Happy 20k Super Cub!

Gave the Cub a nice wash and wax for the occasion. 

Cub and Clubman

Honda RIder's Voice 2009

Previous contributions to Honda Rider's Voice.

Fall cub pics up on Honda's site (finally). Tony once again wins the 'best shot' top prize. That guy is amazing. 

Akiba Cubs and Friends

Nice old Benly CD 125 in a very tight squeeze of this shop. 

Who says Super Cubs didn't come with telescoping front fork suspension in the past?

Super Cub 100 Custom

New 110 across the street.

Cold Fusion

Dream Team

Near Starbucks, Kokubunji Tokyo. Honda Dream 50.

Join the Adventure!
Adventures of a Super Cub

Super Cub Squadron

Adventures of a Super Cub

2009 Super Cub 110 in service

This shop used to have a CD50 parked out front. Now, I see they've "upgraded" to the new Super Cub 110. Hearing it pull away from the curb, it sounded more like a Today or Dio then a Super Cub. But it did have nice pick-up with a sack of rice in the back basket. 

Adventures of a Super Cub

New Model: Honda Super Cub 110

Well, Honda is releasing a 110cc version of a heavily redesigned Super Cub. 

These changes could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at them. (I mean that figuratively and literally.) 

There are many changes to the timeless bike. Right off the bat, one can see the ubiquitous leg guard has changed, as has the actual body style and type. The entire handlebar assembly has changed, as has the instrument face, all controls, and headlight and turn signal components.

No longer a stamped steel body/frame, the actual frames resides underneath plastic body panels. The website states this is to prevent rust. 

I foretold these changes, when I saw a new Yamaha Mate, which is, as a friend of mine used to call such things back in high school, " a plastic chicken" when he was referring to the 'new'(80s) Corvettes. Basically, a shell of its former self. 

Well, the Cub has retained the 'look' of the cub, at least, but really, so much has changed with the design, that a Chinese Symba might actually be closer to a Honda Super Cub than a Honda Super Cub (110) is now. 

The 50 and 90 cc versions are unchanged from previous models, but don't expect them to stay that way for long. It will cost Honda too much money to run drastically different style builds under the same model name.

Horsepower is up, as one would expect, but not nearly as high as one would think with the more than double cubic displacement and programmed fuel injection (PGM FI). 

A telescoping front fork has replaced the Super Cub signature leading link type. Perhaps points gained in riding comfort and lost in original style department ( I may be one of the last remaining leading link fans). 

A two stage clutch mechanism has been added to ease shifting, according to the website. Also, an additional gear has been added, making it a 4 speed. (long overdue)

Mileage is considerably less than the 50cc and 90cc models. 

The only remaining original elements from former the Super Cub design are the outward general appearance and step-thru design. The assembly of body and engine components (Thailand) lead one to believe that the Super Cub is no longer Super, nor a real Cub.

I'll wait and see one in person to make my final assessment. I will add that, as is obvious from my comments, I'm not too thrilled with most of the changes. If the workmanship is excellent, like previous Cubs, and the design (in person) is impressive, I'll say so. But if not, I'll state that too, just like I did when I noticed rust on the 2008 'anniversary' edition models last year.  

(note: click on photos for higher resolution)

Adventures of a Super Cub

A New Facebook Fan Page

Jump in! The water's fine!

Super Dream: Honda Super Cub

I finally got around to making another one of these.

If you don't have the player, you can get it at the links under the screen.

This version is much cleaner than the YouTube encoding.

Go full screen!

No video? Get the DivX Web Player for Windows or Mac

Adventures of a Super Cub

5 Centimeters per Second

On a recent trip to Akihabara I noticed this very well done feature animation on a large screen display. We asked the staff what the movie was and after much ado, they managed to get the title for us (the player was buried behind a mountain of boxes and other displays). 

You can see the details of the film here at IMDB.

Here's a great link to Super Cubs in all kinds of movies courtesy of Hondacubber.

Happy Anniversary, Super Cub! 50 Years Young!

I went back to the dealer to pick up an air cleaner element and took a couple more photos. 

In that short span of time, someone dropped off a yellow Motocompo for used sale on the second floor. 

Here's some sneak peak early shots of the brand new 50th Anniversay Edition Super Cub and Little Cub, still not fully assembled at the dealer. 

The added indicators look a bit 'add-on' for my tastes, but I'm sure lots of folks will appreciate them. I would've rather seen them incorporated into the speedo face like it is on the Little Cub, or as separate bezeled openings on the handlebar cover. 

The differences in powerplant are evident here with the lack of cooling fins on the cylinder head and black crank casing. 

Still not ready to see your public!

The Gold-on-Dark combination is tastefully commemorative of the 50 years of a winning creation. And the black crank case works better with the dark body color and dark leg guard (only available with a regular 08 Little Cub). 

Overall, not a bad look here. 

Or here. But I just can't get used to that black crank casing. It seems out of place next to the aluminum chain guard. Especially on a lighter colored Cub, like this Little 'un. 

The Little Cub harks back to the original Super Cubs with it's 1950's Blue paint scheme. 

Here's a trio of Little Cubs, '08 models that are not the 50th Anniversary Edition models. They look a little lonely over there next to the Zoomer. 

Visit the Honda website celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the Super Cub, click here.

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. :) 

Super Views at Honda Rider's Voice

I posted a new submission to Honda Rider's Voice site: HERE.

Limitless Dreams: Operation Special M

"This is a totally eccentric company. This is something the Old Man was often saying around then that made an impression on me: 'Make it something that fits in your hand!' At first I didn't understand what he meant. After a while, I figured out that what he meant was, he wanted to make motorcycles an intimate presence in people's lives, something that anyone could use without fuss or worry. In other words, this was making motorcycles into personal tools, universalizing them. Make them like the tools you use with your hands."

"Actually, in the early 1970s, there was some talk of doing a full model change. That was when I became managing director of the R&D Center. I said, okay, it looks like a tough job so I'll handle it. I traveled all over the world, and for about a year I went over possibilities with Mikihiro Kohyama, a body man, only to reject them one after another. No, it took longer than that, and whatever design we tried, we couldn't surpass what we already had. We just didn't have it in us. There wouldn't be anything to gain by a model change. The conclusion I reached was to say, 'Mr. Super Cub, I'm sorry I was such a smart aleck,' and give my best salute," he said, laughing. "That bike is like the crystallization of the Old Man's feelings when he was at the peak of his powers. We'd been mistaken to even consider making a model change in the first place."

Read the whole story at Honda here