The Honda Monkey Is Coming Back for 2018

In the early 60’s, Honda developed a 49cc mini-bike as part of a children’s ride at an amusement park in Tokyo. That bike would ultimately prove so popular that a road going version was developed and launched internationally. That bike was the original Honda Monkey. After decades of popularity, the tiny and lightweight mini-bike is being redesigned and relaunched under the same moniker. The 2018 Honda Monkey is more modern than any of its predecessors and features a 125cc air-cooled engine with a whopping 9.3 horsepower, steel frame, USD forks, twin rear shocks and a curb weight of only 236 pounds. In other words, it keeps all the features that made the originals an absolute blast to ride, but it’s not necessarily one of the motorcycle styles you want to be riding for a long trip. If the new Monkey is priced anything like the Grom it shares a power plant with, it should come in under $4k when it’s released later this year.