2022–2026 · Naked Bike · Buyer's Guide
Pure City Fun, Tiny Footprint
Strip a motorcycle back to its most entertaining parts and you get this. A 125 cc air-cooled single making 9 hp and 8 lb-ft, a five-speed gearbox, an upside-down fork, twin rear shocks, and fat 12-inch tires under retro bodywork that looks like a toy somebody built at full scale. At 229 lb wet it barely registers as a motorcycle when you push it around the garage, and the 30.5-inch seat lets most riders plant both feet flat. ABS is standard, which is rare company down here. Honda built the idea properly rather than halfway.
It rides the way it looks. Low speeds feel eventful, ordinary streets feel wide, and the wind pressure across your chest supplies the adrenaline that bigger machines need illegal numbers to produce. Top speed is 57 mph, so this is a surface-street bike and nothing else. On a 45 mph road it is perfect. Point it at an on-ramp and you will regret the trip. Running costs stay tiny, the mechanicals stay simple, and the aftermarket runs deep enough that few of these stay stock. Buy it as a second bike, or as a first one, but not as your only bike if you have highway miles to cover.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 9 hp (7 kW) |
|---|---|
| Torque | 8 lb-ft (11 Nm) |
| Displacement | 125 cc |
| Engine | Single-cylinder |
| Cooling | Air-cooled |
| Gearbox | 5-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Fork | Upside-down (USD) |
| Front tire | 120/80-12 |
| Rear tire | 130/80-12 |
| Wheelbase | 45.0 in (1143 mm) |
| Seat height | 30.5 in (775 mm) |
| Wet weight | 229 lb (104 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 1.5 gal (5.7 L) |
| Top speed | 57 mph (92 km/h) |
Equipment check
Safety
Over the years I've heard plenty about the Monkey: in paddocks, at club nights, over coffee with owners, and in the messages riders send me directly. The pattern is clear. Riders keep talking about how much fun it is and how little it asks of them. The complaints are few, and each comes from only a rider or two.
Riders consistently say the silhouette and playful delivery turn even a short trip into an occasion rather than a commute. The same owners keep coming back to how little effort it takes. It flicks through city traffic and slots into parking spaces most bikes have to pass up. Shorter riders in particular call it one of the most approachable motorcycles they've sat on, and people across a wide range of inseams say much the same.
The gripes are scattered rather than shared. One owner finds the small LCD dash hard to read in sunlight, with the speed tough to catch at a glance. Another points to the price. It costs as much as some full-size 125s, and in that owner's view that leaves it mostly for buyers who put style first.
Electrical system charging failure
One owner documented an ABS warning light, erratic running, and a charging voltage that dropped below 12V while running. The bike eventually died and could not restart. Likely a faulty stator or regulator/rectifier.
Chrome corrosion
Multiple owners have noticed early rust formation on chrome surfaces, particularly on the exhaust heat shield and handlebar clamps, despite infrequent wet-weather use.
Where this Honda Monkey 125 pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Top speed
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Monkey 125 is actually built for.
Perfect for the city half of your riding and impossible to ignore at a coffee stop. But the ridge roads mean highway miles to reach them, and 57 mph shuts that door. Great second bike, wrong only bike.
Made for Bay Area Ridge Roads · San Francisco / Bay Area · Skyline Boulevard / Alice's Restaurant
Hill Country days are long, fast, and hot, and this bike cannot keep up with any of that. Buy it for town, for coffee runs, for the ranch road out back. Not for a weekend at the Twisted Sisters.
Made for Austin / Texas Hill Country · Twisted Sisters · Austin / Handbuilt Motorcycle Show
The Dragon runs at a pace this bike has no business near. As a low-speed toy for sharpening throttle and body position close to home, it works. As your Blue Ridge weapon, it does not.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
If you're cross-shopping the older generation, here's what changed.
Previous generation · 2018–2021
Pure Joy, Minimal Effort
Compare to the previous model →If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Honda Monkey 125. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
