[ShapeShifter]

I got to inspect and sit on and fondle the first Grom to hit the North American continent today at the Honda factory coral during the MotoGP at Laguna Seca. It is as I have been hoping it would be. I gave it a thorough exam and found it to be fit and healthy. The only thing I did not do was lube up a rubber glove and jam it in to the tail pipe.

I took some pictures of the places I haven't already seen in the catalogs and marketing brochures.



The hideous medallion:

I'm afraid the Composimo tidy tail will cause the winkers to hit the stock pipe. Guess I'll have to get a low pipe..

I plan on removing the fork reflectors.

According to Honda factory rep, the Grom is officially known as the JC61. I'm not sure why but the J in the VIN indicates it was manufactured in Japan (someone please confirm) but I thought all the bikes were made in Thailand...

Im not sure how I'm going to un-cork this airbox....

It may be as simple as putting a K&N filter right to the left of where it says 13 on the throttle body.

You can see what appears to be an 02 sensor on the head at the exhaust valve.

I'm not sure what this other sensor is. Maybe a temp sensor? Also notice that you can mount standard CRF type foot pegs. I like having that option.

The abdominal cavity....

Quite the tail on this thing.

An adult couple almost fit two-up..... This poor gal got kreemed on her Ninja just a few weeks ago, hence the bandages.

Another adult with the mind of a 21 year old and the intellectual agility of a small soap dish. This is the color I ordered too, but my white plastics are inbound from Asia.

 

[tmas]

Great pics and info ... Thanks Shapeshifter....:biggthumpup:.... How was the race?
tmas

 

[ShapeShifter]

Great pics and info ... Thanks Shapeshifter....:biggthumpup:.... How was the race?
tmas

I was there on Saturday for the qualifying and it was awesome! I got a few good pictures too.

 

[50minikid]

I'm really liking this bike. It's like honda is bringing back the zb50 with much improved rideability. I hope they sell the Grom for more than 1 year. I'm looking forward to getting one in the near future.

 

[rkwfxd]

Very cool. Thank you for the photos.

 

[Jordo]

My "made in china" CRF110 has a J in 4th spot in vin as well.

Great pics! And thanks for posting this! I love that this is a fuely and it resembles my CRF motor....

 

[tblumer]

approx height of guy in 2 up photo?

 

[ShapeShifter]

approx height of guy in 2 up photo?

About same as me. 5'-10" maybe

 

[tblumer]

About same as me. 5'-10" maybe

At 6'3" I guess I couldn't look any more ridiculous on it than on my Z

 

[ShapeShifter]

At 6'3" I guess I couldn't look any more ridiculous on it than on my Z

The bike is bigger than you might think. It has 12" wheels.

Which makes me wonder out loud..... A big guy riding a custom Z50 is sort of goofy looking but I think people can understand it - an older custom mini bike that a grown up is riding for fun - okay.

But the Grom is not really a mini bike. It is more of a very small full-size bike. This makes me wonder - will a big guy on a Grom look like he couldnt afford that Ninja 250? Is he riding his daughters bike? Or maybe he us under-compensating for something.....

Fuggit, Im getting one anyway.

 

[theraymondguy]

The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the World Manufacturer Identifier or WMI code. Thailands' production runs from ML to MR - note that these are the first two digits of the VIN. 4-8th digit in vin is model identifier.

Great post Todd, makes my credit card itch.

 

[tblumer]

The bike is bigger than you might think. It has 12" wheels.

Which makes me wonder out loud..... A big guy riding a custom Z50 is sort of goofy looking but I think people can understand it - an older custom mini bike that a grown up is riding for fun - okay.

But the Grom is not really a mini bike. It is more of a very small full-size bike. This makes me wonder - will a big guy on a Grom look like he couldnt afford that Ninja 250? Is he riding his daughters bike? Or maybe he us under-compensating for something.....

Fuggit, Im getting one anyway.

Kinda how I see a guy riding an old 12 speed bike with Carhartt work clothes on and think he had DWI?

 

[ShapeShifter]

The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the World Manufacturer Identifier or WMI code. Thailands' production runs from ML to MR - note that these are the first two digits of the VIN. 4-8th digit in vin is model identifier.
.

Thanks Mr. Smarty Pants.

 

[HondaFiddyMan]

...lucky.

-HFM

 

[ShapeShifter]

...lucky.

-HFM

 

[averian]

I'm jealous! The Grom looks awesome, I still don't know if my bike will arrive in black or red but red looks damn good. And MotoGP is just sick, crazy what those guys are able to do.

 

[HondaFiddyMan]

Looking back at the stock pipe configuration... man, that thing has to go. The exhaust needs a Garmin to find its way out of the muffler.

-HFM

 

[ShapeShifter]

Looking back at the stock pipe configuration... man, that thing has to go. The exhaust needs a Garmin to find its way out of the muffler.

-HFM

Yeah, I have a pipe in mind but I am waiting for more manufactures to add to the choices.

 

[tmas]

ShapeShifter..... Cool Moto GP pics.....thanks for posting them... You didn't do a lap this year?
tmas

 

[ShapeShifter]

You didn't do a lap this year?
tmas

I did not think of getting a lap voucher in time this year. Are you back in Canada?