A Grom, or Grommet is a young surfer. Whether that’s what Japanese designers had in mind for this bike I’m not sure, but it’s hella fun, if you speak adolescent Californian.
The recipe for the Grom is simple: 125cc fuel-injected 4-stroke “real” motorcycle. That means while the bike is fitted with comical 12″ wheels it has a clutch, 1-down 3-up transmission, rear monoshock, and even upside-down forks!
I don’t use the word “fun” lightly with this bike, either. It’s a freaking barrel of monkeys. The Grom is easy to dismiss because of its size but there’s something about the full instrument cluster, silky-smooth motor, and go-kart handling that make this thing a blast to ride in any condition. It even makes a decent trail bike.
Right off the showroom floor you’re going to want to trade out the front sprocket for a 14 tooth instead of the stock 15; it’s really geared too high. Getting started, especially with a passenger, feels like you’re wearing out the clutch which engages at something like 10 mph – an odd feeling on such a compact machine. You’re even rewarded with a higher top speed by giving an incisor to the tooth fairy.
The only annoyance I found was that the turn signal switch is in the wrong place. You’re punished by a blast from the amply shrill horn every time you want to indicate a turn. A few dozen hours aboard should classically condition that out of you I suppose.
For beginner riders I would highly recommend this over a scooter. You’ll be able to keep up with traffic, get real 2-wheeler experience preparing you to move to an SV650 or Ninja 500, and it just looks 100x better than any scooter.
$3200, 225lbs, 100 mpg, 60mph, 4 gears, 2 people. That’s basic arithmetic for a great time especially when you add in Honda reliability and resale value.
