Amid the 250cc, 300cc, and 450cc KTM, Honda, and Husqvarna race bikes that dominated the field at this year’s Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR), three small bikes caught everyone’s attention.

The first was the Honda CT125 Hunter Cub, a small-displacement bike that has captured attention worldwide (except in the Philippines) for its trail-oriented spec and robust engineering.

The next two were even more intriguing, both vintage Honda Super Cubs: a 90DX and a CM90. Overhead valve, 89.5cc motor, drum brakes, tubed tires, carbureted engine, and as basic as can be, these two are the OGs of Japanese commuter bikes. Designed to be affordable, durable, and easy to maintain and fix by anyone with rudimentary mechanical knowledge, a Super Cub in mint condition is a collectible item these days among aficionados. Yet there they were at the start line in Surat Thani, Thailand, ready for six days of extreme riding.

With an engine range starting at 50cc and topping out at 124cc, the Super Cub was marketed in the US with the tagline: “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” And after seeing them perform at this year’s AXCR, they’re also just a bit crazy.

Super Cub #17 was ridden by Daiki Goto from Japan, and he finished a remarkable fifth place in the very first stage. A former service crew member of Garage Monchi & Yanagawa Iron Works JAPIND, Daiki rode the little bike like a boss.

“When I competed for the first time, I didn’t expect the Special Stage to be so difficult,” Goto said. “The course setting is something that would be impossible in Japan. The road surface was sometimes smooth, sometimes bumpy, and sometimes made up of hard red clay. There were strong reflections from the sun, and even at the speed of a Cub, it was very difficult to see the correct path to travel. However, there was a straight dirt road for about 10km, and although the maximum speed was only 80km/h or so, it was super comfortable.”

Super Cub #19, on the other hand, was ridden by Michiaki Tani of Garage Gain. Also hailing from Japan, he rode a bike that was almost the same as Goto’s, squeezing the throttle for all it was worth throughout the race. That’s the nice thing about underpowered bikes—you can flog them all day and never put yourself in as much mortal danger like with a faster bike.

The CT125, on the other hand, was also ridden by yet another Japanese, Seiji Kumada, finishing ninth on that first day. With a course that saw many racers get lost and end up hours behind these three plucky riders, it brings to mind the story of the tortoise and the hare.

Over the rest of the rally’s 2,100km course, the three little bikes held their own as the faster and heavier race bikes alternately blazed through and flailed about in the unpredictable terrain conditions.

While the small bikes had a major deficit in power, ground clearance, and suspension travel compared to the larger bikes, their light weight also made them easier to handle in technical conditions.

As any adventure bike rider can attest to when faced with gnarly terrain, little bikes can often make light work of muddy and tight sections.

By the race’s end, Goto finished an impressive seventh overall out of a total of 21 entries. His overall time of 35:55:29 was more than an hour faster than the next-placed rider who raced on a KTM 250 EXC.

But all the hours and hard miles of racing took a toll on the bike, and by the end of the fifth stage, he had to be careful not to break the frame and risk a DNF.

“The human is fine, but the main frame of the Super Cub is starting to bend, so I’m trying to drive as slowly as possible over bumps and holes,” Goto shared. “I hope we can manage to keep it up to the finish line.”

Kumada, on the other hand, finished in 11th place, besting 10 other riders, five of whom actually DNF’d.

Tani finished in 14th place with a total time of 57:22:45, well behind Kumada (39:11:19) and Goto, but still far better than the rest of the finishers with their fancier bikes.

With these results as a powerful testament to the durability of Honda’s little bikes, might we see more entrants next year racing small-displacement “commuter bikes”?