Auction: Honda Monkey Baja with rare "Africa" body kit

This bike started life as a 1992 Honda Monkey Baja, which is not all that different from the Monkey or Z50 you might have had as a kid. The Baja was a cooler special edition for the Japanese market (aren’t they always...) that got two big rally lights, turn signals, and a tail light for street use.

The Monkey Baja was never officially imported into the United States, but now that Monkey Bajas are over 25 years old, it’s possible to ship them over if you can find them. (Lemmy did a great write-up on importing older bikes that you’ll want to read if this interests you.) While a few Monkey Bajas may have made their way to the states by other methods, it’s safe to say these bikes are highly uncommon.

The rarity is taken to the next level, of course, by this wild “Africa” body kit. The one-piece tank/tail was actually created by Honda as an homage to their rally bikes. Honda sold the bikes and kits separately, so these bikes were official but not assembled by the factory.

The Africa kit simply covers the existing tank and seat, so you could return your Monkey back to Baja spec. Not sure why you’d do that, though… The kit also included the flyscreen that fits above the headlights, a windshield decal, a front fender extension, and a skid plate. This example seems to be missing the fender bit and the skid plate, but it looks very clean and complete otherwise.

This particular example was imported to the United States from Japan, and it does have some aftermarket parts on it, including an 88 cc big bore kit, a Takegawa exhaust, an oil cooler, a Hayashi swingarm, and some rad wheels.

The bike is currently up for sale on Iconic Motorbike Auctions with a high bid of $3,500 at the time of writing and an unmet reserve. It has 3,910 miles on it and a bill of sale only. In this video, Iconic Motorbikes Auctions co-founder Abhi Eswarappa shows off the details and then takes it for a ride.

Hey, Honda, didn’t you just release a new Monkey? See where I’m going here?