Honda MSX125 (Grom)... should I?

[3DP]

Fleegle said:

Pete - I hate cats but quite like the Grom

Get yourself to P&H. They normally have a good few in and carry quite a few aftermarkets parts. One of the guys who works there spent a small fortune modding his

It is very easy to get carried away with modding these!

Is your Gag bike roadworthy? May have to have a race...

[3DP]

itcaptainslow said:

Funnily enough seeing this thread appear I’ve just bought a brand new one a couple weeks ago. It’s a lot of fun disguised as a convenient commuter when the weather is good.

Got my eye on a Yoshimura RS2 full system for it-hopefully it’ll add a little more beef without sounding stupid.

Completely different machine to ride to my CB1100-it’s great how it turns with an arse cheek twitch and sips fuel-just filled it up today at a cost of £5.60!

They seem to hold value well, too.

Congrats! - there are lots of fake Yoshis and Akra systems from Thailand, but I reckon the Black Widow system looks best quality/price compromise. There were some great new deals recently, but alas all ABS ones and can't be arsed pulling the fuse to do stoppies This one had done 918 miles and although dirty from storage, came up mint after an OCD 3 hour session. Heated grips and a rack too as bought by a middle aged guy. I paid £1950 which I was happy with considering it's 18 months old but basically new.

[Fleegle]

3DP said:

Fleegle said:

Pete - I hate cats but quite like the Grom

Get yourself to P&H. They normally have a good few in and carry quite a few aftermarkets parts. One of the guys who works there spent a small fortune modding his

It is very easy to get carried away with modding these!

Is your Gag bike roadworthy? May have to have a race...

Gag bike is mainly in the loft - still not ridden it yet. It now has little company... the AR80 and the RD125lc

Where does all my time go??

[Biker's Nemesis]

Fleegle said:

Where does all my time go??

Fixing household damage?

[3DP]

Biker's Nemesis said:

Fleegle said:

Where does all my time go??

Fixing household damage?

Doing laps of the attic when you went through the ceiling?? The truth is coming out

[MGZTV8]

Bloody love mine. Totally standard apart from the full Tyga system. Definitely a keeper and sits nicely in the garage alongside my Vespa PX.

[itcaptainslow]

3DP said:

itcaptainslow said:

Funnily enough seeing this thread appear I’ve just bought a brand new one a couple weeks ago. It’s a lot of fun disguised as a convenient commuter when the weather is good.

Got my eye on a Yoshimura RS2 full system for it-hopefully it’ll add a little more beef without sounding stupid.

Completely different machine to ride to my CB1100-it’s great how it turns with an arse cheek twitch and sips fuel-just filled it up today at a cost of £5.60!

They seem to hold value well, too.

Congrats! - there are lots of fake Yoshis and Akra systems from Thailand, but I reckon the Black Widow system looks best quality/price compromise. There were some great new deals recently, but alas all ABS ones and can't be arsed pulling the fuse to do stoppies This one had done 918 miles and although dirty from storage, came up mint after an OCD 3 hour session. Heated grips and a rack too as bought by a middle aged guy. I paid £1950 which I was happy with considering it's 18 months old but basically new.

Seen the fakes on eBay, they stand out a tad by virtue of being 1/2 the price a genuine one looks to be around £480 or so. A lot to sink relative to the value of the bike but they are apparently the best quality. Shame Akrapovic don’t do a full system, just a slip on can.

I’m not interested in doing stunts on mine so a good deal & ABS does me! I’ve a decent relationship with my local Honda dealer too so it’s nice to give them repeat business.

[Benni]

For the more "retro" oriented mini-bikers there will be a Grom alternative in 2018,

as the Monkey makes a return, underpinnings somewhat Grom-ish but with a bit more classic styling :



pic (c) Honda UK

Takegawa sell a 180cc 4 valve upgrade with all EFI gubbins......

[Ilovejapcrap]

Benni said:

For the more "retro" oriented mini-bikers there will be a Grom alternative in 2018,

as the Monkey makes a return, underpinnings somewhat Grom-ish but with a bit more classic styling :



pic (c) Honda UK

Takegawa sell a 180cc 4 valve upgrade with all EFI gubbins......

Do you know what I think the groom looks better

[itcaptainslow]

Really have no idea how 10bhp in something the size of a fag packet is so much fun but...it is. Looking for pretty much any excuse to ride it at the moment-took it to work the other day (Letchworth to Cambridge) when it was dry and salt free, just because.

Battling headwinds on a dual carriageway in the afternoon on the way home wasn't particularly entertaining but it was just an excuse to turn off into the lanes

I could really do with some heated grips given it's a tad chilly but I'm worried they'll sap even more power than my fat arse does, so I'm putting up with chilly fingers instead!

[Max5476]

Benni said:

For the more "retro" oriented mini-bikers there will be a Grom alternative in 2018,

as the Monkey makes a return, underpinnings somewhat Grom-ish but with a bit more classic styling :



pic (c) Honda UK

Takegawa sell a 180cc 4 valve upgrade with all EFI gubbins......

Have they confirmed a UK release date? I like the look of this.

[3DP]

itcaptainslow said:

Really have no idea how 10bhp in something the size of a fag packet is so much fun but...it is. Looking for pretty much any excuse to ride it at the moment-took it to work the other day (Letchworth to Cambridge) when it was dry and salt free, just because.

Battling headwinds on a dual carriageway in the afternoon on the way home wasn't particularly entertaining but it was just an excuse to turn off into the lanes

I could really do with some heated grips given it's a tad chilly but I'm worried they'll sap even more power than my fat arse does, so I'm putting up with chilly fingers instead!

I think this goes for all small capacity bikes, but on the Grom there is added mischief! I can't remember the last time I bothered to do 'skids' on bikes for fun, but most stops on the Grom now involve squealing V-rubber.

I have heated grips on mine, but I'm not liking the thick grips that go with them very much and the control panel looks huge on the Grom.

[itcaptainslow]

3DP said:

itcaptainslow said:

Really have no idea how 10bhp in something the size of a fag packet is so much fun but...it is. Looking for pretty much any excuse to ride it at the moment-took it to work the other day (Letchworth to Cambridge) when it was dry and salt free, just because.

Battling headwinds on a dual carriageway in the afternoon on the way home wasn't particularly entertaining but it was just an excuse to turn off into the lanes

I could really do with some heated grips given it's a tad chilly but I'm worried they'll sap even more power than my fat arse does, so I'm putting up with chilly fingers instead!

I think this goes for all small capacity bikes, but on the Grom there is added mischief! I can't remember the last time I bothered to do 'skids' on bikes for fun, but most stops on the Grom now involve squealing V-rubber.

I have heated grips on mine, but I'm not liking the thick grips that go with them very much and the control panel looks huge on the Grom.

I had genuine Honda heated grips on my Forza and VFR which were so neatly integrated, you could barely tell they were fitted. They don’t appear to list them for the MSX unfortunately.

[CAPP0]

MGZTV8 said:

Bloody love mine. Totally standard apart from the full Tyga system. Definitely a keeper and sits nicely in the garage alongside my Vespa PX.

I can see why 3DP's first task was to change the tail tidy, that looks nearly as long as the bike!

[3DP]

CAPP0 said:

MGZTV8 said:

Bloody love mine. Totally standard apart from the full Tyga system. Definitely a keeper and sits nicely in the garage alongside my Vespa PX.

I can see why 3DP's first task was to change the tail tidy, that looks nearly as long as the bike!

It had to go, but like the Speed Triple, with a tail tidy the rear tyre sticks out miles further than the end of the bike. This looks great, but means a dirty back when it rains.

I have a bigger cosmetic project going on with mine in the spirit of these being a laugh.... Just waiting on a few parts from Thailand before the unveiling

[sc0tt]

Pete, hundreds and hundreds of Groms in Thailand. Looked to be the new bike of choice.

[LuS1fer]

sc0tt said:

Pete, hundreds and hundreds of Groms in Thailand. Looked to be the new bike of choice.

The MSX and quite a lot of small Hondas are now built there. Quality not the same as Hondas of old.

[3DP]

LuS1fer said:

sc0tt said:

Pete, hundreds and hundreds of Groms in Thailand. Looked to be the new bike of choice.

The MSX and quite a lot of small Hondas are now built there. Quality not the same as Hondas of old.

They don't have the hewn from granite feel of C90s, but they are pretty robust. I have a Thai made Honda Vision 110, that is used everyday in all weathers for the last 3 years, and before that I had for years a Thai made Honda Innova 125 that had nearly 30k miles on it and was again used in all weathers including salt, ice, snow etc for many years with zero problems other than consumables and a few seized bits like drum pivot and centrestand pivot.

On the plus side, the parts are super cheap compared to Jap Hondas. If you buy off Thai sellers on E-bay it works out to about 1/2 to 2/3rds of UK price, even with shipping.

The main difference is that the fasteners and brackets are made out of very cheap metal that corrodes straight away. The rest of the componentry is pretty top notch, albeit feeling a little flimsier, but still lasts as well, as long as you don't abuse it. With C90s you could abuse them all day and they'd take it. But yes - the Japanese Hondas feel proper quality, the Thai Hondas, more Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki

[Benni]

3DP said:

...........I have a bigger cosmetic project going on with mine in the spirit of these being a laugh.... Just waiting on a few parts from Thailand before the unveiling ................

Dis gonna be good, with your experiences & contacts I expect something seriously silly.

( I have a springer fork, greek banana seat and a 175cc nice on the shelf for future weirdness, think "overmotored Raleigh Chopper" )

[3DP]

Benni said:

3DP said:

...........I have a bigger cosmetic project going on with mine in the spirit of these being a laugh.... Just waiting on a few parts from Thailand before the unveiling ................

Dis gonna be good, with your experiences & contacts I expect something seriously silly.

( I have a springer fork, greek banana seat and a 175cc nice on the shelf for future weirdness, think "overmotored Raleigh Chopper" )

I think I've oversold it I have no mystical contacts in the supercub engined motorbike world! Yours sounds a lot more involved.