The History of Honda's Z50 Mini Trail From 1968-1999
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- This is my look back at the history of Honda's iconic 50cc Mini Trail models. Over the last 50+ years, Honda has sold over one million of these indestructible little mini bikes and continues to do so under the CRF50F moniker.
If you would like to learn more about the Honda Z50R and Mini Trail check out Jeremy Poulson's excellent Honda Mini Trail Enthusiast's Guide here - www.amazon.com/Honda-Mini-Tra...
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Wanted a 69 AK1 *badly* as a 12 year old, had to settle for a QA-50....time went by, I grew up, had a family, etc...but I swore someday I'd get one, restore it and satisfy the want I never really got as a kid...found a complete one 12 years ago - had a turn of life events that made me put it away for 10 years. Two years back I finally was able to do a complete restoration...it took 50 years but I got my AK1 Mini Trail.
Qa 😂
I wanted one badly when I was 11 knew a friend that had one. He let me ride it once in a while. I had a "mini bike" you know with a Briggs engine and no shocks A 3 HP. I still want one at 65 for my grandsons.
My Dad came home with a brand new 1972 Mini Trail. I couldn’t believe it! One of the most memorable events of my childhood.
Same. I got the gold one, was a lot of fun
Dad and his friend put me a 79 together in 85 at 5yrs old....lost him last yr and miss him dearly
Same here my dad bought me one when i was 6 in 1984. It was a non runner. It had a minor fault it was repaired and i have the best memories i used to sit for ages looking out the window at it. The bug bit me hard as i ended up being a motorcycle mechanic/ mot tester. I have one of these z50r's 1980 model in my workshop which is just about to be restored. In honour of my dad. Missed so much
Sorry to hear that, brotherman. 😔
My dad was drunk. No matter how much I beg, there was never enough money for dirt bikes. I bought my daughter her first one at 4. Second at 6. I hope one day she tells stories about me like you guys tell stories about your dad's
Thanks loved this historical review of all the model years - I got a '73 Z50A K4 in the Hawaiian blue for Christmas and still have it running today. So much fun and so many memories made by myself, my kids, my nieces, nephews etc etc - what an incredibly well made bike by Honda!
Gotta love minis, usually the start of a long love of motorcycles
For my 6th birthday I woke up look down from my bunk bed to see a 1970 Honda 50 mini trail white and yellow tank I've been addicted ever since, we also had the trail 70 and the trail 90, after that I had a Honda xr75!
You were the luckiest kid I ever heard of lol. Those were my favorite bikes when I was a kid. The XR75 came out when I was getting into bigger bikes for the road. I would've loved to have one too. But my first love was the1970 Z50 mini trail. A friend of mine had a paper route with his 2 brothers, they saved up And bought A new 1970 mini trail ruby red They let me ride it a few times. No clutch but that was ok I was too young to know how to use one lol. It wasn't fast but we had a few cow trails to ride, so speed wasn't a factor. Had a couple 250's over the years and a 1979 CB750F which I still have. I'm 65 now and want to get my 2 grandsons into it, the best sport of all time. They're 4 and 8 years old, perfect age for a mini trail 50. If I could only find one....sorry, not if but when! I wont stop till i find one for my boys.
Oval plate too??? Have an extra plate? 😂
I thought I outgrew my love for z50s this Christmas but after watching this video for probably the tenth time I’m on love and need another one
I just got a 79 z50r for the kids. Grew up on sl70s. Still have them. And one is now a 138cc vpmx monster brapppppppp
I had the 1993 z50r growing up in the texas heat before bringing it up here to VA, had well over 800 ride hours but for me as a kid it was my only bike I wanted. Done broke my leg on it, crashed into a tree, countless ruts, and everytime she turned over. Good bike, I had gotten mine as a gift for xmass in 06, we sold it to a family when i just got to big in 2013. She still runs around to this day.
I was born in 1989 and these were the bikes I grew up on. Working on restoring my 1982 Honda 50 with my dad that I’ve had since I was 5 years old. Enjoyed the video. Thanks for posting.
Excellent information in the Honda Z50. In my opinion the Holy Grail of the 50's is the Christmas Special. From the all Chrome look to the bold red seat the Xmas Special is one of the most iconic of all. I own one and even today that little bike gets more smiles than a puppy 😁
Your revolution is over. Condolences. The bums lost. My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me? The bums will always lose!
Not sure what you are talking about.
@@rebellucy5610 Look, man, I've got certain information, all right? Certain things have come to light. And, you know, has it ever occurred to you, that, instead of, uh, you know, running around, uh, uh, blaming me, you know, given the nature of all this new shit, you know, I-I-I-I...This could be a-a-a-a lot more, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, complex, I mean, Its, not just, it might not be just such a simple...uh, you know?
EXCELLENT post on the mini-trail 50's...I had a 1969 Yellow and quite a few of my friends had one also. Rode mine around til I got my driver's license cause the cops in my town, for some reason, thought it was OK to ride these in town (except Main St.) even without a license but not a full-sized motorcycle! Guess they thought since it was small with a small motor we couldn't get into trouble! (wrong!) So, for a couple years before a license, I had the mini-trail in Spring/Summer/Fall and snowmobiles in Winter to get around....glad I lived in a small town in Northern Minn., it sure made life slot easier! I loved those shown in the vid from the 80's especially...they looked like mini moto-X!! Very cool indeed! What I always thought, with these mini-trails was, they were just slightly underpowered and would have been nice to be upgraded to 75cc. I know the point was to keep them low-powered but they could be kept low-geared so top end would remain 40 or under (If I recall, top speed with the 50 was about 35 MPH) but sure would have helped when needed! I think Honda made a 75 or 80cc mini in '69 but it was bigger/taller than the 50 and UGLY and nobody that I knew, wanted one! I'm gonna go check out the '21 Mini-trails and if comfy for me, I'm buying one just to run up to the store etc.. I'll be 65 but absolutely certain I can ride like I was 13 or 14 again! (Yeah, RIGHT.... LOL!!!)
I also owned a yellow Z50 and they topped out a whopping 32 mph (with my then 90 lbs on board). A neighbor kid down the street got a CT-70 the next year and while it had the goofy looking T frame it would go 45 mph which made me jealous!
I had a blue 1970 mini trail, I can't say how many miles I put on that little bike, it just went and went and went. From that first ride my life changed, it was an awesome little bike.
Same here! 66 years young today and still riding, by the Grace of God!
So glad you’re doing this site. Struggling with the COVID virus and this really brings back cherished memories of a better time in this country. Good job brother. Don’t mean to go full on waterworks. Haha.
Thank you for your kind words I appreciate the support
Thank you for posting. I got a '73 in Orange for my birthday and it was the funnest summer I ever had
I started out at 4yrs old on my beloved 1974 Z50 topaz orange, and have never gotten rid of it and now I’m 38. Have been restoring it for a few hrs now here and there. Will never get rid of it 👍👍👍
I’ve had an 86 z50r since I was 5. Still have it and runs strong. Great condition
Now I know what year I had, all those years ago. A 1969 z50 red. It was an incentive to do chores, as I had to ask for the keys and there was always a task to perform before riding. Thanks for the video.
An awesomely well done and completely detailed review of the history of this iconic little bike. Thank you.
Great video. I lived in Dubai in 76 and for Christmas aged 12 I got a Z50J in white. It also had indicators and a rack as standard. Just absolutely loved it!
1970 Briggs and Straten 3.5hp minibike. 1971 SL70 Honda (took the lights off, lol), 1972125cc Penton Six Days, 1974 250cc Penton.....Should have kept them all. Best time of my life. To find the land and location to do what we were able to do then is the major struggle now. BTW, the prices at the time for the above bikes, in order...$45, rebuilt it used, $349, $1200, $950,$1500. (Penton brought KTMs into the country years ago and worked with the factory in Austria to make exactly what they wanted. Chrome-moly frame, Akron rims, Girling front forks, Marzocchi rear shocks .....) Thanks for bringing back the memories.
Thanks for sharing the history of the honda mini trail bikes. I myself owned a 1984 Z50R, 1997 Z50R and 1970 CT70. I love them all.
My cousin had one, it was a 1979 z50. She drove the hell out of it along with her older brother and I. This was in 81 and I was 13 and racing MX on a 1980 YZ80. She (and my cousin and I) rode it till the late 80’s. In the middle 90’s it had been in the junk pile for at least 6 years and locked up. I freed up the piston never changed it just freed up the rings in the piston put it back together with the old gaskets and clean the carb and it fired right up still running today.......
I still have a gold mini trail bike and its one of my favorite colors. Actually didnt know it was only made for one year. Really cool, interesting and informative video, now I want to go ride it again.
Too cool!! Always thought mine was a '68 but never really looked into it. When talking about it the two tone tank with the badge was how I described it. It was blue='69, my birth year. Uncle handed it down in '77. No battery, no tail light, 8 yrs. of Hard use. Loved it!! Still have leg scars from back fender. Ridden hard until '83, got a KX 80. Sold for $50 to fund purchase. Dang!! Awesome info and pictures!!!
This is awesome! I would love more videos about some of the small hondas.
Awesome video, I was searching something like this... thanks a lot !
when i was 10 i had the 78 it musta been the late in the year it was produced because there was no lights. today i have the trail 125 and i am much happier. big difference in price though $500/4400 no regrets thanks for the video and pics !
Favorite one so far. My first bike was a 85' z50r. At some point they reversed the shift pattern. It was 3 down on my 1985 and shortly after (perhaps when they switched to the new body style) the shift pattern became 3 up
Good content Tony, the '79 was my first bike, i was 8. Brings back memories! Still riding today. Best thing my dad ever did....he rode it one day doubled up with my little brother, they hit a small jump and wiped out. Still remember laughing at my bro, got my ass kicked for that, but it was worth it
Thanks for making this video. I had the 1969 candy apple red. Had loads if fun on that bike. :) Live Long and Prosper!
You are very welcome
@@TheMotocrossVault WHAT ABOUT THE QA-50 ???
This is an amazing vessel. This is collection worthy.
Thanks so much for the review! Very informative.
Your insight into this stuff is amazing. I have a mint 82 in my garage and learned a lot from this one. Keep up the great work.
Did a great job on the video. I have a CZcams and Instagram Channel called 50 Channel I started three years ago I have a 1995 Z50R that I have owned since 1999. But over the years I turn into a Frankenstein by putting on a CRF50 front end and put the 10 inch wheels on it I will never get rid of this bike puts a smile on my face every time I rip it
You did a great research! I love the video and learned a lot about all the us versions of the honda Z50s. I would love to see a video about all their special and limited versions which they had.
very very happy with this vidd. I didn't think it was to long at all.. very informative vidd..alotta good info!!! Keep the viddz coming!! 👍👍👍🏁🏁🏁
I got my first motorcycle last month (a CRF300L) and I’m totally into motorcycling now. I stumbled onto this video after seeing some fun Monkey videos. I totally loved this video. Thank you for sharing!
My dad bought me one around 96 for Christmas. Loved this bike. Rip dad missed and loved!!
Nice video. Definitely brought back some good memories. Thanks for sharing!
Top of the day champ. The GREATEST, MOST INTRODUCE INTO MOTORCYCLING HISTORY!!! Thanks
thank you!
This was great! Please do more of these timeline videos!
Had a beautiful red '69 MiniTrail 50, later traded it in on an orange Trail 70 4 spd w clutch, hooked for life, now my quiver consists of a TTR-125LE dirt/playbike and an FJR1300 streetbike, so I should be set for life.
I received a 1975 Honda Z50cc Mini Trail in September of 1975. Sure do wish I still owned it. 😊❤
I had a old QA50 when I was 10 in 1984, not quite the same , but I loved it. Thank you for the history lesson.
I just got the new 2020 Z50 blue and white and it's amazing my first Z50 ever
Always wanted either a 1976 Z-50 or MR-50. I was 6yrs. old back in 1976. Ahhhh the good Ol days.
My first bike 1969 Z50Ak1 this bring back a lot of great memories.
Good information. My dad had one long time ago. I just picked up a 74. Very excited.
I was blessed by my father with a 1975 Z50CC Mini Trail. I would LOVE Honda to bring out a 50th anniversary of the Z50CC Mini Trail for 2025. Yes, keep producing the 125cc Monkey Bike as well. 😊❤
Great video. Excellent quality. My Red/White Z50A K0 appears in it. Mini Trail Dr. Is the entrance to my Trails.
awesome video! love of really good info
Mine was a Yellow 68' - would like one now. Didn't realize they were made so long, but the early ones still the best IMO.. I learned to ride on the MT70 which I could barely get on before I got the 50.
I had the 69' year model as a kid. Candy red. I used it for after school riding in high school along with my CZ250 many years later. Cast a upper triple clamp to hold my old original CZ bars that had welded on perch lever mounts. I had ended up welding a half round section of 2.5" steel pipe down the main tube because of the antics of jumping and flat landing from 5' in the air.
I got my moneys worth big time.
We never called it a Z, just trail 50,70,90. Great channel, great information here.
Yep.
very cool video, thanks for puttin it together. I remember in the 80's everyone was yankin anything chrome off or paintin it and god forbid you have a enduro model with turn signals and lights, you were a real dork then. lol
Finland also had a suzuki pv from 1981-2000 it rivaled the monkey in the moped market both were very popular amongst 15 year olds and they are now vert expensive
oliko muka 2000 pveitä en oo ikinä nähny sellasta
I had one of these, a sixty eight year model. lot of fun for an eight year old kid back in the day. I continued on through the years drag racing bikes. Those were the days for sure.
Just seen the video, My first bike was the red 1972. Love all the info. great video. thanks for your hard work.
Glad you enjoyed it!
What changed in 76 sales number? Competition, Mini Enduro, Honda's own SL 70, XR 75, Cobra and others. And My 68 had a Honda wing on the tank emblem, Which I still have one of them. Great job like the history keep up the good work!
That color change in 82 was real cool. I still am an original owner of 82 XR 80 in excellent condition.
Currently rebuilding my z50a K2 hard tail. Cool channel man
Hi. I own the same model in yellow. A gift from my mother when I was a kid. In 1978. All original very good condition. Now I am doing a light maintenance. 4.200 Km original.
These bikes are so iconic on generations of riders. Maybe a tutorial on rm 50? I know only made 3 years.maybe throw in rm 60 models also.i have two 1978 rm 50c.thanks enjoy watching and learning about all these awesome bikes.sure don't make them like they used to.
Parents bought a Honda Mini Trail 50 new in 1968. This was designed like a motorcycle while American minibikes were flathead lawnmower engines on crude frames and cost almost as much as the superior enginered Honda.
I had one of those lawnmower powered minis and it was awful
Thumbs up! I had a yellow 70! I had a blast on it!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on these. I got really busted up on an early one when I was a pup. "It's only a 50" lol
Same here my dad's 69 was still being ridden hard in the 90's. I took it off a jump then endoed over the handlebars and got my first taste of road rash.
Checking in for my history lesson.
It's was pretty nice video thanks
just found out my dad is giving me is first bike which is 1978 50 i have not seen a picture yet but its been sitting in a garage for probably 25 plus years so pretty excited to see what it looks like should be just as fun as my 2004 crf50 with the 88 kit in it to ride
Great video wow. ‘76 is my favorite
When I got mine...like 12 yrs old....I thought I was Roger decoster on it. I had a football helmet that I electric taped a baseball cap visor to that I wore. And off I went! At a blistering speed of what? 30 mph max? If that? I have as riding in strip mines...jumping homemade ramps...hill climbing mountains or approximately 6 feet high...I was.a beast!!! 😂🤣🥳
This video is amazing!
I got the 72 z50 ak3. My uncle had it then he didn’t use it anymore so he gave it to me. This thing is fun for A beginner’s bike
I had a ‘91 I think. When I was in high school I bought it used for $100. I miss that bike. 20 years later and I’m searching CL for one
Had a Candy Apple Red '69 the best, most fun and dependable bike I ever had. Sure like to have another one and I am 62 ! 😉👍
Great video thanks, just purchased a K2 for restoration. Would love to see a video on the iconic BMW bikes of the 1970s...R75/5, R90S, R100RS in my view
Loved the video, answered some questions I had from collecting 4 or 5 of them, including a Christmas Special. Do you know what year they switched from GP shifting to regular shifting? Probably when they switched to plastic?
The 79 was what my brother and i learned to ride on. He put half the cost in with my dad footing the other half for $800. I believe they bought it in 1980 when the new ones came out and it was left over stock from 79. I was 2 and he was 6.5. We rode it until i was 12 sometime in 1990 when we couldn't get it to start. The high bars sure helped us tall boys! We sold it in 98 for like $100. I also remember ours had the circular holes in the wheels vs the oblong cutouts. so 79 only?
My first motorcycle was a 1991 Honda Z50 my dad bought new for me and my older brother. Had lots of fun on it and never had a single issue with it. Kept it in great shape and sold it in 1999 for the same price we paid for it in 1991. (Of course because of inflation the new 1999 Z50 was much more expensive.)
Video was good! Though your bias for older bike aesthetics was a little too apparent. It makes the video a little more relatable to your generation but is more at odds with the younger folks who grew up on the later generations of the Z50.
Great video
My 1st bike was a '69 Z50 i got for Christmas in 1979 when I was 9.
Just watched this video. Very informative about the Honda Z50. You asked for ideas for future videos I believe so I was wondering if you would do a video about the kawasaki kv75. . I just found one and I plan on buying it and restoring it. So any information you could find about this bike would be great.
The Kv75 is a great little bike. I own a restord one and also have 2 x Z50's. The KV is a 2 stroke and much faster than the little Hondas. The KV75 is very rare.
Thanks. It was interesting to me. I love those little bikes :-)
Glad you enjoyed it
This is a great video. I've shared it quite a few times in the Honda Z50 group on Facebook. Lot's of great information. Wish you would do one on the CT70 and include the three years of the ST90. I have a 73 and 74 ST90 as well as a 1970 Z50.
Thank you for your kind words. I plan to do one covering the CT90 in the future
@@TheMotocrossVault they're very popular. With Covid prices seem to be really climbing right now.
I thought this was Great. Liked & Subscribed. Look forward to a bunch more. Suzuki TS maybe ??
I still have my 1985 z50r, first dirtbike I ever got I love it as much as the day I got it.
I like the 85 and 89 design. I had a friend who had a yellow 76 that thing was super fun to ride.
I had a 1970 yellow one, but I was in Latin America. There was no rear suspension, the back brake was hand-operated...no clutch lever, the clutch was centrifugal. It had three gears...and one thing I didn't see in any of these: it had a speedometer that went up to 50 kmh. The logo on the tank and the paint job were like those on today's Monkey 125.
MY very first mini bike had a 17.5 Briggs & Stratton motor on it" I got it for Christmas when I was 10 years old and I also got a brand new pair of cowboy boots. Since my mini bike had no back breaks I would use my cowboy boots to stop it and it wasn't too long of a time before my boots were worn smackout. I was pumping gas into it at this golden gallon station and I had accidentally over filled it and gas got down to my spark plug so when I pulled out my rope to start it that thing caught fire 🔥 the gas station intendent used a fire extinguisher on it and I never seen it start again.
Now my best friend Timmy Knight and I both got a Honda trail 50 for Christmas when we were 12 years old and I loved mine. There was this Ditch that had this hill going across it and we would always play like we were going to jump across it. This one day we had these girls come home with us after school" and Timmy stoled all of us a beer out of his Father's refrigerator, I drunk my beer plus both of the girls beers so I had a good buzz going. We got our Honda 50tys out and started showing off in front of those girls and I did the dumbest thing I've ever done up until that very moment" I plan on acting like I was going to jump across the ditch but I actually didn't let up on my throttle hell I had it wide open.
I wish I new what it was like to jump across that ditch without breaking my elbow wrest collarbone and leg but I don't.
I hit that jump doing every bit of 20mph and even though everyone said that I was flying in the air for at least a couple of minutes! We know it was more like a second or two" the only benefit I got from doing that jump was when Everyone who saw the jump and many more that didn't' said that I was just like Evel Knievel on a motorcycle" lol 😆😆😆
TDO Sadly, you apparently suffered minor brain damage, and to this day type and speak fully up to your IQ of 70.
@@marklandis5794 Your revolution is over. Condolences. The bums lost. My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me? The bums will always lose!
My first Running motorcycle was a 79 Z50R that I traded a 64 Buick ( that I traded a RD250 for) for at age 11. I had a Blue 73 Trail 50 that didn't run that I gave to a friend and after I had my 50R for a few wks it stopped running, the points needed to be cleaned which my moms boyfriend did and we told him of the 50 I gave away, he loaded us in his truck and drove us 2hrs away to pick up the blue 50 he cleaned the points and it started right up. So that Summer was the best my best friend & I both had 50's and we put hundreds of miles on them, my 79 was faster then the 73 that my friend was riding but his had lights lol. At the time we had them you could ride them on the road here because there was no law saying we couldn't and at 49cc they considered it a moped which at that time you didn't need anything to ride them on public streets unlike today. Best Times Ever!!!!
What I learned to ride a motorcycle on was alread riding bicycles but I was 5 the frst time I got on one my cousin had one and after i rode it, it took about 6 months for my dad to get tired of my begging him for a motorcycle so I got a new '94 z50 and my older brother got an xr 200 for xmas that year it was an awesome year. Xmas of 93
Just picked up my 1980 full chrome limited. Oooooooh boy!
Enjoyed the hell out of this. Thanks
Thanks
Love the video man! Just ran across your channel today and I will be checking many of your videos out. In this video you used a picture of a blue Z 50 K1 in front of a brick wall. That’s my bike! I bought it from Randy Marble and you probably got that picture from his website. Anyway, it was just cool to see it on your video.
Nice! I have the same bike. My bike is 100% complete and unrestored. It still has the original battery and the Honda key tag. I bought mine back in 1986 from a gal who bought it new for her kids. They outgrew it. She said it had been sitting since 1973. Luckily, it was stored in her garage under a tarp. It’s not 100% perfect. I’d say it’s an 8.5 or 9 out of 10, condition wise. By looking at the tire wear, I would say it has less than 30 hours on it. I wonder what it’s worth? She originally wanted $200.00 for it. My eagerness to buy it drove the price all the way up to $230.00.
Hey TB Player, it sounds like a really nice little bike. I bought a 1970 Z50 K1 in 1996 from a local Honda dealer. It looked as if had 5 hours on it. I paid $1,500 for it. My collector friends thought I paid too much. I sold after owning it for only a couple of years. I sold it for $3,500 and I wish I would have kept it. It’s worth more now. If you want to sell your bike, let me know, I would be interested.
CANT BELIEVE YOU LEFT THE Z50G GORILLA OUT OF THE VIDEO!
I've never heard of that model
I would have felt like I died and went to heaven if my parents would have got me this for Christmas or Birthday ..
I would have been perfect in from 76 on and I would have been happy with a second hand older one !
I used to dream about getting a dirt bike all the time !
Yes I liked it. I subscribed make more. Honda's XRs CRs 3 wheelers and such. I have a CRF 250 L . THANKS!
I had a 1970 model. First year with a rear brake petal. Great 👍 bike
Thanks for the video. I have a 1984 Z50R, where should i get parts to restore it? im currently un Peru. I may need a new carb, fenders and the ignition switch.