This page lists general information on the Honda TL125, as well as maintenance and troubleshooting information. If you think something should be added here or want to correct any information please go to the feedback page.

Model	Year	Serial no	Gas tank accent color
TL125 (K)	1973	Frame TL125-1000003 onwards Engine TL125E-1000001 onwards	Tahitian Red
TL125 K1	1974	Frame TL125-1100001 onwards Engine TL125E-1100001 onwards	Tahitian Red Candy Sapphire Blue
TL125 K2	1975	Frame TL125-1200001 onwards Engine TL125E-1200001 onwards	Tahitian Red
TL125S 76	1976	Frame TL125S-1000417 onwards Engine TL125S-1000001 onwards	Shiny Orange

Generally the TL125 engines can be divided into one-piece-head (1973 to 1975) and two-piece-head (1976). In the latter the cylinder head breaks horizontally into two, camshaft in between.

Model	Year	Main Difference to Previous Year
TL125	1973	First production year
TL125 K1	1974	Pretty much the same as 1973, some minor differences. Right engine cover slightly different (carries different Hoda part number).
TL125 K2	1975	New front forks (Showa).
TL125S 76	1976	Two piece head, 0.5mm larger bore diameter.

Year	Bore & Stroke	Displacement	CR	HP
1973 - 1975	56.0mm x 49.5mm	122cc	8:1	8 @ 8000 rpm
1976	56.5mm x 49.5mm	124cc	8:1	8 @ 8000 rpm

Engine oil capacity
1.0 liters	1.0 U.S. qt.
Front fork oil capacity (reassembly)
130 - 140 cc	4.4 - 4.7 fl. oz.
Valve clearance (I&E)
0.05 mm	0.002 in.
Spark plug
NGK D8ES-L	ND X24ES
Compression
10.8 - 13.2 kg/cm2	156 - 187 psi

In TL125 the 1st, 2nd and 3rd are very low and close for off road work, 5th is as long as could be accommodated in the space available and 4th just bridges the gap. Unfortunately, Honda had to change the order of the gears in the cluster and reduce the size of the flywheels to cram it all in. Any major long stroke crank mods will foul 5th gear (I believe you can do about +10mm max, Powroll crank kit is +9.5mm).

Because the gears are reordered, it isn't possible to mix and match gears between TL and it's siblings except in very limited ways. The whole cluster must be replaced as a unit. The TL and CG type clusters will not interchange with the later XL125/185/200 5 or 6 speed internals without using later cases as well.

	CG/CB100	TL125	XL185	TL125 Overall
Primary	4.055	4.055	3.333
1st	2.769	2.769	2.769	44.91
2nd	1.882	2.125	1.722	34.46
3rd	1.450	1.450	1.272	25.59
4th	1.173	1.000	1.000	16.22
5th	1.000	0.724	0.777	11.74

Thanks for Mark Worsfold for the ratio info.

Final Drive
Front	15 teeth 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 also available
Rear	60 teeth 40, 49, 52 also available
Chain	428 - 120L

All TLs have a 20mm Keihin roundslide carburetor (18mm slide). Jetting is slightly leaner on the 1976 S model, I prefer the earlier jetting. But as always with jetting you just have to try and figure out what fits your engine.

1973 to 1975 TL125
Main jet: 95	Part #99114-246-0950, Honda code 0173336
Idle jet: 38	Part #99124-089-0380, Honda code 0185884
1976 TL125S
Main jet: 92	Part #99101-116-0920, Honda code 0426072
Idle jet: 35	Part #99103-355-0350, Honda code 0426080

I'm pretty certain the idle jet is Keihin jet type N424-22 and the main jet is Keihin jet type 99101-116 (jet size is added to the end so #35 idle jet would be N424-22-35). I would appreciate if anybody could confirm this.

Most of the engine "bolts" in the TL are 6mm Phillips screws. They will get messed up in no time, and are generally just very unpleasant to work with. Following is a list of hex socket head cap screws I have used to replace almost all the Phillips screws in my bike. Sizes are given as dia x length, all threads are "standard metric". Note that there are different number of screws in different year models, quantities below are selected based the highest number required (so don't worry if one or two are left over).

Head Assembly & Ignition
2 pcs	4x8 Socket head cap screw
2 pcs	5x12 Socket head cap screw
2 pcs	6x25 Socket head cap screw
2 pcs	5x20 Socket head cap screw flat head
Clutch Side Cover
11 pcs	6x40 Socket head cap screw
1 pcs	6x50 Socket head cap screw
Magneto and Countershaft Cover
6 pcs	6x30 Socket head cap screw
Crankcase
10 pcs	6x50 Socket head cap screw

• Spark Plug Reading by Century Performance Center
• autos/gasoline-faq, excellent reading on gasoline, octane ratings etc.