I refuse to use the H word in this post! I know, I’m acting like a school kid when the new 80cc motocross bikes were released every year! Everyone has their brand loyalty and preferences. Like it or not though, competing models effect each other and improve the breed, therefore competition is good. It also makes me fear for the AG200 now there is competition in the class from every manufacturer, and all of them crush the Yamaha on specs. Will Yamaha respond and make their competitor better, or get sucked in and destroy pretty much exactly what the farmer wants? Time will tell.
So anyway, here is the mighty H…Hon…CT200! I am not up with the specifics of the model years like when it first came out or the updates over the years. I do know it was there for most of the 80s and 90s and kept the Yamaha honest. It’s biggest innovation over the AG200 was the auto clutch but even though the sales guys would of pushed the feature, I’m not sure how many farmers were really swayed. If it was such a winner then they wouldn’t of replaced it with the fully manual CTX200 at around the turn of the century huh? They also had electric start a long time before it was available on the Yamaha.
The real cracker from Hon…Hond…was the CT125. Why? From my research it was released around 1975~76, years before the AG200. Why is this significant? I reckon that the CT125 was the AG bike that made Yamaha pivot from two strokes and focus on a four stroke AG bike. As discussed in my “Origins” post, I think that emission concerns from the US helped in the creation of the AG200, but I reckon the little CT125 might of had them concerned as well.
Check it out here (brochure below), it’s a pretty basic thing really but when you think about what it replaced on the farm at the time, it was a big step. The CT90 and 110 were the main-stay in two wheeled AG bikes before the onslaught of the ATV from all the manufacturers. Have a good look at an Australia Post “Postie bike” and imagine riding that thing on a farm that was either wet and muddy or hard baked and rough as guts!
Yes the AG100/175 was around, and the KV100/175 from Kawasaki and the TF series from Suzuki but when I was growing up, most farmers were on red posties! They traditionally leaned towards four strokes and the big “H” sold zillions of the things and were gladly destroying farmer’s spinal health all around the country!
So I think that the the CT125, although primitive and gutless, may of marked the beginning of agricultural enlightenment of two wheeled AG bikes. Emerging from the dark ages perhaps? We weren’t quite there yet but the AG200 and CT200 a few years later probably marked the point where the Japanese manufacturers got serious about what farmers rode on the farm.
Then ATVs came along and nothing much has happened in the thirty years since! Will there be a Medici moment for two wheeled agricultural motorcycles? Some would say that we have one at the moment with a choice from all 4 manufacturers. But a peek in the doors of motorcycle service departments around the country will quickly show that slapping a few racks and wide stand feet on a trail bike is not really the answer.
But that’s a topic for another discussion; the future (if there is one) of this style of motorcycle. For now, enjoy the sales brochure of the CT200. Update! Here’s a a few CT125 brochure pages to chuck in as well…
Cheers
AGman
P.S. Like my content? Has it helped you out with your AG200? If it has provided value to you and you would like to help me to continue adding content and information, check out my About/Donate page for info on doing just that! Thanks to those that contribute.
Yamaha AG200blog 
Great site and article, I agree that the true Ag bike has a wide seat and carry racks that can be loaded with everything. I still have our first and best H… CT200 85 and one advantage of the auto clutch was be able the ride one handed while carrying 2 small squares on the rear rack. It’s weak point was the suspension on rough tracks and paddocks so going to the CTX200 was a lot easier on the back but everywhere else I still like the traditional Ag bike, Thanks for keeping the Ag bike memory alive, regards Ash
Hi Ash
Thanks for your input. Good to hear from someone who has walked the walk. 🙂 The AG200 is the same in regards to suspension. It should really be getting crucified by the competition but most of the competitors are not as focused as the AG. Time will eventually catch up with the Yamaha I’d say…
Cheers
AGman
Thumbs up on the site has helped a bit in regards to information on an old Yamaha AG 200. I myself am probably more of a H**** person, I’ve ridden around a bit on a ctx200, a ct200 and a Yamaha AG200 and I do hold a preference for the ct200 primarily because of the auto clutch “Any Gear, Just go!” and the seat i find to be the most comfortable. I would like to see an updated version with the pro-link suspension and a kick start but the thing i love about the Yamaha is that its so lightweight, rolling it in and out of the shed is a breeze.
Hi Jaden
Thanks for the comments. I’m a fan of all the AG bikes really, I just focus on the AG200 because I have invested a bit of time getting to know its quirks and thought I’d share that. If you look after them they will all give good service, I have just found with no service the AG200 is the last AG standing! The old CT was just as robust and I reckon Honda should of stuck to that design!
Cheers
AGman
The mighty ol CT200, I still have a 1986 model here which I am getting going again. The semi-auto was an enormous advantage unmatched by any other farm bike, you could ride one handed, carry fence-posts, have an arm around a sheep or calf on the back, better still you could wield a stick for giving a lagard animal a crack across the butt when you were following them. Being able to take-off and give the wheels a bit of spin from stand-still in 3rd gear was great, and being an auto it meant you were never caught between gears when you needed juice to chase something, and were mucking around with clutches and gears all the time. It really still feels like you are going back to the dark-ages when get on a bike with a clutch – I doubt anyone would approve of putting clutches on quad-bikes instead of their auto’s…
The electric start in the 80’s really was another massive step, it was just an enormously functional bike – just really challenged in the suspension department by having basically 120kg slung off a CT125 frame, and on the old twin-shockers. That the AG200 is the only specialized farm-bike, rather than a re-hash of some rubbish road-bike like the CTX speaks volumes. I’m really looking forward to practical electric farm-bikes coming in and being able to ride one-handed again. Cheers for the great site too… 🙂
Hi Simon
Thanks for the insightful comments.
I get it with the CT200 and for the life of me don’t know why Honda didn’t develop the bike. It was probably closer to the perfect AG 2 wheeler for the farm than anything else at the time or since. Even though we never had the CT on our farm, we did have the old CT90/110 which was no where near as capable as the 200, but the auto clutch in it gave a hint to the capability of the system if it was scaled up and engineered into a decent frame – hence the 200! I think Honda took their eye off the 2 wheeler game to focus on their ATVs and it has proved to be a profitable sector for them, but it still makes you wonder where they could of taken the design.
Cheers
AGman
Greeting all, I’m in the process of restoring two 1989 ct200’s but can’t seem to find a workshop book anywhere. Can anyone assist with where I could pick one up?
Sorry I cant help you out, someone else might be able to help on here but I doubt it…dump the Hondas and get yourself a couple of AG200s, all the info you need is right here!
Cheers
AGman