Honda Grom: City Commutes Should Always Be This Fun

Egyptian pound for hammer , there ’s no fleck of engineering that made me happier last year than the brand newHonda Grom bike . Is it cheating that it ’s not strictly a gadget ? I do n’t care . Even if the Grom still breaks fast on old - fashioned dino juice , its diminutive size pair with 50 - nation street legality change the way I think about city transit and my personal motive needs .

The Grom is simple , ( in all likelihood ) reliable , inexpensive to own and operate . ( $ 3k leverage cost , if you could find one ; around 80 - 100MPG , harmonise to Fuelly . ) It ’s play . So playfulness . The few workweek I had with the Grom were the most fun I ’ve ever had commute in New York City — even more fun than bigger , faster bike . And certainly more fun than cars , whether I was in the driver ’s backside or not .

What ’s a Grom ? It ’s a 125cc bike , the same engine sizing as many mid - range scooters or scandal bikes . ( For comparison , most motorcycles these days have a 500cc engine or larger ; some big cruisers are powered by engines that would n’t be out of seat in a little motorcar . ) It ’s start out a 4 - apoplexy locomotive ( unlike your chainsaw ’s crude 2 - apoplexy ) , a adequate instrument control panel , and everything you ’d expect on a veridical bike , because it is a real bike , just in miniature .

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The Grom is n’t the first diminutive motorcycle to ever find its style to our shoring , but it ’s the first mod one in a while . ( Honda made its name in the US sell modest motorcycles like the legendaryCT90 . In fact , its first fabrication plant life in America was for motorcycles , not cars . ) As motorcycles got larger and faster , small motorcycles , a staple fibre of permute in less - developed countries around the world , could n’t keep up with American ’s thirst for focal ratio and long main road commute from the suburbs .

But tiny frame and engine size means the Grom is light — nearly unaccented enough for a burly person to lift fully off the primer , at around 225 pounds . Light enough that even the weakest rider can well push it around in lowly parking spots or leaf it back and forth around pothole with ease . ( Although the latter is also a function of how well it handles , which is pretty darn well considering its size and the rake of its front crotch . )

That light free weight vary the “ intimidation ingredient ” of the motorcycle . ride the Grom does n’t feel like you ’ve just swing your peg over a keystone with an exhaust . Everyone large than a toddler can easily put both feet on the ground at a stop ; keeping the bike upright when it starts to lean over takes little - to - no muscle . It almost feel like a toy dog .

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But then somewhere in the top end of 2d gear the piddling 9 - horsepower locomotive engine overpower its trifling torsion and make some real speed under your butt , cruising between 35 and 45 miles per hour with ease . ( You ’ll be golden to touch 55 mph in a straight person , though I did hit that once croak downhill . ) And just like there are few thing as fun as drive a slow machine tight , rally a slow bike tight … and low-down to the undercoat … at about middle - level with taxi drivers … It ’s a rush . In fact , the bike ’s so unaccented that it sometimes feels like you ’re not riding a motorized fomite at all , especially when you lean just more or less forward so that your helmet blocks any vision of the tiny handlebars far below your head .

The pause travel is n’t anything as forgiving of potholes and jolting city street as those find in dual - sport or off - road motorcycles that many metropolis bike commuter train use , but it ate up most of what I bewilder at it in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn , although I will let in that my first nighttime on the Grom left me with a sore back the next morning before I determine to steer around the worst roadway offenders .

In an ideal urban metro , the Grom is the perfect city commuter fomite , specially in a comparatively near futurity when electric powertrains are less expensive and greater detector awareness by other vehicles make getting thrash between two neglectful railway car drivers less likely . That say , a top velocity that just scarce reaches the minimal bound of most main road , the Grom is a terrible choice for a recollective - length commuter , even if its 100 + mpg fuel efficiency might make the approximation enticing . ( I did twit the Grom about ten land mile down the Brooklyn - Queens Expressway and establish it comparatively well-situated , although traffic was somewhat engorged that twenty-four hour period ; I would n’t have want to be on the BQE with railcar pass me at 75 or 80 . )

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I matter around 220 , and the Grom definitely struggled to get me moving from a check luminousness ( although keeping it rev up up helps considerably ) . I ’d welcome just a hair more mightiness ; fortunately aftermarket upgrade are already plentiful , from fresh exhaust system to bigger bore kit that increase the displacement to over 200cc . ( The Grom is based on a serial publication of engine and bike that have been around in Southeast Asia and Japan for a farsighted fourth dimension , so there have been years of tweaking and modifications explored by company and enthusiast . )

It ’s unquestionably a 1 - person bike , although it is possible , if not notify , to ride 2 - up . My girlfriend and I rode from the Navy Yards to Greenpoint on eve on the Grom with my testicles nearly in the handlebar and her tailbone hanging over the tail light . I had a good time ; she did n’t revel the tactual sensation of nearly falling off every time I accelerate , even if I did remind her that the fall would be less than three feet down . For a commuter , a rearward - rack would be a great addition , although have the full length of backside useable to move your butt around gives you quite a scrap more ride position flexibility than you might wait .

The Grom arouse me in the same way the incremental improvements to smartphones have sham computers : in the pursuance of finding the minimal viable Cartesian product size , the essentials of the gimmick are let on . There ’s no perfect vehicle for everyone — an electric bike is clear and more efficient ; a minivan does comfortably for trip to Costco — but with the Grom , Honda has bring out a fresh sweet spot for urban commuting that encompasses the public utility company of a water scooter or moped with the modern styling and more enjoyable handling capabilities of a motorcycle .

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