Only offered here in North America for one model year, these are interesting two-wheelers, and you’d be guaranteed to have the only one at almost any vintage motorcycle show. This pair of 1982 Honda MB5 motorcycles can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Columbiana, Alabama, and the seller is asking $3,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to PRA4SNW for tracking these down and sending in the tip!
The seller has a black one, which is much nicer of the two, and there is also a red one with a few cosmetic and mechanical issues that are said to be fairly minor. This is about the price these things go for, believe it or not, so getting two for $3,500 seems like a fairly good deal to me. I know, you can get a “real motorcycle” for that price rather than some “kid’s toy,” but you either get these things, or you don’t get them. We don’t all like the same types of vehicles.
Made from approximately 1979 to 1988, we got them in the U.S. for the 1982 model year. I think I’ve seen exactly one in person, and I consider myself a vintage Japanese motorcycle fan who attends vintage motorcycle shows. They came in both of the colors offered here, black with red and white graphics, and red with blue and white graphics. The red models seem to be more popular or at least are seen more often. We saw a nice red example a couple of years ago here on Barn Finds, but that’s all I could find. When I wrote that last one, I thought that Jeff Lavery had written about one previously, but I can’t find it by searching for “MB5” or “1982 Honda”. That’s weird.
Riding a 49-cc two-stroke for over 5,000 miles seems like a lot to me, but being a street-legal bike having a top speed of around 50 mph, it wouldn’t be a bad one for commuting around the neighborhood. We don’t know exactly what either of these examples needs, but the seller says the black one is “almost perfect needs a few small things.” The red one “needs a few more things.” The black one has new tires, so that’s good, and I don’t really see any glaring flaws in the black one shown here.
I can’t tell if the white on the top edges of the engine cases is scratched or worn paint, or maybe just a reflection. The engine is Honda’s 49.5-cc two-stroke oil-injected single-cylinder with 7 horsepower and 4 lb-ft of torque. There’s an internal balancer to all but eliminate the vibration associated with some two-strokes. Power is sent through a 5-speed manual to the rear wheel, and speaking of wheels, these are about as cool as it gets for such a small-cc motorcycle. The whole design is meant to be sporty, of course. Have any of you seen or heard of a Honda MB5?
50cc qualifies it as a moped, doesn’t it?
No, sir, but having pedals would.
Both yes and no – depends on the age of the bike. We had the pedals requirement in the 70s, but no maximum power limit – so you could tune yer Fizzy or AP-50 up to do 50 (on a good day). The law was changed so the “moped” definition became a 50cc motorbike with a maximum speed of 30mph. The US might have something similar.
I had an SS50 with a 70cc barrel + piston – but keep the 50 head and machine things to clear, so you end up with a high-compression 70. But I was in my 30s by that point…!
Derek is probably right. Historically and colloquially, a moped has pedals, as in literally meaning motor-pedal, or a similar meaning. Some very early motorcycles had pedals, and referring to one as a moped in front of their owner could result in a black eye. On the other hand, referring to all small motorcycles as mopeds would also maybe not technically be correct in all cases or all circles. That’s a great question, Danno! Thanks for the additional info, Derek! There are a ton of people here (99%) with much more experience with motorcycles than I have. I’m sure we’ll get closer to the definition before this one is over. Great discussion!
If we’re talking legal classifications (e.g. for licensing/registration), there’s generally (at least) two standards which may or may not coincide depending on the State or other jurisdiction:
1) Motorized bicycles (“mopeds” properly speaking) have pedals, so the engine is regarded as a “motor assist” for pedaling — typically you have to get underway by pedaling first before the engine engages while in motion;
2) Motorcycles or scooters up to 50cc, which don’t have pedals.
Some jurisdictions may treat those as equivalent under a single “moped” or “scooter” class, while others may have both as separate classes, or only one or the other, any of which may vary somewhat from those conventional definitions — e.g., ordinary bicycles with an add-on engine treated differently from purpose-built mopeds, or mopeds allowed to go over 50cc vs. “scooters” limited to 50cc, or max. speed restrictions, etc.
E.g., here in Arizona mopeds with pedals under 50cc do not require a motorcycle endorsement or even a driver’s license — so DUI’ers and others with a revoked license often ride these — but motorcycles up to 50cc do require a license with an MC endorsement for that engine size class, with progressively scaled endorsements required for larger engine size-classes as well.
The Kawasaki AR50 / AR80 is the one to buy!! I bought my brand new Kawasaki AR50 at the Kawasaki dealer around 1982. Most states had the AR80, but California only had the AR50. Much better looking and faster than the MB5. I even drove mine on the freeway in 6th gear!! Wish they would sell again!!
Mike, you’re right! This one still haunts me:
https://barnfinds.com/baby-ninja-1982-kawasaki-ar50-a1/
Thank you Mr. Gilbertson!! Yes, one would hope the other bidder really wanted it, and is out there enjoying it!! Even if you get the AR50, you can easily change the 50cc to the 80cc and a bit more ccs too. Outside of the United States, there are lots of performance parts one can buy. I hope you find a real nice one soon!! When I bought mine, the dealers were selling them close to cost!!
Scotty, regarding vintage and veteran motorcycles with pedals; this was often because they were direct drive – a belt (usually) from the engine to the rear wheel (also usually!) – so similar to a fixed gear bicycle in that if the engine is running, the bike is moving. In order to stop and restart, you would use a valve lifter so that while you’re pedalling it up to escape velocity, the engine isn’t working against you. Once you’re going quickly enough, release the lifter and the engine should fire. This is why they’re a pig to ride in a world full of traffic lights!
Regarding front wheel drive, see early Werner and also the Megola 5-cylinder…
I know, what’s the kvetch THIS time,,,actually, no gripe, this was no toy, and for 7hp, it did a good job. In CO., anything 50cc and under is considered a “LPS”, or “Low Powered Scooter”, and does not require a special mc license, but does require a plate and insurance. They can be used in bike lanes, but not on an interstate( duh) unless the highway has a bike lane. I read a top speed of 53mph, but some reports of over 60mph were reported,,,downwind. Didn’t they make a road racer with this motor? Certainly nothing I’d want, screaming around at 10,000 rpms all day gets old, but in the right application, it’s a pretty cool little bike. For $695 new, it was priced right, and reports of 4-5,000 were sold, but nothing we’d ever see in HarleyTown. Kind of refreshing seeing a giant like Honda have a flop for once.
Howard, I think the road racer was a 4 stroke.
I remember the TV commercials for these. They really played up the high-revving engine, but somehow forgot to mention it was only 50cc.
Cool little bikes nonetheless.
Sold as the MB50 in Europe, referring to the 50 (actually 49) CC engine.
It was sold as a moped, because the displacement was under 50 CC.
There also was an off road version, named the MT50.
Cute little thing. Add a tote box & you got economical transport to the store if you live in a town where it’s warm year round.
These were all over Daytona area in ’83. H.S. kids screaming down the road.
Don’t recall if they had tags.
Cool little bikes.
That was a very first motorcycle I ever bought when I was in my 20s. I would drive around in my 65 Cadillac and decided it would be fun to get something to save gas. I really enjoyed it. I had it for about a year and I sold it and bought a 1977 Suzuki GT 750, 3 cylinder, two cycle water cooled. What a huge difference!
Haha, I remember finding one of these in a trash box where I worked years ago. Also found a minty Yamaha SR500 a few years later.
The MB5 was fun, but not very sophisticated when compared to the water cooled NS50F that came out in 1989.
I have one of those, clocked it at 67mph in the draft of a truck in Canada. The big bore 68cc kit helped, LOL