This week, an unfathomable breakthrough in U.S.-Asian relations was announced.
Of course, we’re talking about the Honda Super Cub coming back to the U.S. for the first time in over 40 years.
While much of the world has been steadily forging a path to enlightenment astride the iconic Japanese step-through motorcycles (it’s the most produced motor vehicle in history, surpassing 100 million bikes sold last October), America has been fumbling in the dark since imports stopped back in 1974.
But starting in January 2019, the Super Cub C125 ABS will be available for U.S. buyers, and it’s not coming alone. Honda, months after killing off the 50-year-old Z50 “monkey bike,” will also be releasing a new version of that bike in October 2018 — called, simply, Monkey.
Both mini-bikes will feature a 124.9cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke engine, the same as in the wildly popular Honda Grom, with electronic ignition. But they differ in transmission, the Monkey equipped with a four-speed manual, while the Super Cub will tout a four-speed semi-automatic.
Either way, the point with these motorcycles is the ridiculously low barrier to entry compared to your standard hog. And while the town gearhead may balk at the price point, again, these aren’t for him.
Frankly, with the homecoming Super Cub at $3,600 (with ABS) and the Monkey at $4,000 (with ABS for $200 more), you might find yours truly zipping around Manhattan on one soon given the state of the subway.
And now, the bad news (well, potentially concerning): while the Monkey seems to be a permanent release, Honda notes that the Super Cub “is coming to the U.S. in limited quantities.” What that means, we don’t know. And as for the really, really, really ridiculously good-looking photos above, they’re all labeled with the caveat “Non-U.S. Model Shown.”
So while we wait for official photos, go ahead and get that motorcycle license.
Photos via Honda
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