[Darmie]

I'm all over that Plaid Red. I'm hoping the local dealer will call me back with good news. I now need to put my DRZ SM up for sale.

Chim, what makes the 4 speed better than the 5 speed?

 

[Darmie]

My 4-speed Monkey will not be happy when I get my hands on the 5-speed Monkey model.

I know the feeling. My 07 DRZ SM 400 is going to have to get the boot first.
Great write up on the 5spd. I was on the fence last year with a Monkey but this 2023 new red color has me excited.

 

[Darmie]

I was the first customer that put money down for a 5 speed 2022 Honda Monkey in April and my dealer never got a single one in this year and I couldn't be happier. I think I'm going to drop by my dealer tomorrow and say I'll happily wait for the 2023 Version now that this Plaid version dropped. Pearl Nebula Red Please!!!!

Back to the color matched frame, forks, swingarm, and rear springs for 2023.

If the 2022's were hard to find, I'm thinking the Red 2023 will be that much harder. I called 5 to 6 dealers around the country with no luck. They all took my name and number.
What's the best way to grab up one of these?

 

[Darmie]

Had a local dealer call me this morning. My wife Karen put the deposit down. It was weird they didn't take a credit card, just zelle, cashapp or Venmo. Let the games begin! Now I need to get serious liquidating my hooligan DRZ 400 SM.
Can you say, Pearl Nebula Red!?!

 

[Darmie]

It's official. The 2023 Monkey is now part of our family.

 

[Darmie]

Something interesting I found in the manual was that the new Monkeys come with a 14T gear up front.

 

[Darmie]

Now that I own one, I'm interested in the history of the Honda Monkey.
Here's a great article that introduces the 2023 with a lot of technical information along with the model year history of the Monkey. Happy reading.

https://hondanews.eu/eu/en/motorcycles/media/pressreleases/413289/23ym-honda-monkey-125-6

 

[Darmie]

Sure wish my dealer could get one! 😂

Best of luck. I called 10 to 12 dealers that I was willing to drive to. Only received 2 phone calls back. So thankful that one of them was only an hour away. There may be a dealer in a small town that don't know what to do with the ones they got.

 

[Darmie]

Picked mine up last Friday! I got super lucky. I emailed a handful of local-ish dealers a few weeks ago looking for a 2023 Monkey, and this one about 45 minutes outside of town had one scheduled to arrive in only two weeks with no claim to it. The best part is, this dealer doesn't charge additional markups or exorbitant "freight/setup" fees - only the freight fee dictated by Honda, government taxes/fees, and a very modest documentation fee, so I got it at a fantastic price. I immediately put a deposit down and picked it up two weeks later. It was a 40 minute Uber ride to the dealership (via interstate) and a 90 minute ride home taking the Monkey route, a lot more fun!

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Looking nice. I was impressed seeing all those Navis at the dealer.