Post Sale Update: This Gorilla sold for $2,550 after 21 bids on eBay in Austin, Texas.
The nomenclature is pretty straightforward – what’s bigger than a Monkey? A Gorilla! Honda started offering a big brother to the Monkey in 1978, though they’re very difficult to find in the US. This one’s even harder to find, as it’s a limited edition called the Tokyo Limited (they made a similar version of the Monkey). Thankfully, Cycle Refinery in Austin, Texas has you covered.
Honda themselves called the Gorilla a “leisure bike” when they put it back in production in 1998 after a 10 year hiatus (it continued on until 2017). The main differences between the Gorilla and its smaller brother were the seat and the larger tank (2.37 gallons) – not bad when the mileage was claimed to be 160 mpg! The Gorilla also got luggage racks on both ends of the bike. While the Gorilla and Monkey shared motors, the former got a 4-speed transmission with a clutch.
This example (VIN: Z50J-1423672) has 9,928 miles and it’s just been given a tune-up with an oil change and a new battery/chain/air filter. Flaws include a missing headlight switch, faded decals on the right side of the tank, a small dent in the tank, and a little bit of the corrosion that seems to befall every motorcycle that spends significant time in Japan…
Find this Gorilla for sale in Austin, Texas with bidding up to $2,499 (note that they have an asking price of $4,500 for a very similar bike on their website)