Baby Honda

Article by Wayne Lavers

“IT’S QUITE A COMFORTABLE LITTLE BIKE TO RIDE...”

IT’S AUGUST 1966 AND A LANKY, BLOND HAIRED 10-YEAR-OLD LAD STANDS AT THE FRONT WINDOW OF BRADEN’S TYRE TYRE SERVICE, HONDA AND PUSHBIKE DEALERSHIP IN THE TOWN OF FORBES IN THE CENTRAL WEST OF NSW. HIS ELEVENTH BIRTHDAY WAS A MONTH AWAY AND DAD HAD SAID HE COULD HAVE A NEW PUSHBIKE.

He scanned the rows of Speedwells but what caught his eye was the new blue and white Honda moped, ‘Baby Honda’, the P50. It took pride of place in the window beside a minute, red tartan - seated Honda mini bike. The pressed steel frame, drum brakes, lights, speedo and rack gave an impression of modern reliable travel. It could take the boy to Flash forward to 2018 ... an advert is spotted on Gumtree.

Honda P50. Owned for the last 35 years, running and in average condition for age. $1,500 ono.

and from school with the minimum of effort and he would be the envy of all the other kids. Wow!....could he get Dad on side? But it was not to be. Dad in his usual ‘ticking all the boxes’ way of going about things, was swayed for a day or so until realising that the tiny $125 dream machine needed to be registered and the rider licensed. He had built bolt-on friction drive mopeds as a youth and understood a boy’s yearning for motorised transport, but would not yield to pressure. No more was to be said. A green Speedwell Popular Deluxe was purchased instead and the young boy’s dreams were not fulfilled for fifty years. The seller was a Industrial Arts teacher with a fascination for small motors and we had some wonderful discussions as the purchasing negotiations progressed. His expertise in and fascination with small internal combustion engines sounded amazing.

But I digress. I had always wondered why Honda had decided to build what could only be described as an exercise in over engineering in the P50. I feel it was because they could! It was the only ohv, 4stroke hub motor moped to be built and was the last hub motored moped to be produced anywhere in the world. Hub motors had been common between and after the wars but almost all were two stroke. The P50 was styled after the BSA Winged Wheel which was two stroke but the Honda was a 50cc, 1.2hp, overhead cam engine with splash-feed lubrication.

The gearbox was actually a ‘chainbox’ with a triple chain reduction; not a three row chain but a little sprocket to a big sprocket to a little sprocket to a big sprocket to a little sprocket to a big sprocket, three separate chains and a centrifugal clutch. It ran 17in wheels with a tiny drum brake on the front and a band brake on the rear.

But it didn’t end there....it was produced in two forms; one for Holland and one for the rest of the world. The Dutch bike, of which something like 2,000 were produced, had gear reduction instead of chain and 23in wheels instead of 17.

I understand, if I remember correctly, that approximately 25,000 P50s were produced over an 18 month period between 1966 and ‘68 before it morphed into the PC50 which was a much more functional design, having the engine in the conventional position. The P50 on the other hand is very back heavy having 32 of its 45kgs carried by the rear wheel. This makes riding the tiny beast very different to the average motorcycle. Steering is extremely light and vague, the tiny leading link doing a sterling job of keeping things on track.

I feel there was a good reason Honda put a large carry rack over the front wheel - to even up the weight bias. It’s quite a comfortable little bike to ride once you get used to the interesting handling, it’s governed to around 25mph by a centrifugal retard on the flywheel that holds the revs below 4,200rpm which is more than fast enough given its foibles.

Mechanical parts are relatively easy to get, the top end being much the same as other Honda 50s of the day; plastics are hard to find. I’ve managed to find just about all parts I’ve needed to date. The back wheel is off at the moment getting spokes fixed. We should be rolling again soon.

There have been thousands of motorcycles designed and built in the last 100 years but not too many have stepped outside the traditional design box; I would consider the Honda P50 (also called P25 in some markets) ‘Baby Honda’ to have taken a giant stride outside the box … just because it could.

It’s an interesting and rare little bike, a sweet, cute little retro and a pleasure to own.