Honda Monkey 125 2020 — Specifications

Who remembers the little mechanical monkey that Honda unleashed in Japanese amusement parks in the late 1960s? The 2020 Honda Monkey 125 picks up that thread with disarming faithfulness. Same chubby face, same guaranteed-smile philosophy, but this time with a modern passport and electronic fuel injection in its pocket. On paper, this machine competes with nothing. And that's precisely what makes it formidable.

Settle onto the seat perched 775 mm off the ground and look around. Everything is tiny, almost cartoonish. The 5.6-liter tank looks like a hiker's canteen, the 12-inch wheels fitted with 120/80 and 130/80 tires give the whole package the look of a go-kart with high handlebars. The steel backbone frame, inverted fork, and twin rear shocks wear the same hues as the bodywork; Honda coordinated the colors like an Italian stylist. Chrome accents punctuate the lines here and there, the exhaust keeps a low profile, and the vintage logo on the tank recalls the brand's very earliest days. Style-wise, the Honda Monkey 125 has absolutely no direct competitor. The Kawasaki Z125 Pro plays in the same price bracket but without that dose of retro character.

On the mechanical side, the air-cooled, fuel-injected, four-stroke single-cylinder displacing 124.9 cc produces 9 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 12.7 Nm of torque at 5,250 rpm, running a 9.3:1 compression ratio with two valves per cylinder. Suffice to say the Honda Monkey 125 tops out at around 90 km/h, speedo pinned. The four-speed gearbox is more than enough for the job, and shifts click through with the smoothness of Japanese clockwork. Nobody buys this motorcycle to go fast. You buy it to feel good.

The real masterstroke of this 2020 version is slipping serious electronics into a toy-sized package. A fully digital round instrument cluster, full LED lighting front, rear, and turn signals, and ABS paired with an IMU inertial measurement unit. On a machine weighing 107 kg wet, it's almost overkill, but Honda wanted to prove that fun doesn't preclude safety. The car-style key even lets you activate the lights remotely to find the bike in a crowded parking lot—a clever detail for a machine that blends into the scenery thanks to its size. For those considering a custom Honda Monkey 125, the platform is solid; a luggage rack, a Honda Monkey 125 accessory kit, and a few tuning parts easily transform the little beast to suit your taste.

Priced at 4,099 euros, the Honda Monkey 125 sits in a tricky zone. It's expensive for 9 horsepower and use limited to the city or Sunday rides. It's a bargain if you factor in Honda build quality, the electronic equipment, and the machine's phenomenal likability. On the used Honda Monkey 125 market, prices remain surprisingly stable—proof that the love affair isn't fading. Reviews of the Honda Monkey 125 all converge on the same verdict: you buy it for a laugh, you keep it because you can't live without it. A word of caution, though: the single seat rules out carrying a passenger on the Honda Monkey 125 without modification, and the limited range imposed by the small tank restricts getaways beyond the suburbs. This motorcycle is aimed at city riders seeking lightness, collectors of mechanical smiles, and those who want to strap a brilliant toy behind the camper van for vacation. Not a workhorse. A pure object of pleasure.