The Honda Super Cub is the biggest-selling motorised vehicle in history. It’s been in continuous production since 1958, a staggering 87 million have been built as of March 2014, and now the Super Cub has been granted a three-dimensional trademark by the Japan Patent Office, proving that the often-copied-but-never-replicated scooter is a true design classic. Now every line and detail, its entire form, is protected by a patent.
1864 Honda Super Cub C100 (1958)
When Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa, the co-founders of the Honda Motor Company, toured Europe in 1956 to devise their next motorcycle model they could hardly have imagined the influence it would have and the lives it would touch. The simple, exceptionally durable, highly efficient and easy to ride Super Cub was launched two years later in 1958 and it’s still produced to this day, in 16 plants across 15 different countries.
The Super Cub’s qualities of dependability, intuitive dynamics and amazing economy are timeless thanks to Soichiro’s ingenuity and determination to make the tiny 50cc engine a clean four-stroke unit, when the European manufacturers were all using two-stroke engines. The jewel-like engine produced 4.5bhp and revved cleanly to 9500rpm. In slightly less safety-conscious times one of the Super Cub’s other qualities was that it could be ridden one-handed thanks to its innovative centrifugal clutch. This was important in Japan as delivery riders for the soba restaurants would carry noodles in one hand while steering with the other!
Riding a Super Cub to the picnics at the Khwaja Sahib Ansar in Hirat
It’s fair to say that the Honda story has the Super Cub as its very foundations. Hugely popular domestically and with astonishing export success – helped in the US by the famous ‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda’ advertising campaign – the Super Cub offered affordable, convenient, and efficient mobility for everyone. The sheer number of Super Cubs produced is testament to its basic concept and brilliant execution, but Super Cub has won plenty of plaudits as well as millions of customers. Or in other words, as Top Gear’s James May believes, it’s the Greatest Machine Ever Made.
Charity Bike Ride on a Super Cub
John O’Groats to Lands End by Super Cub
Trevor Cousins and his son Ben are relying upon the Super Cub’s legendary durability as they plan to ride the length of Britain for charity in August. Raising money for Joseph Lomax and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Trevor and Ben are using a 20 year old C90 they’ve christened Shirley and plan to cover around 100 miles a day for 8 days. Shirley is capable of just 40mph but with modifications including a second fuel tank (from a Honda generator) and a front luggage rack (a tray from a chest freezer!) it should be the perfect tool for the job.
Carrying Trevor, Ben, their tent, sleeping bags, clothes, torches and some essential spare parts the Super Cub is still averaging around 118mpg according to their early tests. The intrepid duo set off from John O’Groats on 12th August and you can find out more and sponsor this fantastic journey or follow them on Twitter.
