This and the street version are the biggest selling motorcycles ever. Over 100,000,000 - one hundred million - have been produced.
Was just reading more links from the first story and it appears a dealer in Boise, ID was responsible for the first trail series.
"In 1960, the efforts of a Honda motorcycle dealer in Boise, Idaho, came to the attention of Jack McCormack, the sales manager at the 1-year old American Honda Motor Co. As told by Aaron P. Frank in his book, Honda Motorcycles, McCormack had noticed the sales of the popular step-through Honda 50 were off the charts in an area known more for its surrounding rugged mountain terrain than an urban core. He contacted the owner, Herb Uhl, seeking an explanation.
“He told me how he was selling them as a trail bike, putting a cheater sprocket on the back and some knobby tires,” McCormack told Frank. Uhl sent one of his converted Honda 50s down to California for McCormack to inspect.
“It was a brilliant little machine,” McCormack said. “It worked so well because it was light, and with the automatic clutch you could climb logs. To do that on a big bike, you had to have a certain amount of skill. I saw lots of possibility for something like Herb was doing, selling it as a bike that you could go in the woods and hunt or fish with.”
