I know this is an old video but i only just came across it. I also had an MB5 as my first bike when i was 16. It was a 1983 in white but had a square headlight. Everyone else had the Yamaha FS1E's but i saw this little Honda and fell in love with it. Paid £120 for it and went miles on it. First thing i bought for it was a micron and messed with the engine a little and i managed to get about 50-55 mph out of it...... well the speedo needle was pointing to the indicator light on the clock going down Annesley bypass lol but on a flat it averaged about 45. I kept it for years, stripped it and got a Honda H100 engine and shoved that in it then sold it on to a friend. Glad i came across this video, brought back some happy memories from my teenage years :)
Some time has passed since I had one of those, 16 years old my first bike and loved bikes ever since...MB5 in black and gold, me and 5 of my mates all had one in the same colour....had so much fun on that little bike.
I had a Yamaha DT50 but was always a little bit jealous of the MB5. Looked so much more like a proper sportsbike. By the time I was 15 (legal age to ride a moped in Sweden) I had already graduated to 125s. Today I feel like getting an MB5 in good nick and tuning it for maximum speed. Using all the stuff I couldn't afford as a kid.
Both the MT5 and MB5 were easy to upgrade. Changing carburateur and cilinder was less than an hour work. Exhaust also easy. Malossi and Zeta kits made these bikes run 50mph with ease. The brakes however. Bought my girl a Sherco this spring. 300mm disc brake front and a smaller disc brake in the rear. Suspension, wheels, all seems a bit sturdier. However, seeing such a beautiful MB5 still makes me wish I had one.
Wow, memories!!! I had one of these - in blue - 25 years ago in 1992 when I was 15. I used to ride it to school in Auckland, New Zealand. Fanging along the motorway, I think I used to get up to 100kph down hills with a tail wind if memory serves! What a little beauty!
Fantastic, well-engineered, solid small motorcycles! Unrestricted, they can hit around 55 MPH on flat pavement with a lighter rider, and about 50 MPH with a 220 pound rider! They are rare 'stateside', and amazingly FUN FUN FUN to ride! I have one, and when I pull into a gas station or Starbucks, I get tons of stares and questions!
Hell yeah, man! Bought one when I was 15, 1985. Had a blast riding it around traveling to places I've been before in my local area. Would like to buy another.
Great wee video...had one of these when I was a bairn... great wee bike..Honda H100 engines slotted in when you hit 17... seems a lifetime ago...Thanks for the memory...
Thanks for the upload, im 16 and just brought a aprillia tuono 50, looking to getting my provisional soon but was nervous due to the restrictions set in place but seeing some footage of how the 50cc bikes run has gave me some reassurance aha
In sweden they had 1hp and wasnt allowed to go faster then 30km/h. They did 40 to 45km/h. Many put a 65cc cylinder on it and hoped the police didnt stopped them
About the same here, only allowed to go 45 Km/h and 1 HP, also here many put 65cc cylinders on them. another common mod was to swap out the engine block for 80cc block with 5 or 6 gears with 80,100,110 and even a 125cc cylinder on them. In the end you always got caught by the police (so did i lol) Now I'm rebuilding (still have it) my little Honda MT-5 that is very custom (wheels from MBX, 80cc model brake caliper, paris-dakar tank cover etc etc) but this time I'll put it on the road as a motorcycle so i can legally go 100+ km/h. Going all out with a tuned 125cc Athena, Malossi VL5 carbon read valve, 30mm PWK carb etc :)
I had one of these as my 1st geared 50cc and rode home having never ridden a geared bike before. previously I had a couple of pedal "chicken chasers". Bought it from a bike breaker and it didn't quite run right so it made learning gearchanges and clutch control a lot harder haha. Been watching your videos as I have put in for my mod1 and 2, they have been very helpful thanks :)
First of all, lovely bike and well done for keeping a nice old two stroke going. I had the bigger brother of this, the Honda H 100 (SII). That was my first bike aftering doing my CBT, in two years of owning it I had to do a full engine rebuild three times... The root cause being that wonderful "balance shaft". Essentially, its a good idea, two strokes are vibey so this will help remove some of that. The only issue is, this takes the load away from the center of the crank and out towards the left and right hand main bearings. The right hand one is fine, its a solid aluminium casting. The left one however rides in a alloy, which I'd guess is most likely bronze, and after a period this slowly ovals out. Once that happens the engine doesn't have long unfortunately, the bearing will eventually start of bounce in its cage, and the load goes straight onto the crank. At one point I could grab the stator and seriously move the crank shaft a good 10mm out of its dead centre. That engine, however, did manage to run like that for about 4000 miles, and it sounded ready to grenade any moment.
II bought one of these in Cleveland, Ohio, from Rick Case Honda, for $399.99. What a fun bike! I've had lots of bikes and this one would be in the, "I should have kept it" category.
Wow great video, brings back memories. I had one in white. As a 16year old it meant freedom and I loved it. It's scary now watching those cars wanting to get past. I don't think I'd be brave enough to ride a 50cc on today's even busier roads.
That is top notch mate! I had one of these when I was 16 and although it wasn't the fastest thing on the road it gave me a lot of fun and independence.
I had a blue one...loved it! My mum sold it when I went into the army..never saw it again. Great Bike! went to the drive-in and lay next to the engine to keep warm...good times!
Great little vid, my Dad bought one of these in the early 80's for his commute to work after the law changed and he couldn't use his GT250 anymore (he was on a provisional license) I would of been 12 in 1982 so let's say it was then, I thought at the time it was a bigger bike but after seeing your vid, I've revised that memory, his was a white one, I remember he rode me pillion on it to his works during the summer holidays, which wasn't legal on a prov license but i was 12 and didn't even question that. As far as mods. I remember he bought a really tinny sounding exhaust for it. Wasn't a beancan but maybe a precursor to that craze. He ended up trading it for a Thomas slo-ped, I think he was skint. Thanks for the memory ;)
Hi, I really enjoyed your video. I had a U.S. red MB5 from 1982-1990 and logged 20,000 miles on it before it was sold. I rode it everyday and it was also my transportation to and from work. I really loved the bike but sold it due to having an accident with it on black ice where the bike went out from under me and pinned my leg to the road. I was never able to ride again after that. I notice you call it a moped, but it is technically classified as a true Motorcycle, one of the smallest that Honda ever made. A moped (at least in the U.S.) has to have pedals to be classified as such. Congrats on having such a pristine MB5, makes me wish I could ride one again!!
Thanks for sharing that. I love this bike. In the UK, "moped" used to also mean a pedal powered bike not exceeding 50cc. After 1977 the bike had to be restricted in speed but could lose the pedals and look like a proper motorcycle.
Nice, I had exactly the same bike. Also experienced the same government restriction but there is a good business on tuning these bikes :). Very good memories...
Oh yes, I had one too. Same color and front cover. It was only allowed to run 40 km/h, but downhill the speedometer shows nearly 70. Without tuning, but with a new exhaust, what costed nearly the same, what I hav paid for all the bike before... Loved it!
Back in 1985 my MB5 in the states run 53 mph on level surface. Wheelies were out of the Question due to the 7000 rpm power curve i broken alot of taillights..So many the dealer kept them in stock for me!
I never knew these even existed. I have not always paid attention to goings on in the small displacement motorcycle world so it's no wonder I failed to hear of it. Looks light as a feather and fun to ride. Glad that my interests have evolved a bit and I'm taking note of a wider spectrum of what there is out there in the world of obscure motorcycles.
Those things ripped for a 50cc! My cousin had one and I took for a steep up hill spin in Berkeley California and it topped out at 60 and held it! I was totally blown away!
I had a black one in 1983,i put a micron exhaust on,it sounded lovely,i wish i still had it,i even went to Silverstone on it from northampton, happy days!
A very pleasant showcasing, of an unassuming yet attractive bike in it's own right. I like the overcast sky, the vegetation, and also how the vehicular drivers are overwhelmingly courteous by giving you a wide berth. These things make for a delightful video, even better than Rick Steve's Travel channel - if for a moment I want to get away, to a place far away. Thanks.
I had the MB5 in white when I was 16. Great bike, I loved it but can’t believe how narrow it looks now. I know someone who fitted an H100 engine in his when he turned 17.
40 years ago I had an MT5, I did manage to 'tune' it up to do about 45 MPH even though it was illegal to do such naughty things! Last winter I purchased a basket case of an MT5 in order to re-live my youth, I also have a Speed Triple 1050 and a KTM 300 enduro bike, I have more fun on the 'ped than the other bikes! I've applied all my 2 stroke experience to the MT in order to get a decent top speed out of it, it's doing an easy 55 MPH (maybe a bit more). The bike has been totally rebuilt, the guy that MOT'd it said it was of the best restorations that he had seen which was a nice compliment. 🙂
I had one back in 86, I went up a tooth on front sprocket and got 40-45 mph and didnt lose much if any acceleration...lol Got an extra 5mph on top by fitting an Allspeed pipe........Great days so much fun rapping around on these and discovering women.......:-)
That is so cool. Actually, when I was in the military back in the early 1980's, this was my first bike! I lived off post at the time and used this to commute to work. It is so awesome to see this model again. Warm memories! Yes, this baby did run quite well for what I was using it for. Great post! Thanks for the memories!
Man I used to own one of this MB5 back in 1983 during my high school year . Mine was red color . I remember this dame was fun and it is Leak a lot . As an Asian Vietnamese Chinese American I got balls to drive this thing from San Jose California to San Francisco hahahaha lol 😂😂😄😄👍👍👍👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇻🇳🇻🇳🇻🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳!!!
Super unique. My parents bought me 1992 model in 1993. They had a hard time selling these bikes since they were more expensive than other small bikes. Once broken in, my top speed was 57 mph or 92+ kmh (street warning radar) This was a GREAT bike as long as your cruising speed was under 40 mph...
Sweet! I had one myself when I was 16 - just like this one, albeit not brand new, but in great shape! Feels like yesterday (when I watch this video), although it was over 20 years ago... Mine did ~50 kmph. Sad thing, it was stolen one night because I neglected to lock it. ._.
Had the same bike when I was 16 and loved it, It was so slow when I got it, over the course of year I done the ports, bored to 60cc, 2 stage reeds, bigger carb and micron pipe, would hit 65 on a good day lol. Moved onto a RD80LC and then an AR125, I drive a Triumph Sprint 1050 now.
I had a Honda MT50 when I was 16, and I'm only 21 :P. I had it bored out to 65cc and put a bigger American carburettor on it, the whole bike cost me about £400 to complete. My mate went out and bought a brand new Aprilia RS50 for almost £3000, needless to say he was gutted when he discovered mine was twice as fast.
I had one. Bought mine at Rick Case Honda in Akron Ohio. They were a blast. If I remember correctly, they stopped selling these because they were small like a moped, but fast like a motorcycle, and people were getting hurt and killed on them on the expressway....I think that's what I remember. Anyway, I had one for a long time and loved it
the memories this has brought back,i had a RD50 M 1980 model back in 1991 a friend had a MB5 and another had an AR50 we thought they were amazing (which they were back then)
I had a red one in USA, went about 65 mph. Not restricted, also had smaller than stock rear sprocket. Sucks they messed with it and slowed her down.Looks very pristine though.
@@RoadcraftNottingham yes, the H100 engine fits because that's what I have in my MB5. Not sold in Australia so i took mine from New Zealand when I moved in 1986. Need a CR80 gearbox (6 speed)
its a good video and takes me back to my teens when i had a MT5 and a H100S, i regret selling them when i was young, for me it always has to be a 2 stroke honda, my current bike is a honda ns125f :) still going well for a 30 year old bike
In South Africa, the MB-50 wasn't restricted, but it was still a terribly underpowered machine. The most I ever got out of it was about 80km/h, i.e. around 50mph.
Very cool. I've found one of these in California for about $2000 it run great and does about 55 miles an hour. It does not have the factory wind screen like yours, that was only a European option.
Motorcycle Mechanics magazine in the UK, did an article on tuning the UK restricted bike. You needed to skim the cylinder head, raise the exhaust port, open the reeds up and of course remove the smaller restrictor tube inside the front of exhaust. They did approx 55Mph iirc
I think at 16 a 125cc should be legal, 250cc at 17 and then keep things the same for larger bikes, I'm some most will disagree but I find 50cc bikes to be more danger than they are worth due to no extra speed for getting out of bad situations, and impatient drivers.
JamieOnABike actually you make a VERY valid point. .. maybe give 250cc entitlement to full car licence holders.over 25 Subject to a separate cbt of course. ..125 cc for complete provvie licence holders (those with no full car licence ) and completely do away with 50cc altogether. ..phasing 50cc out maybe
I owned one of these in the US, top speed stock was 52 mph. People modded them and hit 70-80. I went looking for a used one of these ten years ago but couldn't find one. Brings back great memories
@@mrmped1 Mopeds were also 50cc, the only reason I'm asking is because the MB5 has a kick starter with gears with NO bicycle pedals and the MB5 has gears, a Moped has an automatic transmission and bicycle Pedals. But both have a 50cc two stroke engine
In the UK mopeds can be geared or automatic, they had to be no more than 50cc and pedal operated until 1977 when the speed was restricted to no more than 30mph ish but could have normal footpegs. People often mistake mopeds for scooters but you can get a 600cc scooter as "scooter" is a style of bike, not a legal classification.
Thank you for an awesome channel! You inspired me to go after My mc-licens and made choosing My first mc much easier (Yamaha xj6 is the one for me tanks to your review. Keep up the good work!
Had one these when I lived in South Africa in the 80's , they weren't restricted , and did about 88kph , about 55 mph . 16 to 18 year olds were only allowed to ride 50cc bikes . The MB was short for Meteor Bobcat , the MT was Meteor Tornado . Lots of pleasant memories or riding around Chapmans Peak , and other areas of Cape Town .
Loved your video and it reminded of the MB-5 I had when I was 16 (same red colour). It gave me so much independence but boy was it slow.... Thanks to the government for that one. The smell of 2 stroke was also fantastic. Did you ever pretend to be Rocket Ron?
Me and my wife bought 2 new MB 5's back in 1982? . I geared up the countershaft sprocket by one tooth. It lowered the rpm's by about 700 at 55 mph if I remember correctly. 62 mph top speed for both sprockets! We could cruise 55 with no problem.
Nice machine, I enjoyed watching you ride it. I had a Honda 1974 PF50 pedal moped which I restored and sold on now. Great fun but today's traffic spoils it though.
I bet that smells lovely, I got my hands on a Honda cb 125cc, 1987 for an old bike it still runs amazing, just goes to show if you look after things, they look after you.
Aaaaah those were the days in 1981 I had the Honda P50 four stroke step through pedal and push, but as it was a 1976 model it was unrestricted top speed of almost 62mph it was great, it was actually faster than my mates FS1E, after that onto the Honda CB100N, then the Honda MBX125F Great machines with many fond memories, great video buddy, Ride Safe.
On my 16th birthday my parents took me to ogle at an MB50 in the local Honda Dealer. Afterwards we stopped at a civic centre to look at those taking their intro training to mopeds. At this point my dad pointed to a new Red MB50 and told me it was mine and I'd better go join in the training! My parents had paid the first 3mths of the loan and as I was working the rest was up to me. After training for an hour it was onto public roads, terrifying at first. One of the best days of my life.
i wish i had such great slow speed balance :) im only just stating out, done my cbt and got a little ybr 125, your a great rider and hope to become as good as you someday :)
