– New 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Changes Explained, Specs Review, Features | Buyer’s Guide –
It’s here guys… the 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 with NEW Changes! You not only get to carry a passenger now on your Super Cub but you also get some other upgrades thrown in the mix too!
If you follow the blog though or follow me on social media, then you already knew these 2022 Super Cub C125 changes were coming as we talked about it here and also in the YouTube video below. Plus, I’ve been following the new Super Cub platform and its releases dating back to 2015. So in other words, cough cough, make sure to follow me online so you can get a sneak peek look at what motorcycles are coming in the future from Honda. But keep in mind, before we dive into a lot of information below, what you see is now the “official” USA spec 2022 Honda Super Cub 125. Well, it is but it isn’t if you catch my drift. It is our USA spec 2022 Super Cub, it’s just that American Honda hasn’t made their official announcement yet releasing the 2022 Super Cub. We’ll find out exactly what our pricing is for the USA and what color or colors we’ll be getting then, which isn’t too far away…
New 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Changes… What did Honda change on the Super Cub C125?
The Super has a brand-new air-cooled engine that meets EURO5 regulations and unlike the Monkey and Grom, we actually see a performance increase! A passenger seat and passenger pegs have been added to the Super Cub as well which has to be the biggest news from the 2022 Super Cub announcement. You also have a new color option and little aesthetic details around the bike were changed up and suspension updates too. If the new 2022 Honda Grom or 2022 Monkey aren’t your thing because of their styling or because they have a clutch, this has got your name written all over it. We’ll dive more into these 2022 Super Cub changes below.
- Key 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Quick Specs:
- 2022 Super Cub 125 USA Price / MSRP – $3,799
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Price / MSRP: £3,499 (Europe)
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Release Date (USA) – January 2021
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Colors – Matte Axis Grey Metallic
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Miles Per Gallon – 156 MPG (est)
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Horsepower – 9.7 HP @ 7,500 RPM
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Torque – 7.7 ft/lb torque @ 6,250 RPM
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Fuel Tank Capacity – 1 gal.
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Weight – 243 lbs
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Seat Height – 30.7 in.
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Changes – Yes, explained above and below
- 2022 Super Cub 125 Review Contents:
- 1. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Introduction
- 2. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Model Overview
- 3. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Key Features
- 3.1 | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Chassis & Styling
- 3.2 | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Engine
- 4. | 2022 Honda Super Cub Facts
- 5. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Videos
- 6. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Pictures
- 7. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Specs
1. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Introduction
The very first Super Cub C100 was introduced in 1958, Honda’s 10th year of existence. Created by Soichiro Honda and his long-time business partner Takeo Fujisawa, its stated aim was straightforward: ‘to provide the joy of playing a useful part in people’s lives’.
Nearly 60 years later, in 2017, the 100 millionth Super Cub was built, cementing its status as the most popular motor vehicle the world has ever seen. Along the way the Super Cub’s simple attributes of unique styling, reliability, frugality and sheer usability have never gone out of fashion. And it has quietly achieved exactly what Soichiro and Takeo wanted: to get people mobile and keep them mobile.
Up to late 2018 the Super Cub series had only been available in Japan, where it has long been popular with business users including the Japanese Post Office, and in South East Asia, where it retains an important role in people’s lives as private transport. Well aware of the number of urban European riders – across a wide range of age demographics – who look for credible retro-inspired machinery and head-turning style, Honda unveiled the Super Cub 125 in 2018 as a modern evolution of the legendary name, marking a new chapter in its long history.
For the 2022 year model, the Super Cub 125 receives further advances for its European audience. The timeless look is unchanged, but a brand-new EURO5-compliant engine and host of improvements drive it on, just as Soichiro and Takeo would have wanted.
2. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Overview
A new air-cooled SOHC engine design, with ECU setting, intake and exhaust to match, gains the Super Cub 125 EURO5 compliance. It produces slightly more power, and is more efficient, returning a fuel economy rating of 156 miles per gallon (1.5 liters/100km WMTC mode). The ACG output is also uprated.
The classic styling is unchanged, and standard-fit pillion seat and footpegs are now added. Revised spring rates for front and rear suspension smooth the ride on rougher city streets.
3. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Key Features
3.1 | 2022 Honda Super Cub Chassis & Styling
- Passenger seat and footpegs now standard
- New springs for fork and rear shock absorbers improve ride quality
- As before, all lighting is LED and Smart Key operation comes as standard
The Super Cub 125’s time-tested, evocative styling – defined instantly by the leg-guards and fully enclosed mechanical parts – remains unchanged, and is a design with one word in mind: ‘universality’. In other words, it has to be easy for a wide range of people to use. A key part of this ethos is the laid-forward ‘S-shaped silhouette’ which runs from the step-through space to rear mudguard, making access on and off easy. New for the 2022 year model is the addition of a pillion seat and foot pegs as standard equipment.
Also instantly recognizable as Super Cub is the ‘unit’ steering, which unifies the separate elements – forks, handlebars and leg shields – into one cohesive whole. On the original machine the handlebars, shaped to be like the wings of a bird, were a tactile and welcoming sales point and the modern day Super Cub C125 with its forged, tapered handlebar wrapped in curvaceous molded resin incorporating the switchgear and instruments, pays loyal homage to the original.
The grips are placed in a natural, easy-to-hold position and complement the straight-backed riding position, which gives excellent all-round visibility. Aiding comfort, the seat uses thick, high-density urethane foam. It is also cut back on both sides up front, helping ground reach.
All lighting is contemporary LED while the instruments highlight the depth of the overall design with two lenses separated by dual chrome rings. The outer ring houses the sweep of the analogue speedometer’s needle plus warning lights; the inner an understated digital display.
A modern finishing touch is the Honda Smart Key which also controls the immobilizer as an extra theft deterrent, and is equipped with an ‘answer back’ function whereby the indicators will ‘blink’ at the push of a button to make finding the vehicle easy in busy parking areas. And, with a nod to its forebears (and underlining its place in Honda’s history) a historical 3D ‘Classic Wing’ logo crowns the Smart Key fob.
Fun, easy handling has always been another Super Cub strength. To this end, the tubular steel ‘backbone’ frame has a rigidity balance carefully tuned around the headstock and between the engine mounting points, to optimize performance for the 124cc engine; the redesigned engine crankcases have new mounting hangers. Both handlebars and seat are rubber mounted and the footpegs also feature rubber inserts.
Rake and trail are set at 26.5°/2.8 in. (71mm) with wheelbase of 49 inches (1,245mm). Curb weight for the new 2022 Super Cub, full of all fluids and ready to ride comes in at 242 pounds (110kg). The 26mm telescopic forks feature new springs improving control while also bringing in 3.9 inches of travel (100mm); the twin rear shocks (matched to body color) also use new springs and bump-stop material for a smoother ride on bumpy roads, while elegant 17-inch die-cast aluminum wheels (with machined rims and spokes) add stability and steering precision. Tubeless tires are fitted, sized 70/90-17 front and 80/90-17 rear.
A 220mm front disc brake and single-piston caliper are matched by a 110mm rear drum and the Super Cub also comes standard with Honda’s ABS, Anti-Lock Braking System.
3.1 | 2022 Honda Super Cub Engine & Drivetrain
- Completely new engine is smoother, more powerful and more efficient
- Revised ECU settings, intake and exhaust for EURO5 compliance
- Alternating Current Generator (ACG) gains uprated output
Efficient and durable, the Super Cub 125’s new 124cc air-cooled engine combines the bottom-end (with re-designed crankcases) of the current Japanese-market C110 with the SOHC two-valve cylinder head and top-end of the latest Grom / MSX. Bore is set at 50mm, stroke at 63.1mm with compression ratio of 10.0:1. The Super Cub’s peak power, 9.7 horsepower (an increase from 9.5 HP) arrives at 7,500 RPM (7.2kW), with peak torque of 7.7 ft/lb @ 6,250 RPM (10.4Nm).
Smoothing airflow on the clean side, the new airbox, designed to match the new engine, is smaller and combines with the new connecting tube and new injector position to improve drivability.
The outward appearance of the muffler – one of the many elements of the Super Cub’s ‘mythology’ – stays the same while the internals are re-worked; two catalyzers were in place on the previous engine but, with the gain in combustion efficiency for EURO5 compliance, a single, more efficient catalyzer is used. The ECU has new programming to maximize performance and efficiency and the Alternating Current Generator (ACG) output increased.
The gearbox remains a 4-speed unit (with neutral at the bottom) and – in true Super Cub tradition – is operated via ‘automatic’ centrifugal clutch, without the need for a clutch lever. At standstill the rider simply selects the gear required with the left hand foot lever and, as the throttle is opened, the clutch operates automatically and does so through each ratio change, up or down. Final drive ratio is 2.50 with 14T drive and 35T driven sprockets. A helical primary gear reduces ‘mechanical’ noise.
The Super Cub 125 engine returns amazing fuel economy, rated at 156 miles per gallon (66.7km/l WMTC mode) giving a range of approximately 150 miles on a full tank of fuel.
4. | 2022 Honda Super Cub History & Facts
Unsurprisingly, over six decades of production, the Super Cub has some remarkable stories and achievements behind it. Here are just fifteen:
- The first prototype wasn’t drawn out on paper, but using a clay model, into which Mr. Honda himself had strong input, using some ideas from a fact-finding trip to Europe in 1956.
- The first 1958 Super Cub C100’s low-floor backbone frame (for easy step-through), large leg shields (for protection from dust from unpaved roads), fully ‘enclosed’ bodywork (to hide the engine and harnesses), seagull-inspired handlebar shape and sky-inspired blue fairing laid down a universal template for decades to come.
- The size 17 inch wheels (relatively large in order to handle Japan’s uneven road surfaces) were designed and made exclusively for the Super Cub.
- It has always used a four stroke engine – even from its first 1958 incarnation.
- It had to avoid the need for a clutch lever so a delivery rider could ride one-handed with a stack of Soba noodle boxes on his left shoulder.
- Honda’s Suzuka factory was built in 1960 to help meet the demand for the hit product.
- The Super Cub has been produced in 16 factories across 15 different countries, and sold in 160 different countries.
- The Super Cub went on sale in the USA in 1959, with a sticker price of just $295. It took west coast surfing youth by storm and paved the way for much bigger things for Honda in America.
- The first European production of Super Cub started in Honda Belgium (the second ‘overseas’ factory to product the vehicle).
- It also starred in the ‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda’ ad campaign that changed the American perception of motorcycles away from being vehicles associated mainly with ‘biker gangs’.
- The Beach Boys made it even more famous in 1964 with their song ‘My Little Honda’.
- Also introduced to South Asia in 1964 the Super Cub became prized family transport that neatly dealt with the overwhelming traffic of the ever-growing major cities.
- The Japanese Patent Office awarded it a 3D trademark registration in 2014, recognizing its shape and design as an iconic Honda product, and making it the first vehicle to achieve this status.
- Original sales were projected to be possibly 30,000 a month, which was amazing at the time as total motorcycle production in Japan was around 40,000 units a month, but something of an underestimate in the end.
- In typical, low-key Super Cub way on October 29th, 2017 a commemorative ceremony was held at Honda’s Kumamoto factory to mark worldwide production of 100 million units.
5. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Videos
6. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Pictures
7. | 2022 Honda Super Cub 125 Specs
| ENGINE | |
| Type | Air-cooled SOHC 4-stroke 2-valve |
| Displacement | 124cc |
| Bore x Stroke | 50 x 63.1mm |
| Compression Ratio | 10.0:1 |
| Max. Power Output | 10 horsepower @ 7,500 RPM (7.2kW) |
| Max. Torque | 7.7 ft/lb @ 6,250 RPM (10.4Nm) |
| Oil Capacity | 1.1 liters |
| FUEL SYSTEM | |
| Carburation | PGM-FI electronic fuel injection |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 1 gallon (3.7 liters) |
| Fuel Consumption | 156 MPG (1.5L / 100km WMTC mode) |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |
| Battery | 12V-3.5AH |
| DRIVETRAIN | |
| Clutch Type | Wet multi plate clutch and automatic centrifugal clutch |
| Transmission Type | 4 speed |
| FRAME | |
| Type | Mono-backbone steel frame |
| CHASSIS | |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 75.3 x 28.3 x 39.4 inches (1,915 x 720 x 1,000mm) |
| Wheelbase | 49.0 inches (1,245mm) |
| Caster Angle | 26.5° |
| Trail | 2.8 inches (71mm) |
| Seat Height | 30.7 inches (780mm) |
| Ground Clearance | 4.9 inches (125mm) |
| Curb Weight | 242 lbs (110kg) |
| SUSPENSION | |
| Type Front | 26mm telescopic fork |
| Type Rear | Twin shock |
| WHEELS | |
| Type Front | Cast aluminum |
| Type Rear | Cast aluminum |
| Tires Front | 70/90-17M/C 38P |
| Tires Rear | 80/90-17M/C 50P |
| BRAKES | |
| ABS type | Single Channel ABS |
| Type Front | Single 220 mm hydraulic disc |
| Type Rear | 110mm drum brake |
| LIGHTING | |
| Headlight | LED |
| Taillight | LED |
* All specifications are provisional and subject to change without notice. Please note that the figures provided are results obtained by Honda under standardized testing conditions prescribed by WMTC. Tests are conducted on a rolling road using a standard version of the vehicle with only one rider and no additional optional equipment. Actual fuel consumption may vary depending on how you ride, how you maintain your vehicle, weather, road conditions, tire pressure, installation of accessories, cargo, rider and passenger weight, and other factors.
