The Honda Super Cub 50, or what became known more simply as “The Honda”, was a unique mix of cultural origins and diverse usage. Designed by the Japanese as a simple, cheap and effective mode of conveyance for use in the teeming cities of the Far East, the Honda somehow found a ready-made home in the west of Ireland in the late 1960s.

One hundred and fifty miles to the gallon and a top speed of almost 40mph provided unrivalled motoring value in those times; making the “Nifty Fifty” well worth the modest investment.

Postmen and bachelor farmers seem to have been the first to catch on to the new machine and its amazing versatility. Gone at last were long journeys on a push bike on cold winter days.

The bachelor farmer was next in the queue for the new motorbike

Instead, the Honda gave rise to greater shelter, thanks to a trusty windshield and an innovative manure-bag mud-splasher. Its speed, however, provided the greatest saving; a life-changing departure that virtually halved the length of a postboy’s working day.

The bachelor farmer was next in the queue for the new motorbike. Handy enough to travel on country lanes (and respectable enough to take to town), the Honda was ideal. It would even prove, in some cases, to be the very thing to take a man out of bachelorhood and into the arms of his pillion (if such a manoeuvre is physically possible). In the days when a safe ride home was an essential part of every girl’s night out, the Honda 50 proved invaluable.

The boy racers of today were always in it. Back in the day, the scream of nighttime antics came not from a souped-up Honda Civic, but from an exhaustless Honda 50. Races on country roads at night were only surpassed in sound and speed by similar races the following morning; to meat factories or building sites on the edge of town. It seems that the grandfathers of today have found common ground with their grandsons in a most unlikely place – under the Honda brand name.

I was amazed one time to see a Honda being driven along a mountain laneway sporting a pair of creels

On a Honda, a lad could be Jessie James or James Bond; robbing trains or winning girls. Even the rural housewife could ride the Honda 50 with ease; making the weekly trip to town for the messages.

I was amazed one time to see a Honda being driven along a mountain laneway sporting a pair of creels. One hung from either side, over the back wheel, as a larger pair might have hung over the back of a donkey. I met a young man in recent years who was the proud owner of a Honda 50 that was once owned by a nun on Achill Island. He told me she was “absolutely immaculate”. I presume he meant the Honda!

In the early 1970s, my father decided to treat himself to a gun dog. He went to considerable trouble and a little expense to get himself a highly recommended and very energetic Cocker Spaniel. Naming the cute pup took a few days but finally my father pronounced that the young whelp would be named Honda. Everyone agreed that the name was very topical.

Amazingly, over the years, the humble Honda has also held its place in the crowded cities of Asia and Africa – and recently crossed production of 100 million

Whatever the attraction, whatever the use, the Honda 50 seamlessly sewed itself into the fabric of Irish life to the point where it became one of our great rural icons. Amazingly, over the years, the humble Honda has also held its place in the crowded cities of Asia and Africa – and recently crossed production of 100 million.

It’s simple design, ever-reliable 49cc petrol engine, three-speed gearbox and automatic clutch seems to have given the Honda 50 an irresistible appeal wherever disadvantage and desire coexist.