Monkey nuts?

How good is the Honda Monkey bike, in reality?

I’m very tempted to go and get one, but the amount of mickeytaking from my friends is the only reason that I am dragging my heels on actually buying one.

Have you ridden one? If you have, would you say that someone like me who has spent most of their biking life on normal-sized bikes would get on ok with it?

I want a bike that is perfect for a daily commute, can cut through town traffic with style and is still interesting enough for me to want to ride each day. If that’s the Monkey bike, then that’s what I’m after as long as I can also have some real fun on it, too. I don’t care that it’s only a 125 either. I learnt a long time ago that I don’t need 200bhp in order to have fun on a motorcycle. Nick Mason

It’s brilliant. Honest. I’ve been running one for the past few months, riding it (near on) every day – and it brings a smile to my face every time I push the starter. It’s agile, quick off the line, and it’s a Honda, so the finish is top notch, too. It’s at its happiest in town, but you can still have a hell of a lot of fun going out for a bit of B-road blasting – though you’d be better off picking tight, twisty roads rather than anything ‘fast’ (well, faster than 60). There’s probably not much you can do about the mickey-taking from your mates – but you’ll be able to run circles around them in town. I’m actually thinking about parting with my own hard-earned cash and keeping the keys. It’s that good.