2014 Honda Grom (MSX 125) – Grom Prix Held at Honda HQ - Sick Lines - mountain bike reviews, news, videos | Your comprehensive downhill and freeride mountain bike resource

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2014 Honda Grom (MSX 125) – Grom Prix Held at Honda HQ

9/4/2013 : sicklines

, 2014 Honda Grom (MSX 125) – Grom Prix Held at Honda HQ

If you’re like us you also love motorsports. We’ll be bringing you some motor sport content from time to time that we feel you’ll find interesting in a new segment we’re trying out called Motor Monday. Honda is well known in the world of power sports and last week they held an introduction to a new sporty and compact 125 street bike dubbed the Grom.

Additional photos can be seen in the gallery

Video: Honda Grom Prix

In order to kick things off properly for this new offering, Honda decided to hold their first ever ‘Grom Prix’. The Grom Prix saw many athletes, media, rock stars, and celebrities in attendance to test out Honda’s new Grom. Dubbed the MSX 125 in other parts of the world, the Honda Grom is a miniature street bike. Street legal fun in a miniature moto-gp style chassis. The Grom provides a playful package for riders to easily slot it through tight urban areas.

, 2014 Honda Grom (MSX 125) – Grom Prix Held at Honda HQ

Honda Grom - Black

Sporting a lot of modern features, the 4 speed Fuel Injected 125 SOHC four-stroke engine is placed inside the Grom for a light curbweight of only 225lbs. Wheelbase is small and maneuverable at 47.4 inches and the slender seat makes for easy standover no matter your height. Fuel economy is rumored to be near 100mpg with 0-60 times near 7 seconds. All this and more including a digital instrument panel for $3000.00

Instrument Panel

With the Grom introduction out of the way, 45 of us were selected to compete in 3 man teams. The top prizes were some custom lunchbox’s that Troy Lee Designs created.

Troy Lee Designs Prizes

Some of the attendees had some seat-time already booked on the Grom before the event and they showed us the Grom Prix course. We were allowed to practice for about 2 hours before the stopwatch would come out for the main event.

Jeremy McGrath getting interviewed

The course was a fun twisty track that was put together on-site in one of Honda’s parking lots. Cones were setup and riders were told to navigate the course without hitting any cones. Green cones were also used in a few areas that riders had to be weave inbetween.

Honda umbrella girl

Many of the Honda supercross stars were in attendance including Jeremy McGrath, Justin Barcia, Cole Seely, and Trey Canard. Pro Surfers, BMXers (Jame Bestwick and Mike Day), and many rockstars were thrown in Grom Prix the mix as well to keep things fun and exciting.

Justin Barcia

On the mountain biking side of things, Brian Lopes and Gregg Kato from MTBR.com also competed on a team together.

Brian Lopes on the red Grom

Troy Lee Designs, Alpinestars and others were in attendance to provide some support to the attendees. They helped provide some gear for riders to try out as well as shade from the sun throughout the day.

Alpinestars let us use some of their jackets as well during the event. The T-GP Plus Air jacket’s they had were breathable and had decent airflow through the jacket. It had elbow and shoulder padding as well as a foam backing that could be replaced with a certified backplate. Pockets were plentiful and clasps on the sides allow the jacket to be snugged up as well.

Alpinestars had some neat Joey Canvas shoes designed to work for more leisurely motorbiking that has a reinforced internal toe box with some ankle/heel protection. The shoes were pretty comfortable to walk in as well. The styling is subtle enough that you could easily mistake these as regular shoes on first look.

Alpinestars Joey Canvas

My team consisted of myself, Jamie Bestwick, and Atom Willard. We were instructed to name our team with the word ‘Grom’ and we came up with Grombieland.

Jamie Bestwick

Our team got along well with the Grom and we quickly became acquainted with the bike as it was easy to ride and maneuver through the course.

Atom Willard

Despite myself and Jamie’s tall stature our team was able to take second by the conclusion of the race. Jeremy McGrath’s team took the top honors and Justin Barcia’s team took third.

Jeremy McGrath

Overall it was a great day onboard Honda’s all new Grom. There could easily be space for one of these in our garage as it was quite the bucket of fun. The Grom out of the box was easy to ride and maneuver. Its small size makes it easy to ride and its overall power makes it a much more fun option than a moped. The aftermarket world already has a number of big-bore piston kits and exhausts to help spruce up the Grom even more for those seeking an even more spirited ride.

Honda Grom

There’s a few tweaks on the suspension we’d ideally perform out of the box for our weight but for the majority of people buying these they’re perfect as is. We expect to see a lot of these on the streets and dealers are already struggling to keep orders fulfilled as it stands. We could continue to write for days about the Grom but we’ll spare you the rest and let you get on with your day! Check out Honda’s website for more details on the Grom or visit your local Honda dealer.

Additional photos can be seen in the gallery

Features Sheet

Features and Benefits

– Single-cylinder 125 SOHC four-stroke engine packs a perfect blend of performance with impressive fuel efficiency, plus accessible and fun all-around ability.
– The engine uses low-friction technology, such as an offset cylinder and a roller rocker arm for the valve gear.
– Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI) offers excellent throttle response over a wide range of riding conditions by continuously monitoring several variables to ensure the correct fuel mixture for the existing riding and atmospheric conditions.
– The four-speed gearbox is managed via a manual clutch and offers smooth and consistent gear changes.
– Compact chassis features a sturdy mono backbone steel frame.
– Telescopic inverted 31mm front fork, like a full-size motorcycle’s, delivers 3.9 inches of travel.
– Steel box-section rear swingarm and a sturdy single shock yield 4.1 inches of comfortable rear-wheel travel.
– Single front 220mm disc with hydraulic dual-piston caliper and single rear 190mm disc with hydraulic single-piston caliper deliver strong stopping power.
– Compact 47.4-inch wheelbase and light curb weight of 225 pounds results in amazing agility to boost rider confidence.
– LCD digital dash includes speedometer, odometer/A&B tripmeters, clock and fuel gauge.
– Available in Pearl Red and Metallic Black.
– Transferable one-year limited warranty; extended coverage available with a Honda Protection Plan.