I enjoyed this video. I think you will, too.
Good buddy TK sent this to me a day or two ago (thanks, TK). I didn’t know the Honda Cub was the best-selling vehicle on the planet or that Honda had produced a cool 100 million of the things, and I think that number is all the more significant because several manufacturers make copies of the Cub not included in the total described in the video above. One of the other manufacturers producing a Cub variant is Zongshen. I saw several of Zongshen’s production lines during my many visits to Chongqing.
I owned a 50cc Cub back in the day. I was a teenager and a guy down the street had one he picked up in a trade of some sort. He just wanted to get rid of it and $50 later it was mine. It was fun, and it was incredibly well built. I wish I still had it.
Hey, on another note, I have a new article in print this month. It’s in the June 2019 issue of RoadRUNNER magazine, and it’s on the Chinese motorcycle industry. I know a bit about that world, and yeah, I’m an unabashed fan of the Chinese. I’ve been in Chinese factories and I’ve ridden their motorcycles. The Chinese motorcycle industry’s process control and production capabilities are as good as or better than any in the world, and folks who recoil at the idea of a Chinese motorcycle are simply displaying antiquated prejudices and ignorance. I expect I’ll get a few emails and maybe a few comments on that last statement, and we welcome them. The June ’19 issue will be on the newsstands in a few more days, and for those of you who subscribe to RoadRUNNER, you are receiving your copies now. My copy arrived in the mail yesterday, and I am enjoying it enormously. The travel and other stories (and the accompanying photography) are just outstanding. If you’re not already subscribing to RoadRUNNER, you should be, and you can sign on here.
Joe Is there a company importing the Zongshen Cub copy here in the states?
There is not, Gary. You might write to CSC to see if they have an interest in doing so. The problem is going to be that most folks in the US won’t want a small displacement bike. That may change, though, if fuel prices continue their current upward climb.
That’s a tough call, Gary. So much of USA is power/speed focused, and the low speed tribe is seduced by electric power. A gasoline Cub would be suited for those that don’t have ready access to charging power or it is not convenient/practical to remove the battery for in-domicile charging.
In 1961, my mommy drug me down to Hollywood Scooters to buy me a scooter to get back and forth from High School.. They had Vespas, Lambrettas and this new Japanese gizmo the Honda CA100. On price alone she bought me the Honda. Little did she know, this is/was a motorcycle in scooter clothing and this was the first step down the road to lifelong addiction.
Awesome story, Leo. Honda did a lot (probably more than any other company) to bring our generation into motorcycling. You must be one of those nicest people one met on a Honda. I am, too.
I equate it to the drug dealer giving you that first hit for free.
In my dotage, I have seven or eight motorcycles in my shop/garage, all Hondas except the TT-250 and the RX3. All of which shall be my widow’s problem.
One of the 1st bikes I ever rode was a 50cc Honda Cub, late 60’s. In defense of the Porsche driver in the video, most of the time I’m unaware that people are racing me when I drive mine around town 😎
Ah, another nice guy (which I already knew having ridden with you a couple of times in Baja).
I’ve got an ’84 CT110, the “off-road” big brother of the Cub. It’s a great little bike and climbs like a mountain goat with that two-speed transfer case. I’d be happy to see Honda import that Cross Cub concept into the U.S. I think it’d sell on looks alone. . .
https://www.rideapart.com/articles/314528/honda-cub-custom-off-road/
Cheers,
Dan K.