For just plain old fun, it's hard to beat a pleasant summer day and a sweetly purring motor between two wheels
By JIM DAVIS and RAY HILL
Whatever your bag is -- riding along smooth paved roads, over the rolling countryside, or up winding wilderness trails -- there's an ecomonical, lightweight motorcycle made just for you. It's easy to ride, cheap to operate, a barrel of fun.
You're ready to buy your first motorcycle. You don't want a big super-bike that can easily roll past 100 mph, and you don't want a minibike. Your machine must be lightweight, cheap to run, and easy to ride. What do you buy?
A small-displacement motorcycle — 100 cc's or less, that's what. Many (see the chart) can be had for under $600. A few will cost you less than $300. How much money you have in your wallet and the kind of riding you want to do will determine which bike is the one for you.
Basically, there are two kinds of riding — on the street, and off. If your riding will be confined to the streets, you don't need an off-road machine like Bultaco's 99cc scrambler. If you're interested only in toting your bike to rough off-road areas for exciting weekends, charging up hills and easing across wet stream beds, the Bultaco is your cup of tea. If you want to ride streets and trails with the same bike, you'll want a combination street-trail bike, like the Suzuki Blazer, Honda CT-90, or Bridgestone 100 TMX-1.
From left to right:
- Rear-brake control is usually a pedal on the engine's right side. The pedal is connected to the rear brake.
- Gearshift lever is usually on the left. Be sure you;re familiar with the shift pattern before starting down the road.
- Wet multidisk cluth on most bikes is disengaged by puling back the clutch lever in front of left handlebar grip.
How they differ. Although a street-trail machine is a ball of fun on the road and off, you can't expect its performance to equal that of a machine designed specifically for the trail. And don't expect an off-road bike to handle like a street machine. On a street machine, you want the steering to respond relatively slowly so a slight movement of your arm or a change in body position won't make the bike wobble when you're traveling really fast.
On a trail machine, you want rapid-response steering so when you shift your weight you can quickly change direction to avoid unhealthy obstacles. And you want to be able to stand on the footpegs (for better balance and control) without banging your behind into the seat or gas tank. Street machines aren't designed for comfortable stand-up riding.
From left to right:
- Kawasaki G3SS and Yamaha G6SB, right, are similar. Both street machines weigh under 200 pounds, which means easy handling. The Kawasaki has five speeds; Yamaha, four.
- Suzuki 49cc Cutlass, left, is most inexpensive small bike. Honda's 72cc CM70, similar in appearance, is at the right. Fairing on both bikes keeps water and dirt off rider.
From left to right:
- Reliability and low price are attributes of Harley-Davidson's Leggero. Although top of its piston is roughly size of a bottlecap, top speed is 50mph. Leggero has three-speed gearbox.
- Front fender is elevated on Hodaka's Ace 100B trail bike to keep rocks and mub from clogging area between it and front wheel. Exhaust pipe and muffler are raised to rocks won' t dent them.
- Lean that new motorcycle over and see how far she'll go before footpegs touch ground. This tells you how far you can lean in a corner before you're catching the road. You can lean pretty far.
A strictly off-road bike, like Bultaco's 99cc scrambler and Hodaka's Ace 100, may have a ground clearance of 10 inches or more. The front fender is mounted high above the wheel to prevent clogging with rocks and mud, and soft, long-traveling suspension absorbs shocks that could bounce you off the machine.
The engine of a trail machine is usually tuned to deliver a lot of torque over a wide rpm band. With a street machine, you're interested in cruising, which means an engine that delivers optimum power in a narrow band up around the top. The street machine is geared for speed, the trail machine for power.
One answer to the gearing problem of combination machines is a dual-range transmission like the gearboxes in Suzuki's Blazer and Honda's CT-90. Put the CT-90 in low range for the trail, and you've got a 4.74:1 low gear ratio. Put it in high range for the street, and the ratio is 2.53:1 for first gear. Bridgestone's 100 TMX-1 tackled the ratio problem in a different way. The TMX-1 has two sprockets on the rear wheel, one for street and one for trail.
Picking the power. Once you've decided on the kind of bike you want — street, trail, or street-trail — it's time to consider engines. One basic choice you must make is between the two-stroke design like Yamaha's HS1B, and the four-stroke like Honda's CB100. In a four-stroker, the crankshaft makes two revolutions for every power stroke. In a two cycle, there's one revolution per power stroke. As a result, the four-stroker usually gets better gas mileage. But a two-stroker will probably give a bit better acceleration.
It's in maintenance that you'll find the basic difference between the two engines. The four-stroke uses a large number of parts to do its job. For a major repair or overhaul, a number of replacement parts may be required. The two-stroke engine is extremely simple in design and may contain as few as three moving parts. Even major overhauls are relatively simple to perform, and cost less. The two-stroke, however, relies on a more precise balance in the operation of its components, and therefore requires more frequent tune-ups and minor maintenance. But regardless of which engine you choose, you should get thousands of miles without any major problems.
Stop and go. All motorcycles in the small-displacement class are easy to operate. Basic controls are the throttle, brakes, gearshift, and clutch. Brake and throttle controls are pretty standard — the front brake is controlled by a right-hand lever on the handle bars, and the throttle by a right-hand twist grip. The rear brake is usually actuated by a pedal on the right side of the engine.
From left to right:
- Twist the right handgrip to accelerate. Lever controls front brake. Don't use front brake in a curve; never lock it.
- Run out of gas? No sweat. Fuel petcock switch beneath the gas tank of most bikes lets you turn on a reserve supply.
- Speedometer usually includes odometer, bright and dim indicator for headlight, neutral indicator light for transmission.
A big choice you have to make is among transmissions. Gearboxes vary from those with three forward speeds, like Suzuki's Cutlass, to those with as many as five, like Yamaha's HS1B. The fewer the speeds, the simpler the operation. Performance, however, usually improves with more gears. What about the clutch? The choice is between a hand-lever-operated clutch and an automatic type, like Honda's three-speed automatic CM-70. To shift the 70 you just let off the gas and depress the shift lever.
Checking prices. The higher up the price ladder you climb, the more built-in features your bike will have. Sometimes the extra money is visible in the form of a stronger suspension system and frame. Sometimes it's wrapped up in a more sophisticated engine. A $239 49cc Cutlass is a great buy for the street. But you can't expect to buy for that money the kind of performance you'll get from a $720 spunky off-road machine like the 98cc Harley Baja. The old saying "you get what you pay for" is a pretty good rule of thumb.
You'll be wise to go for advice, though, to friends who are experienced riders, and to motorcycle clubs — and, yes, even to dealers. You can't expect a dealer to recommend any competitor's machine. But he can quickly tell you what he has in his line to fit your needs. For instance if you're interested in strictly off-road riding — off-road bikes fall into several classes: scrambler, enduro, and motocross. He can tell you which one of these motorcycles is best for you.
Take everybody's advice into consideration. But make up your own mind. You're the one who'll be sitting in the saddle with the wind brushing your face. Happy motorcycling.
"My oldest son and his family borrowed my RV; Junior's down at the beach with the ATV; my daughter's got the MG; and my wife's shopping in the GTO."
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Source: Popular Science, August 1971
Owner's Manual
- Honda ANF125 and ANF125T
- Owner's manual for Honda ANF125T (2004) DE/FR/NL
- Owner's manual for Honda ANF125 (2004) DE/FR/NL
Workshop Manual
- Workshop manual for Honda VF400R (1989) (Japanese)
Parts lists
- Parts list for Honda NSR150RR (1997) (Thai)
- Parts list for Honda CBR600RR (2005)
- Parts list for Honda NSR150SP Type 1 and Type 2
- Parts list for Honda RS125R (1997-1998) (Japanese)
- Parts list for Honda RS125R (2001-2002)
- Parts list for Honda RVF400R (1996) (Japanese)
A whiff of competition.
Powerful, sleek, beautiful, the Honda CB 400 F1 is always ready to leap to a top speed of 167 km/h (as tested by Moto Journal, 15 May 1975). 14.9 seconds over the standing 400m — its acceleration is blistering. Compact, light (170 kg), and agile, the Honda 400 F1 features 6 gears, a 4-into-1 exhaust, a narrow "quarter-turn" handlebar, and rear-set footpegs that provide an excellent riding position worthy of a Grand Prix machine. And yet this sportbike is also a first-class tourer. Long, comfortable seat. Generous range. Disc brake. As nimble as a 250, quiet, stable in corners, confident in the city, in the mountains, on the motorway — the 400 F1 has everything it takes to win over every motorcycle enthusiast in Europe. It was in fact voted "motorcycle of the year" in 1975, in both Italy and Great Britain. This dream machine naturally also features all of Honda's own safety innovations — plus a few new ones.
HONDA CB 400 F1
Honda France · 20, rue Pierre-Curie · 93170 Bagnolet · Tél. 360.01.00
HONDA FRANCE préféré TOTAL
Note: The "quatre pattes" (literally "four paws") is a fun nickname — it refers to the iconic 4-into-1 exhaust pipes, which look like four legs.
Original French transcription can be found by clicking here.
An ad I came across today while preparing media for the sister website 4-stroke.nl, which is a website fully dedicated to honda motorcycle and moped advertizements. Something I did not know is that the 2 actually has a meaning. The big "2" in the ad is a play on the Japanese word futari (二人, "two people") — the tagline is essentially saying the Super Cub C105 is fun to ride together as a pair/couple. A classic piece of 1960s Honda advertising.
New Release
Enjoy it as a couple!55cc 〔Class 2 Moped〕
Initial ride-out price (excl. tax, insurance & misc. fees) ¥57,000Honda Super Cub
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
