Monkey bikes for commuting... (xr50 sort of)

[photographicsafaris]

Hello, I have just decreased my commute from 90 round miles to 16 and was looking at these Monkey bikes as a fun release/sunny day commuter.

I know this is probably the wrong section to post under, but the Honda Z50 has a sister bike the Xr50... so it was as close as damn it...

I have been looking at them on the ...bay and it would appear that one can pick up some battered ones for upto £350 making it an interesting prospect. Tax is £15 per annum, and insurance for me would be £45!

Does anyone have any experience of them? Coming from a 1150 and 600 cc bike the prospect of what a 50cc engine can do is well beyond my ability grasp, but by all accounts they hold their own around the 30MPH mark.
Also there is a company that does various upgrades:
http://www.monkeybike.co.uk/acatalog...del_2006_.html
Their 110cc upgraded engine catapults to mind along with a front disc brake kit and that should be good for 60MPH.

Would be great fun for some greener lanes around here (though at that height they would be better described as "brown lanes"!) Also ideal to throw into the back of the car when Wifey goes camping as my escape mechanism.

Anyone got any comments: Like are they safe to ride through traffic to work on?

Also anyone any experience of the 50cc engine on its own is it workable on town roads?

And lastly anyone brought a cheap Chinese copy at half the price what are your thoughts?

Many thanks G

[Zenarchy]

Theres a guy on bikechatforums (http://www.bikechatforums.com/) with the username Whosthedaddy who bought a chinese monkey bike (after having a bigger bike I think). He seemed to really like it from what I remember. There's a thread there where he gave it a big service after a year or two on the road and added some custom parts to it. It didn't seem to have held up too badly to being ridden through the bad weather and without much pampering if my memory is correct. If you do a search on there for his username you'll probably find some posts about it.

I kind of like the look of them myself and they look like they'd be great fun for buzzing around a beach or something, but not sure I'd fancy using one on the roads. I think he used his for commuting and was OK with it, but I remember what a nightmare my 125 was in terms of power, so I can't imagine riding a little 50cc monkey bike in fast traffic would be anything but terrifying. Though I am quite heavy so if you were smaller and thinner then perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

P.S. Here's one of the threads about it: http://www.bikechatforums.com/viewto...ht=monkey+bike

P.P.S. Sorry for posting a link to another forum in the first reply but thought this would be helpful in the mean time as there probably aren't many people who fit exactly what you're asking about but this guy does quite closely I think. There's even some photos of his bike on green/brown lanes (linked from his sig to : http://www.bikepics.com/members/whos.../06gorilla110/).

Might be worth dropping him a line for a chat?

[Bill Badger]

I'm answering this from the other side of the fence, so to speak. I have just sold my 1969 Honda Z50A Monkey and replaced it (with some of the cash) with an XLR200. The reason I did this was mainly due to the fact that I had a (relatively) high amount of cash tied up in my Z50A, and nice as it was, I couldn't really go anywhere on it. 8" wheels do not soak up bumps well, and even the simple task of closing the visor meant having a very careful look at the road surface first, in case of holes or cracks. The average pipe or cable repair going across a road is just right for those small wheels to really drop into nicely! However, many of these bikes now do have larger 10" (!) or 12" wheels.
My bike was in original condition, so it was too good to take off-roading, and the fact that it didn't have indicators made me try to ride a route of left hand turns, which isn't much fun! Bear in mind how low to the ground you are, and you will understand how I felt in the centre of the road waiting to turn right..........
Don't get too carried away thinking you can simply drop the bike into your average car boot. Even the smallest are bigger than you think, and you have to fold the seats down in a Mondeo or risk tearing the roof lining. A bike rack on the towbar is the best way to go for transporting them, by far.
The standard 50cc engine is not good for keeping up with traffic, but the 110 and upwards engines, although sometimes made of cheese, can be real flyers. A friend has a 125cc Pit bike, which goes well but is very easily flipped if not careful when used off road. A longer swinging arm would help, but then you're heading towards a 125 standard trail bike anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I'd have another Monkey, but I was getting frustrated at not really being able to go far, and as it was solely for pleasure use, not for commuting, I tended not to use it as much as I thought I would.


Incidentally, my other bikes, currently under restoration, are a Honda SL70 and a Suzuki RV90, so they are getting just a bit bigger.....!

[photographicsafaris]

Guys thanks for the responses.

Great looking monkey Bill, and I am seriously intrigued by them. I did ride one when I was... well 18 years ago I remember it being enormous fun. I take your point about every single ripple in the road, but I have an 1150 BMW and an XT600 for anything vaguely serious or long.

Wifey has a Stationwagon so I have to be able to get it in there (Perhaps I was looking at those Top-gear folding bikes thinking it was them) I am also building up (very slowly) an old Landy which it will fit into easily- Hell I could have it bolted onto the bonnet its the same weight as a tyre! Man I'm considering strapping it to the rack on my BMW for kicks and giggles!

"Upgrading" to a longer swingarm and/or 10 inch wheels I feel destroys the principle and asthetics behind something that much fun. However the 85/110cc engine looks the same, it just goes like stink (comparatively)!
With some attention to the suspension (£££) one could resolve a few of the bumpy issues, but thats for another day.

I read and have tried to contact the guy on bikechatforums but no response yet. But its always good to hear the various opinions from adults actually owning these bikes. He certainly is passionate about his bike, but I dont see the point of changing the Monkey design into something it isnt, there are better bikes for that.

I am undecided about going for a new bike or buying an older bike and doing it up, Then Chinese or a Honda... So much to choose from, but certainly the MBUK guys will get a bunch of my cash.

I am swaying towards an old pile of rust and stripping it down then doing it a ground up rebuild

Any other Monkeys out there?

[Bill Badger]

If you want fun without much return, go Chinese since you can get all sorts of engine mods and tweaks. If you see it as some form of investment, get a real Honda, since it will always retain some value. However, if you plan your Honda restoration carefully so that you can use a Chinese engine, yet return it to a Honda with a days work, then I would suggest this is the way to go. You can, of course, tune a Real Honda with all the range of Kitaco and similar parts, but that could work out very expensive.
You may get a better ride quality if you go up a size to a Dax.

[M°°K]

I owned a Monkey for about two years and used it everyday for work. I had a 110 and uprated carb, piston and a few other bits and bods on it. It was good for about 65. Loads of grunt too. Sitting at the traffic lights next to something like a cb500 and pulling away like a lid on flask of mouldy tea was fun. You should definetly go for a honda. The build quality is sooo much better than the Chineese stuff. Also, It may have changed but I could only insure mine as 3rd party, because supposidly, they always get nicked. Traffic isn't too bad. You just got to be a bit more aware of Mr. Dopey driver cos you are gonna be even harder to see. How tall are you? I'm 6 foot 4 and had no problems riding the monkey. My knees kept my ears warm in the winter too. Monkeybike.co.uk are pretty damn good and know their stuff too. Hope you get one.

[photographicsafaris]

MooK that was damn funny,
I actually did laugh out loud! I want to see pic's I suspect that my ears would be cooler than yours but I can just invisage you at the lights racing a bunch couriers in London. Nightmare

Bill thanks for that info. Will follow up on it. I suppose I need to get back onto a monkey to see if it is fit for my role or rather if I am fit for the purpose.

Dax just isnt the look I am going for, I know theyre supposed to be the same... but its just not me.

Following quite a bit of thought I am going to pick up bits and pieces then build something together, starting with a chassis with logbook or absolute wreck so its easily roadworthyable. Dont really care for the originality, just the resultant look, a reliable runner and a bunch of fun.

I can pick up a Honda chassis for under £200 and braze the original chassis number onto it... Can you tell I've owned a few Series Landies? The Kitaco parts are expensive, its easy to throw £5k at an engine and disc brakes. But I'm not going down that route, 110cc Zongchen engine, front disc and decent carb. £500

Any thoughts?

Cheers G

[trigsbroom]

My son's first bike when he turned 16 was a JinCheng Monkey Bike. I was a bit concerned that it would fall apart every 5 minutes, but it actually coped with 12 months of serious thrashing, lack of maintenance, 16-er abuse and mono-wheeling at every opportunity. The ONLY problem he had with it in all that time was rear light bulbs which probably cost him more than petrol as they blew with alarming frequency. I'm sure a better voltage regulator would've solved the problem, but he preferred to just replace the bulbs.
I was in London traffic a few years ago sitting alongside a gloss black Hummer. The lights were about to change and the Hummer moved forward about 6 inches in anticipation. As soon as he stopped again, this crash helmet rose up in front of him and an irate Monkey Bike rider stretched to his full height stared at the driver of the Hummer and punched the bonnet! It was a really funny incident, but I had to wonder 'what if?'. The Hummer pilot clearly couldn't see any part of the Monkey Bike and being in such a vehicle, would he even have noticed if he'd run him over rather than just nudged him?
Cracking little bikes and a lot of fun, but as another member has stated, you have to be even more aware of who's around you and what they are doing....especially if they are in a Pimp-Mobile!