It's a Cub, Mates

Soba Cubs


Postal Cub and Yamaha Mate (2 stroke)


One lone Press Cub trying to escape a herd of Yamaha Mates?

Honda Feels the Green

(This is an unchanged new 90cc for comparison.)



Well, File this under the heading, 'Fixed when wasn't broken'. Honda has made some, in my opinion unsightly, and misguided changes to the Super Cub Standard and Press Cub and Little Cub.

My precious Super Cub Street is unchanged as of yet, thankfully. But I fear it's only a matter of time. Maybe next year's model?

Yes, that big bad monster known as Global Warming (® Trademark) has forced Honda to implement some design changes to the Cub making it less powerful, slower, and with lower fuel mileage ratings. Wonderful. Sounds great, doesn't it?

It now contains an electronic computerized fuel injection system called PGM-FI (Programmed Fuel Injection System)

To achieve: "global environment-friendly for an even more dependable, more comfortable Cub series" "and the atmospheric conditions such as engine revolutions, the computer is always ideal fuel usage control. Optimal timing and amount of fuel supply, so the engine performance out efficiently."

Hogwash. In other words, performance is sacrified in the name of being green, so called. Here's an idea, why not just scrap the delivery bike all together, and go back to rickshaws and handcarts? You get green and in-shape at the same time.

Let't take a look at the new "improved" AA02E engine system:

Went from

POWER:
(kw[PS]/rpm) From 2.9 [4.0] /7,000 to 2.5 [3.4]/7,000


TORQUE:
(N・m[kg・m]/rpm) From 4.7[0.48]/4,500 to 3.8 [0.39]/5,000


FUEL MILEAGE:
(km/L) From 130.0 km/liter to 110.0 km/liter


FUEL CAPACITY:
(Liters) From 4.0 to 3.4


Now, that's progress! If that wasn't bad enough, and I'm not all a numbers guy, appearance is very important, so when they start messin' around withe the design, I take notice.

They've colored the engine black (why not green?) and added a cheap looking leg guard over the tailpipe to replace the bar type guard. The mount for the tailpipe is now a bumpy chrome, rather than black as it used to be.

Now, the bike looks more plastic and more like the Yamaha Mate.

And if that weren't enough, it's now more expensive than ever, breaking the 200,000yen mark for a basic barebones Cub. More for Custom, Deluxe, Press varieties.

Now, my bet is, this new bike will actually use and waste more fuel due to its lower power to weight ratio, and in the end contribute more to so called global warming than the previous model.

Soichiro would not be proud.

Links (note the cut off point in the pics on their splash pages. Clearly, they are using older photos that don't have the new black engine. What does that say?)

Super Cub Standard
Specs

Super Cub "Press Cub"
Specs

Little Cub
Specs
To be fair, the black engine with the black color scheme in the Little Cub matches well.



And the last holdout and UNCHANGED Super Cub:
Super Cub "Street" Type
Specs

UPDATE: Ok, scratch that. Honda no longer offers the "Street" designation of the Super Cub Standard. I guess that makes mine that much more unique and hard to find. :) 

Plum

First signs of spring

Blurred Street

It's a Hit!

The errant satellite has been successfully hit and destroyed by an Aegis launched missile.
If you see the press briefing room at the Pentagon, and the lack of reporters ( it looks
like a concert for Vanilla Ice), you may get an idea on how many in the media consider this a story worth reporting. I guess they're all busy covering the latest Obama rally and how girls young and old are fainting at the candidate's feet.

Here, in the briefing room of the Pentagon, the reporters that are there, most likely reluctantly, as a matter of course, needed to imply that this was a veiled attempt at testing out an element of missile defense.
They just can't help being annoying, misinformed, and counter productive, can they?

Ya gotta love the press.

The Lotus Who Loved Water

Ok, who didn't love the Lotus Esprite in Spy Who Loved Me which went underwater? Of course that was a prop for a film (using several Lotus cars ), but someone was inspired by that and has come up with this.

1st for 4th in Japan

I'm so proud of my student, Sachi, for placing 4th in the highly prestigious all Japan Speech Contest. She's the first student in our school to reach that high in the contest and the first for me to take part in. So, I'm doubly happy. The contest sponsored by the royal family, is a big deal. I guess all those lunch hour and after-school tutoring sessions I shared with her paid off.

So proud. And such a great gal, too. She's going places, like another alumnus of our school, Crown Princess Masako.

Snow Days

That afternoon my Cub takes a rest, while...




...that evening, for some, the delivery of Soba in all kinds of weather is just part of making a living.