You've probably never seen one. Hell, you've probably never even heard of one. Well, here's two. And they need some love. These belong to a customer, specifically the grandfather of a good friend. These are what he learned to ride on, and were imported from Japan via the UK in 1982. I've done a little poking around on 'em for a bit and it's time to dive in. First thing's first: Teardown. We're gonna call em Thing ONE and Thing TWO. all the lines are brittle, some are leaking and broken. Cables need lubing, but most importantly, I need carb kits and air filters. I've spent two hours on the web and phone, including finding an OEM NOS carb on ebay, there ain't shit out there. I've been on the phone with every "Vintage Honda" and "Vintage Scooter" parts house in the country. They've never even heard of em. The lead Mechanic at OttoBrothers Honda in Chicago has been there 35 years and never seen one. Keihin won't talk to me, and SUDCO told me to get bent because PA series carbs are proprietary to Honda. Best I can tell it's the same carb as a Spree. So for $14, I think I'll gamble on it for a Spree kit. Stay in touch.
Honda just came out with a concept car which has a new version of the Motocompo inside. See it here http://theawesomer.com/category/green/ Click the link in it for videos of the original.
This is also a cute little video showing it's versatility: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=0wTnhyBBb_A&NR=1
at LA's Peterson Museum's "Size Does Matter" collection, an homage to the scooter: Perfectly shown in a early '80's Honda City Turbo.
Ive got 3 of them sometimes you can find spare parts on eBay or go to this place http://www.cmsnl.com/ncz50b-moto-compo-australia_model16489/partslist/?q=moto+compo these are my ones
Coolio....never heard of them before but I like them. They look like a Jap take on the Italjet Pack 50.
well, the gamble on the SPREE carb kit didn't pay off. so after digging around HERE: http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-ncz50b-moto-compo-australia_model16489/partslist/E07.html and cross-referencing some numbers, the carb is the same as the old Express 50 scooters. Ironically, I had one. The carb gasket kit required is honda # 16010GF8305 I have two on order from an Ebay Seller.
google translate can help, but it's pretty damn funny http://translate.google.com/transla...la:en-US:official&biw=1024&bih=506&prmd=imvns
I bought a near showroom 81 Motocompo a few months back, still has the quality check paint marks and nubies on the tires. Kicked over straight away and runs like a champ. Here she is.
there are a bunch of them here in Japan, anywhere from 800 bucks to 4000 depending on condition. I stole this one at 1200 bucks from an auction.
The Honda City Turbo and Motocompo seen in the Peterson photos actually belong to the Lane Motor Museum, where I work. This morning, I was told to get the Motocompo running (we last ran it about 4-5 years ago), so I thought it would be appropriate to drive the City Turbo home tonight. Found this thread when I punched "Motocompo parts" into a search engine. So thanks for the carb kit part numbers, CodyY. I'll have to order one. The tank is rusty and full of crud. The little filter screen has broken off the petcock, so whatever has been in the bottom of the tank has made it into the carb. Plus someone, somewhere during the bike's life, couldn't find an air filter, so they made one. Sort of... Yes, that is a shop rag! Guess I'll have to try to adapt a filter from another bike.
Motobecane made something very similar back in the '70s, called the "Moby X" Solex also made one, but I can't remember what it was called. They were basically designed as a lifeboat, if your car broke down, you just took them out of the trunk and went on your way. But being French, they were no more reliable than French cars of the time. I used to own a Motobecane 50V full size moped. Very unreliable, but they had a lot of charm.
Cleaned the tank and petcock, running again and back together for a test ride. The little bugger is a blast!
A week after getting the Motocompo running again, the petcock decided to start leaking. So I found one in the UK and placed the order. And then shot a little video: http://youtu.be/m5mxU9ijJUM Although I have to admit, I like this video much better. http://youtu.be/THpYOCyvdAU
