After a good nights sleep last night, I’ve just got my first real look at the bike – A Honda CGL125. It’s in great shape. It turns out it was left behind as a “payment” to my host by a long term guest who’d run out of money. It’s spent the past week or two in the shop being fixed up, but aside from a small puddle under the side stand which my host swears is water, it’s in great condition.

Now for the breakdown. It’s a 125 single, so I don’t anticipate winning any races on it, even against the burro’s. It’s drum brakes, both front and rear and has banded and very skinny front tires. Given there’s about 4km of off-roading between here and the main road, this could all end in tears. It also has a heel plate on the shift, which makes me think it might be one of those horrible cyclical gearboxes, though again I’m told not. I guess I will find out soon.

To capture this monumental occasion, I’ve also placed my Go-Pro camera on the bike. The obvious place to mount it is the bars, but having got the grab bag of mounts, i expected more options. I guess in part it’s not so easy as the “cross” bar is so skinny and the rest of the bars have their optimal points hampered with the switch gear. The location of the tightening bolts is also tricky and takes a little fettling. However, it’s on their now and looks to be reasonably sturdy. Footage, as well as other impressions, will follow shortly.

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