You can adjust the Gear Change Lever height to the size of your boots or shoes.
The motorcycle dealers often set it pointing down, which is totally wrong for a Honda CG125 since the riding position is upright not forward.
The Owner's Manual shows the gear change lever at the same height as the foot rest (level with the foot rest).
I found this to be correct for my boots and expect it to be the same for most people.
To adjust the gear change lever,remove the nut bolt (10 mm),
take the lever off the bike,
put it back on in the correct position,
put the nut bolt back in,
(if you do not put the gear lever back far enough
or to far back,
the bolt will not go through).
Rear Suspension
Adjust the Suspension to the weight you are carrying.There's probably 5 settings on each side of the bike.
Make sure both are on the same setting.
You can adjust it by turning the bottom of the suspension around.
You may be able to turn it with your hands if you are strong enough,
if not use the C spanner (may need the extension shaft),
see How to find your bikes Tool Kit and Owners Manual in the Servicing page.
When the suspension is new, the lowest setting (opposite to stiff) is not normally used since its for light people with smooth roads.
The standard setting is the one above the lowest setting.
The maximum setting (stiffest) is for carrying a passenger.
The correct suspension setting for you will depend on your weight and how old / worn the suspension is, all springs age / wear and drop in stiffness.
Its simply a matter of trial and error, it will effect how well the bike handles round bends and handles bumps in the road.
How to stop your engine from clogging up
It's a good idea with any engine, if it's only been on short trips, like 5 miles to work, to take the bike for a long fast ride to clean it out.
Any engine that does not get up to full temperature (low engine revs or short trips) will get condensation inside and burning deposits will build up excessively,
that's why you have to change the oil more often in these cases, but you still need to blast the bike out, it can also help the chain.
Lots of people think the Honda CG125 has a small engine,
so it will get up to full temperature very quickly and its engine speeds are much higher in normal operation than larger engines.
Well the temperature takes a lot longer than many think, 5 miles just does not get it up to full heat.
I have noticed that if you do loads of 5 mile trips at 40mph in 5th gear the bike suffers.
But when you take it out for a 50mph or faster run, of at least 15 miles it cleans it self out (you still need to change the oil more frequently).
You may notice the bike starts better, idling is faster and healthier, less vibration, smoother and more power.
If you do a lot of short, slow trips try to have a long fast one now and again.
You can also buy better quality petrol that has extra cleaners in to reduce the problem (see Petrol below).
Choke
The choke lever is underneath the left hand side of the petrol tank.
When the lever is up (position a) the choke is on and down (position b) its off.
A few of the Front Drum brake models have reversed the choke lever so down is on and up is off.
The Choke on some Front Drum brake models may not be needed in summer (when the outside air is hot).
The following is for the Front Disc brake model, some of it may be true for Front Drum brake models (not all of it since their emission controls are not so strict).
As long as you have the Idle Mixture Screw and Idle Speed Screw set right (see Idle Screws page) all the following is true.
Half choke is never any real use, bike still needs full choke on a hot summers day.
The bike has a very small window of when half choke works like 2 seconds or never.
Never leave the choke half on when the engine does not need choke, over time it will damage the engine, the bike will not stall when idling with half choke.
Full choke is not strong enough when engine is stone cold in the middle of winter, you have to generate heat by turning the engine over a few times,
below 10c a small heater is also activated to help.
To start the bike from stone cold, put choke fully on.
Open the throttle 1/8 to 1/4 turn, hold it open and then press the starter button(see Choke when the bikes been standing for several days below if hard to start).
When the bike starts you must keep the revs up or it will stall.
If you get the bike hot enough for it to idle without choke, you may find the bike stalls when you open the throttle,
simply restart with full choke, this will happen when the bike is almost ready to come off choke.
When the engine is stone cold, it will need choke for a long time.
I advise you to warm the engine up (choke on) while riding the bike, unless your not experienced with controlling the bike.
Riding the bike with the choke on is easy, until you try to change down a gear since you will probably try to let the engine idle,
when of course it will just die. The secret is to make sure you keep the engine revs much higher than idle to stop this.
Finding the choke lever while moving takes practice, try with thin or no gloves to begin with.
If the bike has been switched off for only a few hours, put choke fully on, start the engine (1/8 to 1/4 throttle), blip the throttle 3 or 4 times and turn the choke off.
I advise you to warm the engine up (choke on) without riding the bike since it's only 3 to 4 blips of the throttle.
Choke when the bikes been standing for several days.
See Choke above before reading the following.
The following is for the Front Disc brake model, some of it may be true for Front Drum brake models (not all of it since their emission controls are not so strict).
The petrol evaporates over time.
If you use it every day, the bike will usually start with the first turn of the engine.
If its been standing for a few days, it will take more turns of the engine, every day can add an extra turn of the engine (sometimes).
At worst it could take around 10 turns.
For every 5 seconds that the electric starter is used, you must give it a 10 second rest.
I have found it best to turn the engine over once, let it rest for 2 seconds and try again, keep repeating this sequence until you hear it fire.
If it fires once and then dies,
try the same sequence again or
try turning the engine over 2 or 3 times without a rest or
turn the engine over with the throttle closed (as soon as the engine fires, open the throttle 1/8 to 1/4 turn to keep it going).
If the bike really refuses to start and keep going, switch the ignition key off for 30 seconds or longer to let the battery recover to full voltage, then try again.
If you have flooded the engine with petrol, switch the choke off and open the throttle fully and turn the engine over several times.
When the bikes running, the petrol in the carburettor is still partly stale (gone off / evaporated),
expect the bike to need choke for longer than normal and to feel rough,
until the carburettor has been fully refilled with petrol from the tank (could take 0.5 miles).
All this trouble might be eliminated if you leave the petrol tap on all the time,
but mechanics warn that over time the petrol will seep out and fall all over the bike and floor.
Choke Design
Starting a Honda CG125 and not being able to idle with the choke on is totally different to most other makes and models of motorcycle.
It's because the choke is very primitive.
Nearly all chokes (except the Honda CG125 one) increase the idle speed when they are switched on.
Because the Honda CG125 does not increase the idle speed, you have to do it manually by opening the throttle slightly.
All engines need both choke and the idle speed increased in order to work (when engine is to cold to work without choke).
So the Honda CG125 needs the throttle held open slightly and only then can you start the bike (while its open).
Other makes and models of motorcycle would only start if the throttle is closed (if it was open you would flood the engine).
Sometimes the Honda CG125 might require the throttle closed to start the engine (but the second it starts you must open the throttle).
This will only happen after at least one un successful start with the throttle slightly open, this is because there would be some un burnt fuel in the engine.
A few people have increased the Honda CG125 idle speed to make it idle with the choke on.
This requires the idle speed to be excessively higher than the bike was designed for.
It makes it very easy to start the bike, but causes real trouble using the bike and damage when the bikes up to heat and does not need choke anymore.
The problems of excessively high idle speed are.
Increased Fuel Consumption.
Engine will overheat when idling for a long time while stationary and in slow moving traffic (overheating is very bad for the engine).
Changing gear can become more difficult and even stop you changing gear (especially when everything overheats when stationary and in slow moving traffic).
There are probably other problems of excessively high idle speed, I very strongly recommend you do not increase the idle speed above the designed speed.
If Idle Mixture Screw and Idle Speed Screw are not set right(see Idle Screws page) it makes starting the bike harder and needs choke more often and for longer.
You can also reduce the amount of time the choke is needed for by improving the quality of the petrol (see Petrol section below).
Gearbox
The gearbox was improved with the Front Disc brake model, so the following may not be true for Front Drum models.