ICONIC MOTOR CYCLE 70TH ANNIVERSARY Edition 1951-2021
1950s THE MACHINERY
PRODUCTION OF THE CUB PASSED THE 100 MILLION MARK IN 2017
The 1950s saw a sea-change in motorcycling. Where bikes had been regarded as little more than cheap transport until the post-war era, the 50s saw a shift towards a focus on performance and thrills – so it’s no surprise that a number of bikes from the decade have gone down as legends.
It was the era of British dominance. The Vincent Black Shadow, BSA’s Gold Star and Ariel’s Square Four could all put forward cases for their significance at the time, but through modern eyes the launch of Triumph’s Bonneville in 1959 inevitably seems more important. After all, it’s a name that lives on today and a machine that spawned endless copycats, even if at the time it was greeted as little more than a development of Triumph’s existing Tiger T110.
Even Britain’s Motor Cycle News greeted the Bonneville’s unveiling with no more than a couple of paragraphs at its launch, but in the intervening decades it’s become a model that’s almost more significant than Triumph itself.
Across the Atlantic, a similarly long-running machine took a bow in the 50s when Harley-Davidson unveiled its first Sportster in 1957 – starting a dynasty that still survives today.
But despite the 50s’ focus on performance and the newfound tough-guy image associated with motorcyclists of the era, one machine that debuted that decade stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of influence, and it couldn’t be further from that Wild One cliché. It’s the Honda Cub.
Reaching production in 1958, the Cub has been credited – rightly – with putting the world on two wheels. Production passed the 100 million mark in 2017, accounting for more than one quarter of all Honda motorcycles ever made. It’s manufactured in plants all over the world, has been given a new lease of life in C125 form and is even expected to live on in electric form once the internal combustion engine has breathed its last exhaust. The Cub isn’t just an icon for a decade, it’s arguably the most important motorcycle of all time.
50s MOMENTS
1950 First Ducati – the Cucciolo – made
1954 Suzuki Motor Co formed
1955 Yamaha Motor Co formed
BIKER CULTURE EMERGES
WHILE WE KNOWthat motorcyclists come in all shapes and sizes, with interests and styles that are just as diverse as anywhere else in society, the stereotypical ‘biker’ image can be traced directly to the 50s.
Whether it was James Dean in real life or Marlon Brando in The Wild One, the 50s Hollywood image of motorcyclists – black jacket, white t-shirt, blue jeans with turned-up cuffs – took its inspiration from the burgeoning scenes happening in the USA at the time. Motorcycle clubs, and later gangs, had been growing in popularity since the late 40s – the Hells Angels formed in 1948 – often made up of ex-servicemen looking for a replacement for the adrenalin rush and camaraderie of their WW2 experiences.
RACING’S FIRST HERO
BEFORE MARQUEZ, BEFORE Rossi, before Ago, Hailwood or even Surtees, Geoff Duke showed that a bike racer could transcend the sport to become a celebrity in his own right, dominating the world championship in the first half of the 50s with six titles across the 350 and 500 classes in just five seasons. During that period, if Duke finished a race, it was normally in first place.
His legacy goes much deeper than that, though, as Duke’s also credited with inventing the idea of one-piece leathers. He spotted the aerodynamic advantage that close-fitting clothes offered while attempting speed records for the
