Honda CBF 125 Off Road Tyres Advice Please?

[Konsider]

Hi everyone

I am brand new to biking and was wondering if someone could give me some advice. I've got a Honda CBF 125 but I don’t have my CBT. I live in an area with lots of fields, mountains, forests, etc and was wondering what tyres I could put on the CBF so that it could be used as an off road bike? If such tyres exist I would be happy enough just going off road, so the tyres wouldn’t need to be able to also go on roads.

Any advice would be great, many thanks!

[redeem ouzzer]

Hmmmm expensive 125 but not riding it on the road?

Stolen much?

I really can’t see any other reason for someone to want to use a modern yet quite unsuitable 125 as a field bike.
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Be a REAL MAN!

[Ste]

Sell the CBF to someone who has a CBT and use the money to buy something that's more suitable for offroading.

[Konsider]

[Ste]

What medical condition prevents you from doing the CBT?

If you really like the CBF then you'll really like a more suitable bike even more. It's not like it's a powerful bike or anything special, as you're just wanting something for offroading you can get something bigger than a 125.

Have you got the v5 for it?

[Courier265]

Grabs

[Ste]

[Courier265]

[Konsider]

[Ste]

At best you could get a set of dual sport tyres in slightly different sizes to the standard tyres the bike has. They'll be much better offroad than road tyres are but dual sports on a CBF will always be shit when compared to an offroad bike with offroad tyres.

If you've got a license then do the CBT. If you want a bike for riding offroad then sell your expensive 125 and you'll be able to buy a lot more bike for your money when buying something that's not road registered and isn't a 125 as they are expensive because of the constant demand for them from learners.

[RhynoCZ]

If all you want to do is off road, then buy some MX tyres that fit your rims. There's nothing better for mud and gravel riding than that.

MX tyres however are not road legal and they are very, very crap on the tarmac (very reduced grip) and you might going to have to remove the front mud guard.
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'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Ste]

Put knobblies on it and there'll be problems with clearance around the swingarm?

[RhynoCZ]

There are some very narrow MX tyres. I'd even fit a front tyre on the back wheel if I had to.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Konsider]

Awesome advice, I will check out both the MX and Dual Sport options. Thanks very much - really appreciated!

[Ste]

What prevents you from doing your CBT?

[Pigeon]

[Konsider]

[Ste]

MOT and road legal doesn't matter when it's not going to be used on road. And those tyres aren't available in 17 inch anyway.

These are though (I've no idea if they're good but at least they're 17 inch):
https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&m_s=1&msuchen=1&tyre_for=Motocross&ranzahl=1&Breite=120&Quer=90&S_Z=&Felge=17&Speed=&Marke=&profil=&suchen=Search+for+tyres

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&m_s=1&msuchen=1&tyre_for=Enduro&ranzahl=1&Breite=120&Quer=90&S_Z=&Felge=17&Speed=&Marke=&profil=&suchen=Search+for+tyres

You'll need to do some looking through the different sizes available to find something in a 17 inch that can be put on the front. At the moment you've got 80/100 R17 on the front and 100/80 R17 on the rear?

I'm sceptical about what sizes you'll be able to fit on the rims that won't result in really weird handling but I think we've already been over the fact it's not a good choice of bike for what you're wanting and that you'd have a much better end result if using a more appropriate bike, meh, it's your choice.

[Konsider]

[Ste]

If you do fit motocross tyres to it, you have to let us know how it goes.

[RhynoCZ]

Found it, expect this kind of grip on the tar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be2qJ84JE3M

*Warning: The front wheel is going to be just as slippery as the rear wheel. So, easy on the front brake.

EDIT: Feck, it looks like fun.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Konsider]

[Teflon-Mike]

There's 'off-road' and there's dirt....

As a field-bike, I REALLY wouldn't elect upon a CBF125 for starters.... its a road-bike, its best suited to the err... road.

You want to pig about on the dirt.... then the logical thing would be a dirt bike.... and given the prices anything with genuine off-road ability and an engine over 125cc will likely be an awful lot less valuable than a CBF125... why try?

IF you have got the CBF because well its there, its cheap and to hand... the cost, probably around £100 for a pair of knobly tyres... you could probably chop the CBF in for something that already had knoblies and more suitable suspension, and wider handlebars and more durable body-work, and actually get cash out the deal, not have to chuck it in!

Can you see why so many might be a TAD suspicious of your intent and motivation here?

If you are deturmined to use CBF125 road-bike on the rough... well, use whatever tyres are on it! Its a an effin field bike FFS, the thing sliding about a bit is half the fun... its not like you are going to be loosing championship points or anything by NOT having knoblies!

Checking specs they say the CBF runs 17" wheel;s front and back, and standard tyre sizes are 80.l100 front, 130/70 rear... so the rims canty be all that narrow then.... think that my old though only ran 90 front 140 back... so even though skinny rimmed, probably still a tad over tyred... however, the17" rim size would mean that most available rubber will likely be back tyres, and enduro or MX pattern... and range from the street based duel-sport probably not a lot different to the street tyres it likely has, through to full knoblies, with block-treads, and sand tracks, in the middle... .

and given given full-knoblies are designed like ice-spikes for mud, with just 11hp on tap, and a very soft power delivery, might give great grip... so much that as soon as spikes bite the engine wont have the oomph to pull them out again! Certainly not make use of the grip they could offer.

Tyre choice, even in competition is always a comprimise and bit of string judgement call....

And it's not just the tyre tread pattern; as said, full knoblies are like ice-spikes for mud... on hard-baled clay they are horendouse, on rock they are just nasty, and on tarmac a nightmare.... they can be like riding on square blemanges, the gaps between knobles making the bike shake like a bast'd while it wobbles around on top ofd the knobles like a drunken girl on stilletos....

The 'regulation' trials block tread, has regulation spaced tread blocks, and is not very agressive, but a proper trials 'slick' has very soft compound and is run at low pressure so it moulds over surface iregularities and grips like glue to them.... dont last very long on harder surfaces though....

And on grass? Depends whats underneath it. If the grass is on baked clay, knobly cant dig in. IF its on loose shale, most tyres will dig ruts, and regardless, bike passing over grass. grass breaks releases its juices, its a little like ice self lubricating itself, and the tread patern and the compound is oft pretty irrelevent....

Guess what... like most riding, there's a 'skill' to riding off-road on un-made surfaces, and its that skill that makes teh difference not what you buy of e-bay....

BUT we come back around... and the bottom line is that the CBF is a road-bike, not a dirt bike.... and a reletively valuable road bike as a learner legal, and not a particularly useful or capable off-=roader, whatever tyres are on it... so WHY spend money trying to make it something its not and never will be?

Go get a dirt-bike, probably make some cash in the deal, and get more suitable tyres into the bargain...

And if medical reasons stop you doing CBT and riding on the road.... SURELY them same medical reasons should be PRETTY good clue that ANY 'off-road' riding to try dodge that is ALSO probably not a wonderful idea.....

Again, see why suspicions have been raised...

SO rather than railing against them, allay them... or be assumed guilty, as well as clueless.
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Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Konsider]

Thanks, Teflon-Mike, for that comprehensive reply regarding the different tyre types - very interesting and informative, and a lot there to consider.

It might indeed not be worth going for off road tyres on the CBF in the end, but this was the point of me making the thread - to get advice on tyres and to look into things further.

Thanks to everyone for contributing. I feel I have enough information now to know where to start, so cheers for that!

[Sister Sledge]

My input:

I had a Honda C70 that got me to work and back. It was a rat bike but perfectly legal. My commute was either 4 miles of A and B roads or 1 mile of roads and 2 miles of rough farm tracks. I managed to find a trials bike tyre for the rear but kept the original front. Trials tyres have a big range of sizes - it did go close to the rear swinging arm.
Basically that Honda C70 was unstoppable. It would never stall and the grippy rear would push the bike through anything. The road front tyre was to help aim now and then.
If you're considering tyres, look at trials too.
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