The Honda CT range of motorcycles is a unique line in the company’s long history, with names for the exact same bike chopping and changing, endless differences from country to country and not in keeping with the usual Honda nomenclature. All of this has made many of us assume the big H didn’t ever believe the Cub with an off-road bent would succeed. But boy have they, they’re a national institution in Australia and now in their 7th decade, there is no slowing the little bike down. And the king of small motorcycles, Eak of K-Speed just can’t get enough of them, and his latest 2023 Honda CT125 creation has a unique inspiration and more than deserves its moniker, ‘Big Foot’.
Tanadit Sarawek known to the world as Eak, has been doing incredible things with little bikes for years now. He and his team have become a global success at taking just about any motorcycle you can think of and turning it into a custom sensation. But it’s the baby bikes that have made them famous and the CT125 has become a bit of a favourite lately, as the guys pump out multiple customs every single week. But it was another little bike with a big personality that inspired this build, “The famous, discontinued, Yamaha TW200, the vintage ’90s motorcycle which is known for its large tyres.”
“Mr.Tanadit (K-SPEED Founder) was thinking of the Yamaha vehicle and thought it would be a good idea to try to bring those features to the Honda CT125, which is the model that he’s really good at,” Eak’s team told us. And with a very close working relationship with Honda Thailand, it wasn’t long before a brand new 2023 model of the little Trail bike was dropped off at K-Speed HQ and the designing process could begin. The first step in making a CT like a TW was of course to go big with the tyres, but this wasn’t going to be a bolt-on affair.
The stock CT125 comes with 80/90-17 inch rims front and rear, and Eak had plans to go more than a little bigger. The front end sees a new wheel built to suit and finished in black, before being wrapped in a chunky 100/100 Champion tyre, still measuring 17in. But it’s the rear end that gets crazy, once again a new wheel was built using a lightweight rim, and then a truly massive 180/80-14 inch tyre by Vee Rubber was slid on. Instantly the guys had achieved the go-anywhere look of the TW200, but it required that the swingarm undergo some serious modification to allow the balloon-like rubber to fit.
The big tyres would have torn the factory fenders to shreds, so a new approach had to be adopted, and the front gets a theme fitting high mount motocross style unit instead. At the rear, the grinders were fired into life at K-Speed and the back end was first chopped heavily, before a smaller form-fitting fender was adapted for the task.
“The round original headlight was replaced by the ‘rectangular headlight’, but there is also the cover that when we put it on, the headlight will be dual round headlights. So, the headlight look is adjustable, which should be a fun feature to have.” The taillight gets the grilled out treatment, with a black powder-coated cover.
This starts a theme of K-Speed’s own parts that are all designed to protect the bike from the harsh elements and obstacles out on the trail and give the bike a tough look. The crash bars around the engine are a bolt-on item, but get added protection on the sides to really protect the rider’s legs. A K-Speed chain guard adds a little more off-road credibility over the stock plastic unit and then it’s time for luggage. The carry rack in front of the rider is a beautiful touch, all handmade from round bar, and then supported by a centre plate given the dimple die treatment.
This should be the perfect place for a small sleeping bag, but it’s the back end where you can get serious, with a luggage rack sporting a host of side mounts to add endless accessories for your adventure. Above, a BM-Motor storage box gives you the perfect place to store your valuables and is easily removed for when you’re simply carving up the urban jungle. But it’s an almost military-like theme that inspires the colour, with the green paintwork, laid down in a matte finish, providing a true utilitarian look. To match all of the black, the seat is finished in a quality leather of the dark hue, and is taken from the company’s in-house brand ‘Diabolus’.
Having placed the rider’s butt on a comfortable throne, the hands can reach easily to the high-rise MX style bars, which feature a set of new grips and no unnecessary add-ons. The engine has deliberately been kept relatively stock, there is no point adding extra strain to a bike designed to be effortlessly reliable. But that doesn’t mean the sound can’t be improved, and the exhaust with its protective covers and stunning muffler is another in-house product that anybody can buy.
In fact, Big Foot serves as a test mule for a host of new and existing parts in the company catalogue, and if you like what you see, K-Speed delivers anywhere on the planet.
[ K-Speed ]