Motorcycle ATV Technology

Video Honda Trail Origin Story Herb Uhl

I’m Herb Uhl, let’s start off in Boise Idaho. My wife at that time got hit by a car when she was riding her motorcycle and we got about 800 bucks for the damage. I fixed the motorcycle for a couple of hundred and the other five I put into the motorcycle business.

That was the start of the motorcycle business, 500 bucks. I opened my own dealership. I wanted off-road motorcycles because it was Boise Idaho, and very few people ever rode a motorcycle on the highway except to get to the hills in Boise Idaho at that time.

I wanted off-road motorcycles and so I took on Maico (m-a-i-c-o) and I they had Enduro motorcycles at that time. I know years later, Yamaha thinks they invented the name but Maico Enduros were available in 1955 – 56.

Herco h-e-r-c-o (Herb’s company) engineering was in Garden City, part of Boise. If you’re looking North it’s on the left. Simple as that.

I ordered a motorcycle, and I guess I sold a couple of them. Then the importer, Nicholas Gray, the importer at that time out of Detroit, came to see me, and he offered me motorcycles on consignment, which got me in the business. So, my total investment was $500.00.

You could ride from your house to the hills on a motorcycle without license plates. Nobody paid any attention. That’s what everybody did. Very seldom, anybody ever rode a motorcycle on the road. Well, there were a few road riders but not many.

There were a lot of dirt riders because the foothills were right there and so everybody went to the hills, and that was my interest too, I didn’t care about riding on the road. You can drive on the road, you don’t have to ride on it. And there were lots of old logging roads and old mining roads because there was a lot of mining that went on in that area. So, we explored all those old roads and rode in all kinds of places.

I ordered the first Hondas from Japan. In fact, I think I got the first Hondas that came into the U.S. A guy down in San Diego with the name of Sailor Maine also ordered about the same time. We both went into the motorcycle business.

They were actually off-road motorcycles. There was a little bitty article in Cycle World, I think at that time, that had a picture of this motorcycle. Honda, out of Japan, and everybody was wondering if the thing would be any good if it would be junk, or what it was?

It looked good to me, so I ordered a pair of them. I got them in and sold them almost instantly. I ordered more, and they wouldn’t sell me anymore because they weren’t serious motorcycles. Those were built in their race shop, and they didn’t realize that that’s what we wanted. They didn’t get the message for several years. They couldn’t understand it because we wanted motorcycles for off-road use.

When they moved to Los Angeles and set up American Honda, I was the first American dealer to contact them. That was when they were in an apartment house out on Sepulveda Boulevard. They were trying to figure out how to set up a distributorship in America. They were up in this big apartment in the apartment house.

The first bikes I got, I forget what the model was, but it wasn’t a series model. As I said, it was special. Then they came out with the CB 71, 72, and of course, the C-100, the Honda Cub. That was a little 50cc, and so as soon as they got set up on Sepulveda with American Honda in their little building front, I went down to see him. I ordered some of the Cubs and they had a little 150 as well, so I ordered some of those 150s, a couple of them, and ordered a couple of CB-72s and two or three Cubs. When they came in at Boise, I looked at those Cubs and wondered how I was ever going to sell them in Boise.

That’s when I started looking at them as, what I could do to them to make them so that people would want them. I got to looking at them and every time I walked by them, I looked down a little more and I decided that they would make a way better trail bike than the tote goats and so forth that people were using at that time.

There was a guy in Boise that built sprockets and had a machine to make sprockets. I ordered a sprocket to stick over the other one as an overlay. Then I ordered knobby tires for them because that would be necessary. It took several months for knobbies to come in for it.

I tried it out in the hills and found out that it actually worked really well, so I started building them and ordered them in. I guess I sold several hundred of them before Honda noticed that I was selling way more Honda Cubs than all of their dealers in the Greater Los Angeles area together. And these were city bikes, where they should have sold there but here I was selling them out in a little town in Idaho.

Jack McCormick from American Honda called and wondered what I was doing to sell all those little cubs because they weren’t moving. I told him to make them into trail bikes and so he said, “Send me one of them, so I can see what you’re doing.”

I sent it to him and he looked it over. They rode it around and played with it. Then they sent it on to Japan and told Japan that they wanted the exact same thing as a separate model. That was the start of the Honda Trail Bike. Of course, once Honda started building them, then all the other motorcycle companies copied Honda, and there was trail bike Yamaha, and Kawasaki, and everybody had a little trail bike of some kind. That started the ATV motorcycle business.

I was just selling motorcycles. It was just the way things were, you know, I was just selling lots of motorcycles.

(It didn’t bother you that they took your designs and made their own bike?)

No, really because it didn’t even occur to me that it was a big deal but that actually started the motorcycle-derived ATV. And that’s made the motorcycle companies more money than anything else that’s ever been done to motorcycles. That’s where it started, then the three-wheelers came, and from that then four-wheelers, and now side by sides.

In fact, if it wasn’t for that (Uhl’s trail bike design) the side-by-sides would probably say Chevy, Ford, and RAM instead of Kawasaki or Yamaha. So, that really started the off-road motorcycle business.

Getting to a little lake or something up in the mountains required a horse or a hell of a long walk. They were building little scooters with Briggs and Stratton engines on them with no suspension on either end so that they could go up into those places. They called those things “tote goats” which became a brand the company started up to build those little things. They had a piece of plywood on there with a little padding on it and covering for a seat and so forth.

I looked at that Cub and I said, “This will do a better job than that.” it was simple. Really, really simple. It was just looking at it and seeing another use for this piece of equipment that nobody was covering. There wasn’t anybody covering a proper trail bike, so I built a proper trail bike. Just by modifying that Cub and that’s all that was.

Honda never really understood the trail bike. They still don’t. And that you can tell by what they’ve done. In the first place, they didn’t realize that the seat height on the Cub had a lot to do with its appeal. The first thing they did when they designed their own, after copying mine, was to raise the seat height by about three or four inches. So, they never understood it.

They did finally understand that. Somebody told them they needed a high and low-range gearbox and they did that but they dropped it. That was the only thing that they contributed to the trail bike that really improved it, was a high/low-range gearbox.

This new one doesn’t have it. So, the new one is not a good road bike or a good trail bike. It’s neither one. What it is, is an off-road fun bike. That’s all it is. But if they’d left the high low-range gearbox in it, it would be a really good trail bike.

I made a bigger sprocket because it needed to have a lower range of gearing. I made a big sprocket that slipped on over the original and that made it a high/low-range gearing so that it could be used on the trail and that’s the way we sold them. If they wanted to use them on the road, they simply slip that sprocket off and put the chain down on the original sprocket and away you’d go. That was the main thing.

Then they had a leg shield on it and I took all that off. I took their bigger muffler off and put on a small pipe, again for clearance, and so forth. I moved the shock. The shock had to be moved at the top of the shock to give room for the sprocket to clear. I simply did that, moved the bottom of the shock out to the outside of the swing arm instead of the inside, and that gave clearance. Really, that’s all I had to do. And added the knobby tires.

They already had the trail bike. It was already in that design. They just didn’t know it.

The feedback I got from my customers was the best you can get. They were loving it and they and their friends were coming in and buying them too. Now that’s the best feedback you can get.

Special thanks to Callum Blackmore, Eric Stoothoff, and Adam Bale for helping to get the word out. Maybe someday, someone will make an even better trail bike.

Seat Height vs Ground Clearance

I was chatting with a friend about how Kawasaki has been the first motorcycle manufacturer to pay any attention to the short inseam off-road riders with their KLX230 S. (See: 3 Cheers for Kawasaki.)

That move could almost double their possible customers because most ladies and a tremendous number of men have inseams that range from 29 inches down to 26 inches.

I was mentioning that Kawasaki could redesign and make a dedicated frame for motorcycles designed for smaller adults so they could have a plush 28-inch seat height.

His next remark astounded me!

He said, “But they need all the ground clearance they have now.”

So, I replied, “What does that have to do with lowering the seat?”

I thought everyone realized that there is only one basic measurement on a motorcycle that is fixed, and all the rest can be juggled to fit the type of motorcycle you intend to build, and that measurement is your desired ground clearance.

In other words, you can design the top part of the frame to give you the seat height you need and still have the necessary ground clearance.

The example on the left is the current fixed design. Right modified for short inseam seat height.

To put it another way; the height of the seat has nothing to do with ground clearance if the upper part of the frame is designed correctly.

A good example of proper frame design for a low seat height is the Honda Rebel line.

With a very few modifications, the Rebels could be converted into proper adventure bikes for short inseam people.

Now the question is,

Will Honda make those modifications or will someone else have to do it?

Right, now, there are no adventure bikes available to roughly one-half of the world population. Most ladies and millions of short inseam men.

Currently, the most wanted style of motorcycle is the adventure bike! It is a sort of go anywhere kind of motorcycle, just like the SUV is a kind of go anywhere car.

The Swiss actually started it all with the Swiss Army Knife. Now everyone only wants to invest in a product that will do many tasks well and I don’t blame them.

Getting back to the adventure bike; only about one half of the population who want one could safely ride the models that are actually available because the seats are too tall for their short inseams.

It is just not safe to only be able to touch one toe on the street when you have to stop for a light.

Honda could easily fill that gap in the marketplace with adventure bike modifications to their Rebel line of bikes.

Herb Uhl started with the Honda 50 Cub as the base

Uhl’s Cub modifications created the best trail bike

It is almost like it was back in the 1960s. Honda had this slick little city commuter bike called the Cub with independent front suspension, but they really had nothing the average American wanted to help make use of the outdoors.

Herb Uhl (center) featured in Honda promotional materials

I was a Honda dealer at that time, and I saw a possible trail & ranch bike lurking in that Honda Cub design. I ordered a few special parts, made some parts, and had others made, and just like that, we had the best trail bike available anywhere in the world.

The Honda Rebel line is in the same state now.

The frame is correct. It simply needs spoke wheels with a 21-inch front, an independent front suspension because they don’t need excessive travel for the good ride, electronic controlled shocks, and a larger gas tank.

With those few changes, Honda would be amazed at the people waiting in line for such a bike.

3 Cheers for Kawasaki!

They are moving in the right direction. Kawasaki is the first motorcycle manufacturer to acknowledge that the other half of the world’s possible motorcycle riders even exist.

They have spent the necessary R&D time to make a properly suspended low-seat height all-purpose motorcycle that will fit most short-inseam riders all over the world.

Finally, someone is getting the idea that there is an expansive segment of riders that are not comfortable with the standard seat height of motorcycles. I have been reporting this huge oversight to the motorcycle manufacturers since Honda adopted my original design modifications for their trail bike many years ago, leading to the first two-wheeled ATV.

Enter Kawasaki’s KLX230 S for 2023 which has adopted some of the ideas I presented in my 2016 Smaller Adult Motorcycles: Long Awaited New Market Segment book. I am pleased that someone answered the call. This should lead to making the motorcycle market more accessible to riders who have waited in the wings for a more safe-feeling ride on a bike that will accommodate a shorter inseam.

The official word from the Kawasaki team is, “A deeper dive into the data showed an opportunity to satisfy more potential customers by prioritizing lower seat height. With this, we also recognized that it was critical to stay authentic to the KLX concept by offering a lower seat height while maintaining true dual-sport capability.”

They also took another look at the off-road suspension system and conducted a redesign of it to mitigate the spectrum of small bumps in the road as well as rugged off-road terrain challenges affecting both front and rear suspension.

Cycle News field tested and featured the 2023 Kawasaki KLX230 S in its January 24, 2023, issue and demonstrated its ability to enthusiastically impress an avid rider with a 31.5-inch inseam.

Following is the road test from Cycle News that tells all about it:

https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1490735-cycle-news-2023-issue-03-january-24/80?

According to the reviewer, “The KLX230 is certainly a beginner’s friend,” adding that it will appeal to advanced riders as well because, “the devil horns will pop out real quick and the progressive suspension will invite you to push harder.” Adding that, the bike will offer a thrilling experience for “more experienced riders who perhaps don’t have the mobility to throw a leg over an XR400.”

Now what Kawasaki needs to do is make a dedicated frame for their motorcycles built for smaller adults. By making this move, they can have a fully plush seat height of 28 inches and easily provide for almost all of us short-inseam people.

ADVENTURE Motorcycles for Smaller Adults

In 2016 I wrote the book, Smaller Adult Motorcycles, where I outlined what was necessary to get almost twice as many people riding and enjoying motorcycles.

The book explained that around half of the world’s population didn’t even try to ride because the most desirable motorcycles (the adventure bikes) had seats way too high for about one-half of the population to touch the ground while sitting at a stop light.

It is definitely a safety issue for a rider to slide almost off the seat to be able to touch one toe on the ground to balance the bike.

The response of the motorcycle manufacturers was interesting, so I’ll outline our progress for you. Many of them have since emphasized the low seat height on their cruisers but they mostly still have only 2 or 3 inches of suspension travel, except for Honda’s Rebel line which almost has useable suspension travel.

Harley Davidson has designed an adventure bike that squats somewhat at stop lights but you have to pay extra for that feature.

BMW and a couple of others have made a seat that has a couple of mounting positions with an inch or so difference in height.

As yet, none of the manufacturers have designed a frame architecture that could be made into a proper adventure bike for short inseam people, except Honda. Just like when I saw a proper trail bike lurking inside Honda’s Super Cub, I can see a proper adventure bike for short people lurking inside the basic frame design of Honda’s popular Rebel line.

Like before, Honda doesn’t realize that they have almost built the adventure bike for us short inseam people that we have been waiting for all these years since adventure motorcycles started. Will they do anything about it? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Honda has already developed the necessary technology, so it’d probably be a very quick redesign. First, and most importantly, they would need to make a smaller version of their Gold Wing fork to give the Rebel Adventure bike independent front suspension. That way, it would have more compliance and a better ride with just 7-inches of travel than if they had 12 to 14-inches of travel with telescopic forks.

Second, the shocks on both ends should be electronically controlled.

Third, it should have a 17-inch tubeless wire wheel on the rear and a 21-inch wire wheel on the front.

Fourth, it should have an easily adjustable seat from a 27-inch seat height to a 32-inch seat height, so that almost any member of the family can ride it just like they can drive the family car.

They already have Rebels available clear from 300cc up to 1100cc, and that should satisfy even the most power-hungry rider in the family.

If Honda made this move, I’d be surprised if they could manufacture enough of them to meet the demand

~Herb Uhl

Flat Foot Testing Motorcycles

Motorcycle testers for the various motorcycle magazines all over the world ignore one of the main considerations most people have when they are shopping for a new bike. Will it fit me?

That all starts with being able to touch the ground flat-footed while sitting on the bike. Of course, a motorcycle enthusiast will climb on a box, if necessary, to get on a bike just to get another ride so seat height means very little to him. He simply does whatever acrobatics it takes to ride it, but he will never be as good on it as he would be if it fit him.

To eventually get to be an enthusiast you first have to ride bikes that fit your body. Inseam length is the deciding factor in making a bike fit you.

In testing Honda’s Africa Twin, Cycle World magazine said: “Moreover, using a parallel twin gave the bike a narrow waist that makes it easy for the rider to get his feet flat on the ground”. That model Honda has a seat height of 33.5 to 34.3 inches. In this case, the motorcycle tester knows it’s desirable to put your feet flat on the ground when sitting on your bike, but having him assume riders have a minimum of a 34-inch inseam is not that easy to forgive. After all, I am a rider, who has a 27-inch inseam.

I recently read a short article in Cycle News online magazine about the new Beta 125 RR – S, a trail bike targeted at the new rider and the author says as follows: “It has a low 35.5-inch seat height”.

That seat height can only be low to someone with a 36 inch or longer inseam. So the bike must be made for beginners close to 6 foot or taller. It is certainly not made for the bulk of the people, both men and ladies, whose inseam’s range from around 25 to 30 inches.

To most people a 27-inch seat height would be more in the ballpark, then the majority of us could more or less sit on the bike flat-footed.

If the motorcycle testers were serious about really doing their job, they would have people with various inseam lengths sit on the bikes to test and actually see what would be the shortest inseam a rider could have and still touch the ground flat-footed. That way when you go shopping for a bike you would know which models to start looking at first.

~Herb Uhl

Feet on the Ground at Stops

As you may know, the crossover segment in the auto industry is the fastest-growing segment of their business. These cars have a little more ground clearance, all-wheel-drive usually and better visibility so they are not limited to driving on highways.

The motorcycle industry also has such a segment and they are called adventure bikes. They can be ridden on the streets, highways and almost anywhere else regardless of roads or terrain. Currently, four of the major companies are building some form of adventure bike and most of the rest are building something similar but they are not there yet.

In riding motorcycles, however, you can’t just slide the seat back and forth to fit different size bodies. The motorcycles actually have to be designed for different general leg length (inseam) so the riders can set both feet on the ground when the motorcycle is not in motion.

Problem: Because suspension technology has not progressed with the rest of the motorcycle technology the only way to currently get a smooth ride over uneven terrain is to have 12 inches to 14 inches of suspension travel on a telescopic type front fork. Thus if you intend to get a smooth ride you must have a seat height from the ground that only more or less fits about 40% of the potential motorcycle riders. Those riders must have an inseam length of 34 inches or more to safely touch the ground with both feet.

Conclusion: It is absurd that an entire industry would only cater to 40% of their available customers. It’s as if the manufacturers had a meeting somewhere and decided that all motorcycle riders have a 34 inch or longer inseam, so that’s all we’re going to build. I guess they decided anyone with less than a 34-inch inseam must be a child so we will make some basic beginner models for them and if any short adults want to ride they can stand on a stool to mount the bike or ride a children’s bike. The problem with using a stool to mount the bike is how do you have the stool at a stop light when it turns red?

There is an exception: The cruiser models. The way they made them sit lower was to take away suspension travel, rather than re-engineer the suspension to give them a good ride. One of them has just over 1 ½ inches of movement on their rear suspension rather than the 12 inches to 14 inches of movement on the best off-road bikes. As you can easily see the cruisers need roads almost as smooth as a tabletop to be able to ride them comfortably. How many roads like that are there? So the result is a 27-inch inseam cruiser rider can’t explore like a 34-inch inseam person can on an adventure bike.

Now modern materials and systems are available to get the same kind of compliance and a smooth ride with only 6 inches or 7 inches of travel.

I simply propose a complete line of smaller adult motorcycles from adventure bikes clear down to the cruisers be designed around this new technology to fit the other approximately 60% of the population. I see no reason why cruisers should have to ride like farm equipment or adventure bikes should require a ladder for the majority of people to climb on board.

Most of the rest of today’s motorcycle technology will need very little modification to satisfy these many new fans.

Herb Uhl

Smaller Adult Motorcycles: Long Awaited New Market Segment

By Herb Uhl

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In Smaller Adult Motorcycles: Long Awaited New Market Segment, Herb Uhl presents a compelling case for a neglected motorcycle industry segment that could double global motorcycle sales. Uhl, known for pioneering the ATV market segment with the invention of the Honda Trail 50, leverages his extensive experience and innovative mindset to highlight the untapped potential of smaller adult motorcycles.

Identifying the Market Gap

Uhl meticulously identifies a significant oversight in the current motorcycle market: the absence of a full line of quality bikes designed for individuals with an inseam of 29 inches or less, a demographic that includes most women and men of shorter stature. This segment, estimated to encompass around 60% of the population, represents a substantial portion of potential motorcycle buyers who are currently underserved.

A Vision for the Future

With a visionary approach, Uhl outlines the necessary steps to capitalize on this market opportunity. He argues that creating upscale motorcycles tailored to the ergonomic needs of shorter riders can attract a wealthy clientele eager to invest in high-quality, well-fitting bikes. This new segment would not only cater to the practical needs of these riders but also appeal to their desire for stylish and sophisticated transportation options.

Statistical Evidence and Market Demand

Uhl bolsters his argument with recent statistics, revealing that 18,550 people in the USA searched for smaller motorcycles in the past month. This data underscores manufacturers’ demand and urgency to address this market gap. Uhl’s detailed analysis and presentation of these figures make a strong case for the profitability and necessity of developing a full line of smaller adult motorcycles.

Engineering and Ergonomics

One of the standout aspects of Uhl’s proposal is his focus on motorcycle ergonomics. He emphasizes the importance of designing bikes that fit the physical dimensions of shorter riders and provides a high-end, comfortable riding experience. This attention to detail ensures that the proposed motorcycles would not be mere scaled-down versions of existing models but thoughtfully engineered vehicles that meet the specific needs of their target audience.

A Call to Action for Manufacturers

Smaller Adult Motorcycles is a call to action and a detailed blueprint for motorcycle manufacturers. Uhl’s expertise and credibility lend significant weight to his proposals, and his clear, well-supported arguments make it difficult for industry leaders to ignore the potential benefits of this new market segment. By highlighting the gap in the market and providing a roadmap to success, Uhl positions himself as a forward-thinking advocate for innovation and inclusivity in the motorcycle industry.

Conclusion

Herb Uhl’s Smaller Adult Motorcycles: Long Awaited New Market Segment is a visionary work addressing a glaring motorcycle industry omission. Uhl’s expertise and ability to present a well-reasoned and data-driven argument make this book an essential read for industry professionals and motorcycle enthusiasts alike. By focusing on the ergonomic needs and preferences of shorter riders, Uhl champions a more inclusive market and unveils a lucrative opportunity for manufacturers to expand their customer base and increase sales. This book is a testament to Uhl’s innovative spirit and enduring impact on the world of motorcycling.