The new
millennium
Despite its popularity, Honda ceased
production of the Dax in 1999. Around this time Honda's patents on
the Dax design expired and Honda sold the production rights to
Jincheng, a Chinese motor manufacturer. Jincheng already bought the
designs of the Honda Monkey and Honda CF
Chaly, and launched their first replica at the end of the
90's under the names Panda, Funrider, Singa, Quickfoot and others.
Honda had one demand when selling the Monkey designs. Honda retained
the rights to use the Monkey moniker and to produce a new series in
small numbers of 3 models (including gorilla) every year. This
Monkey was so popular with collectors, especially in Japan, that
Honda didn't stop the production completely. Another reason
could be the huge inventory of parts for these bikes, which were
still in stock. This way they could slowly reduce these
amounts.
2 years later, Jincheng rolled out a
reproduction of the Dax/CT70 model nearly identical to the original,
which was marketed under a number of different names in different
countries. This model has almost all the specifications as the most
recent Dax. After the launch of both Monkey and Dax clones,
the distributors and end users started to complain about the poor
quality of the first series. The frames were welded badly and
finishing seemed to be an afterthought. The paint was applied in a
single thick layer, without primer and frequently bubbled and
blistered since the frames had been stored outdoors for weeks prior
to painting. Other problem areas were bad chrome plating and faulty
electrical system components. Later production was improved, and
slight changes implemented, such as the seat, which was replaced
with the nicer old style unit.. There is also a model with a front
disc brake, called the DX90, a model Honda never
produced.
The
discussion if it’s right or wrong to ride Honda clone/knockoff will
likely never be resolved. A lot of Honda lovers will
probably never accept the Chinese repops, while a majority of
youngsters looking for a trendy bike, but not a scooter, will not be
too concerned where their new CT70/Dax was manufactured. Some people
are buying the newer Chinese bikes as project bikes without dents
and rust, using them as the basis for their own custom machines,
discarding the shocks, decals, and even engines in some cases and
replacing these components with Honda and JDM aftermarket items.
We’ve seen a few add old style CT70 engine guards, giving the bike
the look of the older, classic, models. One issue looming large in
the future is that the Chinese replicas can be difficult to register
for road use. There are huge variations in registration requirements
from one country to another and even from state-to-state in the U.S.
17-digit VINs have been a U.S. federal requirement since the early
1980s and new EPA regulations may come into play. None of the
Chinese knockoff bikes can be registered in Japan, ostensibly due to
quality concerns. The positive side to this is that most parts are
interchangeable between the Hondas and the reproductions, thus parts
are certain be produced and be available for many years to come.
Almost unbelievably, Honda still offers replacement parts for their
CT/ST and Z50 models after all these years. Honda, in addition to
producing top quality, does the best job in the industry of
supporting their old models for years, even decades. There are also
new generation Honda parts available, such as engines, which
are of a superb quality standard, albeit at a higher price than
similar items from China, large displacement engines in particular.
For some that won’t matter, but you do get what you pay for and it
is reassuring to have the option of top-quality pieces.
Another important factor that keeps the CT70,
Dax and Monkey alive is the large number of collectors and owners
who like to customize and tune their bikes. In Japan this hobby is
enormous and the Japanese have shown boundless imagination
in finding new ways of customizing these bikes. This has resulted in
a proliferation of tuning/performance parts manufacturers in Japan,
like Kitaco, Takegawa, Daytona, Dragon Racing Parts along with a
number of newer, smaller companies. There is a large number of
specialty parts available from these companies such as exhausts,
tuned engines, carburetors, body parts, custom wheels, brakes,
backstep kits, engine tuning parts, transmissions, plus appearance
items. Because of the weak dollar, shipping costs, limited
production and in some cases distribution (i.e. limiting the number
of dealers) these items are not cheap or widely available for
everyone, especially in the U.S. This can make the hobby an
expensive proposition, however, it isn't in all instances.
In 2001 Honda introduced another new mini
under the name of "APE". This bike is built for the Japanese
domestic market, and some claim it is because Honda got stuck with a
large stock of CY50 and CB50 engines .One question remains, will the
original Honda Mini disappear forever after this one? Somehow, we
doubt it…
