Story by Clement Salvadori. Photos by Dick Tatlock.

We Americans don’t often think of motorcycles as being purely utilitarian, since we use them mostly for traveling to interesting places, sporting along back roads and maybe a bit of backwoods exploring. But Honda figured there could be a market for this eminently efficient little go-anywhere 125, rigged to do all sorts of jobs around the farm or on the ranch. Back when horses were considered the standard get-around vehicle, roads and tracks were often narrow and twisty, prone to getting muddy after a rain, and that darned critter had to be fed even when it wasn’t being ridden.

Honda first used the CT designation in 1964, for the CT200, a high-piped explorer bike with a single seat. And a 90cc engine; obviously some marketing type felt the 200 number would sell more bikes than the diminutive 90. By 1966 Honda understood that buyers appreciated a more honest designation and changed the alpha-numerology to CT90. The T stood for Trail, as in a machine that was capable of following rustic paths through the woods, perhaps leading to wondrous adventures.
Then in 1971 Honda introduced a little 122cc OHC single-cylinder engine with a one-piece cylinder head in the SL125 Motorsport model, later used in the TL125 Trials version and a few months later in the XL125 dual-purpose bike. For 1976 this engine was modified slightly, with a two-piece head and the cubic capacity increased to 124cc.

After the XL12...