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| Honda Today Motorino 50 |
New from Honda, the ‘Tomorrow’, not to be confused with the ‘Yesterday’ or the ‘Day after tomorrow’, and certainly not the ‘Today’ which will become the ‘Yesterday’ ‘Tomorrow’. Now don’t get me wrong but wouldn’t any scooter named the ‘Today’ actually become a ‘Yesterday†the day after you buy it? What happens when its years old? It’s certainly not ‘Today’ any more, do they send you a new badge? What about just having a digital badge with the date? Because then it would actually be called The Febuary 12th etc which would be Today, everyday…hmmm, what about time zones though…
You can read too much into a name, as you can see, I always do. It’s important though; well at least I think it is, I mean you wouldn’t call a scooter the ‘Bag of Crisps’ or the ‘One legged wandering cucumber’, those just wouldn’t fly. So given that the name is important one must come to the conclusion that someone or some people at Honda thought that the name ‘Today’ was a good name. Now as names go it’s not entirely bad, it sounds up to date because well, it’s today and today is up to date. However, riddle me this Batman…why then did they design it to look like Yesterday?
The Today has been in the Honda lineup for many years and the current model is a continuation of the earlier designs. The idea it seems is a modern take on a retro design theme. I have to say they’ve been reasonably successful with this 2008 model as it manages to look both cute old school and fairly modern at the same time. This is more difficult than one would imagine…just ask General Motors. The Today Motorino uses a newly developed 50cc four stroke engine that claims ultra low emissions and solid fuel economy. We returned 2.5L/Litre which is about as good as it gets in a 50cc bike and our current top result. This is hardly a surprise as all modern Honda’s are both clean and economical, they may not be able to win a Formula 1 race of late but they sure can build a good scooter engine.
Our test bike still ran restriction so wasn’t the fastest 50cc bike we’ve tested, most owners remove this restriction equipment during the first service. It’s a funny one as nearly everybody does it and rightfully so, although it’s not technically legal. It also depends on which country you live in as Moped rules vary from place to place. Nevertheless the Today 50 is powerful enough in standard trim to get you around town in fine form. Like most 50cc bikes it is really just hills that slow you down. The engine and drive train are nicely matched and give the scooter reasonably brisk starts from traffic lights considering the bike is restricted. Unfortunately the brakes are drums front and rear so stopping is never going to be a strong point on the Honda Today. There is good lever feedback and modulating your stopping speed is simple, but I still question the longevity and overall stopping power of the twin drums. Given that a fair portion of 50cc bikes run a front disc it’s surprising to see them missing on a Honda.
Handling wise the Today is a joy to ride, it reminds me of the old 1988 Jog actually, very light and easy to throw into corners. Ten inch wheels mean the scooter is a tad sensitive to bumpy roads but it’s certainly not a big issue as the Today 50 runs excellent suspension for such a low priced bike. I imagine the Today will turn in a good lap time on our test track in the near future.
Ease of use with the Today is a mixed bag, the bike only weighs in at 71kg so it’s very easy to move around and get on and off the centre stand. There’s a remote switch on the ignition to open the under seat storage area so you won’t have to continually use the key; something all bikes should have by now. The under seat storage area won’t quite fit a large open faced helmet which is a shame as it certainly makes the bike less convenient if you prefer a full face helmet. There’s a grocery hook up front but no glove box so storage can be a little tight, however there’s always the option of a top-box if more space is needed.
Summing up the Honda Today Motorino 50; all together the Honda Today is a very solid scooter and one that will be hard to pass up next to many of its competitors. Honda's decision to produce this low priced model in China to compete directly in price with the vast array of Chinese built bikes seems to have been the perfect choice. It’s certainly better built than nearly all bikes in its price range and Honda have gone to some reasonable effort to give the bike a modern yet classic design. It’s a fun bike to ride and very easy to live with. If I was shopping for a 50cc bike of this caliber I’d be looking at the SYM Mio 50, Vmoto Milan 50 and the Honda Today 50. One thing you know for sure, the Honda will run forever. I liked this bike so much I’ll twist Honda’s arm and see if we can add one to our long term fleet.
Manufacturer Specifications
Comments
(12)
 written by samgab , November 27, 2008
Mark, when you talk without knowing what you're talking about, you just sound stupid. Try looking on the Honda JAPAN website at the latest Honda Today specs, and you'll see that the latest Honda Today over there is indeed FUEL INJECTED, and is also rated at 3KW in the specs, and it has a bigger dash with a fuel guage. I've seen the photos. So next time, check your facts, or you'll continue to sound foolish.
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http://translate.google.co.nz/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.honda.co.jp/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search?q=honda+japan&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=IKU report abuse
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 written by mark tyndale , October 12, 2008
your talking shit mate there is no fuel injected 2008 honda today, this review is the 2008 honda today. IT CLEARLY STATES 2.8KW NOT 3 and i have it sitting at home it is carburated BOOYEH
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written by SamG , October 11, 2008
Well, I have the Honda Today as in this review, the 2007 4-stroke version. I'm finding it a bit gutless for the hilly parts of Auckland. Up the steep hills in Hillsborough it slows right down to 30kph. I went to Scootling in Arch Hill and got some lighter 5gm weight rollers put in at the same time as the 1000km service. That, I hope, will keep the revs a bit higher when the speed drops, and might keep it up above 40kph... We'll see. I just saw on the Japanese Honda site that the 2008 Honda Today has fuel injection, and a fuel gauge in a bigger speedo dial. That's a much needed improvement! It drives me crazy not having a fuel gauge, just a light. I'll be interested to see if my economy is impacted at all by the lighter rollers. Incidentally, the fuel injected 2008 Today is more powerful (3kw instead of 2.8kw) and more economical. 73km/l up from 65km/l in test conditions at 30kph.
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 written by mark tyndale , September 11, 2008
i recently bought a honda today same as the one in this review. the review is quite accurate in terms of speed i did 57-58kph top speed. its weird cause u put your head down low and the bike holds its power up hill even, i dont drop below 50kph even on relatively steep inclines(i weigh 75kgms). brakes feel solid i wish u guys would stop knocking twin drums. they are basic but very effective especially in the wet. bikes power kicks in from 40kph to 55kph u can definately feel it pick up pace almost like a mini v-tec.(very mini).great fuel economy i love this scooter :) ring a ding ding
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 written by Hugo Fernandes , August 19, 2008
Great bike, lot´s of fun and fuel economy.
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 written by patrick , May 02, 2008
I live in Seoul, South Korea, and here in concrete jungle the Honda Today is king.
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If you're looking a scooter to launch you into orbit, blow everyone out of the water off the line and leave them choking on dust - this is definitely not the bike for you. (It has a very modest take-off and tops out just shy of 60kph.) But if you want to corner on a dime, sneak passed anything and everything stuck at a stop light and park where ever the heck you want. The Today will do the trick. I've been really impressed by the build quality and how smooth the scooter runs. It uses so little gas it's easy to forget the last time you filled the thing up. Obviously, this is not the end all be all of scooters, but in the right situation (for me, dense urban traffic that rarely pushes 60kph) the Today is pretty much the bee's knees. report abuse
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 written by Del Fuego , April 30, 2008
I wouldn't recomend any 50cc scooter for an 80km zone... that is asking for trouble. Around town we had no real trouble with traffic lights etc... no more than most other 50cc machines anyway.
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 written by mr v , April 19, 2008
It's a four stroke.Regarding brakes, let's be honest I have tried and tested them,distance to stop not sure but they are ok actually quite capabale for drums.
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Scooter it self is amazingly capable at handling high speeds.I have ridden few scoots before but this little Honda takes the cake!It may have been assembled in China but Japanese quality is 100%.I have seen on Jap sites upgrades avalible for new forks with disk brakes but one thing at the time ;)Cheers report abuse
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 written by Ant Stead , April 17, 2008
Sounds awesome, but is your scoot two-stroke or four? This latest version from Honda is four-stroke, while many of the previous models were two-stroke. 100km/h with drum brakes, your nuts! Go somewhere safe, and measure the distance it takes you to stop from 100km/h. Let us know.
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written by mr v. , April 15, 2008
I have had honda today for about four years now and just recently have decided
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to get more power from it. Initialy i was going to go and get a new faster scooter but i dont like to give up on things that easy plus spending extra 3grand was a bit too much. I did some reaserch on performance parts for Today 50 and found quite a few from japanese tuners like Kitaco and Takegawa. I opted for Takegawa 81cc big bore kit with performance cam,20mm keihin carb,race forged piston,54% higher gearing and got it delivered to my door for only $700,now all that seems quite reasonable for the price.Friend of mine who is also a mechanic installed the kit with no difficulties at all but it did took him 5-6 hours though. He charged me only $150.I know...(GOOD MATE)!!For $850 spend now little Today absolutley flies,had it up too 100km/h,yes 100km/h easy and accelaration it gets there is a no joke it's really quick. Brakes are drums but they are not that bad as what they all say.I think they will do the job just fine.Im still running standard exhaust and old streched belt but that will change soon and who knows...you might be driving down the motorway and then suddenly you will be passed by me on the little Honda Today.:D ;D ;D ;D report abuse
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now u say 2009 is? get your facts right!!
i got 2008 honda today and guess wat......wait for it...IT HAS 2.8KW not 3kw. maybe the 2009 one has wat u say it has...but MATE...u said 2008....only reason u were wrong...have a nice day....cheese face. :) ps: your a tool