Monkey bike
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monkey bike is the collective name given to various small, low-powered motorcycles first made popular by Honda in the 1970's. Numerous similar designs predate the Honda model, notably the World War II parachutist motorcycles such as the Welbike, but these were not commonly known by this name until the Honda design made the type of vehicle commonplace.
These vehicles are typically 50-90cc, with a single cylinder four-stroke engine, and have a seat height of 24 inches or less. This gives the rider a crouched appearance, making him look like a stylized image of a squatting monkey, hence the name.
The "Dax" model is a 2 seat variant.
In Japan, the small size of the vehicle and the propensity of tuning parts available has let to a sub-culture of "racing" monkey bikes, with vast amounts of money being spent for minute horsepower gains.
- See also: Minibike
