A Fresh Start for Motorcycling?

[Hugh Janus]

Kevin Cameron has been writing about motorcycles for nearly 50 years, first for <em>Cycle magazine</em> and, since 1992, for <em>Cycle World</em>. (Robert Martin/)

I’m glad to see the return of plain old fun little motorbikes (“Nine Great Minimotos for Everyone” by Bradley Adams). I wondered where those little bikes had gone in the early years of this century, as people began to speak of 600 Supersport bikes as “entry level.”

Specialized and generally expensive motorcycles—sportbikes, adventure bikes, touring, and cruisers—had so dominated our market that near-zero attention was being given to inviting new riders to enter the sport. The 50, 65, 100, and 125cc bikes that originally persuaded Americans that small motorcycles were just harmless fun had been deleted—judged to be no longer needed once the flood of newcomers to our sport were safely on the up escalator to ever-more-capable models. Why even give showroom space to little bikes when bigger stuff was earning the dealers’ daily bread?

And so the drawbridge that had brought “the nicest people” into motorcycling was pulled up, supposedly no longer needed.

Introduced in 2014, the Honda Grom helped shape the modern minimoto category. (Jeff Allen/)

Then the world changed in 2008 and 2020. US sales of new motorcycles shrank so radically that the Japanese producers have been priced right out of their expensive California HQs to cut costs in less pricey environments.

These changes make it encouraging to see the drawbridge let down again 60 years later, with the “minimotos” Bradley Adams has described. Prices have risen—the Super Cub that did so much to create the 1960s–'70s motorcycle market in the US beginning at $265 is now $3,849. But it brings an emissions-compliant fuel-injected engine of 125cc, front wheel ABS, and clutchless operation.

Inflation and modern technology has increased the price of minimotos like the Honda Super Cub, yet there’s still an argument to be made for the fun-per-dollar ratio these machines offer. (Jeff Allen/)

According to the Bureau of Labor Stats there has been 1,007 percent price inflation since then, accounting for much of Super Cub’s price rise. The rest of it comes from the new capabilities this little Honda and the others bring.

Or look at it this way. When I was scrambling to learn about the new pedal-assist electric bicycles I took note of the $4,500 price of some full-featured models. Ah, but those machines require no motorcycle license and must keep to bike lanes at limited speed. Then I learned a bit about the new “electric cowboys” who add extra power and defeat speed limiters to drink deep of higher performance. Three things occur to me here:

1. If sufficient injuries are attributed to souped-up electric bikes, insurance companies will send in their lobbyists and speed limit enforcement may follow.
2. In 1976 we souped-up a 50cc speed-limited moped, allowing it to accelerate to 47 mph. It entered a high-speed weave instability that nearly threw our man off. We didn’t get a chance to see if the 25 mph brakes and steering were as bad at 47 mph as the 25 mph stability, but hard-working others will.
3. Will pedal-assist people happily remain speed-limited? How many will move up to light electric motorcycles requiring a license endorsement? If they do, will electrics remain the limit of their kinesthetic ambition? Fun is hard to refuse—even for the most cogent ideological reasons.

With an MSRP of $1,807, the Navi is Honda’s attempt at broadening the reach of its minimoto lineup through an affordable, fun, and new-rider-friendly package. (Honda/)

In the more distant past, the thousands who bought Vespa and Lambretta scooters in the 1950s—many of them on college campuses—were thereby prepared for the coming of light Japanese motorcycles in 1960. In other words, any powered two-wheeled vehicle that people enjoy becomes a potential bridge to motorcycling. When I was interviewed by a Mr. Fink at Harley-Davidson in the spring of 1966, he told me, “Everything Honda has done has worked to increase our sales.”

Therefore bring on the fun in the form of light motorcycles, no matter what their power source may be.

Source

[Buckster]