It seems the folks at Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd are finally answering the cries of many local Honda cult bike enthusiasts as it officially announced the availability of the Honda Monkey this week.
For the uninitiated, the Honda Monkey can trace its roots back to the original Honda Z-series minibikes that shot to popularity in the 1960s. Though small, the Monkey holds plenty of charm with its classic looks and relatively easy handling and mastery, growing into an icon and cult favourite since it first debut over five decades ago.
The made-in-2018 Honda Monkey however has gained quite a few updates, starting with a modern and efficient fuel injection, air-cooled 125cc four-stroke single-cylinder heart. It thumps out 8.9hp @ 7,000rpm and 10.5Nm @ 5,500rpm to the rear wheel using a simple four-speed constant mesh manual box and chain-drive setup.
Elsewhere, this 2018 redux of the 1960s cult classic also gets a modern key ignition complete with a neat alarm and “answer back” feature; full-LED headlights, taillights and signal repeaters; not forgetting a neat new digital LCD instrument display panel plus a novel “Tools Keeper” compartment.
Despite its miniature dimensions (1,712mm long, 654mm wide, 1,029mm height plus 12-inch wheels), the Monkey still offers a rather ‘premium’ seat height of 776mm and ample ground clearance of 160mm. It also gets very modern disc brakes front and aft plus a pair of upside down front forks and twin-tower rear shock setup.
Of course, like any retro goodness on wheels in this day and age, the Honda Monkey commands a premium price tag to match – RM13,999. And that’s before factoring on-road costs like insurance and registration mind you. And just before you ask, there’s three colour choices available – Banana Yellow, Pearl Nebula Red, and Pearl Glittering Blue.
To put into perspective, this pint-sized retro wonder costs more than Boon Siew Honda’s flagship RS150R supercub that retails from RM7,999 onwards. Nevertheless, there’s a 2-year, 20,000km warranty included in said base price, and nobody ever said cool looks and cult icon status came cheap, right?
In any case, this is perhaps a sign of Boon Siew Honda’s shift towards catering to more customer types locally. Now, how about a Honda Zoomer next? Or perhaps the genre-pioneering PCX Hybrid too while you’re at it?
