Honda Z100 was a prototype

Honda Motor Company is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

minibike A minibike is a two-wheeled, motorized, off-highway recreational vehicle popularized in the 1960s and 1970s, but available continuously from a wide variety of manufacturers since 1959. Their off-highway nature and (in many countries) typically enti ...

which was introduced at the Tama Tech amusement Park in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan in 1961. The Z100 minibike was never meant to be produced and sold to consumers. The success of the Z100 prototype convinced Honda to produce and sell the minibike to consumers.

Background

The Tama Tech park opened in 1961 and was owned by the Honda Motor Company. The park attractions involved many different motorsports. Honda developed the Z100 minibike for the park, it was never meant to be a product for consumers. Honda had built a new

Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Int ...

so that park goers could experience the joys of driving. The minibike was meant to be ridden around the Tama Tech park. Honda took note of the fact that it became the park's most popular attraction.

History

The minibike was not a production motorcycle, so the engine in the Z100 was repurposed from the

Honda Super Cub The Honda Super Cub or Honda Cub is a Honda underbone motorcycle with a four-stroke single-cylinder engine ranging in displacement from . In continuous manufacture since 1958 with production surpassing 60 million in 2008, 87 million in 2014, an ...

. The 1961 Super Cub engine which was used in the Z100, was a 49 cc. The Z100 had small 5" wheels and the minibike had a white fuel tank and a bright red frame. The bike was intentionally built small to accommodate children, but it also appealed to adults who rode them around the circuit. The bike soon came to be known as a monkey bike because most adult people, looked large in relation to the very small motorcycle. Onlookers described riders as looking like a Monkey on the bike. Honda recognized the popularity of the minibike and they decided to manufacture a street-legal version of the bike. In 1963 they released the bike in the Japanese market and called it the CZ100. The Z100 proved to be so popular that it was introduced to the European market as the CZ100 in 1964.

Legacy

The Z100 was a prototype so it is both rare and collectable. The minibike was the precursor to all of the other versions of minibikes produced by Honda. The prototype Honda Z100 proved the minibike concept could be successful as a niche product and it led many years of Honda Minibike production. The little bikes were all powered by the same 50cc engine with a 3 speed transmission. The Z series Honda Minibikes that followed had folding handlebars so that users could stow them in the trunk of their cars.

References

External links

Video of the Honda Z100
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honda Z100 Honda Z100 Motorcycles introduced in 1961 Minibikes 1961 introductions

Background

History

Legacy

See also

References

External links