The idea for a new 50cc (3.1 cu in) motorcycle was conceived in 1956, when Honda Motor’s Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa toured Germany and witnessed the popularity of mopeds and lightweight motorcycles.
Fujisawa said the designs had “no future” and would not sell well. His concept was a two wheeler for everyman, one that would appeal to both developed and developing countries, urban and rural. The new motorcycle needed to be technologically simple to survive in places without up to date know how and access to advanced tools or reliable spare parts supplies. The common consumer complaints of noise, poor reliability, especially in the electrics, and general difficulty of use were addressed. It quickly earned a reputation for high reliability.
This bike was part of a package deal with a 1959 Datsun pick-up that we purchased. The bike was displayed in the back of the truck. Being a former new car Honda dealer, Mike likes the products.
-On loan from The Mike Malamut personal collection
The GB500 was styled as a tribute to the traditional English TT racers of the 1950s and 60s, and it features a 498cc single-cylinder paired with a 5-speed transmission. Inspired by mid-century TT bikes and cafe racers, the GB500 features a large single cylinder engine, Honda black green bodywork with gold pin striping, a solo seat, clip on handlebars, and a faux megaphone exhaust. The paint and chrome are original.
The suspension consists of twin telescopic forks at the front and twin shocks at the rear with adjustable pre-load. Electric start is standard, but the kick starter is also retained as both a secondary method of starting and to compliment the styling. The four-valve 498cc dry sump single produced 33 horsepower when new and is derived from the Honda XR500 dirt bike. The dual-port head is fed by a single 42mm Keihin carburetor and has a chrome two-into-one exhaust pipe. The oil tank is located under the seat and is fed by braided steel lines.
-Part of the Mike Malamut Auto Collection
The Honda Motor Company of Japan released the Honda Express (NC50) to the North American market in 1977. This new bike was designed to enter the large market for scooters that developed following the 1973 oil crisis. As such it came with a fuel-efficient single-cylinder two-stroke engine. It was also designed to be simple to operate, as many owners would be inexperienced with or intimidated by larger, more complex motorcycles. Honda accomplished this by using a fully automatic transmission and a small oil pump to self-mix the Express’s oil and fuel, thus eliminating the need for premixing.
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
The Honda C70, also known as the Passport during some product years, was sold in the United States between its roll-out year of 1970 until the 1983-84 model years. The C70, was a successor product to the original, and wildly popular 50cc Honda Cub. The product was a slightly more powerful version of the original rider pass-through scooter, and helped cement Honda’s position as a persistent brand player in America’s two-wheel culture.
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
The Honda Sport 90, Super 90, or S90, is a 90 cc Honda motorcycle ultra lightweight new design motorcycle. The engine is based on the Honda Super Cub. It was made from 1964 to 1969.
The single cylinder OHC air-cooled engine links to a four speed transmission. It has a hand clutch, and shifting is “1 down, 3 up,” with neutral in between 1st and 2nd. There is no tachometer but the speedometer indicates speed ranges for each gear. The top speed was claimed to be 64 mph, and the engine is rated at 8 horsepower.
The engine holds a quart of oil and has an internal centrifugal oil filter, and the exhaust has a removable baffle. A metal cylinder behind the carburetor holds the air filter. Tools go under the seat in their own compartment.
The frame is Pressed Steel rather than Tubular steel to minimize weight. The bike is fitted with telescopic front forks for improved road holding. The motorcycle was not intended for off road use, as evidenced by the narrow handle bars and street tires. It included no accessories for such travel. 90 miles per US gallon was not hard to attain, even with spirited riding.
There are a variety of models including the Honda S90, CS90, and the Benly 90. The date of manufacturing can be determined by removing the fuel tank and examining the tag surrounding the wiring harness.
The Honda Super Cub is a Honda underbone motorcycle with a four stroke single cylinder engine ranging in displacement from 49 to 124 cc.
In continuous manufacture since 1958 with production surpassing 60 million in 2008, 87 million in 2014, and 100 million in 2017, the Super Cub is the most produced motor vehicle in history. The Super Cub has been compared to the Ford Model T, Volkswagen Beetle and the Jeep as an icon of 20th century industry and transport.
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
The Super Cub has been compared to the Ford Model T, Volkswagen Beetle and the Jeep as an icon of 20th century industry and transport.[14][5][15] The C100 used a pressed steel monocoque chassis, with the horizontal engine placed below the central spine, a configuration now called the ‘step through’ or ‘underbone’ motorcycle. By some criteria, the type of motorcycle the Super Cub falls into is difficult to classify, landing somewhere between a scooter and a motorcycle,[11] and sometimes it was called a moped, “step-thru”, or scooterette.[6][16][17]
The instruments of a 1966 CA100 and 2009 Super Cub 110
The plastic fairing ran from below the handlebars and under the footpegs, protecting the rider’s legs from wind and road debris, as well as hiding the engine from view. This design was like the full enclosure of a scooter, but unlike a scooter the engine and gearbox unit was not fixed to the rear axle. This had several benefits. It moved the engine down and away from the seat, detaching the rear swingarm motion from the drivetrain for lower unsprung weight. It also made engine cooling air flow more direct, and made it possible to fit larger wheels. Placing the engine in the center of the frame, rather than close to the rear wheel, greatly improved front-rear balance. The fuel tank was located under the hinged seat, which opened to reveal the fuel filler inlet. The 17 inch wheels, in comparison to the typical 10 inch wheels of a scooter, were more stable, particularly on rough roads, and psychologically made the motorcycle more familiar, having an appearance closer to a bicycle than a small-wheel scooter.
The pushrod overhead valve (OHV) air-cooled four stroke single cylinder engine had 4.5 hp at 9,500 rpm for maximum speed of 43 mph, under favorable conditions. The low compression ratio meant the engine could consume inexpensive and commonly available low octane fuel, as well as minimizing the effort to kick start the engine, making the extra weight and expense of an electric starter an unnecessary creature comfort. Though some of the many Super Cub variations came with both kick and electric start, the majority sold well without it.
The sequential shifting three speed gearbox was manually shifted, but clutchless, without the need for a clutch lever control, using instead a centrifugal clutch along with a plate clutch slaved to the foot change lever to engage and disengage the gearbox from the engine. While not intuitive to learn, once the rider got used to it, the semi-automatic transmission, “took the terror out of motorcycling” for novice riders. Unlike many scooter CVTs, the centrifugal clutch made it possible to push start the Super Cub, a useful advantage if the need arose.
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
The Honda SL70 Motosport, which was introduced in 1970, is a small street/trail motorcycle with a four-stroke engine, a four-speed manual gearbox, and a full-cradle frame. The bike was extremely popular with younger riders who used it off-road as a trail bike and mini motocrosser. For the latter role, it was essentially replaced by Honda’s XR75 in 1973.
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
While most 1950s imports from Japan were scooters, Lilacs took a more sophisticated approach.
Aside from being one of the first “big” Japanese motorcycles sold in the U.S., Lilacs typically sported powertrain layouts resembling those of expensive European bikes.
Starting with simple chain-drive 150-cc four-strokes in the late 1940s, Lilac soon converted its line to shaft drive, beginning, oddly, with a little 90-cc single.
Success with that model prompted a 350-cc flat twin reminiscent of a BMW, and later a 250-cc transverse V-twin resembling a Moto Guzzi — though interestingly, Lilac bikes were introduced a good five years before those from Italy.
The combination of a small-displacement V-twin and shaft drive made the Lilac a smooth bike, though not a particularly quick one.
The overall design bordered on plain; engine cases and brake drums, for instance, which usually boasted fins or contours on other bikes, were smooth-faced and thus devoid of “character.” That’s not to say, however, that the Lilac was lacking in style. Front fenders were skirted, seats were plush, and the fuel tank carried trendy chrome panels and rubber knee pads.
The Lilac was also equipped with an external tool box and fork-mounted turn signals, along with a speedometer flanked by a trio of warning lights.
A flat twin reappeared in 1964 with 500 ccs of displacement, again shaft driven. But by then, other Japanese manufacturers were flooding the market with less-expensive midsize bikes, and Lilac folded under the competitive pressure after 1969.
-Part of the Mike Malamut personal collection