Honda grom 125/MSX 125

[RyanDuke390]

I wanted to start a thread about this bike in China.
Overall it's a great bike to play around on, has 4 speeds up-gradable to 5 speed,
has a 125cc 8hp single engine up-gradable to a 235cc 4v 27hp engine
They even make 12" carbon fiber wheels for it!
The fastest one yet can do over 100mph.

Riding in Taiwan they are neck and neck with the Yamaha BWS 125 scooter.
The grom can go into the corners slighty faster then the BWS if downshift/skidded into.
The BWS can out corner due to a lower center of gravity.
The grom is better for rough roads which could be a determining factor in China.

In Singapore they are 9000usd new.
In Taiwan they are 5500usd new.
In China they are 3500usd or 23000RMB
https://world.taobao.com/item/527686....VAbddI#detail
And everywhere else in the world they are about 3000usd+-

They have quite a following in Japan, and the U.S.
I am curious how many they sale in China, or if there are any clubs there.

[culcune]

Zongshen makes a clone of them called the Rapido, but not sure if they are available in China? There are a few videos of the clone on youtube, but most are from what appear to be Thai online magazine. The Chinese company TMEC has just released what appears to be the Rapido here in the US, called the Denali 125FX. Not sure if they buy Zongshen knock-down kits and assemble them as their own brand, but I am pretty sure they are not 'stealing' Zongshen's Rapido outright, as I have a few years old TMEC 200 enduro which features a Zongshen engine, meaning I know they have worked with Zongshen in the past, and still sell the TMEC 200 with the same 200cc Zongshen engine today.

The distributor's site show the TMEC's MSRP as $1599 which is about half of a Grom's price. That makes a lot of sense to me since I, or many others, could purchase one for cash, while the Grom makes sense for Honda (and new buyers) at $3k purchased most likely on a loan.

http://www.sunright.net/linhai-scooters/denali-125%20FX

[RyanDuke390]

The cheaper price of the Rapido does make it worth considering if the engine mounts are the same, since then you could swap in high quality aftermarket parts made for the grom. But honestly I prefer quality and would be willing to pay a bit more for a genuine Honda product, having owned many genuine Honda products in the past and can attest to their durability.

Since the grom was such a hit, Kawasaki has got in on the action to with the Z125.
https://world.taobao.com/item/527403....b8LaTr#detail
It's about the same price and spec as the grom.

Maybe next year we could even see an offering from suzuki or yamaha.

[Zorge]

The cheaper price of the Rapido does make it worth considering if the engine mounts are the same, since then you could swap in high quality aftermarket parts made for the grom.

All those Chinese so called "small bore" horizontal engines (50-110 cc) are "Honda" clones, so engine mounts are the same, and those same engine mounts were kept on "big bore" horizontals (125 and bigger), regardless of engine design/component layout. Of course, rest of the big Japanese four also makes engines with horizontally orientated cylinders and possibly different engine mounts, but as much as I understand, they are not widely popular among Chinese moto manufacturers.

So, buying genuine "Grom" or some Chinese clone (or any other mini with horizontal engine), you are not limited to "Grom's" aftermarket parts. Just take a peek at some pit-bike forum and you will be amazed how big is aftermarket offer for those horizontals.

But honestly I prefer quality and would be willing to pay a bit more for a genuine Honda product, having owned many genuine Honda products in the past and can attest to their durability.

Don't worry about durability. Even assorted Chinese made parts will be good enough, not to mention those who come from Japanese performance parts factories.

Since the grom was such a hit, Kawasaki has got in on the action to with the Z125.
https://world.taobao.com/item/527403....b8LaTr#detail
It's about the same price and spec as the grom.

Maybe next year we could even see an offering from suzuki or yamaha.

You currently live (and ride) in China? Right?

At least, there you can find "assortment" of minies (compact bikes with 12-13" wheels). For example, "Motrac" offers interesting bunch od minies - http://motracmotorcycles.com/

[Krasi]

Skyteam also have their own version of Grom:
http://www.skyteammotor.com/Motors/Urban/

[MJH]

Skyteam also have their own version of Grom:
http://www.skyteammotor.com/Motors/Urban/

It is possible that Jiangsu Sacin “Skyteam” manufactures the Motracs minis, however that website from Queens Garden is a distributer’s site. They have more than Sacin’s manufactured models listed on it.

[MJH]

A Thai Honda MX 125 Grom retails for about $1,800.00 in Thailand. That is its primary market

Copies of it sell in China for around 7000 RMB.

If a list of who sells a similar design in China was created it be a long list and so would after market parts.

Also altering off originals, like dropping in a high output engine in most countries makes it no longer street legal. For example in the US the engines are sold but for racing, only because some some people race tiny bikes. If you get caught with one that is modified on the streets they can confiscate it and the crime is falsification of registration and a felony in most states.