Monkey Time!

The Monkey or at least ape is the basis of the origin of the species according to Charles Darwin.
And the “Monkey bike” could well be the foundation of why Honda is such a successful motorcycle company – let us explain. The basis of the Z100 was an even cruder machine designed to introduce non riders to two wheels. These bikes were just one of the attractions at the Tama Tech Park, a “touch and try” celebration of technology and transport opened in 1961 in Hino, a suburb of Tokyo owned by, yes you guessed it, Honda!

With the launch of the Z100 in 1961, Honda created a productionised version of the Tama Tech Park machines establishing the class known as 'Monkey Bikes'; so called because of their diminutive stature and the tendency for the rider to look like “a circus Monkey” when riding. The power unit was the C100 step-thru's reliable four-stroke single, while an ultra-short wheelbase, small wheels, and chrome fuel tank were all features of a machine which, in the case of the folding handlebar version, could be fitted into the boot of a car.

In 1963 the first CZ100 model appeared and was mainly sold at the European Market. Equipped with an 49cc 4-stroke engine, 5-inch wheels it shared its fuel tank with the Honda C110. The CZ100 was a styling masterpiece in miniature. The Hi-Line exhaust with chrome heat shield, and funky chrome plated horn gave the appearance of a full-size motorcycle simply shrunk in a washing machine. From 1968 Honda sold this style of bike in the huge American market reinforcing the feeling of family fun on two wheels and the fact that “you meet the nicest people on a Honda”.

Darwin would be proud of Soichiro in evolving motorcycling from anti-social to mainstream in less than a generation and proving that motorcycle engineering can actually influence social engineering!

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