2019 HONDA MONKEY BIKE
FIRST IMPRESSION
P102
Monkey Evolution
The original
Monkey Bike in the
1961 Z100.
O
K—so how did we get here? Although the
Monkey Bike is all-new for 2019, the bike
itself can trace its birth back 1961 and the
Tama Tech amusement park in Tokyo that ran from
1961 through to 2009.
This was a Honda-owned site, so it gave the
designers of Honda's latest little people mover—the
49cc Z100—a perfect place to call home. The idea
behind the Z100 was to introduce motorcycle riding to
a whole new range of people and remember, Honda
was only 13 years old at the time, so they could afford
to be a little experimental.
The Z100 was an absolute smash hit, earning the
nickname Monkey Bike simply due to the shape rid-
ers cut while riding it. Such was the success that for
1964, we got the first production version in the CZ100
for Europe and Asia—but not the U.S.
We had to wait until 1968, when the bike that start-
ed a generation of humans on a lifelong two-wheeled
track arrived in the Z50A. Essentially a shrunk dirt
bike with front and rear lights, the Z50A had eight-
inch wheels wrapped in knobby tires, an adjustable
seat, and styling that stole the hearts of a generation.
You could even fold the handlebars down and put the
Z50A in the trunk to drive to your fav riding spot.
Over the years, the American
Z50A evolved more and more into
a junior off-road bike than a bike
adults could act like kids on. Eu-
rope, meanwhile, got the Z50J, a bike more designed for
quick trips around town than hitting the trails.
In 1987, we got what was essentially the Grom of its
day with styling ripped from Honda's road range, and in
1991 we even got a Monkey Bike Baja that looked like
Honda's Baja 1000 racers with two massive headlights.
American Honda's last official Monkey Bike was im-
ported in 1998 in the ZB50, although the name "Honda
Monkey Bike" has been continually used on 50cc bikes
for the Japanese domestic market.
The 1978
Monkey Bike is
the closest in
terms of overall
aesthetic to
what we have
in 2019.
A Baja Monkey? Hell yeah!
That's what we got in 1991, and
you can be sure there's probably
some crazy custom bike builder
out there already
creating one out
of the 2019 version.
