A Flying Honda 50
A Flying Honda 50
TONY HOGG
A MAJOR PROBLEM confronting light plane owners is that of transportation on arrival at a strange airport. Honda dealer Pete Adams, of San Rafael, Calif., has solved the problem by breaking down a Honda 50 into five pieces so that it fits into the baggage compartment of his Cessna Skyhawk.
Although it is a comparatively simple matter to chop a Honda in half, remove the rear seats of a 4-place plane, and carry the bike where the rear seats were, you can then only carry two people, and you have to remove the bike and replace the seats any time you wish to carry four. An additional drawback is that, although the Honda 50 is a lightweight machine, the rear half is very awkward to lift up into a plane. Adams’ system overcomes these problems, making it worthy of note.
The baggage compartment of the Cessna is limited to 120 lbs. and the dimensions of the door are 16.5 in. by 23 in., although the compartment is larger inside. These were the first two problems confronting Adams before he so much as picked up his hacksaw. Other factors to be considered were the necessity for a machine that would be legal on the streets, presentable at the local country club, suitable for reasonably long trips, and capable of carrying both Adams and his wife. (He weighs 220 lbs., but a natural shyness in the presence of women prevented me from asking Mrs. Adams’ weight.) However, to improve the power to weight ratio, the machine has been bored out to take a Honda 125cc piston, and the carburetion and porting has been reworked to increase the power output.
The first part of the project was to reduce the weight of the machine by 25 lbs. This was accomplished by disposing of the battery, so that lighting and ignition are now direct, and liberally drilling such parts as the frame, the stand, seat brackets, shift lever, etc. Next step was to cut the main frame tube in half, at the same time shortening it slightly, and fitting a removable sleeve joint secured by four clamps. This permits the machine to be taken in half after the throttle slide has been removed and the wiring disconnected. Two jacks permit the wiring to be unplugged, and an aluminum sleeve protects the throttle slide and needle when they are removed from the carburetor.
The wheels are made quickly detachable, Vincent style, by slotting the brake cable ends, although the nuts are retained on the axles where the Vincent used T handles. The only remaining item to be removed is the seat, which has been modified and also lightened.
The result is a Honda 50 broken down into five parts. The heaviest section, the engine/transmission unit with the rear frame, weighs 56 lbs. and can be lifted into the baggage compartment with no great strain. From the moment of opening the baggage compartment door to riding the machine away occupies a leisurely five minutes, and the job is done with two wrenches and an Allen key.
Pete Adams altered his machine for his own personal use, but he could be persuaded to rework your own Honda 50 for $100, or sell a complete machine based on a used and rebuilt Honda for $300.
