👋 Hey followers! In this video, we present the story of an award-winning Honda 50, crafted by Cork-based Medaza Cycles, known for creating “cycles for distinguished gentlemen and teenage punks.” Named KABU, the Honda is a masterpiece of custom design elements, one-off parts, and a lavish amount of gleaming aluminium and stainless steel.
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⬇️ Did you see KABU at the show in Killarney in 2022? Comment below ⬇️
The Honda 50 is an extraordinary machine in the history of motorcycling. The Honda Cub as they are more properly known is a series of small displacement step-through mopeds developed as a cheap and reliable solution to urban transportation.
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The bike was advertised as the everyman’s transportation, one did not have to have a well-developed sense of mechanical intuition or a dedicated biker lifestyle to own one. In America they were advertised to women and young men with the iconic and wholesome ‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda’ campaign.
Unsurprisingly Cork-based Medaza Cycles, who build “cycles for distinguished gentlemen and teenage punks” decided to focus on a Honda 50 for their latest build as they specialise in taking strange motorcycles that would usually be considered ugly or unsuited to customisation and working with the challenges therein.
The donor bike itself was a 1983 Honda 50 that had been lying around for years neglected in a shed. After digging it out the first task was to strip the bike back to the pressed steel monocoque frame. This was bobbed and widened at the back to take a wider rear wheel than the original.
The engine mounts on the original frame were strengthened to take the extra weight of the bigger Zongshen 150cc engine which would normally be used on a pit bike. The next step was the front end. The original forks are an iconic aspect of the Honda 50 and so they were kept but heavily modified. Firstly, they were widened by 25mm to take a wider wheel and brake drum. Then they were converted into a springer style suspension set up, which was fabricated in stainless steel. The shock for the springer was taken from a Fox mountain bike as it has rebound adjustment and a selection of different stiffness springs available, so the front suspension for the bike is fully adjustable.
The front and rear wheels are from an MZ 250. The original MZ hubs were machined, polished and rebuilt with 16-inch alloy rims. The next step was to build a stainless steel subframe to carry the saddle and the fuel tank. The fuel tank was hand fabricated in aluminium. The subframe, tank and saddle set-up give the bike its distinctive silhouette.
The exhaust silencer, swing-arm, taillight and oil cooler were all CNC machined out of billet. The exhaust pipe itself was hand fabricated out of stainless-steel tube bends. Given that there is no chrome plating facility in Ireland all the finishes you can see are achieved using aluminium and stainless steel. The kickstart, gear level, rear brake lever and actuating arm were all remade in stainless. The bike has a windscreen (as every Honda 50 should have a screen) which is a scaled down copy of the screen from a Suzuki Katana.
The bike is great fun to ride on the road and it has been to many custom shows and events in Ireland and beyond. The bike was given the name “Kabu” – ‘cub’ in English translates to ‘kabu’ in Japanese. On it’s first outing at the Killarney Bike Fest in 2022 the bike won Best in Show – it’s hard to believe a Honda Cub would take the first prize at a Harley festival! It has also been shown at the Bike Shed in London and at Wheels and Waves in Biarritz, France.
Our thanks to Michael O’Shea for his assistance with this story.
Sources of Information and Video Credits:
Free Make
Check out our previous Honda 50 stories:
The ‘Nifty Fifty’ Honda 50 – a star of the story of Irish mobility https://fb.watch/umUEkCdpEv/
Ralph Bryans – Ireland’s Only Grand Prix World Champion 1965 https://fb.watch/umUHUY17EJ/
#irelandmade #ad #irelandmadestoriesofirishtransport #honda50 #hondacub #mz #zongshen #medazacycles #custombuilds #kabu
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3 Comments
Award winning uniquely customised Honda 50 from Medaza Cycles
The perfect runabout for Discerning Gentlemen and Teenage Punks!
The KABU has a great late 50's early 60's look, especially with that big front drum brake.
Funny, I have never heard of a Zongshen engine. I hear that Killarney is a beautiful city, it's on my bucket list. Hmmm KABU has a bit of a Star Wars feel to it. Thanks to Ireland Made for helping to keep Irish Transportation History alive.