Cool Custom Honda Navi’s Unveiled.
Source: hondanews.com
Somewhat of a mix between Honda’s Ruckus and Grom models (each of which is popular enough to have developed its own subculture), the Navi has the styling of a motorcycle and some convenience features of a scooter, sharing driveline underpinnings with the 110cc Honda DIO scooter, just twist and go!
There is hope that the model will one day make it to Aussie shores as the Honda DIO does meet the restrictive ABS requirements introduced for Australia late in 2021 (you can read more about the changes here as well as all the models we have lost from the Aussie market). It’s all wrapped up in an appealing miniMOTO package that’s fun and easy to personalize, just check out what these two companies have managed to achieve!
MNNTHBX and Steady Garage are both leaders in the Custom Motorcycle game and one of their specialties is miniMOTOs and mini Hondas in particular.
If there is a mini road bike made by Honda, then odds are Steady Garage and MNNTHBX have modified an example. They also sell and supply a huge range of parts made both in-house and sourced from other manufacturers.
Building on the popularity of minimotos forged by the Honda Grom, the new Honda NAVI takes the concept of “small bike = big fun” even further. The NAVI has only recently hit the market in the US, Japan and some of Europe but the MNNTHBX and Steady Garage crew have wasted no time in adding their unique spin on this already quirky compact model.
MNNTHBX
It’s hard to find anyone with their fingers more squarely on the pulse of the miniMOTO community than MNNTHBX co-owners Kevin Estep and Greg Hatcher, who are also the organizers of Barber Small Bore, an annual miniMOTO mecca at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Upon receiving the Navi at their Seymour, Tennessee, workshop, Estep and Hatcher immediately pegged it as being perfectly suited for a racetrack pit bike, so they went with a sporty design. “We were really inspired by the bike’s utility, and how we could take that and make it cool,” Estep said. “We’ve done a lot with bikes that are carbureted and have CVT transmissions, so that was in our wheelhouse. It’s sort of a blend of a Grom and a Ruckus, both of which we have a lot of experience with.”
The bodywork was covered in racy red, white and blue graphics, an Öhlins shock was fitted via a billet-aluminum mount, and a Renthal low-positioned MX-style handlebar was clamped in place, as was a Yoshimura carbon-fiber exhaust. The Navi comes with 12- and 10-inch front and rear wheels, so to give it a road-race-style balanced effect, MNNTHBX sourced the largest rear tire they could fit. While that and the colors make for a sport bike look, the project’s highlight is arguably its full sound system, including two 6.5 inch Kicker speakers between the rider’s legs, along with an amp and a controller integrated into the panel in front of the bike’s seat. “The Navi already comes with a storage compartment, so we thought about how we could repurpose that,” Estep explained. “We figured if you’re in the paddock, you always want some tunes, so we built a billet enclosure to go in that same space and integrated a Kicker sound system. It sounds really good!”
Find MNNTHBX website here, along with their socials: Instagram / Facebook
STEADY GARAGE
Located just 40 minutes north of the IMS Outdoors show in Irwindale, California, Steady Garage has birthed four previous special Honda projects, but the Navi was something different for partners Kevin Dunn, Jimmy Chen, Bhwe Suh and Duy Nguyen. “It was a brand-new bike for us, so we had to do a lot of research and trial and error,” Dunn said. “A lot of the inspiration was from the Ruckus and the Grom, so we modified some of our existing parts for those models in order to work with the Navi. The style we went with is similar to what we call ‘street Grom’ – low stance and a wide front wheel.”
Out back, Steady Garage barely managed to fit a rear wheel that’s both wider and has a larger diameter, a choice that necessitated sourcing a low-profile tire. Vance & Hines contributed a unique custom exhaust with stainless-steel flex pipe and twin outlet tips. The shock is a high-end unit custom-built by Taiwanese company Gears Racing, and the bike’s overall styling is super-clean. “We gave it what we call a diamond tail, which is also common with the Ruckus, and that really cleaned up the rear end,” Dunn said. “Then we custom-built a carbon-fiber seat off of the stock seat pan, following the lines of the diamond tail.”
If you like what you see, you can check out their range of Honda customisation options on their website: steadygarage.com and also follow them on socials (Instagram + Facebook) for some very cool photography and even cooler custom bikes.
Like MNNTHBX, Steady Garage opted to retain the Navi’s signature storage area, though they did trim the pod down for a narrower profile; the box can also be removed and replaced with a handy molle panel. The bodywork is all custom-painted, and it’s all highlighted by what Dunn admits was a relatively last-minute addition: “illuminated pinstriping” achieved via LED strips that change colors, giving the effect of a rolling neon sign.
In the meantime, all we can do is drool over these cool custom Honda NAVI’s and cross our fingers for a local release down the track.