I don’t know if I would normally refer to this 1983 Honda Motocompo as a scooter as I think of scooters as step-through motorcycles. I don’t know if I’d refer to it as a motorcycle either, and a mini-bike is something I think of as having a pull-starter rather than a kick-start as this one has. In any case, this thing is small and you can carry it around in your trunk or backseat.
Made between 1981 and 1983, Honda’s NCZ 50 Motocompo is a powerhouse of fun, if you don’t take yourself too seriously. I really shouldn’t have to say this, but they aren’t made for riding on the freeway. Things like that usually come up and I don’t understand how anyone could think this would be ridden on anything but a side street, but I thought I’d try to head it off at the pass.
A top speed of around 25ish MPH will ensure that nobody but a reckless YouTube or Instagram influencer will jump onto a highway with one of these and try to make an extra $500,000 worth of hits/clicks. These bikes/motorcycles/mini-bikes/scooters were made for the Japanese market only, you know that country with really narrow and crowded streets? That place. They fold up and you put them into the back of your Honda City car, park on the edge of a crowded city, ride this into town, tie it to a sign or tree, and save the parking fees.
It’s really unfortunate that this example has been painted and/or treated rougher than it should have been during the last four decades. The body panels come off so it could be returned to its original red color, which is the color of the one I have. I’m 6′-5″ tall and could care less if I look like a dufus riding it, it’s really fun and it runs like a little Swiss/Japanese watch. This one will need more than just paint, the bodywork is cracked and there are parts missing, unfortunately.
There should be a nice, formed plastic shroud over the ignition and that area, but it’s missing here. This one appears to have led a very rough life and that’s sad, they are really cool and pretty valuable in nice condition. The engine is Honda’s 49-cc two-stroke single and that black cover comes off, revealing the gas tank and an oil tank so you don’t have to mix oil and gas. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Elkmont, Alabama and they’re asking $5,500. I highly doubt if they’ll get anything close to that for this rough example, maybe half? I paid $3,500 for mine many years ago before they started showing up everywhere, and it’s really nice. Given the current values for a nice example ($5,000 to $6,000, give or take), how much is this one worth as it sits?
I think with the current (ZZZZ) interest in E-bikes, alternative modes of personal transportation are now being considered, regardless how moot they may have been when introduced. Without going into the safety factor of sharing the road with RAM duallys, I suppose this could work, as your anti-E-bike. I actually am considering something other than the Jeep, but it will be a sunny day in the Badger before you see me on something like this. If the Asians had their way, we’d all be scooting around on electric suitcases with outrigger wheels. While that may happen someday, not on my watch.
$5000? That’s some powerful shine that they’ve got in that jug!
SparkyMoto made a really nice custom MotoCompo for Sean at Bikes & Beards.
How I Built Bikes & Beards Custom Motorcycle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waPqhUohgKg
Bikes & Beards also did a video of the custom MotoCompo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZABUucHNQY
Ha ha, I’ve never ridden a watch before, do tell…. Hard to gauge its size, but 25 mph sounds like more than enough for my backwoods trails. Maybe I could get a set of knobby tires on it…. Hmmm.
I’m thinking an LS swap
I think the top speed of 25 is if you are under 100lbs much over that and I think the bike would struggle to haul you around it reminds me of those tiny scooters or mini bikes that were popular and it was always adult men on alcohol crashing them.
Does this come with handles so you can carry it like a suitcase?
Junk!!Joke!!!
The image you have to envision is 500 Japanese men in business suits sitting at a red light on these. The light turns green and they all whack the throttle wide open at the same time, secure in the knowledge that everyone else is going to do the same. The sound would be amazing.
I was thinking If it was less than my AAA membership, I could buy it and keep it in my truck and ride it home when I have a problem.
Well, good things come in small packages and small packages can have large prices… just look at a diamond sometime. This one seems overpriced though as I’m not sure this is exactly a diamond in the rough. It is just kinda rough.
Scotty, it seems you have or HAD examples of many of the fine, and maybe some not so fine, vehicles that come across BarnFinds and it’s fun to hear your stories. I also enjoy your various “artists renditions”, showing us what 2-door trucks might look like as 4-door cars, etc. Keep up the good work!
You are way too kind, Lothar, thanks! I assumed that everyone (or just 99% of everyone) was tired of hearing me “remembering” something or talking about a vehicle that I own, or owned, or comparing one of mine to one shown here. Thanks much!
Auction update: not surprisingly, there were no bids on this Motocompo.