2022 Honda miniMOTO range | Starting at $2,299 — or a full pickup…

Giorno. Grom. Monkey. Navi. And Ruckus. These are the colorful names given by Honda to the very small, but oh so friendly models in its miniMOTO range. The Press discovered them in a place that could not be more appropriate: La Ronde.

Toys or means of transport?

Both. Despite names and stylings straight out of a comic book, every model in Honda’s unusual miniMOTO lineup is road legal – not highway legal in Quebec, though. All run on regular gasoline and use a transmission that is sometimes manual (Grom and Monkey) sometimes automatic (Giorno, Navi and Ruckus). Engine capacities range from 49 cc for the Giorno and Ruckus up to 125 cc for the Grom and Monkey via 109 cc for the Navi, while top speeds vary from just over 50 km/h to a just under 100 km/h.

Navi, champion of the inexpensive

While each of these miniature motorcycles is relatively affordable, the Navi’s suggested retail price puts it in a class of its own. In fact, it can be acquired for barely $2,299 – plus taxes, transport and preparation costs, etc. According to the Honda Canada site, we are talking about $13 per week by financing! This almost unbelievable price is partly due to the fact that the model was developed for the Indian market, where millions of tiny, very inexpensive motorcycles circulate. The Navi is nonetheless a well-finished and guaranteed Honda.

And it works!

Despite its small dimensions, the Navi accommodates an adult rider without pinching them and offers a bike agility allowing it to be maneuvered very easily in the urban environment for which it was designed. Soft and silent, its small mechanics allow it to blend easily into car traffic thanks to very correct acceleration and the fact that it reaches 70 km/h quite easily. The Navi is comfortable (beware of potholes, however), can accommodate a passenger and even offers a practical storage compartment. Besides brakes that are only adequate, for “A to B” in the city, it works surprisingly well.

The smallest of the “minis”

Due to their engine capacity of less than 50 cc and their automatic transmission, the Giorno and Ruckus are considered scooters by the SAAQ and can therefore be driven with a car driver’s license. However, this small displacement means that they accelerate only slightly faster than the grass grows. In slow, heavy rush hour traffic, this is not a problem. On the other hand, as you hardly reach more than 50 km/h (without too much difficulty) at their controls, as soon as the road clears and the pace of traffic increases, great attention must be paid to the maneuvers of motorists. impatient.

The “cars”

With their five-speed manual transmission and their 125 cc, the Grom and the magnificent homage to the legendary 1970s Honda Mini Trail that is the Monkey are considered motorcycles by the SAAQ and therefore require a motorcycle driving license in good and due form. Both models work so well that they manage to amuse anyone who rides them, experienced motorcyclists included. Since you can easily reach 80 km/h on the Monkey and 90 km/h on the Grom – or even a little more with patience – they circulate without problem among cars everywhere, except on the highway.

Food for thought ?

When you ride around the world, you see that others have different rules. In most major European cities, for example, a car driving license gives the right to drive a two-wheeler of 125 cc or less. They are allowed to park everywhere, often free of charge, and even to squeeze between cars. Perhaps in a big city like Montreal, where construction sites are constant and traffic is continually getting worse, some solutions “from elsewhere” could help improve the situation?

Conclusion

With their air of jujubes, these little Hondas are not immediately taken seriously. But they are in each case well-constructed means of urban transport, as economical to buy as at the pump. We are talking about a real consumption of about 2 L per 100 km. That’s a lot of shopping on the cheap, not to mention taking the stress out of oil prices. We will potentially see small electric motorcycles, but at these prices? Not sure. Much more than toys, they have the potential to seriously contribute to reducing urban clutter. It is up to the government to facilitate their access.