Honda Motocompo and Cub EZ90 revived by Chinese EV bike company

At the 2023 Tokyo Motorcycle Show this week a Chinese company showed off two new products that pay tribute to Honda designs. Manufactured by Felo, their styling appears to be modernized takes on the Honda Motocompo and Cub EZ90. They’re fully electric as well, so you won’t have to deal with a smelly old two-stroke between your legs.

The original Honda Motocompo was produced from 1981-83, built specifically to fit into the trunk of a car. Offered as an option to the City hatchback, the bike folded neatly into a tidy rectangle. The Felo M-One seems to offer that same collapsable functionality, with a squared-off design that hearkens back to the Motocompo. It seems to be infused with a kind of cyberpunk aesthetic though, thanks to an asymmetric headlight, magnesium-aluminum frame, and construction equipment graphics.

Felo’s marketing shows that the M-One was designed specifically to be carried around in the trunk of a car. It’s almost the same dimensions (45.7 inches long x 22.0 wide x 33.9 high) as the original Motocompo (46.7 inches long x 21.1 wide x 35.8 high). A lithium-ion battery powers an electric motor with a maximum output of 1.34 horsepower, about half what the 2.5-horse Honda managed. On the other hand, the Felo weighs just 81.6 pounds, some 17 pounds lighter than the Motocompo with a full tanks of gas. Total range is a more-than-adequate 62 miles.

The M-One follows hot on the heels of the Felo FW-03, which is an obvious homage to the Honda EZ-9 (or Cub EZ90 to Americans). It even sports the same colorway as the original, which was built from 1991-96.

Honda introduced the EZ-9 at the 1990 Tokyo Motor Show. The bike wasn’t street legal, but intended for use on trails or as a pit bike. In fact, Honda’s Indycar teams were supplied these bikes (in matching livery as the teams’ race cars) to zoom around the paddocks with. Honda also wanted these to be fun, family-oriented bikes, so the 90cc engines were paired with an automatic transmission.

The Felo FW-03 comes in both on- and off-road variants. The on-road model is powered by an electric motor capable of 5.63 horsepower and 14.8 lb-ft of torque, translating to a top speed of 31 mph and a 124 miles of range. The off-road version is a bit more powerful, with a 7.1-horsepower and 22.1 lb-ft motor that can go as fast as 56 mph, but range is limited to 62 miles.

Electric bikes are big business in China, prompting even Honda themselves to release retro e-bike designs exclusive to the Chinese market. To call the Felo bikes rip-offs wouldn’t entirely be accurate. They’re not carbon copies but instead take inspiration from the originals, proving just how influential Honda bikes have been. Felo says the M-One will soon be available in Japan for ¥380,000 ($2,880 USD), but unfortunately neither bike will be sold in the US.

via The Autopian.