A Pair Of Monkeys: Two 1969 Honda Mini Trails
Honda offered the Z50 mini-motorcycles in this hardtail form – lacking any rear suspension to soak up the bumps – for three or four years and the Z50 was sometimes referred to as a Monkey Bike because of how adults looked while riding them. The seller has this pair of 1969 Z50A Mini Trail bikes posted here on eBay in Schenectady, New York, there is no reserve, and the current bid price is $2,025.
Two, two, two bikes for one – to paraphrase an old Certs commercial. Everyone under 50 just clicked on the next Barn Finds post… Honda Z50s prior to 1972 had a rigid frame and they were sometimes known to crack and are often seen with painted-over welds. At least one of these bikes has a repaired crack and there are many other issues, cosmetically at least.
Yes, parts of these two bikes are rougher’n a cob, as no Honda 50 owner said, ever. These bikes in #2 excellent condition are valued at $4,300 so if a person can do the work themself, it’s doable but you’ll spend $2,000 at any motorcycle shop in the blink of an eye and that’s without any cosmetic restoration. Fixing that gas tank will be a chore, and add new seat covers, etc. It won’t be cheap to bring this pair of Honda 50s back but at least fun-wise, it’ll be worth it.
I have several 49 cc motorcycles and even three or four Honda versions, but I have never owned a Z50 for some odd reason. I do prefer the 1972 and later bikes with rear suspension but it’s not like I weigh enough to crack the frame on one of these early examples. And, it’s not like I’d ride one on the street anyway, especially since they aren’t street legal in most areas, at least the early models.
The benefit of these two Monkey Bikes is that the engines have been rebuilt and they look beautiful as you can see. Very nice! I should say that the top end of each engine has been rebuilt, not the entire engine for both bikes, but the seller says that they run great. They’re Honda’s 49 cc single and if anyone thinks that small motorcycles aren’t fun to ride, I would 100% disagree with that. How about you? Small motorcycles: yea or nay?
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Comments
Weeeeeell, there’s “small” bikes, and there’s really small bikes, like this, step savers really, with no intention of any road travel, so I like them. The other “small” bike I don’t care for, is small street legal bikes. If I take a bike on the road, it better have some steam. Back in the hills, the big power, I found out, does little, and it’s all about gearing. A Honda Trail 90, for example, would be a lot better than that DRZ400, I had. These, it seemed, had a brief “flash in the pan”, but like most “flashes”, it passes. Once again stuff like this is becoming affordable, due to lack of interest, mostly. A lot of fun,,,for a kid to learn valuable biking experience, for many of us, it all started here. Great find.
Save your money and buy a Trail 70 instead. At least they were fast enough to be fun.
The greatest thing that ever came out the trunk of any car was that blue 69 mini-trail that came out of dad’s Plymouth on Christmas day, 1968. Thanks dad, wherever you are.
i remember my first mini bike 12hp bulltaco. but had to share it with two brothers
My grandparents had a Trail 50 on their farm back in the 70s. I rode that thing all over the place when I was 8-12 years old. That one was yellow instead of red.
Our family had two red Honda Trail 90’s and a bright yellow Mini Trail 50! We took them with our Shasta trailer and had many fun camping trips! Small enough to easily transport and reliable enough for may fun filled days exploring back roads! Great memories!!🤓
I remember flipping one in the field across from my house. Well, the bike flipped, I just kinda stepped off and watched it. They were DEFINITELY a lot of fun… but then, so was my Tecumseh powered mini bike.
$2,856 now, i had one when i was young, but really wanted a 70.
My rides: Lotus Europa, Tesla Mod S, Devin V-12, and a Honda Trail 70. Only the funnest, fastest and reliable durable toys for me!
Auction update: this pair of Hondas sold for $3,902.