Honda ‘Monkey’ Bikes Re-Launched In Japan

Hey hey, we’re the monkey bikes...  no, doesn’t have quite the right ring to it. Regardless, the re-launch of Honda’s popular little 50cc 'monkey' bike in Japan is sure to get fans' hearts racing.

First released in the late 1960s, Honda’s Z50M was a road-legal motorcycle little bigger than a 'peewee 50' that achieved cult-status both in Japan and abroad. Now, Honda is set to revive the legend, with a few tweaks for modernity’s sake.

Fuel injection has been added in order to meet today’s stricter emissions laws, however this has the benefit of increasing power for the single-cylinder four-stroke 50cc engine to a whopping 2.54kW, returning a fuel economy of 1.0 l/100km at 30km/h.

Honda has given the Z50M’s styling an ever-so-slight refresh, but this is no 21st century Mustang update – Honda has gone out of its way to keep this monkey bike as close to the original as possible.  To keep it period-perfect, there will even be a limited edition model with silver highlights and tartan seat fabric.

Scoot over to Honda Japan’s website for more info.  Here’s a translated link. A word of warning though folks... monkey bikes are now not permitted on the road or in public spaces in many (most?) Australian jurisdictions.