Stephen Cribbin's 1977 Honda SS50Z
Honda were a little slow to react to the popularity of bikes such as Yamaha's FS1E. They finally entered the UK Sportsped market in 1976 by re-engineering a current model to incorporate pedals to circumvent UK legislation restricting 16 year olds to ride 50cc mopeds.
Stephen tells us, "I was just 15 when I bought my 1st SS50, a non runner that my dad and myself got running while it sat in the middle of our living room! This was much to the displeasure of my mother. One day she came home from shopping to find the house filled with smoke. She promptly walked straight back out with my younger brother and went to the cinema, demanding that the bike was out of the house when she got back.
Many years later I was on the lookout for another to do up. Then in February 2023 I found, whilst searching Ebay a non running barn find, not too far away in Kent. I had to have it!
I couldn't wait to get it home, but there was no chance of me bringing it in to the lounge. So in the garage it went There I stripped it down to its chassis, repaired the fuel tank by sealing and painting it, the front forks were rebuilt, front brake overhauled with new pads, a new seat cover and top sponge, new front tyre, new rear inner tube, the frame cleaned and repainted where necessary (due to fuel damage). The engine had to be stripped down and rebuilt with new clutch, crankshaft kit, new head and cylinder kit.
Huge thanks to Allen Millyard for supplying me with the parts to get the pedal system up and working, as well as the neutral switch actuator ring.
Phew! All done. Ready for its first ride in many a year.
Around 4 months after I picked it up from Kent I was able to take it out on the road for the first time. A short bimble from home to Pinewood Cafe, then on to Yately and back home to Camberley via Crowthorne".
A month later it was displayed at Sammy Miller's wonderful motorcycle museum in New Milton in the heart of the New Forest, It was the Honda Owners Club Classic Show and I was delighted to take home 3rd place in the up to 125cc category.
below the original SS50 from 1967 (no pedals)
Not on the kitchen table
Looking fantastic
Steve's hard work really paid off as his little bike stood out at the HOC Classic, held at the world famous Sammy Miller's (July 2023)
Compression, Fuel and Spark....Let's go!
What stood the Honda SS50 apart from its many competitors at the time was that this was a 4 stroke machine as opposed to the others being 2 stroke. That may have given it slower acceleration but it was more reliable and gave better fuel economy. This model also had a cable operated front disc brake. But above everything I reckon what really made this bike different was that upswept exhaust, giving it a cool scrambler look.
All Mopeds registered in the UK after 1 September 1977 were restricted to a maximum of 31 miles per hour, but they were no longer legally required to have pedals. This change in the law effectively killed off the bike.