PA50 Hobbit
Built in Belgium and sold in Europe as the Camino.
Full history →From the Moped Motel fleet
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Honda
Hobbits, Expresses and everything in between
// The story
Honda built small bikes for just about every market on earth. Americans met them first as pedal mopeds like the four-stroke PC50 and the Belgian-built PA50 Hobbit.
Then came the pedal-less Express, launched in 1977 as Americans hunted for cheap, fuel-sipping rides after the oil crisis. It grew into a whole family: the Express II, the Express SR and the Urban Express, followed by the little Spree scooter.
Europe and Japan got their own Honda oddballs, too: the Monkey mini bike, the dirt-styled MT50 and the Gyro, a tilting three-wheeler built for delivery riders.
// The models
Honda models
NC50 Express
Honda's answer to the 1973 oil crisis: simple, automatic and self-oiling.
Full history →Photo: ExpressNC80, CC BY-SA 4.0
NA50 Express II
Redesigned frame and a bigger seat, then a two-speed automatic from 1981.
Full history →From the Moped Motel fleet
NU50 Urban Express
The last and sleekest of the Express line.
Full history →From the Moped Motel fleet
NQ50 Spree
Honda's tiny 80s scooter, called the Nifty 50 in Europe.
Full history →Photo: Cbwallace at English Wikipedia, Public domain
PC50
A pedal moped with a four-stroke that did about 35 mph. Its engine was later copied for the Indian AMI-50.
Photo: Eagleash, CC BY-SA 4.0
P50 Little Honda
Honda's last motor-wheel moped: the engine and drive sit in the rear hub.
Photo: Tjeemig, Public domain
Amigo (PF50)
Part of the PF50 series. Same engine and look as the Novio, but the tank sits under the rack.
Photo: Ronald van der Ploeg, CC BY-SA 3.0
PX50
A popular Honda moped in the Netherlands and Germany in the 70s and 80s, with an off-road version too.
Photo: Ronald van der Ploeg, CC BY-SA 3.0
Z50J Monkey
The mini bike Honda kept building for Europe and Japan long after the US Z50A was dropped in 1978.
Photo: Smi126, CC BY-SA 4.0
Camino (PA50)
The European name for the Hobbit. Germany's post office used them as service bikes.
Photo: Ronald van der Ploeg, CC BY-SA 3.0
MT50
A dirt-bike-style 50 that was huge in Scandinavia and Benelux, and famously easy to tune.
Photo: Larsson99 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
More Honda models and versions (no free photo yet. Got one? DM us)
- Express SR (NX50) CVT, 10-inch wheels. US 1981–82
- Novio Twin of the Amigo with the tank up front
- PM50E Two-stroke version of the Amigo
- PF50 Belgian-built moped with the PC50 engine. 1968–70
// Printed to order
The Honda collection
Every design starts as a photo of a real bike. Tap any item to see sizes and colors on Etsy.