Wednesday, July 6, 2022
MCNews
  • NEWSLatest
  • REVIEWS
  • LATEST BIKES
  • RACING
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • PRODUCTS
  • MEDIA
    • GALLERY
  • MORE
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • MCNEWS COMMENTS
    • MAIN FORUM
    • CONTACT US
    • ABOUT US
No Result
View All Result
MCNews
  • NEWSLatest
  • REVIEWS
  • LATEST BIKES
  • RACING
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • PRODUCTS
  • MEDIA
    • GALLERY
  • MORE
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • MCNEWS COMMENTS
    • MAIN FORUM
    • CONTACT US
    • ABOUT US
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
MCNews

Honda Monkey Bike

Trev by Trev
June 16, 2004
in Bike Reviews / Products, Features
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare

RelatedPosts

Crossing the Simpson Desert by Motorcycle: Part 1 Prep

Crossing the Simpson: Part 4 Conquering Big Red

July 6, 2022
TC Max Back in Stock + BONUS Fast Chargerâš¡

TC Max Back in Stock + BONUS Fast Chargerâš¡

July 6, 2022

engine_400pThere are many ways of achieving celebrity status in the motorcycle world; a bike can have an abundance of power, razor sharp handling or stunning looks. But there’s one machine which has none of these and is still revered: the utterly quirky Honda Monkey Bike.

The Monkey bike was an accident of time and place and was never intended to be a commercial product. In 1961 Honda was developing its huge Suzuka circuit complex and wanted something for enthusiastic Japanese children to play at being bikers.

Honda already had a ready made power plant in the 50cc C100 Cub engine. This motor was bullet proof and, being horizontally inclined, could be fitted into a tiny chassis. It also had a semi-automatic gearbox so the baby Japanese bikers just had to open the throttle and away they went.

The first Monkey had a rather neat fibre-glass petrol tank but when production went into full swing, raids on Honda parts’ bins were made. The tiny frame – with no rear suspension – and the crude front forks were the major elements unique to the Monkey Bike – or the Z100 as the bike became known.

To Honda’s surprise, the world fell in love with the Monkey Bike. They came three to a crate and retailed for £67.15s.5d in Britain and the fact that they were truly unique endeared them to the widest of audiences. Monkeys were everywhere from the Swinging Sixties’ Carnaby Street to that bastion of hard core bikers, the Dragon Rally. The magic thing about the Monkey was that it was pure, unadulterated fun to ride and could be enjoyed by everyone – regardless of age or riding experience. A minute after sitting on a Monkey you were an expert.

Honda soon realised they had a runaway sales success on their hands and Monkeys grew up and became increasingly sophisticated. Monkeys came in off-road versions, road race replicas and dedicated commuter bikes which were seriously intended for road use.

Today, Monkeys have a fanatical following and there are some incredible variations on the traditional theme with everything from turbo-charged race bikes to gold plated show machines and everything imaginable in between.

The following for Monkeys is as strong as ever. Honda still produce the Monkey Bike in Japan in two models and these are currently only available in the Japanese market.

Collectors now pay big money for the first Monkey bikes – and the price is rising daily!

rhf_350p

lhs_350p

Trev

Trev

Motojourno - Founder of MCNews.com.au - Australia's leading resource for motorcycle news, reviews and race coverage for over 20 years.

Related Articles

Crossing the Simpson Desert by Motorcycle: Part 1 Prep

Crossing the Simpson: Part 3 Into the Simpson…

July 5, 2022
Crossing the Simpson Desert by Motorcycle: Part 1 Prep

Crossing the Simpson Desert by Motorcycle: Part 2 Oodnadatta Track to Dalhousie

July 2, 2022
1972 Hi-Tac Suzuki 500 GP

1972 Hi-Tac Suzuki 500 GP

July 1, 2022
Electric Motorcycle - Ducati V21L MotoE Prototype

Making electric motorcycles sexy…fast, and then practical…

July 1, 2022
Load More

SOCIALS

  • 7.2k Followers

SUPPORT OUR SUPPORTERS

INCASE YOU MISSED

AFT Singles Start at the 2022 New York Short Track - Image by Kristen Lassen

Moto News | WSX | MX | Enduro | Flat Track | Long Track

July 5, 2022
Electric Motorcycle - Ducati V21L MotoE Prototype

Making electric motorcycles sexy…fast, and then practical…

July 1, 2022
Daniel Milner on podium at EnduroGP of Portugal

Daniel Milner on podium at EnduroGP of Portugal

July 4, 2022

GET LATEST NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

MCNews

MCNEWS.COM.AU is a specialist on-line resource that provides motorcycle news for motorcyclists. MCNews covers all areas of interest for the motorcycling public including news, reviews and comprehensive racing coverage.

© 2022 MCNews

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • ALL NEWS
    • ALL NEWS CONDENSED
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • BMW News
    • Honda News
    • Husqvarna News
    • KTM News
    • Suzuki News
    • Yamaha News
    • Triumph News
    • CFMOTO News
    • Ducati News
    • Moto Guzzi News
    • Royal Enfield News
    • Kawasaki News
    • Aprilia News
    • Harley News
    • Indian News
    • MV Agusta News
    • Benelli News
    • GASGAS News
    • BETA News
    • Norton News
    • Victory News
    • EBR News
    • Rieju News
    • E-Bike News
    • Scooter News
    • LAMS News
    • ATV / SSV News
  • REVIEWS
    • All Bike Reviews
    • LAMS Reviews
    • KTM Reviews
    • Honda Reviews
    • Yamaha Reviews
    • Triumph Reviews
    • BMW Reviews
    • Suzuki Reviews
    • CFMOTO Reviews
    • Ducati Reviews
    • Kawasaki Reviews
    • Husqvarna Reviews
    • Aprilia Reviews
    • Benelli Reviews
    • BETA Reviews
    • E-Bike Reviews
    • EBR Reviews
    • GAS GAS Reviews
    • Harley Reviews
    • Indian Reviews
    • Kymco Reviews
    • Moto Guzzi Reviews
    • MV Agusta Reviews
    • Norton Reviews
    • Royal Enfield Reviews
    • Scooter Reviews
    • Sherco Reviews
    • Victory Reviews
    • Rieju Reviews
  • NEW PRODUCTS
  • LATEST BIKES
    • ALL LATEST BIKES NEWS
    • BMW
    • Honda
    • Husqvarna
    • KTM
    • Suzuki
    • Yamaha
    • Triumph
    • CFMOTO
    • Ducati
    • Moto Guzzi
    • Royal Enfield
    • Kawasaki
    • Aprilia
    • Harley
    • Indian
    • MV Agusta
    • Benelli
    • GAS GAS
    • BETA
    • Norton
    • Victory
    • E-Bike
    • Scooters
    • LAMS
    • Rieju
  • RACING
    • ALL RACING
    • ROAD
      • MotoGP
      • WSBK
      • ASBK
      • BSB
      • Real Road / TT
      • Historic Road Racing
      • Japan / Asian Road Racing
      • Endurance Road Racing
      • American Road Racing
      • NZ Road Racing
      • Supermoto
      • FIM Junior GP & MiniGP
    • DIRT
      • Supercross
      • AMA MX
      • Australian Pro MX
      • MXGP
      • Enduro / Rally
      • Dirt / Flat Track
      • Speedway
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • GALLERY
  • LATEST COMMENTS
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT US
  • COMMUNITY FORUM

© 2022 MCNews