UPDATE – The seller, Frank, has lowered his asking price to $2,500 but is open to offers! Be sure to send your offers via the form below.
The idea of spending $80 to $100 dollars to fill a gas tank isn’t really that appealing for a lot of us these days, but the idea of getting 80 to 100 mpg is pretty appealing. This 1980 Honda Express II should get that kind of mileage all while hauling your groceries – agreed, not on the freeway but from a neighborhood store. You can bid on this Barn Finds Auction below and it’s located in Chicago, Illinois.
Most of us are familiar with an early Honda advertising campaign, “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” which was written about their Cub series, not the Express. But, can you imagine a mean person or an aggressive rider on a bike like this Honda Express II? I can’t either. Honda added turn signals in 1980 and with this nicer seat, I can’t see a reason to get an older model than this. They have a one-speed automatic transmission, it doesn’t get much easier to ride than that.
It was sort of an unconfirmed secret (isn’t that a rumor?) that Honda wanted to market more motorcycles to female riders and this small-CC family of motorcycles was about as friendly and non-aggressive as it gets. I have a 1984 Honda Gyro with a white basket on the front of it and it doesn’t bother me in the least to ride it, I’m not someone who cares what others think. Scotty G’s words to live by: life is too short to care what anyone else thinks about your ride. Period.
Honda made the Express in several variations and they were known as the NA50 Express II in 1979, 1980, and 1981. This example is Parakeet Yellow and they came with a much nicer, more-comfortable seat and a bigger gas tank. This example has 1,156 miles on it as you can see in the above photo and the seller says that it has a new battery, a new headlight, and all three optional baskets. This would rock as a bopping-around vehicle on almost any college campus. It’s retro and useful while being reliable at the same time. Be sure to take a look at the photo gallery below, especially the photo of the original owner’s manual and sales brochure. It almost makes you want to take up tennis, just so you can ride this bike to the courts while rocking your peak ’80s tennis attire.
The engine is Honda’s 49-CC two-stroke air-cooled single with oil injection. A top speed of 30 mph isn’t ideal if you’re traveling outside of neighborhoods but for a lot of people, this would work just fine for neighborhood grocery stores or coffee shop runs. This one has a wind-up spring kick starter which is sort of like a regular kick starter. The seller says that it runs perfectly and other than a few scratches it appears to be in really nice condition. Have any of you owned a small motorcycle like this Express II?
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
- Mileage: 1,100
- Engine: 49cc
- Transmission: Automatic
- VIN: ABQA5105166
- Title Status: Clean
Do they really have to put that “On Road Use Only” sticker on there?
Just like the Rowenta iron I bought that had the warning “Do not iron clothes while wearing them”
Caution! Filling may be hot!
You and PRA4SNW have been watching HBO’s Newsroom too much. But you guys forgot about the shower cap: fits one head. 🤣
I have a wearable, backpack sort of chair to take with me wherever I might need a chair. It actually came with a warning: “Warning, do not eat chair.”
I love the sign “Drive Thru Window.”
Oh so tempted. This is the cousin of the Honda Hobbit moped. The most refined of them all. I owned several mopeds in my mid-teens. Sachs, Motobecane, Morini. The Honda was the smoothest and quietist. Not the fastest but worked great carrying my newspaper route a 5am. If I only had more space…
My Hobbit has the saddle bags and front basket. My wife’s has the side baskets that were great for delivering eggs. I should get em going again. It’s a pain to pull the motor to pull the carb to clean it.
The larger diameter wheel makes for a better ride than scooters.
Yes on the carb Rallye ! Frustrating as hell getting to it. Back in the day I would toss out less than 50-100 bucks for a non running Puch, Sachs, etc. A carb cleaning was all it usually took and I was rolling in money at 14 years old. Cutting grass, paper route and flipping mopeds. Transport me back to the summer of ’84 ! Get on those hobbits. Fun to ride and there are buyers out there…
If I’m going to go small, I’ll ride a Trail 90. That’s as small as I’d go for a neighborhood bike.
Can you take a photo of the emissions sticker? At under 50cc for this year there’s still a requirement for us CA folks.
Appreciate it!
I spoke with the seller and he isn’t sure where the sticker would be located. Any suggestions on where to look for it?
When I was a kid, we had a wind-up-spring starter on our lawn mower; I’ve never seen or heard of another one until today.
Me too! I was 12-13 and bought a mower with the wind-up starter. That was my first business.
do ship? if so zip code 86314,prescott…,valley,az
If I win I will giv it to my grandchildren or great grandchildren.
When I was young ,riding that would get you laughed out of town, today, people admire it.
I had this exact model only it was blue it was a 1980 Also. I was 14 and had a Learners permit license, So, i could ride it Anywhere! I had some kids my age laugh and joke until i told them i was going to Parties all over town. I could go anywhere, they couldn’t
I’m with you Bill. Those baskets…wow… I had a Puch that looked like a mini motorcycle with a gas tank on top. Those looked decent at least
I’ve got one of these. Bought it years ago, never restored it. I also have an S90 that I never quite finished!
I always think of Hondas as 4-strokes. Shows how attuned to bikes I am!
It’s the baskets that really make this useful. Great for campgrounds and racetracks. As I recall, Road America requires that all spectator motorcycles be fully-licensed and road-legal. If you are camping without shore power, An electric bike may not do the job on a long weekend,
30 mph my ass, cousin had one in the late 70’s Flat ground 20-25 was pushing it
I had a broken pelvis in 80 and used one of these to get around. Great little bike
Had one a few years back. They make an aftermarket belt (wider) that will get you another 2-3 mph. Woo-hooo!