https://www.yahoo.com/news/honda-monkey-super-cub-c125-140723525.html

Cool.

I had a Honda Trail 50 as a kid. I rode that thing everywhere until that fateful day there was a fire. Leaking gas. Sadness. Spanking. Bad.

That Monkey reminds me of the first bike I ever rode, a Honda Mini Trail, back in about 1973.

My buddy had a Trail 90. I was jealous, even though now I realize it looked like a girls bike mated with a moped on steroids.

8 gears. (A low and high range transmission) Will go anywhere! Runs 50mph even with a Fatazz aboard.

Bring it back HONDA!


DMc

I would really like to see the old SOHC CB 750from about 1970 0r 1971 again. A great ride for sure.

Had a Honda Trail 90 in the 70's.

I'd love to have it again, in the same condition...

I had a new CB 450 in 71, I would like to see a new one.

Cool little bike, I noticed it doesn't have a kick starter. For 4g's I'll pass.

Here I was thinking they were trying to appeal to millenials.

Back in the 70's, I'd go to town, and see the youngsters ride the little bikes. No helmet, sandals, shorts, tank top. I though the Japanese were still killing young American men. Making a profit at it this time.

Back to the original topic.

Glad to see them but none of you old fugks will be buying.

Hipsters and inner city folk will though.

They call them "postie bikes" here in Oz, because they are standard rides for posties (mail carriers), and have been for decades. After a period of service they are sold off cheap, and commonly end up on farms or under commuters. Easy things to ride.

You meet the nicest people on a Honda. The 50's were beneath my dignity, but I coveted those Super 90's until I could save up enough apple picking and chore money to buy a used CB160. That is still one of my favorite around town street bikes and I wish that I still had it. Fast enough to keep up with the traffic and a smooth twin cylinder. Eleven more motorcycles followed that one, but like DMc I still need something to replace legs that is trail worthy and street legal and the Trail 110 works for that now. I sold the Harley and bought the 110. I had too many near misses out on the road for me to take motorcycling as seriously as lots of guys.

My motorcycling passion started with Dad's Shriner parade mini-bike, then stepped up to the Honda 70CT like this one.

Rode the piss out of it......

Had a friend that had one just like that one. Same color even.

I wanted a trail 90 in the worst way back in the early 80’s (we never bought anything new but by then these were in the right price range). Ended up lucking into a good deal on a Honda XL100 instead. I literally put thousands of miles on that bike on the roads and prairie trails around the farm in NW ND. I put that Honda through the ringer and did things that should’ve broke it but it was the most bulletproof machine I’ve ever owned to this day. As a side benefit my cousin had a trail 90 and I could outride him in every way on my enduro.

Sweet!!

I won't be buying a new one, but if I could find a good restoration candidate I'd jump all over it....
I'd like to pick up a decent 70s ish Honda SL series machine.

tndr,

The amount of those you see in working condition out here is pretty incredible. People drive them all summer.

I had a 1970 Honda 50. Even rode it in a lake once and it still ran. Got a picture of my Dad somewhere with cut off jean shorts, boots and a cowboy hat. He rode it out to the store and had a case of PBR on his lap. You know your a redneck if....

love my 90 and 110. the 90 has a scabbard on the front forks that a ss 92 carbine 454 lives in. forgot and left it out last night and woke to rain.
just finished drying them off.
the 90 is a '69 and the 110 is a '83. they get the wife and me out together but i don't have to talk! love it.

I don't think I would change a thing on the 60's and 70's Hondas if they were still available new. The only thing that could be a pain on some of them was the Ignition and charging systems. Otherwise they ran like sewing machines.

i started my honda career in early 60's having one of the firsts 110cc super cubs in northern arizona.
I have four or five of the 60's vintage 50cc and 90cc trail bikes in a garage, with the dream to rebuild them some day.
One of them is sitting by the house outside.
I am gonna have to restrain myself from that little monkey i can see a fight with the wife coming as to explanation.
Great to throw in the back of the truck in bad country, a way to ride out.

1979 Honda Trail 90, cool little bikes. Need to get this one out of the garage more often though

My dad had a Honda shop in the 60's. My brother and I both started riding the Honda 50 cc's with the shields when we were 7 years old. We got to ride the Trail 55's and 90's, then when the XL's came out we had the 100's to ride. I had calluses on my fingers from the handle grips from riding all summer. They were some tough machines and ahead of their time.

I trapped pocket gophers and sold their front claws to the township. I raised enough to buy a used Honda Trail 70. I rode that thing constantly.

Like an idiot, when the rear sprocket got bad, I sold it to another kid to get money for a used pedal bike I wanted. Now those Honda Trails are worth pretty good coin!

I had a Honda SL70 and my buddy had a Trail 70 way back when. We rode the snot out of them! We flipped his Trail 70 one day and I wound up under it. The hot muffler guard branded my leg and I had the impression of a phillips head screw head and a few of the vents burned into my leg for a couple years. Good times.

where can a guy get one of those Bitch seats?

Bring back the Elsinore 125 and you'll have my undivided attention.


Okie John

We always used boat throw cusion, it fit perfect. A milk crate made a great haul box too!

I had a 450 Honda, had blowout, lots of road rash, ain’t been on one since.

This place is the best I've found for old parts for the Trail 90. Their prices are't always that great but if its something you need they likely still carry it. And yes milk crate on the back makes a great box for stuff.

http://dratv.com/bodparctct.html

I bought an XL-100 too back in the day....in the metallic lime green, then upgraded to the XL-250 in silver with the purple stripe on the tank. Changed it out to a big ass rear sprocket and an aggressive knobby for bombing through creeks and swamps, and hill climbing out in the sticks....good times. I sold the 250 to a buddy that still has it in the barn, but hasn't run for years.

A Honda Trail 90 was $374 out the door in 1965.

I was 14 years old.

I still have scars all over me from that bike.

No scars from all the motorcycles after that.

I had a friend with a Mini Trail 50. Looking back, I'm astounded at the use and abuse that little bike stood up to. Dad would never buy one for me. He figured that I would kill myself on it and he was right!

RS

My first Motorcycle was a 64 Super Cub 55. It was a "real" motorcycle had a clutch and a 4 speed tranny basically a smaller engine version of the Honda 90. I still have two matching yellow 1969 Trail 90's. Both my son and daughter learned how to ride on them. Basically the things are indestructible. As long as there is oil and gas they will run. Not fast, but they will go anywhere a motorcycle can go. They used to be about $50 for a runner back in the day. I have turned down $1200. I will pass them on to the son and daughter when I'm done with them. They will still be running fine..

I sure loved my Honda 1974 750-4. Had to tune all four carbs in synch but when you did that was one sweet machine. I heard 74 was the year they dropped the compression, but I didn't know any different, it was a great bike. Sold it to a guy that drove it all over the country.

Here is a parts bike for anyone in the KC area.

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1974-honda-xl-100/6612568653.html

We used to call them the Nifty 50. Cool old bikes.

All 5 of my Grandkids have motorbikes and would ride them till the chicken's come home. Ages 5-11.






DMc

Weird.
Do you still spank at a fire?

Vinny

P.S. QA50?

My neighbor just got her 70's 175 road bike back on the road. All original down to the tires. 10k miles on odometer, 4 decades of storage and all it needed was a tune up, carbs freshened up.

I wouldn't mind having one of those 305 Scramblers with the high pipes for around town either. I had the 305 Super Hawk, but the Scrambler was geared a little lower. I smiled all the way through that Beach Boys video on page 2. Good memories.

Fires are very special to me. They put me in a celebratory mood.

NASCAR and biker rally hipsters will be all over the Monkey..

With a few disguised modern enhancements this would be pretty cool.

They make a CB1100 but it's just not the same. It's big and heavy, they only put a retro seat and rear shocks on it to appeal to oldsters guys who really know what motorcycles should look like.

I like that.

The first Superbike, in an era of two-stroke.ring- sings, Brit bikes and Shovelhead Harley’s.

It’d be considered dog-slow today though.

Did Honda ever stop making air-cooled itransverse 750 fours? They were calling ‘em Nighthawks in the 80’s and even with four valves per and DOCH they were STILL considered boring, and they would run rings around the gutless SOC predecessors.

My cousin had a CB 750, IIRC 1970. In conformity to fashion at the time he put extended forks and a sissy bar on it, didn’t alter the steering head at all, just put extended forks on it (6” over??) We thought it rocked.

I’d be all over a Honda CB350 ca. 1973 with was the first year they had a front disc brake, but wouldn’t turn up my nose at a prior year. Simple, reliable upright twin in a relatively lightweight bike with good acceleration due to a good power/weight ratio plus great handling and stopping characteristics.

If Eric Von Zipper hears about this his gang might make a comeback.

True THAT! Scary thought!



....but the bikini's won't be so bad!!!

Return of Kings: “Do not doubt the poon-harpooning power of the humble motorcycle”






DMc

I had a buddy that owned a CB 750 that had semi extended forks on it and it turned a lot of heads, didn't sound bad either. I'd love to won one.

I bought a new CB550 SS in 1975. It out ran every Triumph, Shovelhead, and Sportster in the area, at least in the first 1/8 mile.

As a kid everybody in my neighborhood had a minibike. Wasn't the Honda Trail 50 also called a 'Mini 50'?
We had to be different so i got a XR75 , as a 4th grader that thing near killed me on multiple occasions, but damn it was quick!
The neighborhood had plenty of Trail 50's, 70's, 90's and one or two 110's and my best friend graduated from one I've not seen mentioned here- Yamaha QA50 up to a Honda CL100
There were several of the QA 50's in the hood as well.

Didn't grow up riding. But as cool as the monkey and cub are I'd rather have a Kawasaki Z125 with a chimera extension.

Those prices are obscene in typical Honda new intro fashion. In a few years 2 year old NOS will be selling for a good price.

Nice choice for a newby!

Looked at a grom but found the jacked up height to be uncomfortable.
I blame this post for putting me in the shop, so you are all complicit in my new purchase...

The retro bikes are all the rage with the current left-wing hipsters in my area. You know, the kind that wears skinny jeans and has a man-bun hairdo.

Same thing happened to me. Those scars were like a badge of honor. Loved those little Hondas as a kid. I had a couple of them. They could really take a beating.

Had a Honda SL 100 that I bought new in 1970 for $400.

Great for around town trips, and off road.

I put a bazillion miles on it.

Sure wish I could buy one for that now days!

Virgil B.

Inflation calculation says $400 1970 dollars = $2700 2018 dollars.

Honda Grom is $2900

Kawasaki and Suzuki will be coming out with their version soon enough. Competition drives price. Now is the time to be patient.

kwg

I noticed, in the article, the caption said, "non-USA, non-ABS, model shown". I take it to mean the US model is likely to be saddled with ABS. All of this retro-crap is just that; crap. Modern, computerized stuff which is styled to look old. I would love to be able to buy a carbureted, non-ABS, minimalist motorcycle. Manufacturers are making superb chassis, superb suspension components and using good, durable materials. In order to take advantage of this, you have to buy a whole bunch of electronic fluff. Recently started reading about a new Kawasaki retro KZ900. When I got to the part about the traction control, anti-skid, and multiple power settings, I had to struggle to keep from regurgitating my lunch.I didn't bother reading the rest. If I want traction control, I'll use the clutch and throttle. If I don't want the front wheel to slide, I'll ease up on the brake lever. If I screw up, I'll fall down. I've done it before and will probably do it again. Honda can shove their retros. GD

Abs is standard in Europe so non abs is typical American.
I went non abs on the Rebel. Very lean bike. Minimalist bike.

Then go get you a Suzuki DR-650. One of the best, most fun bikes I ever owned.

Damn! If they'd remake a 350SL It'd be a done deal!

Back in 1965, when I was in the 7th grade, one of the rich high school boys, whose dad was a doctor, got a Honda Dream. I thought it was the coolest motorcycle I had ever seen.

I learned how to ride a motorcycle on a Honda 305 Dream....

Old 125....wore that thing out ..had to use a 1/4 metal rod to shift thur the oil cap hole in the end lol

My stepson has riden the retros for awhile, and still does

Had a Trail 70 when I was little. Have a 1976 CB 360T that my Wife's brother bought new. I bought from his wife when he passed. Also a 1987 Super Magna. Love those old Hondas!

That's the kind of engine and layout I'd go for. An upright, air cooled parallel twin that you can actually get to without taking half the bike apart. Carburetors were never that much of a pain but EFI is nice as are disc brakes. But those old twins are so simple and bullet proof and easy to work on. I know water cooling has advantages but it also adds more complexity and weight.

I was watching a youtube video on changing the plugs and air filter on my Yamaha and you have to darn near disassemble the whole top half just to get to them.