Watch a Honda Trail 90 Be Rescued and Then Climb Mountains Like a Proper ADV

Why wouldn't you just point a Trail 90 at the mountains and go?

20:08

Jonathon Klein

By: Jonathon Klein

Apr 3, 2024 at 7:00am ET

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I'm a Honda fanboy. The Japanese brand can do no wrong in my book. But where the company truly succeeded in all of its motorcycling endeavors isn't in the normal place where most would look. It's not Honda's CBRs or Africa Twins or anything like that. No, it's in the cute as hell Trail series, the motorcycle that's more ubiquitous than any other motorcycle around.

So whenever I get a chance to write about the Trail, I jump at the chance. And the video above is just the best around, as it rescues a Trail 90 from a barn, gets semi-restored to working order, and then immediately put to use climbing a freakin' mountain.

The saving, restoration, and then subsequent thrashing is thanks to Matt Spears, who's famous for being a hard enduro rider who builds enduro motorcycles out of, well, non-enduro motorcycle platforms. You may have seen his enduro Goldwing or Hayabusa. As well as his Hayabusa snowbike.

Suffice it to say, he knows his shit.

Matt and his brother start it all out with just getting the Trail 90 running, which they did in classic fashion in the parking lot between an O'Reilys and Walmart. Where else would you do it? And in true Honda fashion, even though the Trail 90 has been sitting for 8 years, it takes almost nothing to get it to fire up. They then proceed to head into the woods, where Matt attempts to see if he can use the Trail 90 similarly to his race dirt bike from the prior season.

Suffice it to say, a 250cc two-stroke race bike is slightly more capable than a 40-year-old Honda Trail 90. Who would've guessed? However, though it failed to jump a 6-ft rock, the Honda goes hard all the way through the single track that Matt puts it through, including some deep puddles.

What do you think?

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He then puts it through a "hillclimb" using the Trail 90's low-speed transfer case, which they succeed in getting to the top. That said, Matt then runs back down the trail—the Honda doesn't have any brakes at the time of filming—and grabs his race bike which he proceeds to use to wheelie all the way up the hillclimb path. So again, it'll do it, but you know, not as good as his hard enduro.

Either way, I love that the little Honda was saved and that he used it properly. More folks should.