Honda Z50r

HONDA Z50R

A Minibike Past Its Prime.

Taking a look at the Honda Z50R is an illustration of how far mini-motorcycles—and mini-motorcyclists— have come in the last decade.

That’s right. The last decade. The Z50R is a direct, no-lights descendent of the Z50 Mini Trail, a holdover from the minibike era first seen at Honda dealerships in 1968. It’s fat and tall and short, weighing 122 lbs. with half a tank of gas, measuring 23 in. at the seat and rolling on a 35-in. wheelbase.

This isn’t a mini motorcycle for little kids. Instead, it’s a minibike which may be suitable for kids about 9 or 10 years old. It’s too tall and heavy for younger riders, and isn’t really an ideal beginner’s bike. The ungainly proportions of the bike, the bulbous 3.50-18 tires, the awkward handling combine with a much-too-rapidand-radical automatic clutch engagement to make the machine a handleful for the inexperienced.

The centrifugal clutch often engaged so suddenly from a stop that adult riders were caught off guard in the middle of a wheelstand. That’s not the hot tip for a timid youngster learning to control a motor vehicle. The bike comes with a three-speed, and shifts are as easy as rolling off the gas and pulling up the lever. But the stiffness of the shift lever prompted one young rider to leave the Z50R in first gear for several laps around an impromptu dirt trail course, the engine screaming and the smell of clutch in the air. When the boy was finally waved down, the Honda was so hot it wouldn’t idle and was reluctant to start afterwards.

HONDA

Z50R

SPECIFICATIONS

$448

DIMENSIONS

The Z50 was a good bike for beginners back when the youngest beginners were 10 or 12 years old and the alternatives had powerbands 200 rpm wide and wide-open, shrieking exhausts.

But in 1979, when much younger kids learn to ride, when a parent can buy a docile, light, quiet, impossible-to-hurt Suzuki JR50 with better handling and a lower list price, the Z50R is outmoded.

That is, unless the learner is old enough and big enough to wrestle with the weight and hang on when the clutch kicks in too quickly. The Z50R is useful for teaching older beginners, and probably would make a nice pit bike for adults. Beyond that, the Z50R has failed to keep up with changing times.