JDM: Custom "Blue Koi" Monkey

In the last installment of JDM, I featured a Honda Ape and gave a peek into the custom mini-bike culture here in Japan. This week I feature another bespoke Honda mini-moto, and although the Monkey isn't a Japan-only model, I'm filing this under the JDM tag on the virtue of its custom details, not the least of which is that sweet koi fish saddle.

If you get the sense that I like small-bore bikes, you'd be right. I first fell in love with riding on a 50cc Super Cub, much like the ones used by Japanese postal workers. With the rural back roads of Gunma, Japan as my playground, I spent every moment I could spare scooting up and down mountain passes in utter rapture at full throttle.

If you get the sense that I have a thing for retro bikes, you'd also be correct. There's something timelessly beautiful about a naked bike with a tear-drop tank and simple round headlight. No amount of molded plastic fairings or angry LED transformer headlights could stir my heart the way a 1971 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV could.

The Honda Monkey is the perfect confluence of all things moto-mini and moto-retro. Originally released in the 60's as a children's bike for use at amusement parks, the Monkey was a bare bones play bike with an air-cooled 4-stroke OHC 50cc single making about 4 horsepower. It broke into the US market in the 70's, where it proved to be a success, and stayed in production in some form or another in Japan until discontinuation in 2017.

In 2014, Honda struck gold when it introduced the seminal Honda Grom, a premium mini-bike with a fuel-injected 125cc engine modern enough to pass the rigid emissions regulations of the day. It was a cheap, cheerful and friendly urban run-about capable of an eye-watering 134 miles per gallon. In the wake of it's world-wide success, Honda decided to re-release the Monkey in 2019 with essentially the same underlying engine and drive-train as the Grom but with a heavy dose of retro styling cues.

But back to the featured bike - this particular Monkey's gearbox has been modified to add a 5th over-drive gear which, along with a larger rear-sprocket, gives the bike both a longer stride for cruising and a quicker sprint off the line. Aside from the beautiful embroidery on the seat, the owner was particularly proud of the sequential turn signals, aftermarket rev-counter and full performance exhaust. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the LED-eyed minions flanking the number plate. A bevy of billet aluminum bolt-on parts - filler cover, brake reservoir cap, grips, levers, engine covers - complete the blue theme. 

It all adds up to a mini bike anyone would be proud to own. Many of the parts that I thought were custom were in fact factory fitted, which is a testament to the quality of finish Honda has blessed this mini-moto with. The inverted forks and shock springs match the candy-tone blue tank to a t. And speaking of the tank, it sports a retro Honda badge from the 60's and a deep metallic-flake two-tone paint job of the highest quality.

If I sound overly excited by this 9 horsepower mini-moto it's because I think the bike has an appeal far bigger than the sum of its parts. If I had the money and the space in my bike shed, I'd be very tempted to join the monkey gang. For now, I'll have to settle with admiring this one, which belongs to my co-worker, from afar.