Quality Assurance: 1970 Honda QA50
If last week’s two wheel Tuesday Honda Z50 was too fancy for your kid (or you), Honda also had something more basic for the junior rider. The QA50 was an offroad-only mini that could as easily be picked up and carried as easily as it could be ridden and it would fit in the trunk of mom & dad’s car. Honda made thousands of them, but QA’s are rarely seen in other than “beaten to death by kids” condition. Find this 1970 Honda QA50 for sale in West Seattle, WA for $500 via craigslist.
One would think that the QA50 and Z50 would use the same 50cc engine, but the QA had a different OHV single equipped with a two speed automatic transmission. This one apparently needs a new ignition coil, so I doubt it runs. It also needs new brakes. Plus you will have to try to come up with replacements for its funky plastic fenders.
Unlike the Z50 Monkey that could be ordered with road equipment and registered in some states, the QA50 was strictly off road. Equipped with tiny knobby tires it could be ridden on trails, but the lack of suspension would make it painful on anything but smooth trails. The ad bike doesn’t have its knobby tires anymore, the current wheels and tires look like something from Home Depot.
Photo: Honda
The rest of the ad photos were crappy and not worth the effort to put them in this post, but I found this neat Honda advert from 1973 that gives you a side by side comparison of the Z50 vs. the QA50. The QA is a much more elemental ride than the Monkey.
See a better way to be quasi-moto? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Gianni is Daily Turismo’s Pacific Northwest correspondent. His best friend in 4th grade had a QA50. It was beat.
Hardtail bike = softtail rider.
The youth today ride hoverboards and text.
We rode mini bikes and got out info from hanging out at 7-11.
The glory days of loitering outside the convenience store are long gone.
Do you remember hanging out in front of the 7-11 and reading the autotrader print ads? Those were good times. Classic Corvettes for $5000…slurpee for a buck.
I remember when a Slurpee was 25 cents and they (the guy behind the counter, who was American born) served you. The cup had no lid, and was a collector cup with some super hero on it. What they gave you is what you got, and you liked it and didn't complain. They had grape, lime, orange and cola flavor, that's it. That was 1976. Those were the days!
Can't understand why these 50cc motorbikes are so collectible and valuable. Only 10 years ago you could pick them up for $100 and then suddenly they were advertised for $1500. Are people really paying that for an old motorized bike? Or is it like the $50,000 1957 Chevy's you see advertised all the time and you know they are never going to sell it at that price.
Another mini bike is the Scat Kitty pretty rare and has cast Aluminum frame a friend has one and he lives yup West Seattle. I had a Little Indian mini bike but the Rupp was the caddy in American
mini's sure there are other's Taco, Bird many that have gone the way of the DO DO Bird.
Ha, I had a blue z50 when I was a teenager. I was about 2 feet too tall to ride it comfortably, not that that stopped me.
qa50's and z50's and ct70's are what it's all about, they are awesome, the other minibikes like rupps and all that were dumb in comparison just like the chinese bikes of today doodlebugs and what not. They still have z50's brand new in japan and they're 3500 bucks so one of these restored for 1500 is a good deal