The Honda Super Cub, or Honda Cub, is an underbone motorcycle featuring a four-stroke single-cylinder engine of 49 to 124 cc. In continuous manufacture since 1958, with production passing 60 million in 2008, 87 million in 2014 and 100 million in 2017, it is the most produced motor vehicle in history.
Honda Super Cub at a glance
| Maker | Honda |
|---|---|
| Production | continuous since 1958 |
| Built by 2008 | more than 60 million |
| Built by 2014 | 87 million |
| Built by 2017 | 100 million |
| Engine | four-stroke single, 49–124 cc |
| Frame | underbone |
| Variants | C50, C65, C70, C90, C100 and others |
| US C100 name | Honda Passport, also used for the EX |
| Shared engine | Sports Cub C110–C115 and the Trail series |
| Advertising line | You meet the nicest people on a Honda |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Super Cub. No usable free photograph was found among the Commons candidates.
History of the Honda Super Cub
The idea
The idea for a new 50 cc motorcycle was conceived in 1956 when Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa toured Germany and saw the popularity of mopeds and light motorcycles. Honda was the engineering and production leader, always with an eye on the racetrack, while Fujisawa handled finance, sales and strategy. Fujisawa had been thinking about a long-term expansion plan and did not want simply to boost production to cash in on Japan’s economic boom; a small, high-performance motorcycle was central to his plans.
Why it worked
Fujisawa observed that upwardly mobile consumers in postwar Europe typically moved from a bicycle to a clip-on engine, then a motor scooter, then a bubble car and finally a small car, and saw that a motorcycle did not fit that pattern for the average person. The Super Cub was designed to change that, and its US advertising campaign, You meet the nicest people on a Honda, had a lasting impact on Honda’s image and on American attitudes to motorcycling.
The family
Variants include the C50, C65, C70, including the Passport, the C90 and the C100, including the EX. The Super Cub used essentially the same engine as the Sports Cub C110, C111, C114 and C115 and the Honda Trail series.
Design and features
- Underbone frame: easy mounting and weather protection.
- Four-stroke single: 49 to 124 cc across the range.
- Unmatched production: 100 million units by 2017.
- Image-changing campaign: You meet the nicest people on a Honda.
Honda Super Cub versions
- C50: the 50 cc version.
- C65: the 65 cc version.
- C70 and Passport: the 70 cc models.
- C90: the 90 cc model.
- C100 and EX: the 100 cc original and its variant.
The Super Cub is the ancestor of Honda’s small bikes such as the CG125 and CT90. More Hondas are in the Honda collection.
Sources
- Honda Super Cub, English Wikipedia: history, production figures, variants, campaign
