Customization can be about aesthetics and performance, but it can also be about making a motorcycle fit its rider better. This wild Honda Monkey from Roland Sands Design rolls all three approaches into one, with a build list to rival bikes twice its size.
The Californian workshop built the Monkey for skateboarder, stunt performer and Jackass star Jason ‘Wee Man’ Acuña. Jason used to ride mini-motocrossers as a kid, but he wanted to get back on two wheels—and this time on the street. So he approached RSD to build a bike that would fit his frame.
“We are a non-denominational motorcycle company,” says shop boss, Roland Sands. “If it has two wheels and can be improved in the eyes of the owner and the RSD crew, it’s a project we are willing to take on.”
“Jason wanted something that was geared for the pavement, and built especially for him both in function and aesthetic. Now Jason is not your average biker: he’s got a normal size torso with short legs and short arms.”
“Starting out with a small bike seemed like the right thing to do. Enter the Honda Monkey.”
The Monkey might indeed be a small bike—but it’s got one of the thickest seats out. And since Jason was returning to motorcycling after a decade-long hiatus, getting both feet on the ground was a must. Removing the seat got the team halfway there, but perfecting the ride height would take a little more elbow grease.
RSD lowered the front forks with a Racing Bros lowering kit, and added a set of 280 mm Racing Bros shock out back. They fabricated a custom subframe with new shock mounts too, then trimmed down a Saddlemen seat, finishing it off with an embedded LED taillight.
The fenders are carbon fiber items from Tyga, mounted with a Composimo lift kit (front) and an adjustable TST ‘eliminator’ kit (rear).
Roland Sands’ background is in racing, and the shop’s bikes almost always feature a laundry list of performance upgrades. So this Monkey was never just going to be a simple ergonomics job.
On went a pair of lightweight BST carbon fiber wheels (yes, they make wheels specifically for the Monkey), shod with dual-compound scooter tires. The braking system is a mix: Brembo calipers on Chimera brackets, Galfer wave rotors and Spiegler lines.
Brake upgrades on a Monkey might seem gratuitous—but this particular Monkey has a top speed of 70-plus miles per hour. RSD tuned it with a Chimera intake and K&N filter, and a full Yoshimura exhaust system. The engine’s also sporting Driven Racing timing and valve covers, a stator and sprocket covers from Sex Machine, and revised sprocket ratios.
Up top are a set of ProTaper risers, bars and grips, with ASV levers. Just in front is a pair of Koso LED turn signals, mounted on Yoshimura plates. And the foot controls are Driven Racing parts, with a Hard Racing shifter shaft support bracket to help improve shifting.
Finishing touches include a Kitaco skid plate, a new gas cap, and a modified kickstand to suit the Monkey’s new ride height. All told, the changes ended up shaving about 40 pounds off the Honda’s original curb weight, making it even more fun to ride.
With every box ticked, the frame went off for an avocado green powder coat, while the tank was sent to Chris Wood at Airtrix for a matching paint job. It came back with a black on black finish, complete with carbon fiber inlays and avocado pinstriping.
The Monkey now looks killer, goes like stink, and fits its rider perfectly. And it’s compact enough for Jason to take on the road too.
“Wee Man is an ‘Instagram millionaire’,” says Roland, “but the guy’s gone through the process of having too much to stripping back, and simplifying his life to only what’s necessary.”
“He spends a lot of time on the road in his custom Sprinter van exploring the world. The Wee Monkey gives him the opportunity to set up camp and have bitchin’ street legal transportation anywhere he goes.”
Roland Sands Design | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Joe Hitzelberger
