Z100
It all started in 1961 with the Honda Z100. This handmade model is the ancestor of today's Monkey. The vehicle had 50cc, an OHV engine ram rod motor from the C100 with 4hp and 5 "tires.
The Z100 had a tank of plastic, which was provided with a one-sided emblem and a completely unsprung rigid frame.
For the first time the minibike was used in the Tama-Tech amusement park in Hino, which was built up in 1961 mainly by Soichiro Honda near the Tama River. Tama Park was Japan's answer to Disneyland and offered a variety of vehicles for young and old.
Everything was in the spirit of Soichiro Honda, in the name of motorsport.
Especially popular was the "Monkeyride" on the Z100. Due to the strange-looking attitude of the adult drivers who hung on the minibikes like the proverbial "monkey on the grindstone", the name Monkey was born.
Supposedly only about 10-20 of these vehicles have been built. The only sure-sighted fate of a Z100 is in the Honda Collection Hall at Montegi Japan.
It all started in 1961 with the Honda Z100. This handmade model is the ancestor of today's Monkey. The vehicle had 50cc, an OHV engine ram rod motor from the C100 with 4hp and 5 "tires.
The Z100 had a tank of plastic, which was provided with a one-sided emblem and a completely unsprung rigid frame.
For the first time the minibike was used in the Tama-Tech amusement park in Hino, which was built up in 1961 mainly by Soichiro Honda near the Tama River. Tama Park was Japan's answer to Disneyland and offered a variety of vehicles for young and old.
Everything was in the spirit of Soichiro Honda, in the name of motorsport.
Especially popular was the "Monkeyride" on the Z100. Due to the strange-looking attitude of the adult drivers who hung on the minibikes like the proverbial "monkey on the grindstone", the name Monkey was born.
Supposedly only about 10-20 of these vehicles have been built. The only sure-sighted fate of a Z100 is in the Honda Collection Hall at Montegi Japan.