Honda Express

The Honda Express or Honda NC50 is a scooter made by Honda between 1977 and 1983. Variants include the Express, Express II, Express SR and Urban Express. All versions of the Express line are powered by an air-cooled 49 cc (3.0 cu in) two-stroke engine coupled to a continuously variable automatic transmission.

Introduction

The Honda motorcycle corp. of Japan released the Honda Express (NC50) to the North American market in 1977. This new bike was designed to enter the large market for scooters that developed following the 1973 oil crisis. As such it came with a fuel-efficient single-cylinder two-stroke engine. It was also designed to be simple to operate, as many owners would be inexperienced with or intimidated by larger, more complex motorcycles. Honda accomplished this by using a fully automatic transmission and a small oil pump to self-mix the Express's oil and fuel, thus eliminating the need for premixing.

Models

NC50

A 49 cc scooter which was manufactured from 1977 until 1983, it featured an air-cooled 2-stroke engine. The versions from 1977 until 1980 had a manual choke, points ignition, and a spring starter. Versions from 1980 onwards included a kick start, capacitor discharge ignition, and automatic choke as well as an improved compression ratio. Most versions include an automatic one speed transmission with a centrifugal clutch, double suspension, and oil injection. Two speed automatic transmissions were introduced towards the end of their production run.