Can’t find a Honda CT125 Trail for love or money? Then here’s what you need to do: Get down to your local Yamaha dealer and tell the salesperson: “Call up head office, and tell them to bring the PG1 to North America. And make sure they keep the price sensible!”

Unveiled in Asia

The Yamaha PG1 was revealed in Thailand last week as a new model. At this point, all we know about the bike is what’s been written in the moto-press overseas. Japanese site Webike says it uses an engine that’s already been around for a while:

The engine uses an air-cooled horizontal engine, which from its shape can be assumed to be the same OHC 2-valve unit as the FINN, which Yamaha sells in Thailand. The Finn has a long stroke specification of 114cc with a bore of 50mm x stroke of 57.9mm and a maximum output of 7.4kW (10PS), which is higher than the CT125 Hunter Cub. The transmission is 4-speed, and like the PG-1, it is not equipped with a clutch lever.

So, clutch-free shifting and about 10 horsepower from a single-cylinder. The latest-generation Yamaha Finn has electronic fuel injection, not a carburetor. Although the four-speed has one less gear than the CT125, the engine sounds very similar to the Honda’s powerplant otherwise, with slightly less stroke (although bore is the same at 50 mm).

Photo: Yamaha

Other details

The PG1 is now listed on Yamaha’s Thai website, although we don’t see some of the features that we’ve read to expect. There is no obvious cast wheel option, and no luggage package. However, we see the bike is available in four colors (yellow, brown, blue, black). Fuel capacity is 5.1 liters, and seat height is 31.3 inches. That’s actually a bit less than the Honda CT125’s 31.5 inches, although the PG1 looks like a visually taller machine. Claimed wet weight for the PG1 is 236 lb, or about 20 lb less than the Honda competition.

Also note that the massive flat back-rack of the CT125 is not present on the PG1. It’s more sporty, less utilitarian than the Honda.

You can see Yamaha’s overview here, but you’ll need Google Translate’s help with the text, unless you read Thai.

A simple bike, but practical for developing countries where motorcycles are transportation, not toys. Photo: Yamaha

What about North America?

Would Yamaha bring these here? The PG1 could be seen as representative of a whole class of machines that powers the rest of the world’s personal transportation, especially in southeast Asia. Bikes like the EZ115 literally move the world, but they are not popular in North America, and the OEMs don’t bring them in. Is that because they’re not available? It’s like asking which comes first, the chicken or the egg. They aren’t sold here, so it’s no wonder nobody buys them. The Honda CT125 is unique in that most machines like this would never make it into our market.

There would no doubt be interest in the PG1, just as there was interest in the Yamaha Tri-Moto series back in the 1980s as an alternative to Honda’s three-wheelers, or the Suzuki RV series of bikes which competed with the original CT lineup. But with margins tightening for dealers and distributors, whether the interest would be enough to sell bikes at price that works for everyone is the real question.