The brand new 2013 Honda Grom is one of the more exciting developments in the world of modern production motorcycles in recent memory, it’s a bike built purely for fun, it’s simple, it’s well made and it’s as cheap as chips. Well it’s $2,999 USD, so it’s as cheap as chips with some caviar and white truffle oil on them.
The Honda Grom is powered by a 125cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke engine with a SOHC and two valves per cylinder. Honda pulled the engine out of the almost-bullet-proof Honda Wave 125i scooter, if you’ve ever been on holiday to Thailand, Vietnam or Bali and rented a scooter, you’ve probably ridden a Honda Wave. They’re as common as fish sauce, sunshine and ladyboys throughout South East Asia.
Interestingly, the Honda marketing materials for the Grom include the line “Think of it as a blank canvas, waiting for you to customize it”, this is a little unusual for Honda and makes me wonder if they’re aiming to create a two-wheeled version of the Honda CR-Z – a car that thrives on owner customisation.
If you’ve been hunting around for a versatile around-town bike and don’t want to spend more than $3k, this new Honda might be just what the doctor ordered – it’ll also be one of the most reliable motorcycles you ever own.
Via Honda with additional information via the always excellent AutoBlog.
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
