Honda Mini Trail Z50a
HONDA MINI TRAIL Z50A
CYCLE WORLD IMPRESSION
A little bit of bike goes a long way . . .
KITTENS ARE CUTE-so’s the Honda Mini-Trail Z50A. As kittens are very big with kids, so is this miniature trail bike a gatherer of urchins wherever it goes. However, this seeming toy, while great for youngsters, is aimed directly at the adult market. The Mini-Trail is looking for a home in the cargo compartment of a lightplane, lashed to the deck of a sailing craft or powerboat, in the trunk of a passenger car, or among the assorted duffel of a camping outfit.
Primary purpose of the Mini-Trail is secondary rough ground transportation. It provides something to get about with, once the primary means of transport, plane, car or boat, is at rest. And, as secondary transport, the Mini-Trail isn’t designed for primary roads-it isn’t “street legal,” but is designed for the tasks its name implies, trail, fire road, campground, airport and beach riding.
Minibikes presently are undergoing a stage of staggering proliferation. Rabbits have nothing on minibikes. The number of minibike manufacturers also is on the increase-and the size of factories in the U.S. may vary from a garage-type operation, to the slick, automated outfit that plans to sell in excess of 30,000 machines over the next calendar year. With numbers such as this under review in the market research department, Honda Motor Co. can hardly be blamed for desiring a piece of this burgeoning minibike action.
The question Honda is assessing now is: “Can the neatly-finished, Honda quality Z50A, priced at a bit more than $200, compete with the U.S.-made, two-tube Briggs-engined unit that is selling for $129.95? If the answer is “Yes,” the Z50A will be imported in goodly numbers. If the answer is “No,” the Mini-Trail will be chalked up to market research.
If the Mini-Trail Z50A is imported to the U.S., it can be expected to sell for the same reasons as do other Honda motorcycles from 50 to 450 (soon 750) cc piston displacement. These reasons include finesse in engineering, and a high level of quality control in manufacturing. Put very simply, Honda won’t build anything that can’t sell.
The powerplant is the long familiar 49-cc four-stroke unit that has powered a variety of Honda trail and street machinery. In its Z50A configuration, it develops 1.95 bhp at the rear wheel at 5000 rpm. This engine is coupled to a three-speed transmission, which is driven through the Honda automatic centrifugal clutch. As with some Honda 50s and 90s, gear changes are made simply by rolling off throttle, and tip-toeing the left foot lever down for an up change. The handlebar clutch lever is eliminated. Final drive is through single chain and sprocket.
Engine and gearbox unit castings are glossy smooth in finish. The cylinder head and cam cover are cast in aluminum alloy. The cylinder barrel is of gray cast iron. Front suspension is by a pair of fairly spongy springs, without damping, on the telescopic fork. Rear suspension is rigid-a through bolt at the wheel hub center. Low pressure 3.50-8 block tread tires, inflated to the recommended 14 psi, offer a modicum of rear suspension travel over lesser trail irregularities.
The main frame is a single large diameter tube that extends rearward from the steering head, under the fuel tank and seat, to terminate above the rear wheel. A single loop of smaller diameter tubing, bent downward and rearward, supports the triangular tabs, one on each side, which locate the rear axle bolt.
Firmly welded, with additional rigidity contributed by ample gusseting, the rearward loop also provides anchor space for the four engine hangers. The engine/gearbox unit is suspended from these four tabs.
The machine tested by CYCLE WORLD was fitted with only a single pair of footpegs. However, threaded holes in the lower loop extremities at either side are designed to accept passenger pegs.
Internal expanding brakes are fitted front and rear. The rear brake lever, instead of the clutch lever, is on the left handlebar. The right handlebar lever operates the front brake, as is common practice. The braking system is capable of locking both wheels, which is certainly more than adequate for trail functions.
Folding handlebars, a fuel tank air vent stopper, a positive fuel shutoff valve, and a carburetor float bowl drain are the Z50A’s concessions to the double-it-up-and-stow-it concept, such as is carried to the fullest by the Benelli Buzzer (CW, April ’68), and the Tecnomoto Junior (CW, Sept. ’68). The Honda’s high-rise bars swivel at the steering head, and are locked into riding position by a pair of latch bolts, operated by knurled knobs, that maintain positive engagement of sturdy lock pins in deep grooves. The vent stopper, fuel shutoff, and bowl drain all are designed to prevent the escape of fuel-and thereby prevent explosive fumes and messy stains during transport.
Unfolded, the Z50A measures 25 by 39.5 by 50 in. in width, height and length overall. With pegs and bars turned inward, width and height are reduced to 16 and 26.5 inches.
Unfortunately, even when folded neatly for stowage, the Z50A still weighs 108 lb. dry, 115 wet. This is okay for the steel thewed Adonis whose bag is repeat curls, and clean and jerk, but for a lot of Americans, especially youngsters and women, that 115 lb. is too much to raise to the liftover height of a Chevrolet station wagon tailgate, too much to press into the baggage compartment of a Cessna 172, or too much to carry up the gangway of an Owens power cruiser. These jobs aren’t impossible, but they do require some short-breath manhandling.
Some niceties of finish the Z50A shows are an efficient side stand, a small, efficient, U.S. Forest Service approved muffler-cum-spark arrester that makes the machine inaudible a few yards away, a broad fender forward to reduce the gravel-in-teeth syndrome, and a truly comfortable seat for one, but not for two, despite the provision for that second pair of pegs.
How does the Z50A perform? One CYCLE WORLD test rider was forced to permit six kids, two adult women, and a neighborhood friend to ride the machine before he was able to put some time in for purposes of evaluation. All six children, four of whom had never before operated a powered two-wheeler, motored off smartly, after only the briefest explanation of controls. The ladies, who had ridden bikes previously, were enthusiastic about the Mini-Trail’s stability over the rough stuff, sand and plowed ground. The friend engaged in tight-radius donut spinning and other forms of miniexhibitionism.
Finally, the CW man found that, in general, the small machine handles well-perhaps better than any mini now on the market. However, this praise must be mitigated by stating that the Z50A suffers the curse of all minibikes, imprecise steering in the rough, which is a direct function of small diameter wheels. At walking speeds, this doesn’t really matter.
In performance, the engine and gearing offered a top speed of something approaching 25 mph in top, and singular climbing ability in first. As with any other mini, the Z50A can be footpaddled through sand, lifted over boulders, and turned in a 50-in. circle, by the simple expedient of grabbing hold of the bike and hefting it ’round.
And, all this minihyperactivity can be great sport; there’s no kid in the world who’d turn down a ride on a Mini-Trail. However, as pointed out earlier, the Z50A is for adults. And, though the machine is a performer with plenty of heart, adults may find it lacking in capability to accomplish many of the common trail bike tasks-carrying cargo such as game, camping equipment, fishing gear and the like. Thus, it is CYCLE WORLD’S opinion that the Mini-Trail’s forte is simply entertaining transportation, and not the workhorse utility that generally is associated with the term trail bike.
However, the Z50A certainly can fulfill the tasks of trainer for someday-motorcyclists, as Sunday afternoon brushcountry bashabout, or beachbike, and as auxiliary transport for drivers, pilots and seamen on the go. The Mini-Trail Z50A is a warm, friendly little creature-kittenlike. [ÖI
