The Honda P50 was introduced in June 1966. It earns a place in history as being the last motor-wheel moped

Moped

Mopeds are a type of low-powered motorcycle designed to provide economical and relatively safe transport with minimal licensing requirements.Mopeds were once all equipped with bicycle-like pedals , but moped has been increasingly applied by governments to vehicles without pedals, based on their...

 design by Honda (and probably by any other large manufacturer).

It features a step-through frame made from steel pressings, leading-link front suspension, plastic fenders and chainguard. The fuel tank is located above the rear fender, and the key distinguishing feature of the design is the 50cc engine being located at the extreme lower left rear of the frame, with all of the driveline components housed within the large hub of the rear wheel.

The engine is also 4-stroke - unusual when almost all pedal-equipped mopeds used simpler 2-strokes. Soichiro Honda

Soichiro Honda

was a Japanese engineer and industrialist, and founder of Honda Motor Co., Ltd..Honda was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan on November 17, 1906. He spent his early childhood helping his father, Gihei, a blacksmith, with his bicycle repair business. At the time his mother, Mika, was a weaver. At...

disliked the sharp noise of 2-strokes, and the 4-stroke does not require oil to be mixed with the gasoline at every fill-up.

External links

• Little Honda P25 brochure at Product Design Data Base
• P50 Shop Manual (Dutch Model?)
• P50 User's Manual (US Model)
• 'Honda P50' images on Flickr
• P50 at Andrew Pattle's Moped Archive: Part 1 and Part 2