ARCHIVE: HONDA’S Z50

The Little 50 That Could

Honda’s legendary Z50 Mini Trail… quite possibly the most ridden (and revered) minibike — and learner-bike — in history

By Mitch Boehm

For untold thousands of motorcyclists here in America, there is only one minibike in the motorcycle universe, and its name is Honda Mini Trail, or Z50. Not only has the original Z50 of 1968 (and its many variants over the years) been the best-selling and mostpopular of all minis, it’s taught more people to ride than any other motorcycle on earth. If there’s a short list of truly foundational motorcycles, the Mini Trail has gotta be on it.

Developed in the early 1960s as an amusement park ride at Honda’s Motopia and Suzuka Circuit parks, the early versions of what would become the ’68 Mini Trail we all know and love caught fire with the public — and the rest is history.

“The Z50 pretty much dominated our lives,” says Honda minibike aficionado Mike Maciejko, who restored and owns the bike pictured here, “and still does!” Look for a more in-depth piece on the iconic Z50 in a future issue of American Motorcyclist.

Photo: Brian Nitto By 1971 the Z50 had gained refinements and lights, which expanded its popularity and desirability to even higher levels. And along with the other minis in Honda’s lineup – the QA50, CT70, SL70, ATC90 and others – Big Red was well on its way to “you meet the nicest people” market domination. Good times.