The Grom is a lightweight, low-power bike from Japanese automaker Honda, which is extremely popular among new riders. The name Grom is derived from the word ‘Grommet,’ which is an old-school slang for a young or inexperienced surfer, which in this case, is the rider. Like its name, the Grom is designed for young and new riders with a lightweight body and low power engine. To keep up with the ever-evolving automobile industry, Honda has made the Grom incredibly stylish.
The 2022 Grom is packed with some all-new features to enhance its performance, rider convenience, and style quotient. Honda has also significantly upgraded its body and powertrain to make it more performance-oriented.
The Superior Rider-Friendliness And Handling
The bike is designed for new riders and hence has a lightweight body and optimized power with handling components that are generous to the rider while handling the bike. Despite several upgrades, Honda has managed to keep its weight less than 227 pounds for the non-ABS model, and for the ABS model, it is a little over 230 pounds. The lightweight bike with low power offers perfect handling for new riders.
Further, the handling support comes from the 31mm inverted fork suspensions at the front and a single shock swingarm suspension system with a steel-box section at the rear. The suspension system, which has already proven its worth in the last model, is accompanied by disc brakes on both wheels. At the front, the braking is powered by a single 220mm disc with a hydraulic dual-piston caliper, while at the rear, it is a single 190mm disc with a hydraulic single-piston caliper. The Grom rides on 12-inch wheels with wide gentle grip tires that offer added advantage to the rider.
The ABS variant of the Grom comes along with an IMU, which calculates the traction and intervenes to ensure safety and better maneuverability. This combination allows the ABS to modulate its levels of intervention based on the traction.
New-Age Styling And Functionality
The Grom is built around a mono-backbone frame with tubular steel annexures. A square cross-section backbone provides structural rigidity and strength. In addition, the rear wheel is connected with the main chassis frame and a yoke-style swingarm. Honda offers a range of customization options for the exterior skin. As the standard exterior styling, the Grom comes in three color schemes - Queen Bee Yellow and matte black for the base version, the Grom SP comes with golden finishes and graphics, and the top trim Grom ABS comes in Candy Blue.
Apart from these, Honda also offers removable body panels for the bike, including an oak-style woodland camo and racing-inspired tri-color, which can easily be attached or removed from the steel interior panel with the help of fasteners. For the 2022 model, Honda has adopted a blacked-out look for the Grom’s engine, exhausts, wheels, and swingarm. While the 12-inch wheels remain the same as the earlier version, the new bike has five spokes. Honda has revised the seat design for the rider's comfort, which is no longer stepped like the earlier version. The 2022 Grom has a flat seat with thicker padding.
The New Honda Engine
Honda has modified its engine for the 2022 Grom. The 2020 version of the bike carried a 125cc engine that produced 9.7 HP and eight lb-ft of torque. In contrast, the 2022 Grom carries a 124cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine, air-cooled with the same horsepower and torque as its predecessors. The new engine has a narrower bore and a longer stroke of 52.4mm x 57.9mm with a higher compression ratio of 10.0:1 than earlier figures of 9.3:1. The oil spinner and filter from the older version are also replaced with a changeable oil filter while the fuel supply is powered by a PGM-FI fuel injection system.
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To extend its range, the 2022 Grom is equipped with a bigger 1.6-gallon fuel tank. Despite having a higher stroke, the Grom still offers an incredible 155 MPG. The power is transferred to the wheels through a new 5-speed transmission with an upgraded 38-tooth sprocket, which with the upgraded engine, cruises the 2022 Grom to a top speed of 63 mph.
Despite all the modifications and customizable styling options, Honda has priced the Grom moderately, just like the existing model. The base model has a price of about $3,399, whereas the SP version with a gold finish on brake calipers, wheels, and fork costs an extra $100. By adding another $100, folks can take home the Grom ABS. The 2020 Honda Grom is a tough competitor to the Kawasaki Z125 PRO that shares many of its features and falls in the same price range.