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Update: Rare And Cheap? 1981 Honda C70 Passport

UPDATE – This 1981 Honda C70 Passport is posted for sale again with a lowered asking price here on craigslist in Palmdale, California. The seller is now asking $695, $280 less than what it was listed for back in December. Please check it out again and let us know your thoughts on this project Passport. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip again!

FROM 12/19/2022 – Quick, name the world’s best-selling vehicle of all time. No, not the VW Beetle. Ha, the Ford Model T, you’re not even warm. If any of you said the Honda Cub, you’d be right. The seller has this 1981 Honda C70 Passport (a variation of the Cub) posted here on craigslist in Palmdale, California and they’re asking $975. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!

Before you get out the torches and pitchforks over the Honda Passport being lumped in with the Honda Cub and/or Super Cub to get those incredible sales numbers, you should know that Piper, the aircraft company, threw up a few roadblocks as far as Honda using the name of their incredibly popular and profitable line of airplanes in the U.S., hence the name change to Passport here. The seller refers to this one as being “rare”.

They were and still are Honda Cubs below the badges and graphics which may or may not say otherwise depending on the country. They were known as the Passport beginning in 1980 in the U.S. And about those sales numbers, would you believe over 100,000,000 sales so far and still going since 1958? The step-through design isn’t for everyone, those folks who think that they’re for women or kids need not apply. For around the neighborhood or college campus, they’re perfect. Well, as you can see, this one isn’t perfect.

There are a lot of cosmetic issues with this Angel Blue C70 Passport, which makes the asking price seem a bit high to me given NADA’s values. It appears that the right side battery cover is missing, the front fender is pretty bad with parts of it broken off, and there’s a fair amount of visible rust, with a decent amount of faded and missing paint. If a person had to have this exact C70 in this exact color and they were going to restore it him or herself, I could see it. Otherwise, there are probably nicer examples out there for not much more money.

The engine is Honda’s 72-cc OHC single-cylinder with six horsepower and the seller says that this one runs and rides great, and it has a new battery and a rebuilt carb. The seller says that this is a rare one and they’re selling it for “cheap”. I’m not sure about either of those things, given the sales numbers on these bikes. How much would you pay for this Passport?

Comments

  1. Avatar Nevadahalfrack Member

    “ How much would you pay for this Passport?” About the same as I paid for a 3 year old Honda 50 Cub in 1968-$100.That they are to this day the ubiquitous do-all in practically all southeast Asian countries speaks volumes,

    https://mymodernmet.com/hans-kemp-bikes-of-burden/

    and as such are cheaper than some pay-as-you-go cell phones..
    Considering the missing leg guards/side cover/mirrors/etc., bent front brake handle, rust/corrosion and broken fender the seller should drop a decimal point after the 2nd digit of the “asking” price IMO.

    Like 4
  2. Avatar Jack Tripper

    You meet the nicest people on a Honda.

    Like 6
  3. Avatar Big Bear 🇺🇸

    Wow $975.. looks like they rode into a canal with this!! 😂 Broken fender rust up front and around engine. I remember these new a step up from a Moped. Nope pass.. 🧑‍🎄🎄

    Like 2
  4. Avatar Evan

    Y’all can complain all day long, but a really nice Cub/Passport is worth $2500+ these days. Nostalgia factor is high. With judicious shopping, you could restore this to a $3000+ bike and make a few bucks.

    Like 5
  5. Avatar steve

    I had the twin to this but in better shape. As always, sorry that I sold it. Good for about 45mph with 240lbs of me on it. If you think that’s slow, go find a nice county road and drive at 45. On something with skinny little tires, 45 is way fast enough to keep your attention and make you feel like you’re getting somewhere.

    Like 6
  6. Avatar angliagt Member

    I’d rather have Suzuki TS50.It’s an actual motorcycle that’s bigger than a Honda 70,& much better looking.

    Like 2
  7. Avatar DelBoy

    Pretty much the first two wheeler I rode. Rented one in Phuket, Thailand back in 1984. “You know how to ride this?” asked the owner. “Sure”, I said. Got one hundred feet and around the corner from the rental shop before I side swiped a rubbish bin, having failed utterly to establish just where the brakes controls were. One new wing mirror later and I flogged that poor machine for the next six days, riding around the island. On the roads, on the paths and on the beach. An epic memory I still cherish.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Henry Davis Member

      Kinda like you DelBoy, the first motorized 2 wheeler I ever rode was one of these. Navy sent met to Bermuda to train some flightcrews. Was there longer than I thought and didn’t have an international driver’s license. But you didn’t have to have a license to ride one of these. Rented one, got about 100 yards to a little cobblestone bridge, wind caught me and I hit the stone rail. Ruined a good pair of uniform pants, a nice sweater I’d bought in Iceland a couple of months before, and my knee! Still goes “crunch” every time I bend it. (Knee, that is!)

      Like 2
    • HoA Howard A (retired) Member

      I hope that’s pronounced “Fooket”,,

      Like 2
  8. HoA Howard A (retired) Member

    Hmm, how did I miss this one? In case some may not know, my 1st motorcycle was a 1965 Honda 50 Cub. It’s kind of funny looking at this, how this is essentially the same bike with a tad bigger motor. I can just imagine some Asian fellow made those front forks for 30 years, until he was replaced by a “fork-a-matic”. The white “fairing” thing hads gone missing, we did the same thing. It made the bike more like a REAL motorcycle, and while it rarely needed any mechanical work, as a kid I learned all about motorcycles and the 1st thing was to take the fairing thing off, plus it handled better in the dirt without it. 100,000,000 units, or 100 MILLION, in case the actual numbers don’t mean anything anymore, that’s mighty impressive. This has the electric start option( behind carb) but they start so easy, not really needed. You might get 40, maybe 45 in the racing hunch, but not for I-70, although, I say this everytime. I bet SOMEONE ran a Passport cross-country.
    The author knows I’m considering a vintage Honda Trail 90 for gits and shiggles. Mostly because these old bones won’t take to bicycling much longer, and I want to be ready. That bike is as simple as this, with many of the same components. Wouldn’t THAT be something, full circle, my 1st bike and my last.
    And, of course, can’t forget, this about the cheapest thing out of California we’ve seen in quite some time,, :) just kidding, I have family in L.A., at least they got some water. Maybe now we can get some decent strawberries, eh?

    Like 2
  9. Avatar Louis Q Chen

    When I was stationed ( U.S. Embassy) in VN in ’66, I bought a C-50 version ( now it’s called the Dream), it was good and served me well. When left in ’67 I gave mine to a very dear VNmese friend, unfortunately he did escape but managed to survive the purge when the Commies took over! i had the chance to go back in 2001 2010. To my surprise in 2001 I came by his house and he proudly the old C-50 and still run like a champ! He took really good care of it and managed to keep it running till now. We still stay in touch in VN as well his wife, son & daughter who lives in Ca. The interesting thing is that his son in Ca. has his Dad sent another one over from VN….same color… whenever I visited Ca. his let me ride my DREAM of yester year!

    Like 3
  10. Avatar Gerry

    Had a 62 50 and a couple c70 Passports. While essentially the same bike, the older one was much more rickety. Also, the brand new ones share nothing in common with the old bikes but general looks. They are 125/4speed semi auto trans – great bikes in their own right.

    Like 2

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