John, please buy yourself a set of the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screwdrivers. You won’t believe how good a mechanical lock you get between the tip of the driver and the head of the screw, they are well worth the money. I purchased my set in the U.K. for about £25. Prior to purchasing this set I always used a Snap-on No. 2 Philips head screwdriver, trouble is they always try to ‘cam out’ when tightening as the Philips tip is not quite the same as the JIS variant.
I have to try this tonight. My monkey has taken a beating recently. Large sprocket in rear. 200+ rear springs, Shinko tires, and tidy tuck. these lil things are bad ass. i have not done the bore to it yet, but getting close!
Thank you again john for the rear shock videos and this headlight concern, I just picked up a new Black one on the 13th. It's the best winter distraction EVER. Look forward to more motorcycle content ;)
Thanks, that's good information. I've had my Monkey over a year and I just broke 3000miles. I just recently noticed this problem but I didn't know other people have had this problem. I will give your fix a try, thanks.
Thanks so much. Ordered a 2022. Hopefully Honda will have it taken care of by now. Loved that dirt road and would love to find some like that in western PA.
My light finally popped out after about 1000 miles. Half of that was trail riding. I actually ended up doing the same thing pretty much. Slight tab bend and used my 12v hex impact on low for the screws. Zero damage to the screw heads. I may add the thread locker tho to be safe.
Lock-tit the two screw's... I did Mine on the first day I bought it, before I ever rode it!.... I have almost 5000 mile's on mine? Not a problem for me!
Have you ever taken the whole bezel off? I want to get mine a matte black and I’d rather take it lol the way off rather than tape and masking. Thanks for the videos, you’ve helped me out several times!
I haven’t taken the whole thing off, just enough to do this mod. With the CT-125 having an OEM black bezel, I’m wondering if that’ll be compatible to swap with the monkey. If that’s the case, you get to keep the chrome one original in case you need to change back
Just as a cautionary note--Loctite will cause plastic to crack. No clue as to why but there's some sort of chemical reaction that does this. I'm off to the garage to do this fix to my Monkey!! Thanks!!!
I have the same problem. I used locktite and sometimes a really huge bump shakes it off, but I can use a screwdriver and towel to pop it back. It has to be a really huge bump to shake it. Like yesterday I took the really bad dirt road home and hit a rock that was sticking out like over a foot high.
Unrelated question, but I'm just wondering what camera mount you're using for riding? I'm about to get myself a GoPro and just trying to work out best options for recording my adventures. Cheers!
Excellent fix! Honda should follow John5XR's lead on this known reoccurring problem. Your follow up off roading post solidifies the fix. Awesome. And have you seen the headlight bucket on the new Honda CT125 aka Trail 125? Bet money those peeps will have the exact same problem very soon 🤔
Hi John, may I ask something? I had my first night ride and discovered that my frontlight is shining too high. I did not find an possibility to adjust the Light. Is there any way to do it? I already opened the screws of the housing but housing was not turnable to a lower position. Thanks for an advice. Greetings from Germany, Hansi
@@John5XR I will say mine when I ride on the street I just noticed it makes a vibrating noise. After 500 miles I am hearing that now. Need to fix that. Annoying as hell.
@@therealfactor5726 been awhile since I commented and now I hear mine vibrate on the road but so far has not popped out. Wish I had the newer 22 with the oil filter access. That is a big plus.
Blue thread locker and just a dab like you did will be fine. It isn't too crazy to get back out but holds enough that things don't back out. If you want something to be in permanently use the red thread locker.
It's really odd Honda made this design mistake with the headlight. And knowing Honda they'll never fix it. The Monkey design will persist until it's discontinued. But it's a minor flaw compared tot he mechanical stuff. Where are these trails? Are they private or public?
Agreed! The roads in the video are public and are on the Northern PA border with NY. Any trails we ride are private just across the NY border. Basically the all of our riding is jumping between NY and PA
@@John5XR Mountain laurel is probably not blooming anymore but might be a little bit. Depends on weather. It's the state flower for PA. Blooms in late spring.
Check out this video on You Tube - CT125 Amazon... then go to 4:10. Guess Honda ignored this issue and went ahead and did the same exact thing on the CT125?!? I may be wrong, but It sure looks like the same exact set up to me. Hopefully the CT folks will see your fix video if all their headlights start popping off 😑
Shame on them, and it’ll be worse on the Trail because they encourage off road riding with that bike. The Monkey was never advertised as being off road capable, but the Trail is off road in all of their promo material!
At first I wasn’t keen on the looks of them and thought they were automatic transmission, but since learned they’re semi-auto, just like my pit bikes and old Honda Trail 70, so I looked at them again. I’ll be doing a video about it soon, but I might have some money down on one 😉
I put the stock pipe back on because I had to reinstall the stock ecu. Since I lost my flash for the mods, I didn’t want to run it too lean and was thinking the stock pipe will restrict some flow and keep it rich enough
Your video gives no advice on how to replace the garbage honda sells to us. How do i PURCHASE a bettef option than stock. Monkey light blows with no condom on. If factory cant do it ,orhers can. Where, oh where, do i get a aftermarket headlamp.so i can throw stock honda garbage where it belongs in my dumpster. Can't find a reliable replacement for the feces of a headlight that Honda been producing. Looks like ill have to fab one myself
I watched this video at 1 in the morning, got out of bed, went outside, bent the clip, and went back to bed. No problems since.
You might have been able to wait till morning. Then you could have put the test on.
Ordered a Blue Monkey and I will do this first thing! Thanks!
Congratulations 👍🏽
I hope u love it. I’ve had my Blue 2020 for a month now - what a fun toy :)
So strange, I've still never hit this problem. But I'm definitely going to keep this in mind and maybe take a closer look.
I've heard some haven't, so maybe it's something on the first batch to hit the states as that's what mine was in.
Its creeping up on you! Pretty much a guaranteed eventuality if you do enough bumpy bumpy. I thought my Monkey was immune too but nope! 🙈🙉
Yep, the trails and bumps will do it. Just a bumpy gravel road did it for me
John, please buy yourself a set of the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screwdrivers. You won’t believe how good a mechanical lock you get between the tip of the driver and the head of the screw, they are well worth the money. I purchased my set in the U.K. for about £25. Prior to purchasing this set I always used a Snap-on No. 2 Philips head screwdriver, trouble is they always try to ‘cam out’ when tightening as the Philips tip is not quite the same as the JIS variant.
Funny how I mentioned that in the video and struggled with my standard screwdriver huh? Lol 🤦🏼♂️
Im buying a new yellow monkey this weekend. So this is the first thing i will do on it!
Thanks
I have to try this tonight. My monkey has taken a beating recently. Large sprocket in rear. 200+ rear springs, Shinko tires, and tidy tuck. these lil things are bad ass. i have not done the bore to it yet, but getting close!
Thank you again john for the rear shock videos and this headlight concern, I just picked up a new Black one on the 13th. It's the best winter distraction EVER. Look forward to more motorcycle content ;)
Enjoy! Hopefully they fixed the headlight thing by now. The 21 Honda Trail 125 has the same headlight and it doesn't pop loose
Thanks, that's good information. I've had my Monkey over a year and I just broke 3000miles. I just recently noticed this problem but I didn't know other people have had this problem. I will give your fix a try, thanks.
I also just broke 3000 miles on my yellow Monkey!
Did this fix work for you?
@@JayyBird93 Yes, that took care of the issue. Thanks.
Thanks so much. Ordered a 2022. Hopefully Honda will have it taken care of by now. Loved that dirt road and would love to find some like that in western PA.
I think they do because the Trail 125 has the same style of headlight and it doesn’t have this issue
Good job on coming up with a fix for this issue, I will be doing the same to mine!
Thanks! I had to, the dealership would probably not find it an issue like I do after minutes of offroad riding!
My light finally popped out after about 1000 miles. Half of that was trail riding. I actually ended up doing the same thing pretty much. Slight tab bend and used my 12v hex impact on low for the screws. Zero damage to the screw heads. I may add the thread locker tho to be safe.
Wow! That’s a good run! Mine popped out at like 5-miles! Lol
Just a thought. Why not put a slit across the screws before installing with lock-tight, just
in case the Phillips screw driver rounds off the screw.
Lock-tit the two screw's... I did Mine on the first day I bought it, before I ever rode it!.... I have almost 5000 mile's on mine? Not a problem for me!
Have you ever taken the whole bezel off? I want to get mine a matte black and I’d rather take it lol the way off rather than tape and masking. Thanks for the videos, you’ve helped me out several times!
I haven’t taken the whole thing off, just enough to do this mod. With the CT-125 having an OEM black bezel, I’m wondering if that’ll be compatible to swap with the monkey. If that’s the case, you get to keep the chrome one original in case you need to change back
Just as a cautionary note--Loctite will cause plastic to crack. No clue as to why but there's some sort of chemical reaction that does this.
I'm off to the garage to do this fix to my Monkey!! Thanks!!!
Never knew that! I’m not 100% sure the threads are plastic, but it doesn’t mean the loctite couldn’t sneak it’s way into the plastic anyways
Just got a 🍌 yellow 2023 monkey definitely going to give it a bend before it pops out while on the ride
I’m going to try it, thank you!
Nice.....thanks for the great tip!
Happy to help! Thanks for watching and commenting
That headlight bezel came off my monkey the first few hundred miles. Thanks for the tip 👍
I have the same problem. I used locktite and sometimes a really huge bump shakes it off, but I can use a screwdriver and towel to pop it back. It has to be a really huge bump to shake it. Like yesterday I took the really bad dirt road home and hit a rock that was sticking out like over a foot high.
Bend that tab and you’ll be gold! I’ve put in at least 50-miles on rock laden trails here in PA and it’s not budged 👌
@@John5XR Are you seeing mountain laurel? I love that stuff. My house was surrounded by it
I’ll have to look it up to be sure, but probably!
Hi John - can you tell me how you made those “pull out knobs “ to replace the bolts on yours seat? Love the quick release.. Thanks - Tom
Thanks for the tip!
No problem here.
Unrelated question, but I'm just wondering what camera mount you're using for riding? I'm about to get myself a GoPro and just trying to work out best options for recording my adventures. Cheers!
Excellent fix! Honda should follow John5XR's lead on this known reoccurring problem. Your follow up off roading post solidifies the fix. Awesome. And have you seen the headlight bucket on the new Honda CT125 aka Trail 125? Bet money those peeps will have the exact same problem very soon 🤔
Thanks for that! I would sure hope they fixed it on the Trail 125, it’d be pretty ignorant if they didn’t
thanks for the video and tip
Hi John, may I ask something? I had my first night ride and discovered that my frontlight is shining too high. I did not find an possibility to adjust the Light. Is there any way to do it? I already opened the screws of the housing but housing was not turnable to a lower position. Thanks for an advice. Greetings from Germany, Hansi
Hi Hansi, there should be an adjustment mechanism for the headlight on the bottom of the headlight bucket.
Wonder if they changed the 2020 as I ride mine off road and have never had it pop out..
I would like to obtain that information as well. The new monkey has been for a while already.
I'd hope so, it was a huge issue for many people
@@John5XR I will say mine when I ride on the street I just noticed it makes a vibrating noise. After 500 miles I am hearing that now. Need to fix that. Annoying as hell.
I have a 22 monkey and it pops out on rougher roads here in Ohio
@@therealfactor5726 been awhile since I commented and now I hear mine vibrate on the road but so far has not popped out. Wish I had the newer 22 with the oil filter access. That is a big plus.
Blue thread locker and just a dab like you did will be fine. It isn't too crazy to get back out but holds enough that things don't back out. If you want something to be in permanently use the red thread locker.
With the stuff I ride on, I need that tab bent!
It's really odd Honda made this design mistake with the headlight. And knowing Honda they'll never fix it. The Monkey design will persist until it's discontinued. But it's a minor flaw compared tot he mechanical stuff. Where are these trails? Are they private or public?
Agreed! The roads in the video are public and are on the Northern PA border with NY. Any trails we ride are private just across the NY border. Basically the all of our riding is jumping between NY and PA
@@John5XR thank you. I'm in SE PA.
Does trail 125 have same problem?
Where are you in PA? I used to live in the poconos
At the actual border of PA and NY north of Scranton and east of Binghamton
@@John5XR Mountain laurel is probably not blooming anymore but might be a little bit. Depends on weather. It's the state flower for PA. Blooms in late spring.
Ahh, ok. I’ll google it 👌
Did you just chew up the chrome bending the tab? Your running out of turn signal fluid too.
No, but close! I don’t care about the tab as it’s clipped inside the bucket, but you gotta watch out for the bezel chrome
Check out this video on You Tube - CT125 Amazon... then go to 4:10. Guess Honda ignored this issue and went ahead and did the same exact thing on the CT125?!? I may be wrong, but It sure looks like the same exact set up to me. Hopefully the CT folks will see your fix video if all their headlights start popping off 😑
Shame on them, and it’ll be worse on the Trail because they encourage off road riding with that bike. The Monkey was never advertised as being off road capable, but the Trail is off road in all of their promo material!
@@John5XR I know right?!?. Like you said previously... Ignorant 😐
@@John5XR I forgot to ask this earlier. Do you intend on getting one of the Trail 125's? Was just curious since you do a lot of off roading.
At first I wasn’t keen on the looks of them and thought they were automatic transmission, but since learned they’re semi-auto, just like my pit bikes and old Honda Trail 70, so I looked at them again. I’ll be doing a video about it soon, but I might have some money down on one 😉
@@John5XR Cool. Look forward to that video. I put a $500 deposit down. Could not resist. Honda's vintage throwback mini motos are too cool.
did you replace the Yoshimura exhaust?
I put the stock pipe back on because I had to reinstall the stock ecu. Since I lost my flash for the mods, I didn’t want to run it too lean and was thinking the stock pipe will restrict some flow and keep it rich enough
I use black Guerilla Duct Tape to hold my headlight in.
Where do you place the tape?
Top of light. 1/2 on chrome and 1/2 on plastic
Can you use like fingernail polish instead of loctite
I think it’ll be fine without loctite even, but they make a low strength loctite that would be good
Get a couple extra screws that fit in a piece of duct tape and tape it inside the light if something ever does happen you're all set to go
No need, this fix hasn’t failed me since I did it. No glue, tape, or even loctite needed 👍
@@John5XRis this fix still going strong? Any better ideas come along?
Clear rtv on the tab only works pretty good
Looks like ur an electrician to
My headlight failed 3 hours after I bought it.
That sucks. I think this should be expected with the Monkey unfortunately and feel they should recall or change the design
Your video gives no advice on how to replace the garbage honda sells to us.
How do i PURCHASE a bettef option than stock.
Monkey light blows with no condom on.
If factory cant do it ,orhers can.
Where, oh where, do i get a aftermarket headlamp.so i can throw stock honda garbage where it belongs in my dumpster.
Can't find a reliable replacement for the feces of a headlight that Honda been producing.
Looks like ill have to fab one myself