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Trail bikes for Overlanding

ValorSolo

ValorSolo

Well travelled
Location
Florida
I've been overlanding wannabe for years. I've got my Jeep all set up for it.
I don't actually get to go due to work and other duties, but someday I will.
I'd really like to haul a small, light trail bike with me, occasionally.

I've also been a great admirer of a very few select trail bikes in the past.
The Suzuki VanVan was my favorite even if I never owned or ridden one.
And I very much liked Yamaha's TW200 as well. Very cool little bikes.
I don't think either of these two bikes would serve my goals here.

Then there's Honda's CT125, with such an impressive aftermarket for it.
So many mods and add-ons to really make it fit an overlanding lifestyle.
This is the little bike I've been thinking of getting, for this purpose only.

But now, Yamaha has the PG-1, even though it's not available in the US.
Still, it is interesting and cool. Availability would've made it a hard choice.
Between the CT125 and the PG-1, that is. I would really like to ride both.

Perhaps some of you guys have access to the PG-1 and can enlighten me.
Or maybe some have even compared the two and post up their opinions.
 
Honda Cub or TW would get my vote for hauling on the the back bumper of your Jeep if I understand your needs correctly.
More cubs have been to more remote places than any other bike. Period.
In Vietnam "Honda" is not just the Cub it's a noun meaning the Cub and all bikes like it.

If your usage is going to include BDR work, trips to the store, hauling stuff or riding stretches of 65 mph roads then my suggestion is get both a used Cub and a used Himalayan or Scram.

A partial list of my Himalayans accomplishments:
Moab ✓
A bunch of the PNW ✓
Commuter duty year round ✓
Slabbing it on the I-5 ✓
2.5 persons worth of glamping gear and food (don't ask) ✓
Transfer case for Chevy 4x4 pickup ✓
8 bags of groceries,2 cases of water, 1 passenger ✓
Moving skid for a baby grand piano ✓
Crap tons of tools, construction supplies, Jeep parts ..... you get the idea.
 
Being an old guy, I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Light enough to load onto a bumper carrier and easy enough to drag up out of a ditch. It's not much good for riding down the highway though. It'll make 50 mph on a good day. Comfortable seat.

PXL_20221231_203841252.jpg


I'd really like maybe a 250 but it would need to have a decent seat.
Kawasaki makes that 300 but it's tall and the seat is too narrow. The Honda CRF 300 is even taller I think.
 
I had a 79 CT 90. Great machine. They have quite a following, and run forever. And they'll go pretty much wherever you want to go. I would would go with the CT 125. Light, reliable, easy to work on, Honda dealers everywhere if you need something.
 
There are many options out there but when Mrs. 2LZ and I were looking for a pair of small camping bikes, we ran into two problems. One, many of the seat heights were simply too tall, especially for her. Why did all the Japanese brands at the time think we needed 16" of travel, front and rear, for simple trail riding? Secondly, they were EXPENSIVE, for bikes we may use maybe three times a season???

We ended up getting a pair of Hensim DB150's (Chinese Honda CG125 clones). Very, very durable, never gave us a problem, and fit the bill for the price perfectly. Rode them for a few years all over the back-country, then sold them to a buddy for camping bikes. He still rides them. Just throwing an option out there. Best part was no height issues for Mrs. 2LZ.

Myself now? I'm in constant search for an older Honda Trail (CT) 90. Preferably the 1968 Holy Grail of Honda 90's, for the Herd.
 

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The TW200 was the bike I rode in my two-day MSF, and it's had a warm spot in my heart ever since. I also agree with the votes for a CT or Trail. Small, easy to fit on a trailer or super-light for a trailer hitch rack, runs all day. One of my favorite YouTubers is a guy who has ridden CT90s all over the world, Ed March at CT 90 Adventures. Both of these would be too small for me for normal circumstances, but I think either would be a hoot for camping trips.
 
Ewan & Charlie made a good a film about taking the long way around on their BMWs.

Nathanthepostman made a legend taking the long way home from Australia to England on his Honda Postie. Alone. Unsupported.
 
Eatmore Mudd said:
Oh hey guys, in my neighborhood growing up Cub meant all Honda under bone bikes.

I just got a Cub for free !
Cool, what'd ya get ?
A trail 90 !
Click to expand...
To my brothers and I, a "Cub" was the step-thru street version, either 50 or 90, with the low pipe and if you were still lucky, had the gull wing fairing.
The up-piped was the Trail 90.....or there was also the 55 version. Never called them "C200" or whatever.
Overseas....."Postie". I guess the mailmen used them?????

See it here all the time regarding names. I've had to adjust to overseas vernacular.
Here, it's always been "spare parts" or "parts".
I've had to adjust to "spares" and "bits"......just as an example.

Been an education, for sure.
 
2LZ said:
Ok....so they didn't use them back in the earlier days like pre-1980??? Good to know the history of such an iconic machine. (y)
Click to expand...
Interesting. I thought the telegram guys used something like a Honda 90 in Adelaide in the early to mid 70s but given they didn't look super cool to me at 10 or 12, they were not something I really took in. I remember the guys thrashing them at the back of the local post office. The long-time postie delivering the mail, Eric?, rode a bicycle until he retired when I was in college. The next guy, barely older than me, skipped the bicycle and always rode what I took to be a CT 90 but again, I never looked closely. I've heard old postie bikes have some sort of following in Oz I could not have imagined.
Coincidentally, the AMA magazine for February has a story on two guys riding Nevada on CT90s.
 
The Honda CT110 is a small dual-sport motorcycle made by Honda in Japan since 1980 and is sold in various parts of the world. The bike has sold well worldwide.

The CT110 replaced the CT90, which was essentially the same general design but with a smaller displacement engine and points ignition while the CT110 has solid state electronic ignition.

Design​

The base CT110 105 cc (6.4 cu in) four-stroke air-cooled single-cylinder engine which is nearly horizontal in the step-through tube/stamping frame. It has a semi-automatic four-speed transmission and a centrifugal clutch. That coupled with a 2:1 ratio gear reduction box known as the dual range sub-transmission, which switched into operation using a small lever under the transmission case, allowed the bike to climb steep slopes.

North America​

In the US the CT110 came with factory street legal lighting and mirrors, a large luggage rack, center stand, and an auxiliary gas can. The 1980 model of CT110 lacked the dual range sub-transmission, but that returned in following years. The motorcycle was imported from 1980 to 1986.

Australia and New Zealand​

In Australia and New Zealand the Honda CT110 is known as a "Postie Bike" due to its longtime use by Australia Post and New Zealand Post as a delivery bike, without the dual range sub-transmission and upgraded to 12 volt ignition in 1998. The last CT110s were delivered to Australia Post in 2013, later replaced by the NBC110. From 2019 both the NBC110 and remaining CT110s began to be replaced with Kyburz electric tricycles.

After almost 30 years of only being available via second-hand sale from Australia Post in bulk lots, Honda began selling the road-registerable model to the domestic market in July 2009. These were the 6 volt dual transmission "AG" models. A slightly modified version, the CT110 AG, is also sold for agricultural use. This retains the dual range sub-transmission and is essentially the same as the North American versions retaining a 6 volt electrical system rather than 12 volt like the later Post Office bikes. For most of their production history the CT110AG lacked a compliance plate and so could not be registered for road use. This changed in 1998 and they were able to be registered until 2013 when production ceased.

Tanzania​

Large numbers of CT110 and CT90 models were also brought to Tanzania in east Africa, where many are still in use today. Among the original users was Danish aid organisation Danida. During the late 1970s and 1980s they were the standard issue motorcycle for volunteers.
 
There are a lot of Cub bikes in Japan still. I have a friend who imports them; his last container was full of Cross Cub 110s.
Japan has the post bike still and there is also a Press Cub for newspaper deliveries. The most popular bike in Vietnam and Thailand is the Wave or Dream with a 110cc injected engine on the same frame as the C125. I have a Wave110i.IMG_20251206_200018736.jpg
 
Some Yamaha PG1s have found their way to the UK. A friend has one in Thailand and is very pleased with it. They are grey imports here so not official. They are not new 2025 year but only 100 miles on them for £3250 each

For all things C90, the C90Club.co.uk forum covers all types and more.. I am a global moderator on there, and a few members on here are there as well with just under 24,700 members at the momment:eek:
 
I have fond memories of the early Honda Trail 90s as a kid in the 70's. When Honda announced the new CT125 for the US market, I immediately got nostalgic and got on the waiting list at my local Honda dealer. They were nearly impossible to get, and eventually my nostalgia waned and I gave up waiting. Then I found out about a green 2023 model with only 8 miles on it that a friend of a friend was selling due to a health issue. I didn't really have a need for it but since they were so hard to come by, I quickly snatched it up!

Turns out that my memory hadn't factored in that the 1970s version of the bike was being ridden by the 1970s version of me (I was a scrawny kid!) It only took riding it 4 more miles to realize that the adult version of me didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the kid version. I sold it a week later for what I paid to a spry outdoorsy 70 year old woman who rode one as a girl growing up in rural Idaho. She had been waiting for one to pop up for sale and called me just minutes after I posted the ad. She bought it on the spot and had a friend make the 500 mile round trip to pick it up and haul it back to her. She called me after it arrived and got choked up and teary when she told me how much she loves it! I suddenly realized why I bought the bike--It was always destined to be hers!--It just had to make the journey through me first.

Now back to your question: My first thought was a Kawasaki Super Sherpa 250 if you can find one. Solid old-school lightweight dual sport. I'd also consider a Yamaha XT250. The VanVan and TW200 are solid choices too, but I'm not a fan of the fat wheels.
 
MotoGary said:
I have fond memories of the early Honda Trail 90s as a kid in the 70's. When Honda announced the new CT125 for the US market, I immediately got nostalgic and got on the waiting list at my local Honda dealer. They were nearly impossible to get, and eventually my nostalgia waned and I gave up waiting. Then I found out about a green 2023 model with only 8 miles on it that a friend of a friend was selling due to a health issue. I didn't really have a need for it but since they were so hard to come by, I quickly snatched it up!

Turns out that my memory hadn't factored in that the 1970s version of the bike was being ridden by the 1970s version of me (I was a scrawny kid!) It only took riding it 4 more miles to realize that the adult version of me didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the kid version. I sold it a week later for what I paid to a spry outdoorsy 70 year old woman who rode one as a girl growing up in rural Idaho. She had been waiting for one to pop up for sale and called me just minutes after I posted the ad. She bought it on the spot and had a friend make the 500 mile round trip to pick it up and haul it back to her. She called me after it arrived and got choked up and teary when she told me how much she loves it! I suddenly realized why I bought the bike--It was always destined to be hers!--It just had to make the journey through me first.

Now back to your question: My first thought was a Kawasaki Super Sherpa 250 if you can find one. Solid old-school lightweight dual sport. I'd also consider a Yamaha XT250. The VanVan and TW200 are solid choices too, but I'm not a fan of the fat wheels.
Click to expand...
Great story and thanks for sharing. (y):)
I was wondering the same thing. If I finally found a good deal on a '68 CT90, would I simply crush it now? Will it have the power (or clutch) to haul me up a decent hill? Will I look like a gorilla on a tricycle at the circus?
 
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