By Jethro Bovingdon
Photography by Sam Christmas
The Monkey bike story starts in 1961, when Honda was developing its new test track complex at Suzuka City.
As well as a world-class racetrack and demanding test facility to be used in the development of future cars and motorcycles, Suzuka would also become a motorsport-themed amusement park for families looking for a fun and educational day out.
One of the activities for children was a tiny and simple to ride motorbike called the Z100. It had a 50cc engine, a semi-automatic gearbox and could be mastered in seconds, even by children.
Cult of the Z100
The Z100s became hugely popular and not just with kids. Hunched adults zipping around in these miniature machines were said to look like monkeys and soon the Z100 was simply known as the Monkey bike.
Honda saw the potential of a lightweight, accessible and fun-to-ride motorcycle outside the confines of Suzuka and its other theme park, Tama Tech in Tokyo, and in 1963 a road-going version of the bike called the CZ100 was launched. It was a sensation and soon the Monkey-bike cult spread across the world.
Over the next decade the Monkey bike evolved fast. It gained rear suspension, off-road versions were created and a 70cc two-seater version known as the Dax was launched. A huge customising scene also blossomed, which continues to grow to this day. And as Honda announces the Monkey bike for the 21st century – the MSX125 – the next chapter of the Monkey bike story opens.
The Beatle Monkey
The cult of the Monkey bike ensures a strong demand and buoyant prices, especially for early bikes from the Sixties. However, one particular Z50A model with a very special previous owner recently sold at a Bonhams auction for £36,000. Its owner from 1969-71 was John Lennon, who had used it to get around his vast Tittenhurst Park estate.
When Lennon sold Tittenhurst to Ringo Starr he left the bike and it remained unused for many years. In 1986, when Starr moved home, the bike was rediscovered and offered as a gift to a landscape gardener who’d worked at the estate. The bike showed just 3,690 miles on the clock and needed very little to be returned to working order.
Meet the Monkey Club
Throughout the summer and across the world, groups of enthusiastic Monkey-bike owners meet up and ride together on these distinctive, reliable and fun machines. Dream joined them on a Monkey Run and found a fantastic sense of community, a diversity of machinery and lots of smiles.
Hal Malik
Hal Malik with his 1970 CT70
‘My kid had a Monkey bike and when my own bigger bike broke down one day I borrowed it to get to work. It was such a hoot that I didn’t want to stop riding and the reaction from other road users was fantastic. I went to my first Monkey Run back in 2003, and after seeing some of the modified bikes I decided to build my own special.
‘I imported a CT70 frame from the US – it’s a kind of off-road version. I had it cleaned up, painted it myself and made it my own. Now it has a 110cc engine from a Honda Nice from Thailand but bored out with a bigger piston. It’s got 20bhp (original CZ100s had just 4.4bhp) but it’s still huge fun even at safe speeds.’
John Sherratt
John Sherratt with his 1970 Z50A
‘I’ve got seven or eight Monkey bikes. It’s such a fun scene – big kids on little bikes. My 1970 Z50A is heavily modified with a 10cm-longer swing arm for more stability and a 160 engine with 22bhp, so the chassis has been braced to cope with the power.
‘It also has uprated suspension. I wanted to build a replica of a bigger sportsbike on a Monkey bike scale – so everything is unique. The modifying scene in the UK has really escalated.’
Christopher Duncan
Christopher Duncan with his 1972 Z50A
‘We’re hoping to take this bike to the 2014 Pendine Sands Speed Trials to see if we can claim the record for the world’s fastest Monkey bike, which stands at 96.618mph.
‘Its engine has been bored and stroked, it’s got a Takegawa four-valve head and
a nitrous oxide system (by injecting nitrous oxide into the engine for short bursts
you increase combustion efficiency and power output), plus lots of other chassis modifications. I’ve been riding Monkey bikes for the past 10 years or so – they’re pure fun.’
