The Honda Grom has always been easy to misunderstand. If you’ve never ridden one, it’s tempting to dismiss it as a novelty, a pit bike with turn signals, or something meant strictly for new riders. The truth is that by 2017, the Grom had already proven itself as something more important than that. It wasn’t trying to replace your main bike. It was reminding riders why they fell in love with motorcycles in the first place - to have fun. 

At its core, the 2017 Grom is almost laughably simple. A small-displacement, air-cooled single-cylinder engine. A four-speed transmission. Lightweight wheels, upright ergonomics, and just enough suspension to handle city streets without complaint and 2017 brought the addition of ABS. 

The magic of the Grom is how approachable it feels. The seat height is low, the bike is light enough to push around with one hand, and mistakes don’t feel catastrophic. You’re encouraged to experiment, to lean a little farther, to brake a little later, and to learn what the bike is doing beneath you.

For experienced riders, the appeal is less about learning and more about rediscovering. The Grom rewards momentum, corner speed, and smooth inputs in a way that big bikes often don’t. You’re not managing horsepower. You’re managing flow. On a tight road or through city traffic, that can be incredibly satisfying. It’s also humbling. A good Grom rider can embarrass much larger machines when the road gets tight. I know - I have personally experienced being passed by one during an advanced training day. 

There’s also another side of Grom culture that can’t be ignored. These bikes have become a staple of late afternoons in abandoned parking lots, industrial parks after hours, and empty spaces where a group of friends can ride slow bikes fast and laugh about it. Groms are routinely used to practice wheelies, clutch control, balance points, and low-speed stunts, not because they’re purpose-built stunt machines, but because they are ‘accidentally-built’ stunt machines. When the bike is light and the consequences feel manageable, riders are willing to try things they’d never attempt on a full-size motorcycle.

You won’t be setting speed records, but you will find yourself hopping on after work to do some wheelies down the block and be back before dinner with the family. Very few riders will openly admit they want one. It doesn’t fit the image many people have of themselves as a rider. And yet, I know I secretly do. It’s the bike you say you don’t need, right up until you ride one and realize how much of that kid is still inside you.