Honda Canopy
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and often used for delivery or express service.
These vehicles are tilting three wheeler
Tilting three wheeler
A tilting three wheeler is a three wheeled vehicle whose body and or wheels tilt in the direction of the turn. Such vehicles can corner safely even with a narrow track.-Wheel configurations:...
s. They combine a tricycle's stopped & low-speed stability with a leaning main-body for stability while turning at speed. They resemble a scooter
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
with a small hinged rear pod containing the engine and two drive wheels. This particular variation was developed and patented by George Wallis of G.L.Wallis & Son in Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
, Surrey in 1966. It was first marketed in the failed BSA Ariel 3 of 1970, then licensed to Honda.
Honda has built seven vehicles with this configuration. The first Stream was introduced in 1981, followed closely by three other personal transport versions, the Joy, Just, and Road Fox. All were short-lived, but the cargo-oriented Gyro line begun in 1982 found a ready market, with all three variants still in production in 2008.
It is notable that these vehicles are all powered by a 49 cc 2-stroke engine, while Honda has a long history of producing 49 cc 4-stroke mopeds and light motorbikes. It is possible these vehicles operate within a limited engine-size license class in Japan, forcing Honda to choose a 2-stroke engine to provide enough power for these relatively heavy small vehicles.
Honda Gyro X
This first Gyro was introduced in October 1982. It has front and rear tie-down racks, small low-pressure tires combined with a limited slip differentialLimited slip differential
A limited slip differential is a type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity...
for good performance on slick surfaces like snow and mud, and a "one push" parking brake. 135,226 were sold by May 2002.
It is intended as an inexpensive vehicle. Honda's suggested retail price for the basic Gyro X in 2008 is ¥252,000, making it comparable with the simple 49cc Honda Zoomer scooter at ¥236,250.
Honda's early marketing contains the Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
acronym Great Your Recreation Original.
Honda Gyro UP
The Gyro UP was introduced in October 1985. It differs from the Gyro X by replacing the front and rear tie-down racks with a single heavy-duty baggage platform fixed directly to the rear engine pod, giving the appearance of a scooter pick-up truckPick-Up Truck
"Pick-Up Truck" is a song written and recorded by Belgian acid house musician Praga Khan. It is the third single from Praga's eighth studio album, Soundscraper....
. This platform has a rubber-mat loading area of 450 mm × 570mm that is rated for 30 kg. Honda claims it is sized for a 20 bottle beer crate, a container that is roughly similar to the plastic milk crate
Milk crate
Milk crates are square or rectangular interlocking boxes that are used to transport milk and other products from dairies to retail establishments. Middle 20th century ones were made of wood, later ones were stainless steel, and those made in the latter part of the century were of heavy-duty...
common in other countries.
The standard Gyro UP does not come with the roof-type fairing or box shown in the accompanying photograph. This fairing is an aftermarket
Aftermarket (automotive)
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, tools, equipment and accessories for light and heavy vehicles, after the sale of the...
modification by the company MRD.
Honda Gyro Canopy
The Gyro Canopy was introduced in December 1990. It is distinguished by a roof-type fairing and a rear cargo box that is attached to the tilting main-body. The front tire and brake are also enlarged to deal with this model's increased weight and slightly higher cargo platform. The 62 l cargo box is rated for 30 kg. 62,600 Gyro Canopy were sold by May 2002.Honda Stream
The Stream was introduced in November 1981. It is the first of Honda's tilting three-wheelers, and has the primary features of the type. It is a scooter-like single occupant vehicle with an automatic transmission and a "one push" parking brake. It has a small hinged rear pod containing the 49 cc 2-stroke engine and two drive wheels powered through a limited slip differential.The Stream was styled and priced as a luxury personal scooter. Honda's suggest retail price in 1981 was ¥198,000, compared to ¥114,000 for a 49cc Super Cub
Super Cub
Super Cub may refer to:* Piper PA-18 Super Cub, a light aircraft.* Honda Super Cub, a light motorcycle.* Supercub the lion, a foster lion cub who was adopted from a zoo in Kenya East Africa and became friends with Christian the lion and other lions being cared for by George Adamson....
. Unlike the Cub, the Stream can only carry one rider and has no baggage rack. Its only cargo capacity is a small forward compartment rated for 5 kg, and a glovebox rated for 2 kg. It was discontinued in 1984.
Honda Joy
The Joy was introduced in April 1983. It was a considerably less expensive vehicle than the Stream, being priced at only ¥99,800. It a personal transport vehicle, with only a small bicycle-style front basket and an equally small rear rack. The cargo-oriented Gyro X of the same year was twice as heavy and priced at ¥189,000. The Joy was discontinued in 1984.Honda Just
The Just was introduced in May 1983. It is largely the same vehicle as its Joy stablemate. It has slightly more styling, and was priced at ¥129,000. Instead of a bicycle-style front basket, it has a glove-box behind the legshield. It was discontinued before 1984.Honda Road Fox
The Road Fox was introduced in July 1984. It is a stylistic departure in the series. The scooter-style plastic body panels are dispensed with, and instead the Road Fox has an exposed tube framework with rakish angles suggesting a beach-buggyDune buggy
A dune buggy is a recreational vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. The design is usually a modified vehicle and engine mounted on an open chassis. The modifications usually attempt to increase the power-to-weight ratio by either lightening the...
/chopper
Chopper (motorcycle)
A chopper is a type of motorcycle that was either modified from an original motorcycle design or built from scratch to have a hand-crafted appearance. The main features of a chopper that make it stand out are its longer frame design accompanied by a stretch front end...
look. It has motorcycle-style foot-pegs and no racks. It was discontinued before 1985
External links
- List of Gyro models Gyro Canopy page at honda.co.jp Gyro UP page at honda.co.jp Gyro X page at honda.co.jp
- Gyro Canopy information page from Honda site, translated via GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Road Fox Video at honda.co.jp - Canopy (at left) in context, street scene, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
HirooHirooHiroo may refer to:* Hiroo, Shibuya, Tokyo, a neighborhood in the Shibuya district of Tokyo* Hiroo Station, a subway station in Tokyo.* Hiroo, Hokkaidō, a town in the Tokachi subprefecture of Hokkaidō...
district. - Flickr photo results for 'Honda Gyro'
- Honda Stream brochure at Product Design Data Base
- Honda Roadfox brochure at Product Design Data Base
