We’ve covered quite a few sidecar motorcycles here in the past. Of course, you’ve got your mainstream Urals, but then there are others – not as mainstream, but equally distinctive, like the custom Ducati sidecar motocrosser or the electric enduro sidecar from Kalashnikov.
This one feels quite distinctive, as the sidecar is mounted to a mini moto. And not just any mini moto – a suspiciously Honda Monkey-looking retro mini moto.
The Duo 125 comes from a Germany-based GZ Bike, a company that specializes in street-legal retro mini motorcycles. Most of the components in these motorcycles come from China, but they’re configured to European standards, and I have to say, these look like they’re a lot of fun.
GZ Bike
Now, first things first. Yes, the looks are uncanny – the bike itself looks very similar to the Honda Monkey. Let’s not dance around it, the GZ Duo wears its influences on its sleeve. From the bulbous fuel tank and ribbed bench seat to the round headlamp, chunky tires, and eerily similar proportions, the visual similarities are unmistakable.
If the Honda Monkey 125 had a long-lost cousin who spent a few years pulling sidecars around a European seaside town, it’d probably look something like this. The Duo stops short of being a direct clone, thanks to several bespoke components and its unique sidecar chassis.
Let’s start with the engine. It’s a 125cc air-cooled, four-stroke, single-cylinder engine that comes from a supplier called Jincheng in China. It sports a square bore and stroke of 54 mm each, producing 8.5 hp at 7,500 rpm and 6.5 lb.ft (8.8 Nm) of torque at 5,000 rpm. But here’s the big thing: it’s Euro 5+ compliant.
It’s pretty clear that this isn’t a machine destined for the autobahn. Instead, it’s perhaps going to be happiest meandering through city streets, beach promenades, and country lanes where the journey matters infinitely more than the destination.
That engine is mated to a 4-speed semi-automatic transmission and a centrifugal clutch (also like Honda’s), topping out at 43 mph (70 km/h). It’s extremely fuel efficient, offering around 117.61 mpg (50 km/l), which translates to over 186 miles (300 km) of range on its 1.7-gallon (6.5-liter) full tank.
GZ Bike
The components are nothing extraordinary – a steel frame suspended on telescopic forks and twin shock absorbers at the rear. There are no riding modes to scroll through, no smartphone app to pair with, and no overbearing rider aids reminding you that a computer is in charge. Braking comes from a single disc on the front wheel and drum brakes on both the rear wheel and the sidecar wheel.
Speaking of the sidecar, it rolls on the same 10-inch wheel as the motorcycle’s. The whole setup weighs 282 lb (128 kg), which allows for a total permissible payload of 330 lb (150 kg), of which 154 lb (70 kg) can be in the sidecar. You get a wheelbase of 39.1 in (995 mm), a seat height of 25.5 in (650 mm), and a pretty modest ground clearance of 6.1 in (155 mm).
GZ Bike
It’s that sidecar, of course, that is the star of the show. Unlike the imposing touring outfits of old, this one feels almost cartoonishly compact. It can carry a rather lightweight passenger weighing no more than 154 lb.
That suggests it would much rather become home to a picnic basket, a dog, a camera bag, or whatever odd cargo accompanies a leisurely weekend ride. Better still, the sidecar is removable, allowing the Duo to transform from conversation starter to an even stranger-looking solo mini-bike whenever the mood strikes.
The GZ Duo is quirky, unapologetically old-school, and almost impossible to walk past without taking a second look. And for €3,799 (around US$4,340) in parts of Europe, it occupies a wonderfully odd niche somewhere in between scooters and motorcycles, where character matters more than outright capability.
Source: GZ Bike
