Latest news with #HondaGrom
Forbes
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Ride Review: Honda Grom 125 Minimoto With A Belt Drive Upgrade
The Honda Grom is the little motorbike that can... get you anywhere in a city and quickly. It's a ... More real-deal motorcycle with a clutch and gears, but fun-sized and affordable. In 2014, Honda debuted an oddly named, somewhat unusual but instantly popular new motorcycle: a half-sized street bike called the Honda Grom 125. What's a 'grom?' It's slang for a young or newbie action sports participant, which is probably a good description for many Honda Grom owners. Back in the day, we called Honda's half-pint motorcycles 'minibikes,' but those were 50cc buzzers more at home in the dirt than on the street, even though they were street legal. The Grom somehow has adult-sized ergonomics, and Honda sells these affordable urban fun machines - now called 'minimotos' - by the shipload for $3,599 each. To be clear, Groms are not scooters or mopeds and require clutch and shifter skills to operate a five-speed gearbox. They are actual motorcycles and require an endorsement on the rider's license in most U.S. states. The Grom has some style points with its gold forks, angular bodywork and exposed mechanicals. Too small and slow to ride on freeways but absolutely aces in town, the Grom (and a growing roster of other 125cc retro-terrific siblings from Honda and others) have become a gateway to motorcycle fun for thousands of first-time riders and returning veterans alike. Urban Grom riding groups are popular, and customizing Groms is an industry unto itself, as evidenced by the numerous custom Groms on display at the most recent edition of the popular One Motorcycle Show in Portland. While enjoying the One Moto Show in my hometown, I connected with some folks from Gates Corporation, specialists in carbon belt drives, and rode a Grom customized with a Gates belt drive conversion kit, which is still in development but nearing production. For comparison, I rode both a stock chain-driven Grom and the belt drive conversion bike seen in these photos. This Grom is converted to belt drive from chain, but it's hard to spot the change and that's ... More intended. All motorcycles use one of three different final drive systems to transfer engine power to the rear wheel: chains, shafts, or belts. Chain drive systems remain the most common because of their reliability and high strength. However, chains require near-constant maintenance, including regular lubrication and adjustments to tension and sag. In contrast, shaft drive systems need less maintenance but present issues with drivetrain behavior, which typically restricts them to cruisers and adventure machines, such as BMW's popular GS models. Electric motorcycle manufacturer Zero exclusively uses Gates belts, while Harley-Davidson transitioned from chain drive to Gates belt drives in the mid-1980s. BMW utilizes shaft drive on nearly every bike it produces. Italian brands like Ducati and Aprilia, along with all Japanese manufacturers, primarily employ chain drives on most bikes, especially high-performance models; some cruiser models feature shaft drive. Currently, none use belt drive on any models. More recently, many e-bike makers are offering models with belt drive to reduce maintenance needs, weight, and simplify drive systems. A Gates carbon belt is a complex product with multiple layers of materials designed for long life ... More and quiet operation. Ironically, early 20th-century motorcycles all used belt drive systems—except that back then, the belts were made of leather and tended to break, which led to the eventual widespread use of chain and shaft final drives. Modern belt drive systems, such as those from Gates, are made of a complex mixture of materials (above) that provide a service life far longer than a chain, operate in near silence, and require little to no maintenance, apart from periodic tension adjustments. A close-up view of the Grom's belt drive. New Gates belts are skinnier and work with smaller ... More sprockets. With a motorcycle like the Grom, which Honda designed for a life of minimal maintenance and heavy use, it seems a belt drive system would be an excellent fit, both literally (above) and figuratively. With a 50,000-mile service life and infrequent adjustment needs, you'd think Honda would be eager to eliminate 'chain maintenance' from the Grom's already short upkeep list and implement a belt drive. But so far, no luck. The upcoming Gates refit kit should bring those benefits to bear for Grom owners. On city streets, the Grom has no problem keeping up with traffic, but you do feel... a bit small and ... More exposed. Best to ride in packs. That all said, is there a difference in the riding experience between a chain and the Gates belt conversion on a Honda Grom? We took to the streets of Portland's hilly West Side to find out. Full disclosure: This was my first time at the controls of a Grom. I'm not sure how Honda made a motorcycle that looks like it could fit in the back of most hatchbacks actually fit a large human like me, but it does. The fuel-injected 125cc air-cooled motor is peppy and fun, and the Grom even includes a shift light for those low-speed stoplight races. Flat out in 5th gear, the Grom can just top 50 mph. Freeways are a no-no for the Grom and its 125cc friends, but on city streets, the light weight, small wheels and zippy motor are highly entertaining, and the Grom is easy to ride. It can change direction quickly, you put both feet flat on the ground at stops, clutch engagement is highly forgiving, and the Grom feels well-made and solid underway. I can see the appeal! I rode the chain-driven Grom first, and the experience was pretty much as expected, which is to say, normal regarding drivetrain feel and action. Switching to the Grom with the belt drive kit, the riding experience is… pretty much the same as with a chain, which is not a demerit. However, there are some small differences. Since the belt drive has more elasticity than a chain, transitions on and off the throttle have a bit more smoothness as the belt absorbs some of the transitional energy. Other than that, the experience is identical to a chain, which is the point, to a large degree. Clean, light and quiet, the Gates belt drive conversion kit should be a popular item for Grom ... More customizers. The real advantage of the Gates belt drive conversion over the stock chain drive lies in all the benefits mentioned earlier: lighter weight, a much longer service life, and minimal maintenance aside from a periodic tension adjustment (it should be checked annually). Forget about the need to remember to oil a chain, constantly check for chain sag, look for wear, and replace sprockets when changing the chain. Weight, time, and money are saved by opting for a belt (which includes a belt-specific sprocket replacement kit that retains stock gearing ratios). A Gates representative told me that new advances in belt construction allow for tighter rotation around sprockets, allowing for smaller, thinner, more 'normal' looking belt drive systems that previously required large, wide sprockets for proper tension and operation. Without those advancements, an install on a small bike like the Grom might not be possible. As noted, the Gates Grom belt drive conversion kit (and possibly additional kits for other motorcycles) is still being finalized for production specifications and pricing. If Honda were smart, they'd either offer it as a kit, a factory option, or simply make the Gates belt drive standard equipment on their popular minomotos. Because simpler is always better. Let's hear your feedback! Subscribing to enables you to leave comments and supports contributors like me. Subscribe and follow me for notifications on new articles. You can also connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn. All of my content is human-generated.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
A Crystal Ball Told Me This 100 MPH EV-Swapped Honda Grom Will Be My Demise
There's something endearing about the beat-it-like-a-rented-mule attitude and friend-shaped aesthetics of the Grom that makes it among the best bikes on sale today. But this one? This is an altogether different animal. According to the seller, this bike has been electric-swapped with a 3C Mini Works electric motor and battery kit and so instead of 12 horsepower and a 50-ish mile per hour top speed, it can allegedly top out around 100 miles per hour, on 12-inch wheels. With a $7,000 price tag and enough horsepower to shove my face through a brick wall, this seems exactly like the beastly killer that was seen in the vision my fortune teller mentioned a few years ago. Yeah, I think this bike is how I will die. Whether I buy it or not, it's coming for me. Honda's diminutive Grom motorbike is among the most fun machines I've ever had the pleasure of slinging a leg over. It's a little momentum machine that makes me giggle like an idiot every time I swing it through a corner with the throttle pinned wide open. This monster machine, however, is imbued with the power and mannerisms of Satan himself. To paraphrase Shakespeare, though Grom may be small, she is fierce. Read more: Tesla Cybertrucks Are Rusting Despite Being Made Of Stainless Steel Prior to this listing on Facebook Marketplace, I'd never heard of 3C Mini Works or their kit before, despite them apparently being a local company. The above video, which was posted just a few weeks ago of a finished 3C swap bike, clearly was filmed in Northeast Ohio. Based on their YouTube channel and website, it looks like they've also experimented with electric swaps for Honda Ruckus scooters as well, which totally rules. These kits run up to $4,800 for all of the brackets, the motor, and the battery array to swap your own Honda Grom at home. Considering a Honda Grom generally runs a few thousand dollars on its own, this finished unit on Facebook Marketplace is probably a pretty good bargain for something that is already ready to ride. If you want a Grom that can run from 0-60 in just 4 seconds, let alone run 60 miles per hour at all, this is probably the way to do it. I've wanted an electric Grom for ages, and very nearly bought the Electrom from Electro and Co. back in the day before they decided they didn't want to sell it, and I have a standing open offer to buy Superfast Matt's 300-swapped Grom. I really thought that one of those bikes would be the one to finish me, but maybe I just had to wait a few years to find this one. Please go buy it so I can't. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The 2025 Land District Might Kick Off A New-Era Of American Moto
While walking my 17-year-old Basset hound his constantly busy nose took us down a road we'd never travelled before. A nondescript brick warehouse on this undiscovered route was adorned with the simple signage for Land--an electric vehicle maker. Living in Cleveland, the city from which Land derives its name, I knew about Land and had previously met the company's CEO, but was completely unaware that the company was literally in my neighborhood. I'll admit that I'm a real homer for electric mobility, but I truly believe that life in America would be so much better if a greater percentage of the population commuted on a small electron runabout than a three-ton gasoline-burning behemoth. So I had to get my hands on one of the company's products. The America I love was built on supporting local manufacturing, so I wanted to see if we're still capable of building good stuff. Full Disclosure: Land invited me to tour its headquarters and manufacturing facility on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. I was given a couple of hours to ride a District motorcycle around the neighborhood and into downtown, and free use of the electricity in the battery. I walked from my house and walked back when I was done. Read more: Ram Will Still Sell You A Brand-New, 16-Year-Old Truck Let's get down to brass tacks: This is a $7,000 bike, which can be a lot or a little depending how you look at it. Sure, it's twice the price of a gas-powered mini-commuter bike like a Honda Grom, but the District is also capable of a lightning quick 0-60 time and the Grom isn't capable of 60 at all. In the same way a Grom does, I found the District put a smile on my face that even below-freezing February Ohio lakeshore weather couldn't wipe off. Even with my nearly-300 pounds frame onboard, which has the aerodynamic profile of a lengthways brick wall, this little pocket rocket can run with some of the quickest gas bikes out there, and most of the big electrics. Despite its relatively meager 23 horsepower, a dash from stopped to 30 mph feels about as quick as any other bike I've ever twisted a wrist on, and its 70+ mph top speed feels effortless. This machine incorporates different ride modes you can use to graduate from the just-above-walking-pace mode 1, which apes a typical stand-up mobility rental scooter, all the way to full-tilt bonkers mode 4. If you aren't confident in your skills as a rider, keep it limited to the lower power modes until you gain some experience. Electric motorcycles don't have to look like gas motorcycles. It's something I've believed since the beginning, and Land apparently does, too. Land's founder and CEO, Scott Colosimo, was once a professor of design at Cleveland Institute of Art, after all. While this little machine does have a plastic "tank" shape, it exists mostly because you need something to brace your legs against. The long, low, and flat look of the District is fetching and quasi-futuristic. It's simple and pared back as a function of its price point and as a form of its unembellished aesthetic. There's not much to report about the visuals of this bike that you can't see for yourself. It's all on display with the aluminum-cased removable battery taking up most of the real estate. With an upright riding position, a standard 32-inch stand-over height, and simple controls, this is the kind of bike that just about anyone can get on and ride comfortably. It's functional design without being more of the same, looking forward without forgetting the functionality that made the past work. The unpainted matte molded plastics are indicative of what makes this bike different than most. It's built to be used instead of looked at. Colosimo, pointed to a full-fairing Ducati sport bike as the antithesis of the District's ethos. If you were to drop a Panigale you'd be faced with replacing thousands of dollars in gorgeous Ducati Rosso plastics. Land wants its bikes to be seen as usable, durable goods, which can easily and inexpensively be repaired, and stand the test of time. The plastics on a Land are left rough finished to keep costs down and add to the durability and function-forward design of the bike. There's something to be said for preventative patina, especially when it gives the bike a more industrial and worn-in appearance. The steel tube frame isn't as light, stiff, or form-fitting as an aluminum subframe, but it's a hell of a lot more resilient to dings and scratches. Outside of the drivetrain, the company works exclusively with local manufacturers in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania as a way to keep quality control and iterative manufacturing possible. If the engineers want to see a new revision to a part, or look at a new powdercoat, they can just go there and see it first hand instead of waiting for a part to slow-boat from China. This is where the startup mentality can help manufacturing, as Land can move a lot faster and make improvements from year to year. That's one of the things that I think sets the District apart is that Land has engineered it to be future proof. Not only can the batteries be removed from the bike relatively easily so you can carry them into your apartment or home to charge overnight, but the company is banking on developing battery technology to improve weight and range targets. If batteries keep getting better, the District can keep getting better. Most electric motorcycles these days mount the battery as part of the chassis, making upgrades much more difficult, if possible at all, and costly. After spending a couple of hours at the manufacturing facility and in the saddle, I think Land has really figured out the formula. The District is the right blend of cheap and cheerful for an electric runabout, but unlike all of the other cheap electric machines I've ridden, this one can actually keep up with traffic, and it feels like it was built with substance. To summarize this thing, it's light enough to be a ton of fun to rip around the city, while being fast enough to run with traffic on your suburban commute. Too many electric motorcycles pick one or the other, but this straddles the divide, which is the real genius of it. This is maybe the perfect beginner bike, which is another part of the Land mission. The company wants to open up motorcycling to be accessible to more people. Whether you're a teen rider slinging a leg over for the first time, or on the shorter side of the spectrum as many women are, for example, Land offers an even shorter version of its already pretty short bike. You can option the District with a 30-inch seat height if you desire two additional inches of crotch clearance. The Land District can be a few different things depending on how you order it. The bike I rode was the "Street" model, which comes equipped with Pirelli Angel CT Street tires, lower suspension, and a low-mounted fender. You can option the District as a "Scrambler" as well, with Shinko Dual Sport tires, an extra inch of suspension height, and high-mount fenders. If you really want some off-road prowess from the Scrambler, you can order up a smaller rear gear to sacrifice top speed for some extra wheel speed. I think that's how I'd have mine, if I were looking to fill a spot in my garage with another electric motorcycle. Both versions of the bike can be had with three different battery arrangements. The standard single-battery model has just 1.8 kWh of battery onboard, which cuts weight significantly, but reduced range is a byproduct with just about 40 miles of low-speed city riding available. If you have a short commute and don't need the miles, go for it. You can get a second Land battery pack installed for 3.6 kWh nominal and a claimed 80 miles, and that's just $1500 more. But if you really need the extra range you can get Land to put a double-wide case in the bike to fit a full 4.8 kWh nominal for up to 110 miles of city riding pleasure. That's the one I was riding, and probably the one I would pick, It's a pricey upgrade at $2,000, but the range is probably worth it. The plastics are available in black, grey, or seafoam, and I would personally pick the colorful option for a bit more whimsy. This isn't a bike for the kind of people who hop on a Harley Road King or a BMW GS and rip 800 miles in a single sitting, so all you dorks can shut up about that. If you are an average American commuter who lives in the suburbs and drives to a job 12 miles every morning through rush hour traffic, this little ripper will absolutely serve you wonderfully and add a good dollop of fun to your daily ride. You'll easily out-accelerate everything this side of a supercar and when the going gets super slow you can kick it down to e-scooter mode and take to the bike lane to subvert traffic altogether. This little bike might just be the sweet spot for just about every two-wheeled commuter on the planet, and most cagers. It splits the difference between something like a much more expensive Zero and a much slower Bosch electrified bicycle, but somehow feels better constructed and more cohesive than either. Ultimately I still like my own LiveWire better, but that cost more than twice as much as a fully-loaded Land and is hardly fit for newbies. This might be my new favorite bike under $10,000. Ride one, it might surprise you. Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Deputies: Motorcyclist hospitalized after crashing into tree near Port Sheldon
PORT SHELDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A motorcyclist was taken to the hospital after he ran off the road and hit a tree in Port Sheldon Township, deputies say. Around 6:20 p.m., the 34-year-old on a Honda Grom motorcycle was headed east on Port Sheldon Street near Butternut Drive when deputies say he swerved off the road and crashed into a tree. He was taken to the hospital with 'serious injuries,' according to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office. Deputies say he was not wearing a helmet. The crash is still under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
