Original ✍ Honda誌｜Japanese Car Enthusiast Magazine 📅 2025-05-05 15:03:54

🚫 Motorcycle Restrictions and Social Impact

In many parts of the country today, motorcycles are being banned or their license plates artificially driven up to sky-high prices 😩. For many people who wish to use affordable and convenient transport, it has become a luxury 🚧. Even worse, the high ownership barrier has given rise to a culture of comparison, where owning an expensive motorcycle is a status symbol that erodes society’s moral values 😔. Is this a blessing or a curse?

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🏍️ Honda's Global Strength

In the motorcycle world, Honda is undoubtedly a global giant 🏭. Its R&D capabilities and scale are far beyond what some Chinese consumers associate with high-end, luxury brands 🏁. This is no exaggeration. Honda's strength lies not in gimmicks but in true capability! 💪

To judge a car manufacturer’s true merit, one cannot focus solely on extreme performance. Just like Ferrari is widely known for its sports cars, but would you call it a mass manufacturer? Can Ferrari’s R&D match Toyota’s? Does its output even come close to Toyota’s? Obviously not. The same applies in motorcycles—Honda is the strongest manufacturer. From the Gold Wing, CBR1000RR-R, to electric bikes like the U-Be, Honda covers everything. But when it comes to legends, we must talk about the Super Cub.

🛵 Birth of a Legend: Super Cub

Between 1958 and 1960, Honda introduced the first generation of the Super Cub. It blended the low floor design of European scooters for easy mounting with the large-diameter wheels of traditional motorcycles, balancing comfort and passability. If motorcycles were divided into men's and women's like bicycles, the Super Cub would be a remix of the two.

The origin traces back to 1956. During a tour in Germany, Soichiro Honda and his partner Takeo Fujisawa saw the popularity of light motorcycles and were inspired to create a 50cc model.

Honda was focused on engineering and racing, while Fujisawa was a business strategist who emphasized cost efficiency through volume sales. The Cub was the product of their combined vision.

🌍 Designed for the World

Later, they visited motorcycle showrooms around the world. Fujisawa, not being an engineer, couldn't find an ideal reference. What he envisioned was a motorcycle for all ages, adaptable to various climates and road conditions, easy to maintain, and supremely reliable.

🔹 Thus, the Super Cub was born.

🌟 It was the first motorcycle in the world to use a plastic leg shield, boosting practicality.

The following year, Soichiro Honda presented a prototype that met Fujisawa’s vision. Fujisawa then boldly proposed a sales target of 30,000 units per month—half the total Japanese motorcycle market at the time.

His ambition didn’t stop there. He also wanted to export the Cub worldwide. In 1959, American Honda Motor Co. was established, followed by expansion into Germany, Belgium, the UK, and France. These efforts weren’t for sports cars but for this very Super Cub!

It used an Underbone frame, inspired by the German Kreidler K50 but improved by Honda.

📈 Global Success

Just how successful is it? The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car series globally with over 50 million units sold. But as of October 2017, the Super Cub surpassed 100 million units worldwide! Such figures are rare for any consumer product.

✨ Its slogan: "You meet the nicest people on a Honda."

This struck a chord with young people and was a direct challenge to Harley-Davidson. If not for U.S. government intervention, Harley might have gone under—similar to later pushback against Toyota and today’s Huawei.

⚙️ Practical Engineering

In terms of layout, the Super Cub’s engine is located centrally and low in the frame, lowering the center of gravity and improving stability. It also provides more legroom and storage space behind the leg shields. The 17-inch wheels boost stability and road-handling.

🎩 It blends scooter and motorcycle strengths into a clever design.

🔍 Another detail: its drive chain and exhaust layout are reversed compared to most motorcycles.

🔧 Engine Durability

The standard Super Cub features a 50cc OHV air-cooled 4-stroke single-cylinder engine producing 4.5 horsepower at 9500 rpm.

🤯 What’s impressive is its durability: some users replaced engine oil with tempura oil or kerosene and it still ran fine. Others never changed oil from new to scrapping the bike—common in less developed regions.

One TV show even filled it with fryer oil, loaded it with watermelons and pizzas, and rode through the mountains—no issues at all.

✨ That’s why the Super Cub sells so well—it has a rock-solid foundation.

Later versions included 70cc, 90cc, 100cc, and 110cc models, but none exceeded 125cc. The next 125cc Honda bike was the beloved CG125.

🏆 Legacy of Loyalty

👏 From 1958 to today, 64 years have passed, and the Super Cub is still running on roads around the world—a living fossil.

🚗 Honda cars sell well in Southeast Asia for good reason: for many, their first vehicle was a Super Cub. Its reliability built their brand loyalty.

🔹 In five words: Brand. Loyalty. You. Can. Trust!