Honda Sport 50

I have to pay homage to the little tiddler that I have wished for the most often, and ridden a number of times, but never owned. This is the later version of the Super Sport Cub that I clobbered with my Rotary Jet 80 at wide-open throttle, right in the chain guard, wearing nothing more than a pudding-bowl helmet, a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers without socks! Slap that horrific image right out of your head! Yes, it hurt, but we both were released from the emergency room within a few hours. There were miraculously no broken bones, but we used up the hospital's entire monthly allotment of Mercurochrome and bandages. Hiyo, Silver! Let's go back to those innocent days of yesteryear!

The first motorcycle I rode was a 1960 Harley-Davidson Super 10 and the second was a Benly Touring 150. The third was the very same red and cream, three-speed Super Sport 50 that I clobbered with my Yamaha 80. I lived to ride a few other Sport 50's in the mid-Sixties, too. What impressed me from the moment I saw that first Super Sport was that this was, indeed, a tiny motorcycle! There was nothing scooter about it. You swung your leg over the seat like a man should and you made sure it was in neutral and then kick-started the little jewel, just as if it was a H-D Sportster that your cat could kickstart! The handgrips were of small diameter, a quality that did not say Sportster like the big fat ones on the Super 10 did. The engine was tiny, quiet, and felt a lot stronger than the one with only one-half horsepower less than that of the step-through Cub. There was no substitute for cubic inches, but if you couldn't have those, Japanese technology, four gears, and a clutch went a long way toward making you feel like a real man. Just don't look too closely at the pressed steel frame and leading link front suspension. I remember like it was yesterday when my dad somewhat mysteriously asked me if I liked the little Honda or the little Yamaha better. My immediate reply had a lot to do with a steel front fender, a cubic inch, telescopic forks, and larger hand grips!

You can examine the detailed differences between the Sport 50's in the Scrambler Chart. The model was introduced in 1960 with a cream tank and side panels, low handlebars, a 3/4-length seat, and a three-speed transmission, albeit with a manual clutch, unlike its more numerous brothers. Through the years the model was available, the three-speeds increased to four, the seat got a little longer, the tank received body-color paint and chrome side panels, the side panels became body-colored, and the handlebars got a little higher. The strangest anachronism was in the name: the later, four-speed models were call Sport, but the earlier, three-speed models were called Super Sport! One little tidbit you may not have surmised is that the only (regular motorcycle) Honda model aside from this one with an OHV engine was the short-lived Honda 90 (CA-200) of 1963-66, making the Super Sport and Sport 50 by far the longest running, highest production model, non-OHC Honda motorcycle ever!

This is exactly what has made me daydream about having one of these little beasties in my garage, or even in my living room, for decades. Although I have displayed a version in black, a very common color for this model, I personally prefer the other three colors a little more. Although these were produced in black, red, white, and blue up until 1968, the final year, when only red and black were built, red and black were far more common than blue or white. I think the reason I like the lighter colors is that they offer contrast to the standard black parts, showing off the fact that this is a tiny motorcycle. I like the look of the black tires, hand grips, and seat contrasting with the painted motorcycle parts. I want to say I am riding the real thing, baby! The Lone Ranger knew to approach Silver from the left side. Swing your leg over that saddle like a real man. We don't need no stinking electric starters! You aren't coordinated enough to start rolling smoothly with a clutch and manual transmission? What are you, a wuss?

See Also: My First Motorcycle
The Honda Scrambler Chart