There are many bikes available on the market with options that give them a “retro” vibe. Their advertising verbiage typically contains phrases like “retro model meets trendy efficiency,” insinuating that prospects will get one of the best of each worlds. The Honda Dax 125 definitely falls into this class. However giving credit score the place credit score is due, Honda went all-in, throwing in heaping handfuls of “retro” the place many OEMs would depart it at a couple of sprinkles.
That’s the entire level: The Dax 125, new to the U.S. for 2025, is making a play on our feelings. It reminds us of simply how determined we had been as kids to get a bike after we noticed the neighborhood youngsters zipping round on their very own.
At first look, the Dax (quick for “dachshund,” in reference to the bike’s wiener-dog form) seems much like the Path 125 that was launched in 2021. Nonetheless, the Path 125 was impressed by the Path 90 and 110 fashions, whereas the Dax extra intently resembles the define of the Path 70 mannequin of the Seventies. It has smaller-diameter wheels, a visually distinct pressed-steel T-bone body, and plenty of shiny bits of chrome. The place the Path 125 seems proper at dwelling trucking by means of the woods behind your campsite, the Dax 125 belongs in entrance of your native cafe the place each patron can snap a discrete picture as they stroll in.
The Dax is powered by the identical air-cooled 124cc Single present in different Honda miniMOTOs (Path 125, Gromand Monkey). Just like the Path 125, the Dax has a 4-speed, semi-automatic clutch. Meaning there’s no clutch lever to tug, however the rider nonetheless wants to make use of the heel-toe foot shifter to vary gears, with impartial being on the backside and 4th on the high. As I found whereas having fun with this mini for the previous couple of months, that transmission system is the steepest studying curve required when getting acquainted with the Dax.
GEAR UP:
It sounds easy sufficient: Pop it into 1st after beginning the engine, pull out of your driveway, then shift up into 2nd when wanted, and so forth. The trick is to concentrate to what your throttle hand is doing. Not like a handbook motorbike transmission, the Dax doesn’t permit you the time to match throttle enter to engine pace earlier than releasing the clutch. After a pair miles of the bike lurching and protesting after I tried to vary gears (and embarrassing myself when driving previous a parking zone filled with elementary-school youngsters loading onto buses), I lastly discovered easy methods to easy out these gear shifts.
When upshifting, it’s important to roll off the throttle for a second. When downshifting, it’s essential get the revs up a bit for a easy shift. Duh, proper? However I discovered that not having a clutch to tug and launch to offer myself time to regulate the throttle as wanted required a extra considerate and intentional method to shifting. The secret’s timing and feeling out how a lot kind of throttle it’s essential apply for every shift. When you get the texture for it, all of it begins to click on and also you’re zipping round city and not using a care.
Not like the unique Path 70, which entered manufacturing in 1969, the Dax 125 will get the posh of gasoline injection. The little Single is straightforward to reside with so long as you aren’t in a rush: Honda claims a high pace of 55 mph, though I discovered my high pace to be a couple of mph lower than that except I had a downhill stretch to assist me alongside. It additionally will get fairly buzzy when pushed to its max pace. There’s a easy answer (though it goes in opposition to the recommendation my dad at all times provides after I get a brand new check bike): Don’t trip this one such as you stole it. As an alternative, trip it like there’s nothing extra essential to do immediately than benefit from the sunshine. It’s not such a foul way of thinking to discover.
The seating place is straight upright, and the fats and vast bench seat gives loads of room for adjusting your place whilst you trip. The seat is a bit laborious, however most individuals gained’t be driving the Dax for hours at a time. In entrance of the seat, the slim body, which holds 1 gallon of gasoline, makes a handy spot to face over at intersections. The gasoline filler cap is positioned beneath the seat, seat top is 30.6 inches, and claimed moist weight is barely 236 lb.
Suspension features a 31mm inverted fork with 4.3 inches of journey and retro-looking twin shocks providing 4.7 inches of journey. I discovered suspension to be completely enough for the kind of driving I used to be doing on the Dax, which was largely backroad shortcuts close to my dwelling and puttering round city. Brakes embody a 220mm entrance disc pinched by a Nissin 2-piston caliper and a 190mm rear disc with a Nissin 1-piston caliper, and ABS is included. There have been a pair occasions whereas driving after I needed stronger brakes to assist gradual me down, though that concern went away as soon as I used to be extra accustomed to the transmission and higher ready to make use of engine braking.
The spherical headlight is LED, as are all the opposite lights. The spherical LCD sprint is barebones, solely displaying a gasoline gauge and pace, with a bit on the backside that may swap by means of an odometer and two tripmeters. The display is a bit troublesome to see in direct daylight, nevertheless it’s laborious to be mad at it while you see the little blinking-face picture pop as much as greet you when turning on the bike. It’s a small factor, nevertheless it encapsulates the persona of the bike properly, as does the playful dachshund emblem on the body under the seat, full with wheels for legs and lengthy ears billowing out from beneath a helmet.
Many riders would have a blast proudly owning this retro mini. The true query, although, is whether or not or not the enjoyable it brings is well worth the $4,199 MSRP – a worth that’s properly on its strategy to affording a small however full-sized motorbike that may carry the rider on the freeway. In Honda’s personal lineup, the Insurgent 300 prices solely $650 greater than the Dax and comes with a 6-speed handbook transmission and a 286cc Single, in addition to extra of a “actual motorbike” stance.
The reply, after all, depends upon the rider. In case you’re on the lookout for one thing straightforward and enjoyable to trip at surface-street speeds that has a number of persona, the Dax suits the invoice. You may be tempted to search for a less expensive possibility, however the Dax is a solidly constructed mini. It feels and appears like a high quality product, with no shoddy workmanship or corner-cutting bits to be discovered. It’s not simply the Honda badge that can inform you that – poke round a Dax at your native dealership, and also you’ll see what I imply.
And you may’t ignore the model issue. There are those that purchase bikes primarily based on specs and sensible reasoning. There are those that purchase bikes primarily based on their private emotional response to the machine. Most of us need a little bit of each. The Dax leans closely on the emotional aspect of the equation, nevertheless it’s additionally a succesful and reliable mini that provides an attractive and wonderful driving expertise inside its limits. It won’t be proper for each rider, but when it sings to you, I can guarantee you that you just’ll have a great time aboard a Dax 125.
2025 Honda Dax 125 Specs
- Base Value: $4,199
- Web site: Powersports.Honda.com
- Guarantee: 1 yr. unltd. mill
- Engine Kind: Air-cooled, Single, SOHC w/ 2 valves
- Displacement: 124cc
- Bore x Stroke: 50.0 x 63.1mm
- Transmission: 4-speed, semi-automatic clutch
- Ultimate Drive: Chain
- Wheelbase: 47.2 in.
- Rake/Path: 25 levels/3.3 in.
- Seat Top: 30.6 in.
- Moist Weight: 236 lb (manufacturing unit declare)
- Gas Capability: 1.0 gal.
