#Grom

Honda announced a new scrambler model based on its 500 platform last November at EICMA, but there was no indication about whether the CL500 would be brought to America. That has now changed, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has certified the 2023 Honda CL500, and we expect an official announcement to come very soon. And it won't be alone, as the EPA has also certified the ADV160 and an updated Grom.

If you believe the conventional wisdom of our forum moto-trolls, a motorcycle must be full-sized, fast AF, have the range of a WWII Dornier 217 medium bomber and price tag of a 1980 Suzuki GS850 to have any hope of success, much less being a sales leader. Based on that, what model do you think Öhlins suspension, the high-end, race-focused Swedish company, likely sell the most cartridge kits and shocks for? The GSX-R? Ninjas? Ducati Superbikes?

Honda announced a redesigned Grom for Europe, with a new engine, a five-speed transmission, IMU-based ABS and a new, more utilitarian-looking styling. For those keeping track, this is the second redesign for the Grom since its introduction in the 2014 model year. Does the fact the Honda Grom is already on its third design make anyone feel old? I can’t be the only one, right?

With the new look comes a new name, at least for Europe. Formerly known as the MSX125, it will now be referred to as the MSX125 Grom by Europeans. We’ve always just called it the Grom in North America, and that’s likely to continue when the 2021 model is announced here. Regardless of the name, the Grom has been a success for Honda, with more than 750,000 units sold worldwide while kicking off a minimoto revival with the Monkey, Super Cub and CT125.

There’s an undeniable appeal to the Honda Grom and other little bikes like it – the Kawasaki Z125, Kymco K-Pipe 125, SSR Razkull, and Benelli TnT135 come to mind. All of these little tikes offer silly amounts of fun for a relatively small ding to your wallet. Of course, gearheads being gearheads, we can’t leave well enough alone, and it was only a matter of time before the aftermarket had gone crazy modifying these things. It’s madness to see this little 125cc, two-valve Single, meant for simple mass transit especially in the Asian market, get transformed to fire-breathing racers with five-speed transmissions and carbon fiber wheels costing more than the bike itself! We’ve even seen some making double their stock 10-ish horsepower! Imagine taking your bike and bolting on twice the power.

All I remember was walking down the street in Long Beach, CA, minding my own business when I heard it. Was that the sound of an irate primate? Living in Long Beach for a few years now, between the cacophonous flocks of bright green parrots and unmistakable roar of Indy cars once a year, the sound didn’t concern me, that was until I felt a heavy blow to the back of my head.

This guy is a motorcycle freestyle rider so it comes as no surprise that he might ride the Grom a little aggressively but going this big is outright crazy!

MOrons know how much we love Honda’s Grom. After all, we modified one and then raced it with comical-but-smile-inducing results. Well, YouTube user Maximilian has performed a stunt that would earn him an honorary degree from MO University, if it existed and actually handed our degrees.

Top 10 Honda Grom Modifications

24 Hours Of Grom

But we digress.

Maximilian decided to see how far he could wheelie his Grom and posted the results. As impressive as a 1.25 mile, we can’t help but feel that he was cheated from attaining true glory by a traffic light, of all things.

Congratulations, Maximilian, we MOrons hail you!

By now, we’ll assume you’ve read the Part 1 of the Ankle Biters test, wherein we asked some newer riders to ride the Honda Grom, Kawasaki Z125 Pro, Kymco K-Pipe 125, and SSR Motorsports Razkull 125. Their job was to give us feedback as to which bike makes the best learner for the absolute noob because it’s been awhile since any of the MO staff could call themselves one. Our riders had a lot of fun with the test, but as for us MOrons, we wanted a bit more excitement once we got a chance to throw a leg over the quartet.

Motorcycle blogs across the internet are buzzing about a recently-filed design patent for what looks to be a new Honda Monkey bike powered by the Grom‘s 125cc engine. Though we would love to be wrong on this, we’re not as bullish on this patent resulting in a production model. Here’s why.

American Honda announced restyled Grom for the 2017 model year, giving the minibike a sportier, more aggressive look. We’ve previously reported on the Grom’s new mini-streetfighter look when it was announced earlier this year for Europe as the MSX125. While the Grom is only a couple of years old, the redesign comes at a good time as it faces new competition in  Kawasaki‘s new Z125 Pro.

2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro First Ride Review

In my First Ride Review of the 2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro I mentioned, “the Kawasaki, and its oversquare Single, feels like it has more bottom-end grunt compared to the Honda.” Of course, the Honda in question here is none other than the Grom.

Apparently, my butt dyno needs some calibration. We’ve finally got our hands on a Z125 Pro and the first place we took it to was an actual dyno – the one operated by our friend Chris Redpath of MotoGP Werks – and the result was a little surprising. The baby Z spun the drum to the tune of 8.3 hp at 7800 rpm, and 6.5 lb-ft at 6100 rpm. For comparison, in stock form the Grom puts out 8.7 hp at 6700 rpm and 7.8 lb-ft at 5200 rpm. So not only does the Honda make more power and torque than the Kawasaki, it also pulls off the feat with fewer revs. Advantage Honda. On paper, anyway.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Honda should feel pretty special. According to Kawasaki’s sales data, collected from data provided by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the Grom is number two on the list of best-selling motorcycles in the category Kawasaki calls “Small Street,” which includes dual-purpose motorcycles up to 350cc, scooters between 50cc – 400cc, and street motorcycles below 400cc. Number one is Kawasaki’s own Ninja 300, but there’s no ignoring the meteoric success the Honda Grom has become, which has spurred the creation of this: the 2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro.

It’s official, the little green Z we reported on last October is coming stateside as a 2017 model. Dubbed the Z125 Pro, the mini-Z is set to steal some thunder from Honda’s Grom. Last year, we took a perfectly fine Grom, crippled it with a deluge of aftermarket equipment then went racing. The experience was a resounding failure, but a hilariously good time for the entire MO staff. Thankfully, we thoroughly documented every stage of the Grom’s downward spiral, so we don’t repeat the same mistakes with the Z125 Pro, because, obviously, there’s going to be an appropriately goofy shootout between the Kawi and the Honda. Any suggestions on how to go about it?

Top 10 Honda Grom Modifications
Building A Honda Grom Roadracer

24 Hours Of Grom
Project Honda Grom Wrap-Up

Read all about the Z125 Pro, including the bike’s specs, below the video. MSRP is $2999 – $200 less than the Grom’s 2015 retail price of $3199, and will be available in June of this year.

Honda announced a new “mini-streetfighter” redesign for the MSX125, the little monkey bike better known to Americans as the Grom. At the moment, the styling update has been announced in Europe and Thailand where it is manufactured, but we expect to see the more aggressive-looking Grom in the U.S. in the next several months.

If you’ve been following MO for a while then you might remember the tale of woe that was our experience racing a Honda Grom for 24 hours, wherein we obtained a Grom, ordered up a ton of parts for it (the monetary sum totalling more than the bike’s original cost), slapped them all on, and went straight to the racetrack the next day to race with our friends at the United Mini Racing Association (UMRA) with visions of glory. Instead, it took mere minutes to discover our “modified” machine was nearly unrideable, dashing our hopes for victory and killing our spirits in the process.

To add insult to injury, in the weeks following the race Ed Sorbo of Lindemann Engineering went to work trying to sort out the issues plaguing our troubled machine. A lot of progress was made, but it was all for nothing as the bike was crashed heavily during the UMRA season finale at Adams Motorsports Park when I swapped Groms with another rider.