Quite confusing: at first glance, it looks like Moto Guzzi's legendary racing machine, the V8. But under the fairing hides a Honda Monkey 125: it is the replica of Monkey Racer, designed by the combined customization talents of the Japanese-Thai team of Ganesha Custom, K-Win and Mr NOTE.
It is, naturally, intended to evoke styling cues from the Moto Guzzi V8 of the 1950s. It sounds unbelievable, but it is true that the Italian motorcycle manufacturer fielded a factory V8-powered machine in the 1950s at the World Motorcycling Championship. This legendary beast featured liquid cooling, intended to cool an extremely elaborate 500cc engine, which produced over 80 hp at the crankshaft at over 12 rpm.
Additionally, the innovative racing Guzzi was heavily clad, at a time when even racing machines were still rarely clad in fairings. Internationally, this distinctive disguise was called trash, or eggshell. It was developed and optimized in the in-house wind tunnel at Mandello del Lario on Lake Como. So the Moto Guzzi V8 was a double whammy, engine-wise and aerodynamically. It also reached a record speed of 275 km/h at the 1957 Belgian Grand Prix. So much for the introductions.
However, this Monkey Racer replica is not limited to the history of the Italian brand, but the inspiration also comes from the famous manga master Akira Toriyama. This design comes from the Dragon Ball universe, where it is actually a robot inspired by the Moto Guzzi V8 rider. Bulma, the character who rides No. 19, can transform it into a motorcycle, a bipedal robot and a tricycle. The thin black flashing turrets located on either side of the lighthouse replace the cannons found in the manga.
For those unfamiliar with manga, Toriyama's work is well known for its inclusion of fantastical extrapolations of very real cars and motorcycles. It's a manga, so he can make real-world vehicles do whatever he wants, while also paying homage to interesting existing designs that he likes.
However, the Racer Replica can only hide the fact that a lightweight motorcycle is hiding under its shell at first glance. Especially since it is a particularly small 125: the Monkey. This concept has also been a tradition for several decades, but Honda's popular monkey never grew up. The current version still rides on 12-inch knobby wheels. On the other hand, this light motorcycle is really light, in its original condition it weighs barely more than 100 kilograms.
Ganesha's Racer Replica is offered for ¥1, which corresponds to approximately €595. In fact, there is a small run of these, if you want even with international shipping. A parts kit is not (yet) available, replicas are only sent as complete vehicles.
In short, a nice mini motorcycle to pay an ironic homage to one of the most iconic motorcycles, the Moto Guzzi V8.
