Two generations of a classic Honda Juno scooter

Unique Ones Talking about scooters, which had become a mode of transportation after the 2nd World War, because they were considered in accordance with the economic conditions of the people at that time, which were suffering due to the war. And of course you already know that this trend was originally pioneered by the Italian duo scooter maker companies, Piaggio and Innocenti, who were successful with their respective scooters.

Here is she a metallic green the 1956 Honda Juno JB (on the left) posed along a white-colored the 1963 Honda Juno M85 (in the middle). (Picture from: OOCities.org)

It turns out that the scooter trend is not only spreading in Europe, but also across the ocean to be precise in the land of the rising sun aka Japan. So it was not surprising that at that time pioneer scooters made by Japanese manufacturers began to appear, starting from the Fuji Rabit and the Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon after the war. As we could say that the scooters made by those Japanese manufacturers above were one of the first to appear after the Italian-made scooters becoming a trend in the era.

Here is she a a white-colored the 1963 Honda Juno M85 (in the front) posed along with with its predecessor, the 1956 Honda Juno JB (in the background). (Picture from: GridOto)

Then what about other Japanese manufacturers such as Honda Motor Co.Ltd. which was later also listed as one of the Japanese manufacturers who were also exposed to this trend and unmitigated the company was made scooter production up to 2 generations, even if they don't make any profit from the sales. The story began when, in the 1950s, Soichiro Honda, the company founder of Honda, interested in producing scooters after seeing that the promising motorcycle market in that country was being dominated by the two scooter brands above, Fuji Rabit and Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon.

Here is the first Honda-production scooter, 1954 Honda Juno KA is powered by a single-cylinder 4-stroke engine with a capacity of 189 cc with 7.5 hp. (Picture from: GridOto)

In short, Honda produced its first generation scooter in 1954 under the name Honda Juno. At that time, the single red-wing logoed company was produced the Juno in two variants, namely the KA, and JB types. By design, the Honda Juno scooter looks similar to the Vespa, but has a difference, namely that the body is made large coupled with the deck was not flat.

The Honda Juno first generation headset coupled with instrument panels (unknown model or year) might be that's 1956 JB type. (Picture from: OOCities.org)

At that time, Honda described its scooter as a "future" scooter figure. Why is that? Because the Honda's scooter has been provided with some pretty good details, name it the electric-starter, height windscreen capable to protect the rider from the wind exposure, and its turn signals positioned near to the windscreen..

The first generation of Honda Juno (in pictured the JB type) has large-sized body coupled with the deck was not flat, and came in two variants, namely the KA, and JB types. (Picture from: GridOto)

Well, if you examined, the 1st generation of Honda Juno scooter could be said a tourer scooter. As for the propulsion, the Honda Juno KA is equipped with a fairly large engine, namely a single-cylinder 4-stroke engine with a capacity of 189 cc with 7.5 hp. Meanwhile, the JB types are equipped with a 220 cc single-cylinder 4-stroke engine capable of producing 9 hp.

The first generation of Honda Juno (in pictured the JB type) already provided with several features a head its time, such the electric-starter, height windscreen, and its turn signals positioned near to the windscreen. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org)

Unfortunately, even though it's equipped with a fairly large engine and a large body as well, it does not necessarily make this first generation Honda Juno last long on the market. This is because the body which is made of FRP (Fibre-Reinforced Plastic) actually makes it heavier, and in addition, the engine considered quickly overheat and the price was too expensive. So it's no wonder that the production of the first generation Honda Juno was ceased in 1955, after successfully selling about 5,856 units. 

The second generation of Honda Juno had many changes that made it look different from its predecessor, such as by removing the windshield and the design lines which looked more like the Honda Cub series. (Picture from: EnoAnderson)

But the failure of the first generation of Honda Juno above did not dampen Soichiro Honda's interest in making scooters again. Thus, the second generation of the Honda Juno was launched, and began its production in 1961. It came in two variants, namely the M80 and M85 types. The second generation of Honda Juno had many changes that made it look different from its predecessor, such as by removing the windshield and the design lines which looked more like the Honda Cub series which was successful on the market at that time.

The second generation of Honda Juno came in two variants, namely the M80 and M85 types. (Picture from: GridOto)

Then for the engine, the Honda Juno M80 is powered by a 125 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 11 hp, while the M85 type uses a 170 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 12 hp power. It was like experiencing deja vu, this second generation of Honda Juno met the same fate as its predecessor which was also unable to reap success in the market, and during its production period from 1961 to 1963 only 5,880 units were sold.

The second generation of Honda Juno is powered by by a 125 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 11 hp for the M80 type, while for the M85 type used a 170 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 12 hp power. (Picture from: GridOto)

By looking at the failure of those 2 generations of Honda Juno mentioned above, the Executive Vice President of Honda then, Kihachiro Kawashima, called it an extraordinary failure for the company. However, that is part of the journey that has been passed by a successful company that is now transformed into one of the Japanese industrial giants that not only produces motorcycles and cars, but has also ventured into many other advanced things such making private jets, robots, etc. 

Kept spur your adrenaline on the power of two-wheeled monster and stay alive with the true safety riding. God will forgive Your sins and so does the cops....... *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | HONDA | GRIDOTO | WIKIPEDIA | OOCITIES ]

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