[lexdfox]

Thought I'd share my Grom story.

After commuting with a truck for 3 1/2 years and attempting to find parking in the downtown SD area I started looking for other options. My neighbor sold me a 1987 Honda Elite 50 scooter a few months back for $420. It was a POS with looks only a mother could love (dubbed it "Mess-pa") but it ran like a champ. Decided I needed something a little newer and faster since its top speed was 35 mph on a downward grade. Sold it for a small profit and while comparing scooters saw the Grom. Noticed it was similarly priced and over 100mpg, not to mention it looked a million times better than any zuma or ruckus.

So last week I picked up a cherry 2015 with 2 miles on the clock for the same/less than used Groms are going for in my area!



Immediately I began making it my own. I don't have too much $$ to customize nor do I like the crazy outlandish things with LED lightstrips underneath everything and that can be traced by the car alarms it sets off. I plan to do this bike up subtly with modifications/upgrades where it counts. First thing first was removing all the pointless warning stickers. Also took off the decals below the seat I think it looks cleaner that way. The dealer threw in a hotbodies FE kit at a good price so also immediately threw that on.



Shameless plug for the dealer, sure they appreciate it.

 

[lexdfox]

My girlfriend described the front turn signals as reindeer ears so they had to go, found flush-mounted LEDs on ebay for only $15. Also had to swap out the flasher relay. It was a quick 20 minute job.

 

[lexdfox]

Did some searches on the forum for things I can do to improve it on the cheap and/or free mods. Of course I did the airbox mod, but instead of turning the intake snorkel 180 degrees I just removed it all together and gutting the inside of the box and removed the mesh panel behind the filter. This mod alone improved my bottom end pull not to mention sounds great! I ordered a K&N filter so that'll go in soon.

Also did ND4's Fork Mod, also highly recommend! As I'm sure most of you know the forks come pretty weak stock. This mod simply adds an inch of length to the inner rod. No more dipping under it's own weight!

 

[lexdfox]

Ordered a new set of mirrors, short clutch/brake levers, and x-mount for my phone on amazon. In the meantime I found a couple of small things to do while I wait for the UPS man. Had some carbon-fiber-esq decals laying around so tried to cover the center piece of the shroud. I like it but I have to redo it, already peeling off.



Also bent the horn bracket up to tuck under the headlight better, not really noticeable but whatever I was bored.



Also found a nice camera bag at walmart for $9 and slid it onto the handlebars, perfect little pouch to put my disc brake lock.

 

[a_morti]

There are some really good cheap mods out there, which can make a nice and noticeable difference to the riding experience. Don't miss the rose joint (heim joint) shifter modification, for example. Great way to spend like $10.

You can improve the brakes a lot with a (front or both) braided line and the rear is fixed right up with a smaller master cylinder or larger caliper, both available from a recent model cbr125- 125 used parts are generally pretty cheap on eBay even when they're equivalent to big bike parts.

A few bucks more but if you want to keep your bike upright in wet weather you also need to look at better tyres. If you only ride on dry days and are ok with not great tyres then just replace them when they're done.

Enjoy!

 

[lexdfox]

There are some really good cheap mods out there, which can make a nice and noticeable difference to the riding experience. Don't miss the rose joint (heim joint) shifter modification, for example. Great way to spend like $10.

You can improve the brakes a lot with a (front or both) braided line and the rear is fixed right up with a smaller master cylinder or larger caliper, both available from a recent model cbr125- 125 used parts are generally pretty cheap on eBay even when they're equivalent to big bike parts.

A few bucks more but if you want to keep your bike upright in wet weather you also need to look at better tyres. If you only ride on dry days and are ok with not great tyres then just replace them when they're done.

Enjoy!

Thanks, morti!

What's the shifter modification do? Also going to look at steel-braided brake lines. And I'm not worrying about tires until the tread is worn, in southern California so this bike will never know what rain is.

 

[a_morti]

Shifter mod makes shifting much smoother and no more missed neutrals.
http://www.hondagrom.net/forums/7-grom-talk/7345-gear-pedal-linkage-what-load.html

New lines is enough up front, the rear still needs help but that will also depend what you are used to and if you even use it.

You can get two front fender bolts from Honda for pennies to replace the reflectors, much neater than leaving the studs in place. Doesn't really make the ride any better but looks nice and fits the budget.

Takegawa seat cover helps keep your balls from sweating too bad and reduces iron butt, cost is pretty cheap too.

Apart from those, be sure and get your levers and bars rotated to where they best suit you.

All L the little things to maximise riding pleasure!

 

[lexdfox]

Look what came in today!



Threw these on, the levers are ride it brand on amazon. They were cheap and I know many forum members were complaining about the fitment, which admittedly I agree with. However, I'm not a total stickler for these kind of things and simply moved the perch away from the grip which made it MUCH better. My fingers are long so I can set them out pretty far and not worry about jamming my ring finger all the time.



Also, been toying the idea of adding a stereo somewhere, so I did!



The speaker is a waterproof/shockproof bluetooth speak I got from Costco a year ago. It has a tripod mount nut built in, so all I did was find a 1/4 20 bolt at ACE and borrowed a rubber clamp from my YZ and presto! A $2 stereo mount.

 

[lexdfox]

Nothing new since last week. All the parts I'm waiting for are on the slow boat from Hong Kong or are not in stock, so just rode it.

 

[lexdfox]

Had some more "fun" with carbon fiber wrap. Wrapped the tank cover last night, all it took was 3 podcasts, 2 beers, and a small burn on my thumb from the heat gun. Pretty proud of it having never wrapped anything this complicated, f'ed up a little in the corners. Not bad for $3 in vinyl wrap from Ebay.

 

[nd4spdbh]

Lookin good man!

proper functional meets form mods, i approve! Been considering some flush mount LED's for the front of my grom, got a link to the ones you are running?

 

[lexdfox]

Lookin good man!

proper functional meets form mods, i approve! Been considering some flush mount LED's for the front of my grom, got a link to the ones you are running?

2014 2016 Honda Grom Flush LED Turn Signals | eBay

 

[lexdfox]

Got a lot of stuff in the mail so jumped right into it.

New mirrors for a kick off, kinda got these not knowing how they'd look. I like em so far, visibility not as good as the mickey-mouse stock mirrors, but look 1,000% better. They also don't stick out too far past the bar ends, which is important to me because I lane split all day every day.





Also got my rod ends for morti's shift lever mod in the mail FINALLY, only took a month. Took it up and down the block, seems pretty solid. Not a huge difference in feel but much more secure than that dinky rod and cotter pins. Reliability for $5, not bad at all.



Ordered a 14T sprocket as well, but motosport f'ed up. It was nowhere close (was expecting it to be smaller), so gotta wait on that.

 

[Wibbly]

Also got my rod ends for morti's shift lever mod in the mail FINALLY, only took a month. Took it up and down the block, seems pretty solid. Not a huge difference in feel but much more secure than that dinky rod and cotter pins. Reliability for $5, not bad at all.



Ordered a 14T sprocket as well, but motosport f'ed up. It was nowhere close (was expecting it to be smaller), so gotta wait on that.

just a quick hint for you. with your rod ends make sure that they are lined up. it looks to me that you have one twisted one way and one twisted the other. you'll want to include a jam nut on the assembly to lock the rod ends in place. if this lengthens the assembly to the point that you aren't happy with the lever height, you can clock the shift shaft arm over one spline.

also, that looks like a 520 front sprocket, not a 420. simple enough mistake, i'm sure they'll make it right.

 

[lexdfox]

Yeah they do look twisted, but I checked and rechecked before bolting it on, they are straight. My phone is just lousy at focusing. Never hurts to triple check though! Thanks.

 

[suspenceful]

Love this build. I'm picking up my Grom at the end of the month and will be referencing this for a few mods.

 

[asume]

Nothing new since last week. All the parts I'm waiting for are on the slow boat from Hong Kong or are not in stock, so just rode it.

Where in SD is this??! looks like a great spot!

 

[lexdfox]

Where in SD is this??! looks like a great spot!

Mt. Helix

 

[Motomike25]

I have a extra set of 22" wide lower fat bars I didn't use if you're interested but you need to buy 1" risers.

 

[lexdfox]

I finally broke down (aka I had a couple drinks and went online shopping) and bought the MIVV slip on exhaust. Shout out to Greg at MNNTHX for the incredibly fast service! I ordered it super late Thursday night and Saturday morning it was on my doorstep!







Had some fun testing out the 3 different db levels. Gonna try and do a sound test video if anyone is interested. What I can note:
1. Quietest (all baffles in) is as close to stock as it can get, nearly identical at idle and below about 5k rpm. After that it does get a little "throatier"
2. Mid (single drilled baffle) is noticeably louder when moving, definite sound difference. Sounds like the bike ate too many beans round the campfire, reminds me of my old CRF450 exhaust. However gets real quiet at idle which I like.
3. Loudest (no baffles) is fairly loud, perhaps a bit too loud for my taste. But it sounds real nice, deep and throaty.

Gonna test it out for a bit, I'm going to stick with either the mid or quietest setting, haven't decided yet.