Beskrivning
H&H Classic Auction @ National Motorcycle Museum | Solihull, West Midlands
27th March, 2024 13:00
c. 1981 Honda Z50 Gorilla
JDM Monkey Bike
Estimate
£1, 750 - £2, 250
Registration No: Unregistered
Frame No: TBC
Engine No: TBC
CC: 50
MOT: Exempt
The Honda Motor Company was founded by Soichiro Honda in 1937, initially producing piston rings for Toyota. They made their first motorcycle in 1949 and within 10 years had become the biggest motorcycle manufacturer in the world and have gone on to produce over 400 million two-wheelers as well as millions of other power products. One of their most distinctive and best loved designs is the Z series of small wheeled minibikes that came to be known as Monkey bikes because those riding them "looked like Monkeys". The first version of the Honda Z-series was the 1961 prototype Honda Z100, originally produced as a children's ride at the Tama Tech Japanese amusement park and was eventually refined and put into mass production in 1964.
The Monkey bike has seen several different variations over its 40+ years of production, the Gorilla being one of them, a more aggressively styled and chunky looking bike. This circa 1981 Z50 Gorilla was imported into the UK in 2006 and whilst not registered comes with its 2006 customs declaration showing duties paid at the time. Part of a private collection, the vendor is now downsizing to make a bit of space in his garage.
