Developing a Dedicated OHC Sports Engine that is Different from the Practical 50cc Cub!
In 1971, HONDA launched the Benrii CB50, the first 50cc model to bear the CB title.
Until then, 50cc sport models had also existed, but this was one of the variations, so to speak, based on the horizontal single for the utility vehicle Super Cub and mounted on a backbone frame (the Super Cub has an underbone frame that is easy to straddle).
The Sport Cub 110, launched in 1960, was a popular model with a center-up exhaust and the sportiest looks at the time. It is a SOHC 50cc designed completely for a sports model, and the frame is also a diamond type made of pipes. It was equipped with a long tank and even a tachometer, a luxury specification comparable to that of a large motorcycle.
In 1962, HONDA expanded the category of its World GP challenge, which had started with 125cc and expanded to 250cc, to 50cc. The small displacement of 50cc required a 4-stroke engine with an extremely high-revving speed of 20,000rpm, which was outrageous at the time, in order to compete with the 2-stroke machines. HONDA fans were impressed by the stance of competing with such an exquisite mechanism, and the result was a full-fledged specification that no 2-stroke manufacturer had ever produced in response to the expectations of such passionate minds. The CB50 was also called “Benly” with “Benly” in front of it, since the 250cc and larger models were called “Dream” and the 125cc and smaller models were called “Benly.
After its debut in 1971, in 1973, the CB50JX was equipped with a mechanical disc brake (wire-operated rather than hydraulic) on the front, instead of the drum brake that had been used until then, and in 1976, the exterior system was changed, and it remained dignified for more than 10 years until 1983. It was one of HONDA's representative machines, proudly presented to the world as a 4-stroke single-seater for over 10 years until 1983.
In the 1980s, however, 2-stroke motorcycles were on the rise in the 250cc and other sports models, and the 50cc category quickly became a feast for the 2-stroke replicas. Then, much later in 1997, the DREAM 50 was developed and released as a machine that fulfilled the boyhood dreams of adults. This model is a re-creation of the CR110, which HONDA introduced as a limited production racer when it began competing in the 50cc World GP, in other words, it was a machine that should have been called the CB50.
Original Source [ RIDE HI ]
See HONDA Moto Index Page
See HONDA CB50 Parts & Accessories Page
