2nd Gen SF Grom vs 3rd Gen 2022 Grom - Which one is better?

Before I purchased my 2022 Honda Grom, I went back and forth for months trying to decide which grom would be better suited for my needs. While both groms are amazingly fun little bikes, there are some areas where the 2nd gen grom is better and vice versa. In this video, I'll go through a few categories and compare the two groms and see which one comes out on top.

[@graemewillgress3780]

For me, the 5th gear really did it. I love the look of both versions but decided on balance to go new as I would never know the true history of the 2nd gen bike, especially given that people do all manner of tricks and stuff on them. Thanks for posting. :)

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks Graeme! The 5th gear was a huge selling point, makes cruising at 50mph more bearable.

[@elmeradams8781]

Aren't you scared of the transmission noise they get?

[@davidfromdownunder]

Thanks mate, alot of useful info for those out there like me that are researching on which gen to choose from

[@IronBornRider]

Appreciate that David. I was going through the same debate and it was really hard to choose.

[@ChopperFett]

Nice work man, this should really help someone who was in the same boat.

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks Chop!

[@mattyboycodm5591]

I fully support the headlight swap, would love to see how it looks

[@GreatEgret]

I expect to see Grom wheelies on this channel soon! 😎

[@IronBornRider]

Lol, I do want to learn wheelies at some point but I also don't want to crash. Hmm.....

[@therealrealshocker]

Great video 👍🏻 thanks for sharing

[@alloutkx450]

Drinking game. Every time he says Grom, take a shot.

[@MarcM143]

And die 😂😂

[@mooncat.787]

Hahaha.... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Now that was proper funny...... You'll know you've had a drink that's for sure.

[@Cukangna]

Amazing my friends

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks!

[@DatBoyComp]

Obligatory disclaimer of "never ridden a grom" But for me the 2nd gen looks a lot more sleek and sporty the 3rd gen still however looks good in its own right and opened up the possibilities for it imo. Definitely allows it to fit the offroad look a bit more than the 2nd gen, with the right mods the 3rd gen reminds me of an oldschool pitbike almost. But that 5th gear is a game changer especially as a bigger guy looking at groms, I will most likely go with a 3rd gen for its performance even though I like the look of the 2nd gen more.

[@IronBornRider]

That was exactly my thought when I bought the new grom. I really like the looks (and price) of the 2nd gen groms but the 3rd gen grom had enough improvements to seal the deal for me.

[@antoniocastano97]

The third generation its much better because the 5 gear. BUT, I have the 3 generation and my friend the second generation, and i see the best mod: 14Tooth To the second generation. When you use 14 tooth, have a got more speed in 4 gear. Have a same speed with my bike!

[@keithgordon702]

Excellent content thank you. I have the same questions as I consider purchase.

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks for watching Keith!

[@kenmillionx]

Your channel content is so great to watch 👍 cool video 👍👌👌👌👌👌👌

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks ken!

[@tonyperkis9561]

I have a green 2020 sf and after exhaust and otb chain adjusters its great. I need a new seat because stock is way too firm.

[@JohnShaw26.2]

Great video. I agree much prefer the headlight of the SF but that 5th gear definitely has men leaning towards the 2022! I wish the 2022 came in red.

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks Shaw. I think you can buy red panels or decals. The 5th gear is what I was really after too

[@JohnShaw26.2]

@@IronBornRider picked up the black ‘22 cause the SP wasn’t available and I don’t want ABS. Gonna have to find some factory red panels now!

[@SanKongChannel]

2023 now comes in red.

[@gspida6882]

To me the reason I like the headlight so much on the SF is it looks like a go bot/transformer head while in it's vehicle mode lol

[@jamesf1795]

Here in Colorado the used groms are priced at new grom prices. I got a new one since the older groms on Craigslist are listing at 3,600 and 3,500 for a 2015 model. Crazy.

[@IronBornRider]

That truly is insane but the bike market has also been out of whack too

[@SoCalSlaughter]

I went on a 95 mile trip recently with a bunch of small bore bikes. I took my 22 SP and my buddy took his 15' Grom. I got better MPG, was faster and people asked about my bike more. This was at the Rock Store and Neptunes Net in Cali.

[@IronBornRider]

3rd gen ftw

[@stevenlee1075]

I love my 22. Thing has been all I wanted. Ever since I was like 15 I’ve watched grom content, and I finally got one! I also had it up to 163 MPG at one point during break in 🤣

[@IronBornRider]

163 is crazy 😝

[@zamdrang]

Did you notice the motor of the 3rd Gen being smoother and less vibration in the bars? I just picked up a '23, first and only Grom I've ridden and really surprised how much smoother the motor is than my other bikes. Particularly compared to my Trail 125 which shares the motor from the 2nd gen I believe. Aesthetically I think the tank plastic is way out of proportion with the rest of bike, that's what looks odd to me.

[@IronBornRider]

I haven't had experience with the 2nd gen, so I can't say. But I did read that a lot of people agreed that 3rd gen groms were just overall smoother and more "refined" vs the 2nd gen. I personally liked the look of the 3rd gen overall, but the large headlight just looked really odd to me.

[@irongoatrocky2343]

I live in Thailand and since the pandemic has really shut down a lot of custom and aftermarket sources here i have to pay S&H and Duty anyways so I order from the USA from Mostly TST, & MNNTHBX (No Steady Garage since they DGAF about any one outside the USA by blocking from web site) i decided to go with the 3rd gen Grom........Price here 69900THB ($2029 USD) w/ABS 77400 ($2246 USD) out the door w/TTL!

[@tightropehikes]

Everyone says the new grom is “faster” I’ve never come across a stock new model grom that beats my ‘17 SF Not sure what’s going on with that but I’m not complaining

[@jamesgeorgevellavella1961]

Couldn’t find any used groms at fair price. Market place most were asking more than I just paid for the 2022 grom. I got the ABS $4800 AUD+12mth on roads including so I’m happy (black grom)

[@IronBornRider]

The used grom market has been insane lately. You really have to be patient if you want to get one at a decent price. Glad you were able to get a new one tho

[@billwiley7216]

Another older guy considering a Grom and I am considering whether to buy a cheaper older model or a new model with the 5th gear as well. One thing is that much of what I am reading is the new engine has much less room with the cylinder stud spacing so the amount of performance big bore kits will be much more limited with the new engine. First off as an older rider I am not looking for extreme top end performance or stunting but being able to get out and just have fun while maintaining at least 55 mph when needed is important. As someone that wants to build a motor capable of being comfortable maintaining 55mph speeds and maintaining those speeds holding up hills I question whether the new engine will be as good in that respect as the older engines. Also as far as the transmission going 5 speed on the older engines is not that expensive if you are not intimidated by splitting the cases OR you could drop in one of the 190cc Chinese engines that seem to be a pretty reliable option if they are treated right which gives the Grom realistic low 70's top end speed runs and would be perfect for someone that really never planned on exceeding about 55 mph. My preference is leaning towards a pre '22 model and putting in a 5spd, and about 170cc big bore kit with an aftermarket ecm. But that depends on what I can find in the way of a used bike and the price there also. I by a long shot have not counted the '22 bike out of the running at this point. I am looking at this as much or more a hobby bike to build and mod as a bike strictly to ride. Modding the bike will be as much fun as riding in many ways, But there is another side of me that says you need a Grom like you need another hole in your head as well. I think it would be easy to dump a bunch of money in one of these if you were not careful!

[@philipdumont2286]

Old guy here bought a 2022 Grom it came with a promotion from Honda Canada 5 yrs warranty when I bought it. I don't need big bore , I've got 3 other motorcycle a 300cc,650cc and 1700cc... The 5th speed is a bonus going down a steep hill ... Don't want a 4 speed brake engine going downhill.. 😆

[@antoniocastano97]

The 5 gear dont have a power. Only the solution its 14 tooth.

[@MilesOn2]

These bikes are cool. The price though.....they don't even kiss you when you buy one of these. Here in SoCal your coming out with a $5,900 Grom. That's one of my reasons I don't buy imported motorcycles. They have these ADM fees and they get too crazy with them. Great video man!

[@IronBornRider]

Yeah if I didn’t have this yt channel I probably would’ve bought a cheap used grom for like $2k. But I figured a new grom would make for good content. Thanks for watching HA

[@DickDebonaire]

I picked up a yellow 2022 today. Michigan has 6% sales tax and other fees. With TTL, freight ($300 including "surcharge") setup, blah blah blah it came out about $4,300 out the door. Of course I would have liked to get it $300-$500 cheaper or so but I was actually lucky just to get one at all. I was quite a few down the waiting list but everybody ahead of me wanted white or black so this went to me

[@keldonator]

@@IronBornRider I wish I could find one used for $2k lol

[@IronBornRider]

@@keldonator you and me both lol

[@tonysomo6236]

Do you know if a 2nd gen exhaust fits the 3rd gens? Appreciate the help 🙏

[@IronBornRider]

I’m not sure tbh. I wouldn’t think so

[@johnkoch4616]

Where do the designations OG, SF and SP regarding Grom generations come from? I'm familiar with the term "OG", but the other terms are unclear to me. TIA.

[@IronBornRider]

From what I understand SF means street fighter and SP is just the special model on the 3rd gen (different graphics) I could be wrong though

[@crypticreality8484]

Z125 for the win!

[@gb.recordings]

He absolutely right about that I went to the Honda dealership yesterday and they try to bump it up $2,000 more trying to Total it out to $5,000 plus tax and I might know the man told me they charge $1,000 just for them to put it together so why don't you sell the model that's not together and we could do it ourselves but they don't want to do that they want to charge you for that then they want to charge you another $1,000 for the state taxes and plate fees same thing with my BMW when I bought it from a dealership the state and plate tax was very high I spent $2,000 on that so I guess it's a New York City price I guess but I will have to get it out of town like he said if I want to get it for a reasonable price

[@billwilliamson9842]

I had heard the 2021 and older groms/monkeys had timing chain tensioner problems, hence the re-designed tensioner on the 2022 groms/monkeys engine. So they weren't without their quirks and I really question the true problem with the new 5spd trans. A couple guys with problems doesn't really transfer over as a huge problem IMO. I have also heard rumors of a false neutral issues as well but can't really say thats been a problem on my 2022 Monkey. Its shifts smooth like butta but I still went ahead and put a aftermarket shifter on it as I just like the idea of less parts involved. we'll see how that feels next time I get to take it out. I'm a old crippled up fat guy though, so my days of really thrashin stuff are gone for the most part, that might play a role in things. lol good vid.

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks Bill. The issue with the new grom was more prevalent than I alluded to in the video, with lots of ppl commenting that they have similar noises but by and large agree it wasn’t enough to deter me. The false neutral is a thing though but it gets better after some tjme. Thanks for watching!

[@honda116969]

The bike does not even need the 5th ⚙️ the only problem/thing you could hold it down as long as you can & the bike would never over rev itself... Unless you're going down a long-ass Hill they should have put a little more power in it like the 150cc than 5th would b useful

[@josemartinho2771]

The answer is really simple: 1st gen grom

[@mbcurtis22]

5th gear alone wins over the older 4 speed ones hands down

[@5446moto]

Aesthetically the first gen gets the clear win. The addition of the 5th gear sounds great but can the little motor really pull thaw final gear? Also did they address the oil starvation during wheelies yet?

[@jeremypierce1979]

What about the OG grom Man! It’s good too!! I got a 2015 still going strong 💪🏻

[@IronBornRider]

OG grom on another level. But I didn’t include them because they’re a little more difficult to find but if I can find one in a pristine stock condition with low miles I’d jump on it

[@alialdoh3500]

I go with 2nd gen

[@IronBornRider]

They’re both good options

[@tubehead8203]

It's the mirrors that makes 3rd gen look terrible. I also like the 3rd generation light too.

[@3pilot]

i have a 22 and i've never gotten better than 115 mpg

[@TheMotoJawn]

Did I see a grom going off a ramp? Now the grom has my attention.....

[@IronBornRider]

Probably crashed hard

[@Spacecruizer203]

Are the fairings interchangeable

[@IronBornRider]

Not to my knowledge no

[@Spacecruizer203]

@IronBornRider ok appreciate your reply the gromster

[@roydenvickers6382]

SP Grom

[@antoniocastano97]

Guys. The 5 gears in the 3 Generation its a joke. If you preffer the second generation, change the tooth and give more speed!

[@csorse]

Forgot to talk about suspension in which the sf is def inferior

[@IronBornRider]

I don’t have any experience on the sf grom so unfortunately I couldn’t bring that point to light. Appreciate the insight!

[@marnixhoebers5176]

Stock vs stock The RR (3rd gen) is better than the SF (2nd gen)

[@KSMotoCafe]

you need a honda or grom hat for these!

[@IronBornRider]

Never! Lol

[@KSMotoCafe]

@@IronBornRider just get the honda type R hat - those r ..cool

[@intergalacticbasketballdro7186]

Fuel Injection is way more reliable than a Carburetor is. (Especially at higher altitudes) A fuel injected engine uses fuel more precisely, and it adjusts the Air/Fuel Mixture automatically as you are traveling over mountain passes. 🌄🏍 Carburetors don't. (They begin to lose efficiency whenever the weather conditions aren't perfect). Fuel Injection is always better than a Carburetor.

[@Anii6969]

No one said anything about it being carbureted

[@elmeradams8781]

I don't think any of the groms had carburetors.

[@dickyang510]

agreed third gen grom head light..im not liking it too.. kinda suck

[@IronBornRider]

Yeah, I bet if you wait a while they’ll have aftermarket support available

[@pujapete3665]

2022 monkey visit dealer tomorrow.gears no selecting.

[@devineunlimited6800]

Need to tally up how many times u said groM in the video lol

[@IronBornRider]

There’s a drinking game for ya

[@besimgungor724]

What about the ride experience?

[@IronBornRider]

I wouldn’t be able to compare since I’ve only ridden the gen 3