Honda Monkey 125 confirmed for production
Honda has confirmed that the Monkey 125 mini-bike will make it to production. First shown at the 2017 Tokyo motor show, the new Monkey 125 will be mechanically similar to the MSX125/Grom and will also use that motorcycle's 125cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder motor. This is good for 9.2PS and 11Nm and is paired with a four-speed transmission.
The Monkey 125 uses a steel backbone frame with an oval cross-section swingarm, the new version also comes with inverted forks and dual shocks with 12-inch wheels. The bike weighs 107 kg and carries a 5.6-litre fuel tank.
Other modern touches include upside-down forks, an inertial measurement unit-based ABS which helps prevent rear wheel lift under braking and full LED lighting. The cockpit gets a circular LCD instrument panel with twin odometers. There are disc brakes at both ends - 220mm at the front and 190mm at the rear. The three colour options available are Banana Yellow, Pearl Nebula Red and Pearl Shining Black. The Monkey 125 is on sale in the Japanese market for JPY 3,99,600 (Rs 2.33 lakh excluding taxes and duties) for the base version and JPY 4,32,000 (Rs 2.63 lakh excluding taxes and duties) for the ABS-equipped bike. There is no word on an India launch.
The original Monkey had been in production since 1967 and was powered by a 50cc motor. Although these bikes were originally designated as the Z-series, these started to be called the 'Monkey' because of the way people are said to look when riding one of them.