Honda’s Super Cub is a legend. It’s the world’s biggest selling vehicle, with over 100 million made and sold since 1958. It’s cult machine and, like so many iconic names from the past, it has been given a 21st century reboot. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the latest Honda Super Cub C125.
Honda introduced the C125 in 2018, but this revised version arrived late last year with a cleaner and more powerful Euro5 spec engine and a few small changes, such as better suspension and an uprated generator. The biggest update is the addition of a pillion seat and pegs, something that put many potential buyers off previously.
This year’s model costs £3499, just £50 more than the single seat model it replaces, comes in a solitary new colour option, a funky ‘Matt Axis Grey Metallic’ with bright red seat. It’s a smart looking livery, although if I’m being honest I preferred the two tone red/white and blue/white options of last year, which were more reminiscent of the classic Cubs.
Those original Cubs, most famous in the UK in its C90 incarnation, were low cost step-thru commuter bikes and, a bit like four wheeled icons such as the Mini, Beetle and Fiat 500, have become a real cult classic. These days there’s a big C90 modding scene, known as Cub Culture, with owners making outlandish modifications to commuter bikes which, when they left the factory, struggled to top 40mph.
As with those classic car reboots, Honda have taken design elements from the originals to create a 21st century interpretation of the much loved machine. As a result, the 2022 Super Cub is a unique proposition in the current landscape of motorcycling, sitting somewhere between a small motorbike and a modern twist and go scooter.
Original vibes
Honda class the Super Cub as a motorcycle, rather than a scooter, which is fair enough. The 17” wheels, footpegs (rather than foot boards found on a scooter), mid mounted engine and chain drive all back that up, and it’s clear that Honda have continued the Cub lineage with the latest model, rather than simply putting some retro touches on a more modern design.
Staying true to the original, the Super Cub runs a semi-automatic gearbox, although unlike the C90 there are four cogs rather than three. The spine frame and plastic leg guards are all inspired by those humble commuters from over 60 years ago, and you can see loads of other little touches, like the shrouded rear shocks, enclosed drive chain, mudguard design and underseat fuel tank.
But there’s plenty of modernity to balance it out. Original Cubs were built with pragmatism in mind. That automatic clutch was (apparently) specified in order that delivery riders could ride one handed (really!) while conducting their duties and they wore 17” wheels in order to cope with the rough Japanese roads of the time. And while those have been repaved (and attitudes to riding singlehandedly have moved on, thankfully) they’re key Cub characteristics that have been retained.
Those wheels are now cast rather than spoked, for example, and it now sports a disc brake up front and conventional telescopic forks, instead of the odd leading link design of old.
The round headlamp and brake light all draw their cues from the 1960s, but feature LED bulbs, and there’s an LCD dash too, which is small and basic, inset into the large and easy to read speedometer.
It all fits in with the overall design and is way more effective than their equivalents back in the day – although being a bit picky I still found the headlamp to be a little weedy.
Ergonomically they share some similarities too. Those chrome stalked mirrors reminded me of those miles I spent looking at my elbows, and not much else, during my Cub ownership. The gearbox feels a lot like the old bike too, complete with the heel and toe shifter, with which you push down with your foot to shift up, and down with the heel to go down. Within a minute of riding the C125 I had a smile on my face. It brought memories flooding back and I could see exactly what Honda set out to achieve.
Homage to the past
It wasn’t powerful, but my old C90 was one of the most terrifying motorcycles I have ever ridden due to its lack of brakes and oddball handling, which was characterised by the leading link forks rising disconcertingly under braking. The latest machine is certainly not terrifying, although those skinny 17” IRC tyres do feel a bit twitchy at speed, and while there’s an old fashioned drum brake at the rear, there is at least a modern disc brake (with ABS) up front.
It’s a little less powerful than I would like but is progressive and competent enough. Without ABS on the rear, it is possible to skid the rear tyre under hard braking, but it's not something I would be unduly concerned about.
The more you look at the latest Super Cub, the more you see homages to the past. The engine cases, side panels, mudguards and exhaust shape all tip their hat to their forefathers and, as someone with fond memories of my old C90, it’s a machine that puts a smile on my face. Juxtaposing those classic cues is a very good keyless ignition system, with built in alarm and immobiliser. I wish my old C90 had such a good security system. We parted ways when some scrotes stole it for a joyride…
What’s not so good? Well the problem with all this nostalgia is that it does tend to limit the Super Cub when compared to a more contemporary steed. The design doesn’t allow for any underseat storage, which is one of the great benefits of scooters, and the diddy fuel tank only holds 3.7 litres of unleaded.
Claimed fuel consumption is almost 188mpg, giving a theoretical range of around 150 miles from a tank, although I wasn’t able to validate the official fuel consumption figures in my time with the Honda. I racked up a few hundred miles in a week with the Super Cub and averaged around 95mpg. The fuel gauge starts flashing when there’s around a litre left in the tank, and I typically found that around 2.8 litres of fuel got me just under 60 miles of riding.
It must be noted, though, that I spent a fair chunk of my time with the Cub riding flat out on A roads and would anticipate significantly more miles between fuel stops in an urban environment.
The classic Cub engine design has been cloned more times than I can remember and the C125 utilises a clean running evolution of the same basic layout. It remains simple, a two-valve, air-cooled format, but fuel injected. It delivers just under 10bhp, making it learner legal, and despite the modest output it has enough go to haul around 110kg of C125, plus the rider.
It’s a bit buzzy, especially at higher revs, but feels livelier away from the lights than a typical twist and go scooter. I saw an indicated 65mph on one occasion, although the fourth gear is more an overdrive than anything else, offering little extra speed over third but making it feel distinctly less stressed.
Having the old fashioned gear shifter does feel a bit odd in my opinion. Back in the 1950s it was the best solution for creating an easy to ride commuter but today technology has moved on. Honda-san may be spinning in his grave at the thought of this, but I think I would have preferred a scooter style CVT transmission.
It’s what Vespa has done with its modern day scooters, and I feel that the ease of use would more than make up for the lack of authenticity. I occasionally found myself in the wrong gear pulling out of a junction and on one occasion accidentally downshifted after hitting a pothole, causing the back wheel to skip and protest at my bad manners. Sorry Cub purists!
And while we’re at it, another break from tradition I’d like to have seen would be the addition of a side stand. There’s an easy to use centre stand, but I found the lack of a side stand a minor yet largely avoidable inconvenience.
Style over substance?
When Honda introduced the C125 a few years back it came with a single seat and a rear rack, in the style of the very first C100 Super Cubs. This year’s bike has a pillion seat and pegs as standard, although I would probably ditch the rear pad in order to be able to have a degree of carrying ability, even if only to be able to lug around my padlock and chain. There’s no official top box in the Honda accessory range, but sticking an aftermarket item on would really open up the practicality of the machine as well.
If it sounds like a load of bad news then it’s not. Sure, by modern standards the Super Cub feels a bit odd, but it’s still real hoot to ride and so, so charming. It’s light and agile and an absolute dream to breeze through the rush hour. Its quirkiness will really resonate with those who have ridden Cubs in the past, but the extra power and composed chassis makes it a more viable option in today’s traffic.
On the open road, not natural territory for the little C125, it can get up to an indicated 60mph fairly quickly and is happy to sit at that speed on level ground, although inclines do see the needle drift to the left. The speedo optimistically goes up to 80mph – perhaps futureproofing it for when the next generation of modders invite the C125 into Cub Culture!
It’s also insanely fashionable. Seriously, if you’re just looking for practicality then Honda’s own PCX125 will deliver far more for a few hundred quid less, but if you want a something that will turn heads and put a real smile on your face then the C125 is well worth consideration. Somewhere in my dreams I’m touring Europe in a motorhome, with a C125 hanging from the back, but back in the real world its constraints mean that it is pretty compromised as a day to day ride….
Conclusion
I feel really conflicted by the Super Cub.
I wanted to love it a lot more than I did but still I have nothing but admiration for the Honda engineers, who have sympathetically evolved the design into the 21st Century without losing the essence of what makes a Cub.
Ultimately there are two ways to review the Super Cub: as a modern form of transport or as a homage to legend. As the former, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. For the latter, I think Honda has done an admirable job.
Those design throwbacks are really authentic, but they also compromise the Super Cub as a modern machine. In itself that’s not a criticism of Honda’s ability to make a great bike. They make my two favourite 125cc machines, in the form of the PCX125 scooter and the bonkers little MSX125 Grom, and the company’s size and heritage give them every right to indulge in keeping the story of this most iconic motorcycle alive.
The latest Honda Super Cub C125 sits in a real niche in modern day motorcycling. It lacks the practicality of a scooter and isn’t as engaging as a traditional 125cc motorbike, yet it certainly has its place and will win fans for its charm. It could be argued that the Super Cub is a case of style over substance, but if you don’t care too much about the (lack of) practicality and want a beautifully built and stylish runaround that’s not too expensive and which will get people talking, it’s definitely worth considering.
The world may no longer need the Super Cub, in the way it did in 1958, but I for one am so glad it still exists. Thank you Honda.
Words: Paul Taylor
Pictures: Too Fast Media/Honda
Video: Too Fast Media
