The Honda CT125 Hunter Cub is one of the most exciting motorcycles to come out of Big Red’s stable in recent times. Effectively a ‘scrambler’ version of the C125 Super Cub (‘T’ is for ‘Trail’), it’s a pint-sized adventure scoot that harks back to Honda’s beloved ‘Postie’ bikes.
You get a 125 cc air-cooled four stroke with both electric and kick-start systems, a four-speed ‘box, 17” wheels and disc brakes. But more importantly you also get a sump guard, a massive rear rack and just enough suspension travel for light exploration.
It’s what we’d pick for carrying on the back of a motorhome on camping trips—or hopping from cafe to cafe on an easy Sunday morning.
The CT125 has only just hit the market in Asia, but Thailand’s K-Speed have wasted little time in customizing it. We’re not surprised either—they’re a sizable operation, with a high output and a thriving aftermarket parts catalog. Plus they’ve already swung spanners on the Super Cub, and the Honda Monkey, with spectacular results.
They clearly run a tight ship too: this CT125 was turned around in just 10 days. K-Speed built it as a prototype to develop new parts, with a mandate to make it stand apart from any other CT on the market.
They gave it a ‘combat’ theme that would look kitsch on any other bike—but ramps up this mini-trailie’s fun factor exponentially.
K-Speed’s first job was to ditch the stock swing arm, and replace it with a custom-built unit that’s 2” longer. That allowed them space to upgrade the Cub’s 80/90-17 rear rubber to a chunky 100/100-17 enduro tire.
The OEM mudguard was in the way, so that was ditched in favor of a much slimmer, and higher mounted unit. K-Speed then fabricated a new rear rack to hold the mudguard, and support a ‘tool box’ up top. Lastly, they installed a set of Diablo (their in-house brand) shocks, adding both a 1.5” lift and extra strength to cope with the load.
Next up, the CT125’s seat was stripped, slimmed, and recovered with a classy combo of diamond and pleated stitching. Other tweaks at the back include a new chain guard, and a set of LED taillights and turn signals from K-Speed’s catalog.
Moving to the cockpit, the crew modified the stock triple tree with new risers, then added a set of enduro-style Diablo handlebars. They wear new grips, a new throttle, mini-switches, bar-end mirrors, and a Takegawa brake master cylinder.
Out front is a new LED headlight, hiding behind a custom made grill that mounts to the original headlight bracket mount points. Lower down is a high front fender sitting on a custom bracket, with a 90/100-17 knobby front tire to match the rear.
K-Speed also added extensions to the Hunter Cub’s crash bars, and the stock LED speedo is now mounted on the side of the bike, on top of the left crash bar. The front turn signals are harder to spot, but they’re there.
Rounding out the parts spec is a set of finned plastic side and engine covers, a bigger sump guard, and burlier foot pegs. And if you look really closely, you’ll spot practical considerations like upgraded brake lines, and a nifty side stand footprint extender.
Perhaps the quirkiest part on this adventure scoot is the bizarre Gatling gun-style exhaust. It’s a fully functional unit, and actually spins faster and faster as the Cub accelerates. It’s the sort of feature we’d hate on a reality TV chopper, but this custom is cute enough to get away with it.
By cherry picking from their own catalog, adding handful of clever one-off parts and applying a distressed paint job, K-Speed have managed to make the already cool CT125 even sassier.
Hand us the keys, and we’ll happily cram as much as we can into that toolbox and escape reality for a few days.
K-Speed website | Instagram | Images by Hipmotography
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