The most famous and beloved japanese motorcycle in sri lanka...

I have done a rigorous search to find "Which is the most famous and beloved motorcycle and it's brand in this island?" and guess what i came across. Just like i predicted. There is no two words to it, all the Japanese motorcycle users love "HONDA" that's the brand of Sri Lankan motorcycle enthusiasts, commutes, lovers you name it.... it is the "HONDA" they all love and trust. Next biggest challenge was, was there a specific bike? Specific model?. Well friends, nearly 80% of Japanese motorcycles used in Sri Lanka is none other than the trusty classic "Honda Benly CD125T & Honda CD-TWIN 125". I see these sweet little bikes almost everywhere, from weeks village fish markets to city crowded shopping mall parks. So i decided to inquire few of the users to see what they say. People say amazing things about this bike and i thought i gather few of the stuff to post on my blog so the world knows.

Here is why Sri Lankan Islanders love "Honda Benly CD125T"

• Japanese made "Honda" Reliability and extreme durability
  
• Economical Fuel Consumption ( 40 - 48 KMPL )
• 125CC Inline Twin Engine capable of carrying a 1 person to several people
• Economical maintenance
• Availability of spare parts
• Simple engine architecture that any grease monkey can fix in a jiffy
• Strong structure & Frame that is capable of carrying weights that no other 125cc motorcycles can carry
• Comfortable two wheeled vehicle for a daily commuting even for a family of three.

Above are just to name a few. So i decided to ride couple of them and it is true what they say.... it's a amazing little bike that can do big things and of course i must add that looks also counts.... it has the vintage motorcycle look which i love the most. If you ever come to Sri Lanka and you will see what i am talking about. I have come across benlys and cdtwins ranging from few months old to nearly forty years old and i can see they with stand very well in the test of time in this tropical island. Prices are also vary and reconditioned unregistered bikes will cost somewhere between 2000US$ and upwards while you can still find registered same models for around 1300US$ etc and older CD-TWIN non CDI models can be found around 350US$ and above.

Engine Specifications

• 125CC Inline Twin Engine
• Front and Rear Drum breaks ( easy maintenance )
• Twin Exhausts
• Fuel : Petrol
• Strong Headlight Beam
• Fuel Consumption 40 - 48 Kilometers per litre of petrol.

I digged out an rare ""Honda CM125T custom chopper"" motorcycle....

One day i was just riding through an rural short cut road just to avoid all the city traffic i came across something really interesting. In front of an old motorcycle shack i have seen some piles of junk put up for sale and i noticed that there is a Gem among them. It was an old ""Honda CM125T Custom"" motorcycle, I know you might be thinking what is so special and rare about ""Honda CM125T Custom"", they are everywhere!!!, But just wait I'll tell you what made it rare later. so stopped to take a look. The bike was really in a very bad shape, for a while i thought i would forget about the paint and outer look, the engine was a mess, with broken timing chains, completely worn out clutch plates, basically no compression on the engine at all but the shop owner fired it with major difficulty and it started. I rode it for few meters and thought it will be very unhealthy to ride it in this condition. So i asked the price and i bought it on the next day, with great difficulty i manage to ride it back to my home after a hours ride from the shop. Phew!! hard part is over, now it is time to get it properly re-done. I took it up to my motorcycle mechanic and got it's engine and electrical system completely restored as well as wheels and then add new shocks to rear and put a new set of forks and oil seals, oils etc.

Now it rides like a baby, smooth as ever, when i bought the bike it has shown amazing 365,000 odd Kilometers on the speedometer and according to the mechanic this was it's first engine restoration and he said the speedometer hasn't also worked for at least 100,000KM which means this bike has previously done whooping 450,000KM before engine restoration. I am no motorcycle mechanic so what i thought, Honda is an mechanical marvel. :), you can see a picture of the bike above, how it is after major restoration has been done, Photo is taken before i put new set of wheels of course and rims. i still have to work on the paint and outer look jobs. But now it runs really well.

Honda CM125T Custom (Chopper) Specifications

• 125cc Honda Twin Engine
• 2 inline cylinders
• CDI
• Speedometer and rev counter
• Made in japan
• Two Short Exhausts (original)
  

Well as i said rare above, try searching the net for model that i have found and you will see. well there are plenty of Honda CM125, CM180, CM200 etc especially made during the period of 1978 till somewhere mid 1980's until the look completely changed in to current Honda CM125T. What make this bike rare is because this has a CDI unit unlike the earlier models, it has original short exhausts makes sound really better than other models of the same look by honda, exhausts are originally from honda. The other CM models, especially the ones with same look did not come with a Rev-Counter, only the speedometer, this model has the Rev-counter facility. Basically this is a Honda CM180 Chopper body running on Honda Benley 125cc engine and coolest part is it is not modified by a user but originally came like this from honda somewhere mid 80's till early 90's.