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...