My Trusty Honda Click 125i – Three Years and 20,000 Kilometers Later

A few weeks back, my trusty little Honda Click 125i turned three years old.  (My goosh, how the time flies!)  Coincidentally, the odometer also spun past the 20,000 kilometer mark or – for the Americans in our midst – a smidgen over 12,000 miles.  In the time I have had her (is that sexist?), she has proved to be reliable (only changed the high-beam switch) and remarkably suited for the type of riding that I do.  That is, shopping and running errands in and around Dumageute city with occasional longer trips to other parts of the island.  Well, that and my weekly excursions down to Bogarts to drink too much and engage in the usual litany of lies and tall tales.

Good times, all.

Pilsens aside, lets get into why I love my Click and will most likely keep it until the proverbial wheels fall off. 

POWER
For a small bike (scooter), the Honda Click packs a surprising amount of get-up-and-go for a 125 cc engine.  Coming in at a ‘mighty’ 11.4 horse power and weighing in at only 233 pounds, the Honda Click is possessed of a surprising power-to-weight ratio.  This might have something to it also being fuel injected and possessed of an actual 125 cc engine – Honda Beats claim that they are 125 cc but they are actually 110.  The real test of its strength lies in motoring up hills in the interior of Negros. There is a notoriously steep hill on the way up to Twin Lakes (past the visitor center), and unlike my overweight and underpowered Yamaha YBR125, the Click didn’t even hesitate when faced with the challenge.  Walay problema. 

FUEL EFFICIENCY
Scooters of this size are notoriously fuel efficient, and the Click posts around 135 miles to the gallon.  Crazy, right?  That 58 kilometers per liter with a 5.5 liter tank adds up to about 320 kilometers per fill up – a notable improvement over the smaller Honda Beat.   With fuel efficiency like that, you don’t really care about your monthly gas bill.  Finally, to increase efficiency a bit more, the Click has an Idling Stop System which automatically shuts the engine off when you are sitting in traffic or at a stop light.  Then, with a twist of the throttle, it starts up and you are off.  Cool.

SAFETY
The Click has a number of safety features, some of which are now being employed by other motor manufactures.  It has a side stand cut off, which won’t allow you to run the bike while the side stand (kickstand in ‘Murica) is down.  It also has a Combined Breaking System which transfers breaking between the front and rear wheels when the rear break is smashed down during an emergency stop.  An LED light system is also included which can actually be too bright for incoming drivers – I have been flashed more than a few times by other drivers who thought I had my high beams on.  Note that the lights on the Click can also not be turned off, forcing the rider to both keep his lights on at night and provide some added safety and visibility during the day.

STORAGE
The Honda Click boasts enormous storage space.  Underneath the seat is 18 liters of room – enough for a full-face helmet and then some.  Being an automatic scooter, there is no midframe, so you can literally hang three bags of groceries on the hook and sit them down on the floorboards.  Same for a huge bag of dog food or a massive sack of rice.  I have supplemented the stock storage with a 33 liter top box for even more (lockable) storage – I usually keep my poncho, sunglasses (sunnies) and gym gear in there or anything else that I might need to pull out in a jiffy.

DOWNSIDES
Like life in the Philippines itself, nothing is perfect and the Honda Click 125i is no exception to this rule.  Off-road handling isn’t all that great and some have noted that the seat can be rather hard (thin padding to make for more under seat storage).  Being possessed of a prodigiously padded posterior, I have never had problems with the latter.  As for the off-road piece, I have actually manhandled the Click through some rather torturous mud fields, and if faced with rocks and potholes, I just slow down – something that can never be underappreciated when driving in the Philippines.

ALTERNATIVES
Honda has since released the 150 cc version of the Click, packing on more power while still keeping the weight under 240 pounds.  If looking for another brand option, the Yamaha Mio Soul 125 is basically the same size and has a softer seat.   A friend of mine rented one after having a Click and an Aerox and he said that he prefers the Mio Soul over both of them.

So, for me, the Honda Click 125i has become my Philippines dream machine.  After owning a Yamaha YBR125, a Rouser 200NS and two RUSI automatic scooters, the Click has become my forever bike  – something to cherish and take care of until the very end.

With all the different makes in models, what is your favorite motorbike in the Philippines?  Feel free to leave your experience down in the comment section.

Until next time, puppies and rainbows, y’all.