Honda Z100

Honda Z100
1961 Z100
Manufacturer	Honda
Also called	Monkey Bike
Production	1961
Successor	Honda CZ100
Class	Minibike
Engine	49 cc (3.0 cu in), OHC, air cooled, four stroke, single
Transmission	3-speed semi-automatic transmission
Frame type	Backbone
Brakes	Drum
Tires	5"
Related	Honda CZ100 Honda Z series, Honda Z50M, Honda Z50A, Honda Z50J

Honda Z100 was a prototype Honda Motor Company minibike which was introduced at the Tama Tech amusement Park in Tokyo, 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.^[1] Honda developed the Z100 minibike for the park, it was never meant to be a product for consumers.^[2]

Honda had built a new Suzuka Circuit so that park goers could experience the joys of driving.^[3] The minibike was meant to be ridden around the Tama Tech park.^[2] Honda took note of the fact that it became the park's most popular attraction.^[3]

History

The minibike was not a production motorcycle, so the engine in the Z100 was repurposed from the Honda Super Cub.^[1] The 1961 Super Cub engine which was used in the Z100, was a 49 cc.^[4] The Z100 had small 5" wheels and the minibike had a white fuel tank and a bright red frame.^[1]

The bike was intentionally built small to accommodate children, but it also appealed to adults who rode them around the circuit.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[5] The Z100 proved to be so popular that it was introduced to the European market as the CZ100 in 1964.^[7]

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.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Chung, Dennis (12 July 2013). "What The Heck Is A Monkey Bike?". VerticalScope Inc. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b Fujishima, Kosuke (2017). Oh My Goodness. Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Magna. p. 63. ISBN 9781630088804. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Boehm, Mitch (10 September 2015). "Honda Z50 Mini Trail Bike". Motorcyclist. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
^ "Greatest Motorbikes Ever". Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on 2011-11-15.
^ ^a ^b Jitchotvisut, Janaki (30 August 2021). "Here's The Honda Monkey Bike That Started It All 60 Years Ago". Ride Apart. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
^ Chung, Dennis (12 July 2013). "What The Heck Is A Monkey Bike?". VerticalScope Inc. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
^ Smith, Jenny (28 September 2018). "2019 Honda Monkey". EPG Media LLC. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.