Honda’s Monkey bike is back!
Honda release an updated version of the lovable minibike
The Honda bods in Japan have been teasing us with a new Monkey bike for what seems like an eternity but the production model has finally arrived – and what a fun little nipper it looks set to be.
Unlike the original bike, which started out life as a kids toy and was later made road legal, the new Monkey is a fully-fledged road-going motorcycle. Based on the popular MX125 (or Grom to most of us), the Monkey has a 9.25bhp air-cooled 125cc single – a step up from the 49cc original. It gets a four-speed gearbox too, up from the three-speed original, but the centrifugal auto-clutch has gone in favour of a standard lever.
The new bike is fuel-injected too, delivering a whopping (claimed) 189mpg, which means you’ll get just over 230 miles out of the tiny 5.6-litre tank, although anyone attempting such a feat in one go is likely to be locked away. Just because it looks like a classic, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s lacking modern touches. It’s got a nifty LCD dash, full LED lighting throughout and IMU-based ABS to prevent rear wheel lift. There are still some classic elements remaining though, including the steel frame and skinny swingarm but even the handling has been improved thanks to the new Monkey sporting the world’s tiniest USD forks. More amazingly still, the Monkey still only weighs 107kg!
It will swing into British dealers this summer, priced at around £3500.
You’ll get 230 miles out of the tiny 5.6-litre tank