2025 Honda Dax 125 Review

Nostalgia breeds conversation. Take this Honda Dax 125, for example. While stopping for a bite to eat, a man approached both myself and Nic de Sena telling us about how he remembered riding on the back of a CT70 when he was a kid while his mom rode him around. Then when he reached his teenage years, the CT became his and he rode it even more. Despite the grey hairs on his head and a few decades of life that have come and gone since those days, the excitement in this man’s voice reliving his childhood was sparked by one little motorcycle.

This is what they mean by the famous tagline, “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” Not everybody stopped and talked about their childhoods, but while we were riding the Dax 125 there were definitely some stares, followed by smiles, maybe a nod or a thumbs up. The last thing the Dax 125 is, however, is intimidating – and that’s the point. 

Fifty years ago, Honda CT70s started popping up all across the country, ushering in a fandom in motorcycling that helped cement Honda’s own tagline of meeting the nicest people on one. This new Dax is an effort to help drum up that same level of enthusiasm. The difference is today’s world is much more disconnected from transportation as a pursuit of fun than in the 1970s. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying.

These days there’s a sea of two-wheeled things to take people to and fro. Most of them are electric, and none of them have the appeal or history of the Dax. From the throwback backbone frame, to its long seat and 12-inch wheels, the Dax 125 is anything but intimidating. You might look at the numbers and see a seat height of 30.6 inches, but this isn’t anything to worry about. The Dax is so narrow and light, at only 236 lbs. ready-to-ride, that any fears of being able to handle it fade away once you actually throw a leg over. 

Of course, the heart of it all is the 124cc (yes, the actual engine is one cubic centimeter smaller than what it says on the side of the bike) Single that first debuted in the Grom and sits nearly horizontally. Unlike the Grom, with the Dax shifting is done semi-automatically – just like the original. There’s no clutch to worry about, you tap the shifter all the way down for neutral then click up to go through the four gears, releasing the throttle between each upshift. Going down the gears is the same process in reverse – ease off the throttle, tap down (if using the foot portion of the shifter instead of the heel portion), then twist your wrist again. It’s not nearly as smooth and seamless as a regular motorcycle, since the clutch is engaging or disengaging through the shift stroke, but then again, there’s no risk of stalling the motorcycle this way.

It goes without saying the air-cooled 124cc Single isn’t a power monster, nor is it highway legal, but it’ll get you through the city at the speed of traffic as you make your way towards the beach and a more relaxed environment. The Dax is great at cruising, and if you choose to do so, you’ll inevitably encounter people like the one at the top of this review who are eager to share their stories. So beware: if you’re the quiet introverted type, the Dax 125 might not be for you. Or maybe this will finally make you break out of your shell. The choice is yours!

While the Dax may lean heavily on the past in the design department, thankfully Honda has modernized the things that really matter. The fuel injected engine that starts at the push of a button is a no-brainer, as are the modern inverted fork, twin rear shocks, LCD screen, and disc brakes front and rear – with ABS! Well, at least for the front.

The ride on the Dax is surprisingly plush yet compliant over the crummy roads we have here in SoCal, and the brakes are equally up to the job. The reach to the lever should suit a variety of hand sizes and the braking power you get back is just the right amount for a minimoto like this. My only real gripe is the 12-inch wheels and Vee Rubber tires fitted to them. Twelve inch wheels make the Dax ultra nimble and flickable, which is a good thing, but the tires didn’t give me much confidence when I could feel them get slippy over paint lines on the road when making left turns from one intersection to the other. And it’s not like the Dax and I were speeding, either – I’m talking speeds around 15-20 mph.

While we’re on the topic of gripes, I also found the circular LCD screen really hard to read. I get that it’s small to match the size of the bike, but it’s also positioned below the rider’s line of sight, forcing them to tilt their heads down momentarily to see it, but the glass is highly reflective. When the sun is shining on the chrome bezel, you really have to focus on the screen to see what it says. Obviously not great when you’re trying to focus on the road ahead.

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