The Honda Motorcycle Company’s history is one of huge success. This includes significant single-model sales - impeccable engineering provenance and, dare it be said, a distinct lack of character. Which makes it all the more surprising when Honda engineers let their hair down and brought us something as wacky as the Monkey Bike. Into the second decade of the 2000s, they seemingly had another fit of giggles and resurrected the Monkey Bike, this time called the Grom. It's still as mad as ever and, for that, we have to be thankful.

Small Can Be Great

Characterless? Well, yes, if we're honest! Which makes it all the more surprising when the engineers at Hamamatsu seemingly take some happy pills and give us not what they think we need but what they know we want.

Back in 1967, this blip on the behavior radar gave us the Monkey Bike, a bike that was resurrected in 2019. However, preceding that and leading to the Monkey Bike’s reinvention was the fantastic little Grom. Launched in 2014, the Grom was an immediate success. Despite its diminutive size and 125cc engine, it had that one essential ingredient; fun! Riding it made you feel like a kid again and no-one got off it without a huge smile creasing their face. Fast forward to 2021 and the third generation Grom - for the 2022 model year - is with us and it’s still the same, only better!

More Power...Just!

A power hike from 9.5bhp to 9.8bhp hasn’t turned it into the road burner some would like to see but it’s more than enough to keep the grin factor high. In appearance, it is like a quarter-scale naked Honda sports bike but subtle tweaks to the styling have given it a much more hardcore look. The best of the lot is the SP model with gold accents on forks and wheels. The engine is now painted black, as is the swing-arm. There is a list of factory upgrade options and you can even bolt on a Yoshimura pipe!

The seat has been re-profiled, the petrol tank is slightly larger and the gearing has been tweaked to make accessing all that power (!) easier. ABS is available on some versions and a 30-inch seat height makes it accessible to absolutely everyone. Even being tall or heavy is no barrier to having fun on the 2022 Grom.

Just be Happy!

What makes it all the better, is that you can wring every ounce of performance out of the bike on any road and you are still well within the law, in terms of speed. I’ve always said that I would rather use 100% of a bike’s performance, 100% of the time than 50% of performance 20% of the time. There is something very satisfying and educational about keeping momentum up; not slowing too much for a corner and so maintaining corner speed for one thing; adopting ridiculous tucking-in positions for maximum top speed for another. Speaking of speed, the Honda Grom's speed is between 55 - 73 MPH.

Leave the Highways Behind

It’s a bike that forces you to take the non-highway roads and that can only be a good thing. Think of all the mind-numbing hours you have spent on the highway and all the fun you’ve had in the twisties? The Grom forces you (if you ever needed to be forced) onto those roads and your motorcycling life will be all the better for it.

The Grom is a beginner’s bike that will continue to entertain long after you’ve graduated to larger machinery. It’s one of those bikes you’ll never sell and you’ll be glad you didn’t. For some, the Grom will be all the bike they ever need. At $3,399, the Grom has to be the bargain of the century. Talk to any Grom owner and you can’t help but come back to the happiness-factor and with several after-market custom styles right from a CB750F-inspired attire, and a CBR1100R body kit to a Dakar-flavored option, you truly can make your Grom, that much more special.