just smile.Mods; large wind deflector over headlight to improve drag and 1 tooth bigger front sprocket to raise the gearing just enough, to do that you doo have to file out the clearance on the sprocket guide plate, there is just enough slack on the chain! next mod is to put a remote choke cable on as the lever is buried deep under the tank,hard to find even when you know where it is,impossible to reach when youre moving.First service took 30 mins, drain oil clean filter, check tappets ok, the airvalve on the cover doesnt help one bit!Carb I can work on, pushrod engine tubed tyres,cable analogue clocks etc etc, it will never need to see a dealer! last NTV service cost£200plus,this one cost £5, i'm happy.

I bought my 57 plate cg125es with only 65 miles on the clock 3 years of age with its first MOT,I have always promised myself one ever since I was given a ride on my foreman's back in 1979, sounds funny but I was gobsmacked by the power it had, but then again I owned a moped, anyway jump foreward to November 2010 and I am now riding one to work and back, the tank was full when I picked it up from the shop and the fuel guage just did not move after 70 or so miles I covered in the first week, and I still did not need to put petrol in after three weeks but I filled it up anyway.This surely has to be the future of commuting.As for the bike itself, well it is a beautifully built little bike fully modernised with its styling and new clocks which include the fuel guage as mentioned before.The front brake was poor when I first got the bike but I have noticed it getting better due to use/bedding in, EBC pads apparently improve the brake even more so I might try a set soon. I love my zzr1200, and my gpz900, but I now also love the honda and I am going to be using my cg125 as much as possible saving money on fuel and still biking at the same time. All in all a very impressed experienced motorcyclist.

but I did my test on a 55 plate bike: its cheap to buy, cheap to run, and a doddle to insure, loads of spares available, won't kill you, filtering is dead easy, nothing to worry about if you drop it - what more can you ask for from a beginner bike? As a cheap and easy runabout, its perfect.

My CG is a 1985 model and is so reliable! When I first bought the bike, it had been stood on someone's farm for the last 5 years and was looking pretty bad. I rebuilt the whole thing, including the engine, and repainted the frame. Now it's as good as new! When I took it out for the first run, I was wondering why it was only doing 37mph, but when looked into it, I found it had been under jetted since it came out the factory. Fitted a slightly bigger jet in it, and now it goes up to 60mph for the first time in it's life! Such a lovely bike to learn on though

My CG125 was a 1982 model which I had in my early days, had it for years and when I had finished with it my brother took it on for a time until he bought a CBR250RR. We both took our tests on it, in those days you could take your test on a 125 and then ride anything. It had done nearly 50000 miles when I sold it, I changed the oil and cleaned the filter every 1000 miles, only replaced the chain & sprockets once (enclosed chain gaurd did not look cool) but I kept the chain soaked in oil all the time and it never seamed ware. They did need replacing when I sold it though. It was riden all year round rain,snow,floods and it really was a faithful friend. It did however occasionaly wet the plug which was the only fault the CG had, so I always carried a spare dry plug and when it happened quickly changed the plug and off again. It is proof that basic is best for ease of maintainence and reliability, I still like air cooled singles although with more CCs. I did have a 50cc moped at 16 but it was the CG that started it all for me all those years ago, still motorcycling and enjoying it. If you fancy a trip to France but are unsure or a bit aprehensive have a look at www.longwayroundbrittany.co.uk

Like a lot of people, this is the bike that I did my CBT and tests on. The bike was perfect. Very light clutch and completely undaunting. The gearbox was fine and the brakes weren't too sharp which is good for novices. The handling was good, but you wouldn't want to bank the bike right over. I geuss it was due to the skinny tyres. The bike was great in the city, but on dual carriageways or the A/B roads from the school to the test centre, it seemed very underpowered. I geuss it is the same with most 125s but I could only get 45mph going into a headwind. Also, you dont choose where to go on a windy day, the wind tells you. Overall, the bike is a perfect novice or commuter bike.

I've both versions of the Turkey produced cg125,kickstart and the electric/kickstart, wouldnt part with either of them, simple, easy to home maintain, the cdi version a vast improvement over the points ignition. If you are starting out riding and first started years ago on old brit bikes then this is the starter bike for you. the drum brakes are progressive making you think about braking rather than just grabbing a handfull of disc brake at the last minute. The gearing can be changed simply by changing the back sprocket, early turkey models had a 36 tooth, M1-4 a 43 tooth both are interchangeable (with chain)depending on what gearing you are looking for. Parts, insurance, fuel economy make running and maintainance very cheap. Only improvement i would suggest is a bulb upgrade to the halogen bayonet type, the original std bulb is very poor. For commuting around town or pottering around country lanes with time to enjoy the view it cant be faulted.

Fantastic learner/starter bike, and great around the city. My 07 bike has got me to work and back reliably for the last few months in wind and rain. Speed wise i have had just over 60mph however, it was reving highly to do it and didnt feel comfortable to maintain for long. Accelerates ok up to about 50mph but hills can be a bugger. I do wish it had a choke lever on the handle bar but i have managed ok.Allways starts fine even in sub 0 temps. Brakes are good and fuel comsumption is a dream. Mine is showing signs of rust however, i do leave it outside. I have been very pleased with the bike in general and they hold there resale value well too. People say there slow but mine does fine around the city, but its hard going on main roads. Recommended for learners like me or commuters who dont need to do high speeds.