The Honda CG125 or Honda CG is a commuter motorcycle made by Honda of Japan. It was in production from 1976 to 2008 in Japan and has been in production since 1992 in Pakistan. The CG was originally manufactured in Japan, but the source for the European market was eventually moved to Brazil in 1985, and to Pakistan in 1992 and to Turkey for the W and M models. The CG125 is powered by a four-stroke, overhead valve, single-cylinder engine that has changed little over the years. In Pakistan the original CG125 is still being produced by Atlas Honda Ltd. Except for a few cosmetic changes, the Pakistani version has remained exactly the same as the original 1980s Japanese CG125 over the past years. Two other variants, CG 'Dream' and CG125 'Deluxe' with some extra features, such as a modernized styling, were later added. The later 2019 SE model has a 5 speed transmission instead of the original 4 speed, electric start, a front disc brake and a wider rear wheel. It is one of the two motorcycles offered By Honda in Pakistan, the other one being the Honda 70 or Honda CD70, which is based on the original Japanese Honda 70. In the UK, the CG125 was popular with learners due to licensing laws which allow a rider to operate a 125 cc motorbike with L plates by completing a Compulsory Basic Training course. In Brazil, due to emission laws from 2009, the engine has been redesigned with an overhead camshaft. Due to Euro 3 emission laws the Honda CG125 has been replaced by the fuel injectedCBF125 in UK and Europe since 2009. Other manufacturers made overhead valve clones of the CG125 engine with same piston bore and stroke which to comply with Euro 3 emission laws and they are widely available.
History
The CG125 was developed from the CB125 for developing countries' markets. The two models were very similar, with many parts in common. The main difference was in the top ends: the CB had an overhead cam. One fault with many Honda OHC engines of that era, was that they had a tendency to wear the camshaft bearings if oil changes were skipped. The CG engine was developed specifically to address this problem as Honda realised that riders in developing countries performed little or no preventative maintenance. To make the bike more reliable with minimal servicing, the CG125 uses overhead valves with pushrods, a washable foam air filter, and fully enclosed chain. The fully enclosed chain was dropped in 2004.
Changes
Over its lifetime, the CG125 has received numerous enhancements and tweaks:
The electrics were upgraded from 6 V to 12 V.
The point ignition system was replaced by the capacitor discharge ignition system and a little later in other countries. By 1993 Honda was using only CDI ignition systems for all of its motorcycles.
An electric start was added in 2001, originally alongside the original kick start and replacing it completely in 2004.
2004 saw a number of further changes in the European market:
The front drum brake was replaced by a disc brake.
