The Honda Cub F is a
motorized bicycle, sometimes also categorized as a
moped
A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typ ...
, introduced by Honda in 1952. It was a "clip-on" gasoline engine kit for bicycles produced by other manufacturers, identified by the slogan and popular for a design that prevented the
two-stroke engine
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
exhaust and oil from hitting the rider. The
Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...
, includes the 1952 Honda Cub F as one of their ''240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology''.
This product was a formative success for the new company, establishing their first nationwide independent dealer network. Managing director
Takeo Fujisawa
was a Japanese businessman who co-founded Honda Motor Co., Ltd. alongside Soichiro Honda. Fujisawa oversaw the financial side of the company while Honda handled the engineering and product development. Together, they took the company from a small ...
initiated a direct-mail campaign to the country's 50,000 bicycle dealers, generating about 30,000 replies, from which 13,000 dealers were chosen.
hire-purchase
A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset pl ...
scheme to allow customers to spread payments across 12 months. Honda shipped 6,000 Cub F units in October 1952, and 9,000 in December.
Production ceased in 1954, with the company citing consumer demand shifting to better products as Japan's postwar economy improved, and quality problems with the bicycle components that Honda had no control over.
References
External links
Cub F Video at honda.co.jp
{{Honda
Cub F
Motorized bicycles