There’s a resurgence of small bikes in America. Baby-sized bikes are not only lighter in weight, but also in maintenance and price, and offer virtually endless fun. Now America is getting its hands on the coolest small bikes ever, which was once forbidden fruit.
The Honda Dax 125 is a fun-packed revival of a historic trail bike, available for $4,199 (plus shipping). We’ve been expecting this announcement for a while, but we’re happy to see it’s official. The Honda Dax 125 has been rumored for months, before Honda filed the paperwork with the California Air Resources Board in June. Now, Honda has finally announced that you’ll be able to buy this cute bike starting next month.
The new Dax 125 is reminiscent of the old Honda Trail 70, a small bike that was popular in America 55 years ago. If you look carefully, you’ll see that the old Trail 70 is still in use as a pit bike, a camper tender, and a cool city bike. Now, if you’ve got $4,199 to spare in your pocket, you can get a brand new bike with modern power, modern tech, and a great vintage look.
A national sensation
According to Honda, the original Dax was a big hit nationwide. In 1960, American Honda Motor Co. was in its first year and riding the wave of success of its Honda 50 step-thru motorcycle. But Honda noticed something odd: Sales of the Honda 50 were strong in the urban areas for which it was designed, but especially in Boise, Idaho. Honda was surprised, because Boise was known for its rugged terrain, not its dense urban centers.
Eventually, Boise Honda dealer Herb Uhl found a clever way to sell the city bike: Uhl changed the rear sprocket, put knobby tires on the wheels, and marketed the Honda 50 as a trail bike. Sales soared. After all, this little 50 was a great off-road bike. The sprocket change allowed the 5HP 49cc engine to ride over any obstacle, and the bike’s automatic clutch and super light weight made off-roading fun even for those with no experience.
American Honda liked the bike so much that they contacted their parent company in Japan to request a production version of Wool’s work. In 1961, the CA100T Trail 50 was born, and Americans were delighted. Honda would sell the CT series of trail bikes in some form or another in the US for the next 30 years, selling 725,000 of them, helped by a price tag of just $275 ($2,905 in today’s money) and the fact that the bikes could be almost endlessly customized.
Now, you’ll notice right away that the 1969 CT70 Trail 70 is quite different from other CT series bikes. Although Honda considers the CT70 Trail 70 (sold as the Dax in Japan and Europe) to be a CT series bike, it is actually derived from Honda’s ST series of minibikes.
These bikes were released in 1969 and, like the Monkey, were (barely) road legal and were super fun, easy to maneuver little bikes that you could throw in the hatch of a van.
Again, these were very popular, especially among people wanting something as a pit bike, a small off-road bike, a bike to hang on the back of a camper, or just as a fun toy. Honda sold the CT70 from 1969 until 1982, when it was discontinued, brought back in 1991, only to be discontinued again in 1994.
Modern mini bike
So Honda’s timing is perfect: The last time the Dax was officially released in America was 30 years ago.
The Dax returned in 2023, but only in markets outside the U.S. Honda then released the Dax e, a cheap and fun electric eBike inspired by the Dax, but it also never made it to the U.S. But American Honda bike fans’ requests were finally answered.
This bike is truly a modern classic. The frame is a T-shaped pressed steel backbone like the bikes of old, but with modern manufacturing techniques. This time, Honda has upped the size to a size that can seat two adults comfortably, at least as comfortably as a minibike.
The new Dax is 5.7 feet long, has a 47.2-inch wheelbase, a 30.6-inch seat height, and a 40.1-inch height (from ground to grips). These are nearly the same dimensions as the current Honda Grom, right down to the 25-degree lean angle. This allows the Dax 125 to carry more riders while still being super comfortable to ride. The Dax 125 weighs 236 pounds, less than 10 pounds heavier than the Grom.
Power comes from a 123.9cc 80-degree single cylinder that produces 9.7 HP and 7.7 lb-ft of torque. On a good day, most riders should be able to hit 55 mph, which is significantly faster than the 40 mph that the original ST70’s 72cc engine could achieve.
The rest of the Dax 125 appears to be borrowed from Honda’s 125 platform. It has 31mm upside-down forks, front and rear disc brakes, ABS, and fuel injection. The Dax 125’s 12″ tires also appear to be carried over from the Grom. This is not a complaint; Honda has found a way to make a bunch of different looking machines that more or less share a common platform. It’s a great thing.
But it’s not all copy-paste from the Grom. The Dax 125’s transmission is a semi-automatic four-speed, just like the Super Cub’s. It also has twin-shock rear suspension and a small one-gallon fuel tank. That should still be enough for a 100-plus mile range.
The Dax 125 doesn’t have much extra equipment, but it does have nice little touches like LED lighting that mimics the lighting on old Dax’s, a cute cartoon dachshund in the middle of the frame, and Honda’s classic logo. The instruments are operated via a basic LCD screen.
Remembering childhood
Honda expects the Dax to attract two types of riders: middle-aged riders who enjoyed the original CT70 as kids and will buy the Dax 125 as adults out of nostalgia, and younger riders who like the retro vibe but don’t want to spend a fortune on a bike. In other words, the type of buyers that Royal Enfield is currently capturing so well.
No matter where you stand, the Dax 125 is priced at $4,199, excluding $300 delivery and dealer markup. That makes the Dax $600 more than the Grom, $300 more than the Super Cub C125, and $100 more than the Trail 125, but $150 less than the Monkey. As with Honda’s other miniMOTOs, we’d like the Dax to be a little cheaper, but Honda seems to be selling enough of them to continue expanding the lineup that this price seems reasonable for many riders.
If that excites you, get ready to visit your local Honda powersports dealer in October. As always, it’s nice to see more affordable bikes coming onto the market. More options are always a good thing, especially when those options look as cool as the Dax 125.
(Image: American Honda)
