Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
The 20th century spawned a number of iconic long-selling motor vehicles, among them Ford's Model T, Germany's Volkswagen "Beetle" and Italy's Vespa scooter. In terms of total sales, however, none of them has come close to approaching the success of the Honda Super Cub, which has outsold the other three combined.
Designated model C-100, the Super Cub went on sale 60 years ago this week. Since then, it has enjoyed steady demand at home and abroad, particularly in Southeast Asia. Last year, Honda Motor Co.'s total sales of the Super Cub, including sports and commercial models adopting the same platform, shot past the 100 million mark; they account for about 30 percent of the 350 million motorcycles Honda has sold worldwide.
Rebutting the philosophy of "planned obsolescence" that some manufacturers have been accused of building into their products, the Super Cub's minimalist profile remains immediately recognizable, having changed only slightly over the past 60 years. And while nobody knows the exact number still in running condition, nostalgia buffs in search of an original C-100 have been known to bid over ¥300,000 on auction sites online — six times its 1958 selling price.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @12:36PM (1 child)
¥300,000 is ~$2,700 as of this morning's exchange rate.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @01:05PM
Thank you! *kowtows*
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @01:21PM
The Mini had a ~40 year run from 1959-2000 with minimal changes, although the number of units produced is much less than other long running models at 5,300,000. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/mini/10456893/Mini-a-brief-history.html [telegraph.co.uk]
By comparison (according to Wikipedia):
Ford Model T 1908–1927 total produced 16,500,000
VW Beetle 1938–2003 total produced 21,529,464
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday August 07 2018, @01:27PM (19 children)
Scooters are at least six times as gay as two guys sucking each other off. Not as gay as soccer but still pretty gay.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 07 2018, @01:50PM (7 children)
Mmmmm. I disagree. Now, I don't want one, but they are pretty cool all the same.
The first two-wheeled powered vehicle I ever attempted to ride was a Wizard scooter, from Western Auto, or one of those old forgotten places. It was supposed to be five horses, pull start Briggs & Stratton. The damned thing threw me on the ground, and proceeded to ride itself across the school yard. An adult had to go catch it before it ran into the doors of the high school. I probably didn't weigh fifty pounds at that time, and no one warned me that my skinny little ass would slide backwards on that flat seat if I gave it any real throttly.
Decades later, when my youngest son asked me about "What's the best motorcycle for me to buy, Dad?" I told him, no motorcycles - YET. First, you get yourself a silly little scooter, and wear it out. Then, you get a little 90 cc dirt bike, and try to break your neck in the woods and pastures. THEN, you might be ready for a little 250 street bike. If you manage to stay alive on a 250 for a year or two, THEN you MIGHT be ready for one of those big bikes you've got your eye on.
Scooters are good learning experience, for beginners.
Today, my big ass would look really funny, trying to perch on top of a scooter. The smallest thing I would consider riding today is my Silver Wing. Nothing smaller would work for more than a few minutes, what with my knobby knees sticking out to the sides and all.
I'll go along with you to a point, Buzzard. If you see a man over 5' 8", and weighing more than 140 pounds on a scooter, you're looking at some gay shit. Dude needs to hurry up and learn to ride, so he can move up to something at least semi-serious. But scooters are great for kids, women, and other small (probably timid) people.
Some dude is only about 4 ft 12 inches tall - you think he's going to climb up on a real motorcycle? A three-wheeler, maybe. With a couple of steps attached. Then he won't look so damned gay.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:01PM (6 children)
Gotta disagree on your progression. Bicycle up until you can easily stand a 90cc dirtbike back up off the ground. Then 90cc dirtbike in primarily mud and shallow water (softer when you fall) until you don't fall over too often. Then < 200cc enduro on dry dirt and very low traffic pavement (residential areas or remote roads). Then < 1Kcc street bike of your choice on city streets and highways. Then a good sized Harley, Indian, or Norton anywhere you care to take it.
Never a helmet though. Helmets divorce you from the environment and the wind and those are over half of the experience.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:47PM (1 child)
> Gotta disagree on your progression. Bicycle...
Lots of parents still start their kids off with training wheels which are a disaster technically, since they make a bike steer like a trike or car--turn-right to go right, without the banking/leaning component. To learn bicycle control (relatively complex relationship between steer and lean), either a bike with a low seat and no pedals, or a small kick scooter are the right choices.
(Score: 3, Informative) by HiThere on Tuesday August 07 2018, @05:33PM
If the training wheels are adjusted properly, only one, if any, will be touching the ground at any one time, and usually none will be touching the ground. So you get both balance and steering properly. That said, the really short bikes are probably a better way to start.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Tuesday August 07 2018, @06:14PM (2 children)
That's the most American thing I've read so far today (didn't hit that Trump post yet, though).
Ever been buzzarding over Asia ? Scooters are the SouthEast Asian vehicle of choice for a whole lot of very good reasons.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday August 07 2018, @09:17PM (1 child)
The primary one being that they aren't awesome enough to ride a real bike. It's not a racial thing though, it's cultural. American folks of Asian descent can be just as awesome as anyone else. Unless you're Jackie Chan or a ninja though, you're probably getting the shit end of the awesome stick if you live in Asia.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @02:49AM
When I was in Taiwan ~20 years ago, scooters were everywhere. It wasn't cultural, it was legal -- motorcycles with more than 200cc (or there-about) were either banned, or so highly taxed they they might as well have been banned. Might have been a wheel size limit as well, since all the scooters had typical small wheels. Huge import duties on any kind of motorcycle meant the scooters were all made in Taiwan. So cheap that they weren't repaired, just junked when they quit, common to see them laying in the ditch.
I told my guide that he was seeing "peak scooter" and it was time to start collecting some of them for a future museum, the various designs and "faces" made by headlights and front fairing were of wide variety and really showcased the local designers/stylists. When I was there the rules were about to open up, larger engines were about to be allowed and import duty lowered. My guess (at that time) was that the scooter era with all its wild and huge variety was about to be lost--but the Taiwanese I talked with scorned them like last years appliance. I haven't been back, I wonder if there are any left?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday August 08 2018, @09:20AM
I might not be able to as I was having seizures for a few years. On the 16th I have a Neurologist appointment, I'll ask for an EEG as well as his opinion as to whether it is safe for me to drive.
My father was so heavily into his bikes that he would bike twenty miles each way to work in the rain while wearing a snowmobile suit and leather gauntlets.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 4, Informative) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:03PM (6 children)
Well, if you want to talk about scooter culture, I'd agree. But aside from gay subcultures, scooters are pretty damn utilitarian for short runs compared to a bulky bike. A former co-worker used to ride one and we made fun of him as it was a chinese import the delivery guys would drive around so when he pulled up we heckled him for things like "where are my egg rolls and duck lo mein?." Joke was on us as he spent next to nothing in terms of fuel and insurance plus the cheap thing cost him only two or three grand new.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:42PM (2 children)
Heh - the kid got a tank of gas that made the bike run like crap. I think the tank held about a gallon and a half. I told him to put some dry-gas in it, and run it until it was burnt up. A week later, he was still complaining about that tank of gas. It ran, and ran, and ran, and ran some more on a gallon of gas!
The best mileage I've ever had, that was documented, was on the Silver Wing. 53 MPG sure feels good when you pull up to the pumps! Had a Kaw 440 many years ago that regularly topped 40 MPG, and could reach 45 MPG if I wasn't horsing it. Other bikes may have gotten a little better than that, but I never documented any of them. I happened to see a Kawasaki KZ 440 pretty recently. I walked up to it, and looked it over. It was like, "Oh, my God, that thing is so SMALL! How did I put 39,000 miles on one of these?!?!" For such a small machine, it sure is snappy though!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:51PM
A friend in England (who is gone now) rode BMW motorcycles in the 1960s, until he realized that his Mini (original tiny size front wheel drive car, about 1000cc) was getting better mileage than the motorcycle. He concluded that the Mini car had lower air drag than the motorcycle (and he probably went a little slower in the car...)
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday August 07 2018, @06:26PM
My Honda 700 gets 64mpg (US) when I'm nice to it, and over 60mpg even at highway speeds or going up and down the canyon to work. Not too shabby for 500lbs bike.
I filled up the other day and got back on a highway when I had to split crawling traffic for over 10 miles, and it told me 72mpg at the end.
Somehow Honda has figured out how to get the gas actually converted into motion, not just vibration and hated-neighbor levels of noise.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:53PM (2 children)
I'm not a strong cyclist and I've passed some scooters & mopeds on my pedal bicycle... Ignoring any social stigma, what is the point of this slowest class of scooter?
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday August 07 2018, @08:25PM
In genuinely congested cities, these are effective, cheap, and efficient (especially for parking*)
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-taipei-taiwan-december-2015-heavy-rush-hour-scooter-traffic-on-a-busy-92539574.html [alamy.com]
*only the US seems to have parking lots the size of farms [jcdecaux.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday August 07 2018, @11:17PM
Those smaller electric scooters appear to fit your description. Why not use a peddle bike? Well not everyone can ride long distances throughout the day narrowing your labor pool. Next up is liability as these reduce the liability surface as the rider can not injure themselves via peddling (over exertion, exhaustion, etc). They are also very compact and are not petrol fueled making indoor storage possible and safer. Big win for the delivery business owner who I see operating them (the mexican joint by me has two).
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @03:13PM (1 child)
Check out the Manege scooter -- http://www.oldbike.eu/museum/childrens/scooter-manege/ [oldbike.eu]
Hardly gay, more like Buck Rogers. Would have been pretty cool to have one of these as a kid.
Instead, I saw a mid '60's mini-bike (I was 12) and asked my father for one. His counter-offer was that he would pay for the parts if I built my own. This led to doing simple drawings on brown paper (from a wide roll at the butcher shop) and lots of catalog shopping for parts (mostly in the Sears catalog). Then buying some steel tubing, cutting with a hack saw, filing the joints and finally having it welded (my father arranged this with the welding shop at his work). Eventually I hot rodded the 3 hp lawn mower motor to the point where it threw a rod and holed the block...
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday August 07 2018, @03:38PM
You are correct, sir. I partially retract my statement to exclude this weird and wacky little conveyance.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @04:07PM (1 child)
https://powersports.honda.com/2019/super-cub-c125-abs.aspx [honda.com] If I lived in a city and needed something for grabbing groceries and getting around I would definitely grab one. Doesn't look like much but it's got a Honda motor, it's cheap, and small enough to carry to an apartment.
(Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday August 07 2018, @09:22PM
I'd have a pickup. And a big trailer. I'd need the big trailer to move all of my shit the hell out of the city. There is nothing there worth having to live in a big city. Visit, sure. Work in, if no other viable alternative presents itself. Live in, when hell freezes over.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:47PM (3 children)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/honda-took-pride-in-doing-everything-itself-the-cost-of-technology-made-that-impossible-1533484840 [wsj.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 07 2018, @02:56PM (1 child)
Yes, this link is impossible to read! Paywalled.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday August 07 2018, @03:10PM
http://archive.is/j6f3G [archive.is]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday August 07 2018, @07:18PM
The Japanese tests are VERY UNFAIR. I'll tell you, one of our great auto companies built a car for Japan. Very special car, they spent HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars to build it. The Japanese told them "no, you can't bring that one in, it failed the test." It’s called the bowling ball test. You know what that is? That’s where they take a bowling ball from 20 feet up in the air and drop it on the hood of the car. And if the hood dents, the car doesn’t qualify. It’s horrible, the way we’re treated!!
(Score: 1) by laughingelk on Tuesday August 07 2018, @05:45PM
I was seventeen and I got this thing broken, from a friend. I took it apart down to the last bolt and screw. I could not get some parts, so I made them myself. I learned more about engines than my Auto Mechanics classes ever taught me. Put everything back together and rode it for years. It would hit 40MPH only with a tail wind, but I could ride it for a week, then fill it up for less than a dollar (okay that was during the 80s). I quit riding it after I got a decent car. Then one year during a cleaning fit I threw it out. I'm sort of regretting that now, but I still have the knowledge I gained.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday August 07 2018, @08:00PM (1 child)
The only Super Cub I care about is this one [soylentnews.org].
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday August 07 2018, @11:24PM
File not found.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Informative) by richtopia on Tuesday August 07 2018, @11:03PM
The Super Cub is still popular in Japan which has driven modern technology on the bike. For the 2019 year the Super Cub will be for sale in the USA again:
https://powersports.honda.com/2019/super-cub-c125-abs.aspx [honda.com]
MSRP $3599. This won't compete with the cheap China bikes on price, but if you want to treat it like an appliance the Honda will serve well.
The 2019: 125CC engine. 4 speed semi-automatic (clutchless). Disc brakes with front ABS. Tubeless Tyres. Key fob.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday August 08 2018, @09:16AM
"Corona" with an "n". Very few were imported to the US. They had rear-wheel drive.
Mine was a '77 station wagon. While working on the engine I shorted the electrical and was never able to fix it. Finally I gave it - for free - to a desperately poor friend.
He paid some fifty bucks to fix the electrical then drove it for years.
A few years ago I looked into buying another Corona. To my great dismay, rusted bodies without even engines were selling on craigslist for $5,000.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @08:52AM
Ok, now I know what the postman drives on every possible weather (pouring rain, snow storm with some 10 inches of it on the ground on the morning before I had had time to move it from the drive ways) when he brings the mail to my wife's family home in northern Japan.
I always wondered about that bike since it looked kind of old fashioned but the guy obviously loves it.
And that also explains the food delivery scooters that all look a like (except for the paint job).