Honda Monkey to be in US dealers this October

[MtnRider]

4 grand?!

I'm right there with you on the WTF price

I bought a Benelli TNT135 for $2500. It's a 135, has an oil cooler, 5 speed, and a few other things for $700 less than a Grom and almost half price of this.

Now did they nail it...absolutely but sadly they will miss so many with the absurd price.

 

[Surj]

I'm right there with you on the WTF price

I bought a Benelli TNT135 for $2500. It's a 135, has an oil cooler, 5 speed, and a few other things for $700 less than a Grom and almost half price of this.

Now did they nail it...absolutely but sadly they will miss so many with the absurd price.

I understand the general dislike for higher prices, but well-executed style / design and nostalgia brings a premium.

An apt comparison is Kawasaki's Z900 and Z900RS. The standard 900 with ABS is $8,799, and the RS starts at $10,999. That's a 25% bump, compared to to the 18% difference between a base Grom ($3,399) and the base Monkey ($3,999).

I've been this close to buying a Grom or Z125 or TNT135 or even a 150cc-ish scooter for round-towning for a few months now. The scooter wins out in sensibility, but the Monkey has me thinking maybe I'll hold out a few more months before I buy something.

I have to examine the tradeoff between "fuckin' A cool" and the functionality of underseat storage and whatnot. It's not an easy question for me, especially considering that the Monkey should be similar to the Grom in terms of general tomfoolery, where the scooter will fail.

But make no mistake, Honda knows that people will line up for this, even with the price bump. Sure, some of them will bitch, but they'll pay. Remember, early on, Groms weren't selling at MSRP—a lot of people probably paid a similar price for their Grom.

 

[HadesOmega]

Now if they can make a motocompo so you can fit it in the trunk of a small car.

 

[Map8]

The new Super Cub for the U.S. was announced yesterday in addition to the Monkey. (The Super Cub has remained available and in production elsewhere since the groovy age though the engine and other components have changed.)

Powered by the same 125cc engine as the Grom and Monkey, the Super Cub will have an MSRP of $3,599 which includes ABS standard and clutchless semi-automatic transmission.


I think it looks great.

More info at the Honda website's Super Cub page.

 

[kelsodeez]

i cant wait to pick up a 2nd hand cub as a putt around town bike in a few years. looks awesome

 

[bikeama]

i cant wait to pick up a 2nd hand cub as a putt around town bike in a few years. looks awesome

+1 I can see this as a great get around town bike.

 

[berth]

Yea, that Super Cub looks really good.

I mean, really, what an amazing update. Fuel injection, clutchless, ABS. Love the form factor. The whole "Meet the nicest people on a Honda" ad with them sitting on this thing will be kind of wrecked by the full face helmets, clashing 'Stitch one piece's with Hi Viz accents, back armor, and the boots and gloves with metal knuckles. But, hey, the bike still looks good.

My only concern, again, still, especially down here, is performance.

You'd think a 125cc would be enough. But I drive surface streets to work everyday, stay off the freeway, and, yes, we do have a 60MPH surface street down here. Many are 50.

And, yea, you can imagine how fast the cars are going on these streets.

So, anything "urban" like this -- has to be able to keep up and stay/get out of the way, lest you get eaten by a school bus.

 

[norcalkid]

Just wish they'd start selling the Click 125 in the US. Bought one to leave in Thailand, Great Bike.

 

[kelsodeez]

Just wish they'd start selling the Click 125 in the US. Bought one to leave in Thailand, Great Bike.

Sporty scooters are a hard sell in the US. It seems like a scooter has to either be cute, nostalgia invoking or halfway to a real motorcycle to do well in the US market

 

[norcalkid]

Sporty scooters are a hard sell in the US. It seems like a scooter has to either be cute, nostalgia invoking or halfway to a real motorcycle to do well in the US market

I wouldn't call it sporty, just functional and affordable. I paid $1100 for a 2017, less than a year old, 5000km on it. Registration + the mandatory liability insurance $18 a year.

 

[HadesOmega]

That's pretty cool about the SuperCub. The Cub is like one of the best selling motorcycles around the world from what I hear. Saw a bunch in Japan.

 

[spdt509]

after watching that youtube vid, i think honda should have gone with 'gorilla' instead monkey, b/c size-wise, its not even close to the original.....

 

[Butch]

after watching that youtube vid, i think honda should have gone with 'gorilla' instead monkey, b/c size-wise, its not even close to the original.....

Chimp?

 

[TheMattman]

I must get one of these!

 

[spdt509]

Chimp?

nah, sounds too much like chump.... the price is not a deterrent for me, honda is batting .995 since 2010,except for the NM4, that bike was just a wee too weird.....

 

[rothmans]

Just wish they'd start selling the Click 125 in the US. Bought one to leave in Thailand, Great Bike.

I love the Click, bought an 09...about a year old and for around a $1000, best value in motoland, we should have more scooters here!

 

[Cincinnatus]

I can see PETA suing for violation of monkey's rights worldwide.

 

[Kestrel]

Density isn't high enough in most of the USA for scooters to be big sellers. That's a large reason of why they've never really done all that well here. Most large cities where density is high have decent public transit of some sort. At that point, why bother with a vehicle? Sad, but I doubt the Super Cub will do well here, either.

I'd love to take one across the USA, though.

 

[dirty birdy]

I owned a Cub back in the day and it was my favorite bike ever. Gonna buy the new one and don’t care what anyone says

 

[HadesOmega]

Density isn't high enough in most of the USA for scooters to be big sellers. That's a large reason of why they've never really done all that well here. Most large cities where density is high have decent public transit of some sort. At that point, why bother with a vehicle? Sad, but I doubt the Super Cub will do well here, either.

I'd love to take one across the USA, though.

I don't know about that whenever I ride in SF there are motorcycles and scooters parked all over the place. Much more than San Jose. I much prefer to ride in SF than to drive. You'll see motorcycle parking area with like 20 bikes in em. Its actually better to ride a scooter in SF because it's sometimes tough to squeeze in between the cars with a moto, the supercub would be perfect.