There was a time when the minibike industry boomed and just about every manufacturer was getting in on the game in one way or another. In 1973, just in the United States, 140,000 were sold, providing cheap fun for everyone from children to the big kids amongst us. But new safety legislation saw sales figures fall to just 50,000 four years later and the final nail wasn’t far behind. So, when Honda launched the modern Grom in 2014, it was amazing to see the enthusiasm had never died for the little road rockets. And wanting to see a crazy custom version, Honda sent one of their first examples to Thailand’s K-Speed. In perfect hands, Eak’s team went to town, and now all these years later, they’ve reacquired that first Grom and given ‘Mod Racer’ a whole new lease on life.
So early in the life cycle of the new 2014 Grom, known in some parts as the MSX125, Eak actually received his example in 2013. And it made sense for Honda Asia to choose the world-renowned builder, as he is both a master of the small bike game and the Grom was built in Thailand for the global market, making it a wise choice to pick a home town hero. All these years later and with hundreds of custom minibikes built by K-Speed and a whole parts catalogue of cool pieces, Honda has been proven right in their original selection.
When the bike was finished, photographed and shown to the world, it was then sold to a customer and Eak lost touch. But just this year, K-Speed managed to track down their long-lost friend, and the team decided that building version 2.0 of ‘Mod Racer’ would be the perfect way to get reacquainted with the bike. So, let’s dive into the first variant and then see what was changed on the Honda 12 years later, to make part two even better. As soon as the guys took delivery back in 2013, they quickly ripped the bike to pieces and started to examine every part individually. Not happy with the tiny 12-inch wheels, the first step was to measure things up and see how much bigger they could go.
It was decided a 14-inch rim was the way to go, and the guys ditched the little mag wheels and instead used custom hubs to lace up a set of lightweight spoked items. The front would fit fine, thanks to their all new triple clamps setup. But the rear was never going to work and because they never do things by halves, the K-Speed team decided that the best way to go would be with a full, WSBK, all aluminium, braced style swingarm. And if that wasn’t crazy enough for the little bike, it would all be controlled by a big dollar Ohlins remote reservoir shock in gold.
Wanting to take the racer vibe all the way, the next step was to build a bracket for an underslung Brembo caliper, vital for quick pit stops, and then bolt a full floating and drilled rotor to the hub. The front end got similar treatment, with rebuilt forks, Brembo caliper, an improved master cylinder and a custom set of clip-ons to really capture the racer vibe. The Grom was now getting serious and one of the big changes was to the chassis, with the entire subframe removed and a tiny replacement welded into place. This became home to an even smaller seat, that swept up hard on a dramatic angle and was also incredibly narrow.
All of which paved the way for the bodywork and starting at the front, those wide and wild fork covers absolutely dominate the visuals. You have to remember that this is a design from 2013, and Mod Racer helped to pave the way for many copies to come. Part of the brilliance of their execution is the hidden mounts, you can barely tell how they’re bolted on, and the flared shape at the bottom does a brilliant job at hiding the lower fork legs from view. Between the covers, the front number board brings it all together, and the original version featured a pair of strip LEDs to serve as the headlight.
The big, flowing tank cover then totally changed the look of this from ever being recognised as a Grom, and the hand-shaped belly pan boxed in the engine. The small powerplant received a host of upgrades, an open clutch, twin shotgun exhausts and a custom intake. The bike was then painted in a matte silver and hit the street and show scene to massive acclaim. Now, fast forward to 2025 and it was the colour that Eak wanted to change first, opting for the green you see on the bike now and finishing all of the once raw alloy in a black powder coat. The LED lights were removed, and the front end is now much cleaner, with just a single spotlight and the addition of small indicators.
The engine is another area that has been seriously tidied up, with considerable effort going into hiding more components under the tank cover. Then the engine got full black treatment too, with a new clutch cover, braided lines with black ends and the once wrapped exhausts have been finished with black, drilled covers. Even the custom rearsets have been treated to the black finish, as has that beautiful swingarm. And then there is the seat, a little more sensible this time around, the Diablo unit comes from the company catalogue and gives the rider a more secure perch from which they can attack the road. Both then and now, this heavy-hitting little Honda shows the incredible creativity of Eak, and it’s easy to see why K-Speed is still at the top of the tree.
[ K-Speed ]