Honda Motor Co., Ltd. held a ceremony, July 21, 2008, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Super Cub sales which began in August 1958. The ceremony for associates was held at Honda’s new Kumamoto Factory where Super Cub is produced in Japan. The Honda Cub is the motorcycling world’s equivalent of iconic, world champion cars like Volkswagen‘s Beetle, the Mini or Citroen 2CV. The Cub has been described as the world’s greatest motorcycle, ever!

“The reason we have been able to continue producing and selling Super Cub for 50 years, which is quite a long time, is because of our customers who enjoy using Super Cub every day,” said Takeo Fukui, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. “I would also like to thank Honda associates who have supported the history of Super Cub. Super Cub has continuously advanced to accommodate the needs and preferences of people throughout the world, and cumulative worldwide production of Cub series motorcycles reached the 60 million-unit milestone in April of this year. Moreover, in this year of the 50th anniversary of Super Cub, a new motorcycle plant has been built at this Kumamoto Factory, and the transfer of motorcycle production to the new plant will be completed within this year. I expect Kumamoto Factory to serve as the global leader of Honda’s motorcycle production operations around the world and to continue providing our customers with products that create new value.”

Since the introduction of the first Super Cub C100 model in 1958, Super Cub has been a long-selling product sold in more than 160 countries* to date, and customers around the world enjoy using Super Cub every day. Production of Super Cub in regions outside of Japan began in 1961 in Taiwan, with production based on component parts sets provided from Japan and was expanded to other countries based on Honda’s commitment to “build products close to the customer.” The Honda Cub series is currently being produced at 16 plants in 15 countries around the world.

* Honda’s internal data

KEY MILESTONES OF HONDA SUPER CUB SERIES
August 1958 Sales of Super Cub C100 began (air-cooled 4-stroke, single-cylinder OHV engine, 49cc, 4.5 horse power) Production site: Yamato Plant (later became Saitama Factory Wako Plant)
1959 Exports to the U.S. began
1960 Production at Suzuka Factory began
1961 Cumulative production reached 1 million-unit milestone
Production based on component parts sets began in Taiwan (first production outside of Japan)
1964 Sales of Super Cub C65 (the first OHC engine) began
1966 Sales of Super Cub C50 (OHC engine) began
1967 Cumulative production reached 5 million-unit milestone
1974 Cumulative production reached 10 million-unit milestone
1983 Fuel consumption of 180km/liter (30km/h constant-speed test value) achieved (Super Cub 50 Super Custom)
1988 Sales of Press Cub began
1991 Production was transferred to Kumamoto Factory
1992 Cumulative production reached 20 million-unit milestone
1997 Sales of Little Cub began
2005 Cumulative production reached 50 million-unit milestone
2007 An electronically-controlled fuel injection system, Honda’s PGM-FI, was installed on Super Cub 50, Press Cub 50 and Little Cub.
2008 Cumulative production reached 60 million-unit milestone (April)

バイカーブードゥー

This funny little mini-chopper was built by (I believe) TH Bikers of Kampung Baru, Malaysia. It’s based on a Modenas Kriss 110 (licence-built Kawasaki moped). No prizes for guessing which Harley-Davidson inspired it. The V-Rod of course.

An interesting concept, it combines the modern chopper-style look of the V-Rod with the frugal 110cc powertrain of a Kriss 110. IMHO if you take off the tacky looking stickers I think it would look much nicer. Since it’s so small, let’s call it the “Hardly-Davidson”!

バイカーブードゥー

Leopoldo Tartarini, the founder and president of Italjet has created this wonderful, gracefully retro moped – the Italjet Amarcord. The Amarcord leaves viewers speechless right at first sight. Its retro styling, futuristic and timeless look, combined with the high tech rear suspension system are truly representative of a work of kinetic sculpture!

The Amarcord is styled to look like a 1920s Italian sporty moped but with the addition of excellent comfort and the convenience of a state-of-the-art modern 150cc 4-stroke engine. This machine is in the final stages of development at the Italjet factory and will be available soon.

It looks like a super-retro equivalent of the Kawasaki KSR110. I want one! Do you?

バイカーブードゥー

Momos Forza 135

BikerVoodoo reader Al sent in these pics of the “Rocket Boy” by Tiger Motorcycles of Thailand. Al says, “Not sure if this is the Momos Forza, but it looks like the only minibike Tiger company has. If it is, I’m buying one. Supercool! Trellis frame, single sided swingarm, chain through swingarm.” His only concern is that parts might be a problem unless Mofaz, the Malaysian distributor of Tiger Motorcycles (built under licence in Malaysia under the “Momos” brand) brings in lots of spares. The Rocket Boy is being sold in Malaysia as the “Momos Forza”.

The Rocket Boy looks like a Kawasaki KSR110 on steroids. Compared to the KSR, the Rockey Boy is powered by a 135cc single cylinder, 4-stroke SOHC engine, fed by a PZ20 26mm carb. That’s 25cc’s more than a KSR110, although you can buy a big bore kit for the KSR from Takegawa to bump displacement up to 138cc. Other tuning suppliers sell even higher displacement piston/cylinder kits. The Tiger Rocket Boy has a rear monoshock and 4-speed tranny just like the KSR, but with a manual clutch, unlike the centrifugal clutch on the KSR. Unfortunately it falls short by having a fuel capacity of only 4 litres, whereas the KSR holds 7.3 litres in its midget Supermotard styled tank.

Haven’t heard of Tiger? Here’s a short background story on one of the world’s most mysterious motorcycle makers. Apparently Tiger Motorcycles was formerly associated with the Italian make Cagiva and produced Cagiva-branded motorcycles in Thailand. This has always been a big mystery and nothing has been published online about the Tiger-Cagiva story. I found out through Thai media contacts that Cagiva came to Thailand as a result of Porntip Narongdej, a Thai Yamaha distributor’s relationship with the Claudio Castiglioni, owner of Cagiva in Italy. Narongdej’s Yamaha setup provided the infrastructure for dealerships and logistics at a time when only Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki sold in Thailand. I believe at one time the Thai government had an investigation of industry in Italy, and one of the fruits of this investigation was the Tiger Motorcycles (I think!) & the Cagiva relationship. This has now sadly ended, and one of the last joint efforts was the Cagiva F4, which was eventually produced and sold as the Tiger Boxer ST200 (Momos Boxer in Malaysia).

The Tiger-Cagiva setup resulted in one of the most powerful 2-stroke cub-style mopeds known to mankind, the Cagiva Stella 125R, which was powered by a 125cc 2-stroker with CTS (Cagiva Timing System), producing 23.5PS at 10,300rpm! That, is another story.

バイカーブードゥー

In the motorcycling world, the only motorcycle to approach the legendary status of the Volkswagen Beetle or Mini would have to be the Honda Cub.

The Honda Cub debuted in 1958, about 10 years after Honda Motor Co. was established. Honda‘s biggest advantage was producing a small, efficient 4-stroke engine while competitors at the time were almost all using 2-stroke engines which required higher maintenance. Honda used the slogan “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” to break into the tough US and European markets, as well as the newly independent British colonies like Malaysia which were dominated by British marques.

The competitive pricing, ease of use, extremely low fuel consumption, cheap maintenance costs, low emissions and toughness made the Honda Cub a worldwide hit. While oil barrel prices keep skyrocketing, remember this: a Honda Cub gives you 146 kilometres per litre (340 MPG)!

SOURCE: YOUTUBE, WIKIPEDIA

バイカーブードゥー

Ever wanted to buy a Whizzer type motor and mate it to your bicycle? It would have been pretty awesome wouldn’t it? BikeRod & Kustom’s Jim Wilson interviews Arlo Krauss, a gentleman who sells the “Pico Wing-Ding” and other such niceties on Ebay.

Read and learn …

バイカーブードゥー

It’s the 80s and bell bottoms have more or less become passe, but many are still been worn, flapping all the way. Battlestar Galactica has evolved into a show with flying bikes used by Galacticans here on earth and Honda Motor Co. has released the Honda Motocompo. The name was obviously a play on the word Minicompo, which was all the rage in the 80s.

Basically this bike was sold as a package with the 1st Gen Honda City, and was a clever little foldable bike weighing 45kg. You could fold the handlebars and seat into the body, so it could be placed in the bootspace of the Honda City. The engine was a 49cc two stroke pumping out 2.5 horsepower at 5,500rpm. You can see a page from Honda’s 1982 City Factbook here.

Here are two youtube videos on the Motocompo. The second one looks like an official Honda Motor Co. video as the uniforms are typical Honda R&D/Manufacturing uniforms. I believe the cap is still the same one being used in Honda factories until today!

There’s a nice article on the Honda Motocompo at 3Yen

“You’re Under Arrest”, a Japanese TV Anime / Manga comic series which revolves around the adventures of Natsumi & Miyuki of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Dept. also features a police-modded Honda Motocompo! More info on the vehicles in YUA can be found here.

We’re seeing a resurgence of 80s compilation albums, Battlestar Galactica reimagined, a new Knight Rider movie and of course Transformers, the movie. What if Honda released a new Motocompo? Do you think it would receive a lot of interest? Motocompos seem to be traded on Ebay for US$3500 and up! Honda Motor’s product planning probably thinks the Motocompo would have to be a 4-stroke and a small bike like this would cannibalize sales of the Honda Monkey/Gorilla so it’s not worth doing.

バイカーブードゥー

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. held a ceremony, July 21, 2008, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Super Cub sales which began in August 1958. The ceremony for associates was held at Honda’s new Kumamoto Factory where Super Cub is produced in Japan. The Honda Cub is the motorcycling world’s equivalent of iconic, world champion cars like Volkswagen‘s Beetle, the Mini or Citroen 2CV. The Cub has been described as the world’s greatest motorcycle, ever!

“The reason we have been able to continue producing and selling Super Cub for 50 years, which is quite a long time, is because of our customers who enjoy using Super Cub every day,” said Takeo Fukui, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. “I would also like to thank Honda associates who have supported the history of Super Cub. Super Cub has continuously advanced to accommodate the needs and preferences of people throughout the world, and cumulative worldwide production of Cub series motorcycles reached the 60 million-unit milestone in April of this year. Moreover, in this year of the 50th anniversary of Super Cub, a new motorcycle plant has been built at this Kumamoto Factory, and the transfer of motorcycle production to the new plant will be completed within this year. I expect Kumamoto Factory to serve as the global leader of Honda’s motorcycle production operations around the world and to continue providing our customers with products that create new value.”

Since the introduction of the first Super Cub C100 model in 1958, Super Cub has been a long-selling product sold in more than 160 countries* to date, and customers around the world enjoy using Super Cub every day. Production of Super Cub in regions outside of Japan began in 1961 in Taiwan, with production based on component parts sets provided from Japan and was expanded to other countries based on Honda’s commitment to “build products close to the customer.” The Honda Cub series is currently being produced at 16 plants in 15 countries around the world.

* Honda’s internal data

KEY MILESTONES OF HONDA SUPER CUB SERIES
August 1958 Sales of Super Cub C100 began (air-cooled 4-stroke, single-cylinder OHV engine, 49cc, 4.5 horse power) Production site: Yamato Plant (later became Saitama Factory Wako Plant)
1959 Exports to the U.S. began
1960 Production at Suzuka Factory began
1961 Cumulative production reached 1 million-unit milestone
Production based on component parts sets began in Taiwan (first production outside of Japan)
1964 Sales of Super Cub C65 (the first OHC engine) began
1966 Sales of Super Cub C50 (OHC engine) began
1967 Cumulative production reached 5 million-unit milestone
1974 Cumulative production reached 10 million-unit milestone
1983 Fuel consumption of 180km/liter (30km/h constant-speed test value) achieved (Super Cub 50 Super Custom)
1988 Sales of Press Cub began
1991 Production was transferred to Kumamoto Factory
1992 Cumulative production reached 20 million-unit milestone
1997 Sales of Little Cub began
2005 Cumulative production reached 50 million-unit milestone
2007 An electronically-controlled fuel injection system, Honda’s PGM-FI, was installed on Super Cub 50, Press Cub 50 and Little Cub.
2008 Cumulative production reached 60 million-unit milestone (April)

バイカーブードゥー

This funny little mini-chopper was built by (I believe) TH Bikers of Kampung Baru, Malaysia. It’s based on a Modenas Kriss 110 (licence-built Kawasaki moped). No prizes for guessing which Harley-Davidson inspired it. The V-Rod of course.

An interesting concept, it combines the modern chopper-style look of the V-Rod with the frugal 110cc powertrain of a Kriss 110. IMHO if you take off the tacky looking stickers I think it would look much nicer. Since it’s so small, let’s call it the “Hardly-Davidson”!

バイカーブードゥー

Leopoldo Tartarini, the founder and president of Italjet has created this wonderful, gracefully retro moped – the Italjet Amarcord. The Amarcord leaves viewers speechless right at first sight. Its retro styling, futuristic and timeless look, combined with the high tech rear suspension system are truly representative of a work of kinetic sculpture!

The Amarcord is styled to look like a 1920s Italian sporty moped but with the addition of excellent comfort and the convenience of a state-of-the-art modern 150cc 4-stroke engine. This machine is in the final stages of development at the Italjet factory and will be available soon.

It looks like a super-retro equivalent of the Kawasaki KSR110. I want one! Do you?

バイカーブードゥー

Momos Forza 135

BikerVoodoo reader Al sent in these pics of the “Rocket Boy” by Tiger Motorcycles of Thailand. Al says, “Not sure if this is the Momos Forza, but it looks like the only minibike Tiger company has. If it is, I’m buying one. Supercool! Trellis frame, single sided swingarm, chain through swingarm.” His only concern is that parts might be a problem unless Mofaz, the Malaysian distributor of Tiger Motorcycles (built under licence in Malaysia under the “Momos” brand) brings in lots of spares. The Rocket Boy is being sold in Malaysia as the “Momos Forza”.

The Rocket Boy looks like a Kawasaki KSR110 on steroids. Compared to the KSR, the Rockey Boy is powered by a 135cc single cylinder, 4-stroke SOHC engine, fed by a PZ20 26mm carb. That’s 25cc’s more than a KSR110, although you can buy a big bore kit for the KSR from Takegawa to bump displacement up to 138cc. Other tuning suppliers sell even higher displacement piston/cylinder kits. The Tiger Rocket Boy has a rear monoshock and 4-speed tranny just like the KSR, but with a manual clutch, unlike the centrifugal clutch on the KSR. Unfortunately it falls short by having a fuel capacity of only 4 litres, whereas the KSR holds 7.3 litres in its midget Supermotard styled tank.

Haven’t heard of Tiger? Here’s a short background story on one of the world’s most mysterious motorcycle makers. Apparently Tiger Motorcycles was formerly associated with the Italian make Cagiva and produced Cagiva-branded motorcycles in Thailand. This has always been a big mystery and nothing has been published online about the Tiger-Cagiva story. I found out through Thai media contacts that Cagiva came to Thailand as a result of Porntip Narongdej, a Thai Yamaha distributor’s relationship with the Claudio Castiglioni, owner of Cagiva in Italy. Narongdej’s Yamaha setup provided the infrastructure for dealerships and logistics at a time when only Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki sold in Thailand. I believe at one time the Thai government had an investigation of industry in Italy, and one of the fruits of this investigation was the Tiger Motorcycles (I think!) & the Cagiva relationship. This has now sadly ended, and one of the last joint efforts was the Cagiva F4, which was eventually produced and sold as the Tiger Boxer ST200 (Momos Boxer in Malaysia).

The Tiger-Cagiva setup resulted in one of the most powerful 2-stroke cub-style mopeds known to mankind, the Cagiva Stella 125R, which was powered by a 125cc 2-stroker with CTS (Cagiva Timing System), producing 23.5PS at 10,300rpm! That, is another story.

バイカーブードゥー

In the motorcycling world, the only motorcycle to approach the legendary status of the Volkswagen Beetle or Mini would have to be the Honda Cub.

The Honda Cub debuted in 1958, about 10 years after Honda Motor Co. was established. Honda‘s biggest advantage was producing a small, efficient 4-stroke engine while competitors at the time were almost all using 2-stroke engines which required higher maintenance. Honda used the slogan “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” to break into the tough US and European markets, as well as the newly independent British colonies like Malaysia which were dominated by British marques.

The competitive pricing, ease of use, extremely low fuel consumption, cheap maintenance costs, low emissions and toughness made the Honda Cub a worldwide hit. While oil barrel prices keep skyrocketing, remember this: a Honda Cub gives you 146 kilometres per litre (340 MPG)!

SOURCE: YOUTUBE, WIKIPEDIA

バイカーブードゥー

Ever wanted to buy a Whizzer type motor and mate it to your bicycle? It would have been pretty awesome wouldn’t it? BikeRod & Kustom’s Jim Wilson interviews Arlo Krauss, a gentleman who sells the “Pico Wing-Ding” and other such niceties on Ebay.

Read and learn …

バイカーブードゥー

It’s the 80s and bell bottoms have more or less become passe, but many are still been worn, flapping all the way. Battlestar Galactica has evolved into a show with flying bikes used by Galacticans here on earth and Honda Motor Co. has released the Honda Motocompo. The name was obviously a play on the word Minicompo, which was all the rage in the 80s.

Basically this bike was sold as a package with the 1st Gen Honda City, and was a clever little foldable bike weighing 45kg. You could fold the handlebars and seat into the body, so it could be placed in the bootspace of the Honda City. The engine was a 49cc two stroke pumping out 2.5 horsepower at 5,500rpm. You can see a page from Honda’s 1982 City Factbook here.

Here are two youtube videos on the Motocompo. The second one looks like an official Honda Motor Co. video as the uniforms are typical Honda R&D/Manufacturing uniforms. I believe the cap is still the same one being used in Honda factories until today!

There’s a nice article on the Honda Motocompo at 3Yen

“You’re Under Arrest”, a Japanese TV Anime / Manga comic series which revolves around the adventures of Natsumi & Miyuki of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Dept. also features a police-modded Honda Motocompo! More info on the vehicles in YUA can be found here.

We’re seeing a resurgence of 80s compilation albums, Battlestar Galactica reimagined, a new Knight Rider movie and of course Transformers, the movie. What if Honda released a new Motocompo? Do you think it would receive a lot of interest? Motocompos seem to be traded on Ebay for US$3500 and up! Honda Motor’s product planning probably thinks the Motocompo would have to be a 4-stroke and a small bike like this would cannibalize sales of the Honda Monkey/Gorilla so it’s not worth doing.

バイカーブードゥー