More than two years ago, in our “Dream motorcycles for sale” section, we last talked to you about the unique CT Motra. What we could not imagine then was that, most likely, at that time the Japanese brand would already be devising a way to recover these acronyms. Now, after the leak of some images from the Australian patent registry, we can confirm that this idea is in the works.
Not only that; Honda could be considering the possibility that the 21st century Motra would end up being marketed in a gasoline version and also a plug-in version. If true, the acronym “e-Motra”would become part of the brand’s catalog sooner rather than later. Having said all this, we wonder why Honda has decided to remove from the trunk of memories a model that at the time was a true commercial fiasco.
CT Motra from 1982: a little history
At the end of the last century, iconic models such as this Honda CT50 Motra were developed, which we could consider the grandmother of the current Zoomer. Its name is the result of an acronym resulting from motorcycle and the Japanese word for “Truck” (truck), “Torakku”. With a rough, almost rural image, the brand offered us at the beginning of the eighties of the last century, a model with marked off-road qualities.
Its engine, a 49 cc 4-stroke single-cylinder, was associated with a 3-speed transmission and high/low stages, with three short and three long gears. The brand then declared 4.5 HP of final power at 7,500 rpm and 4.5 Nm of maximum torque at 5,500 revolutionswith a maximum speed of 30km/h. With 76 kilograms of weight in running order that CT50 Motra managed to homologate a average consumption of just 1 l/100 km.
The Motra was only on sale for two seasons. The reason is none other than the poor commercial reception it had among the fans of the moment. “Numerically, the Motra was a dismal failure, missing sales forecasts of around 45,000 units annually. It is believed that only about a tenth of that amount was sold… between 1982 and 1983.”they explain from Australian Motorcycle.
Honda could be working on a “Motra 3.0”
The oceanic environment has been precisely one of the first to echo the registration of patents by Honda, before the corresponding Australian body, regarding the design of a new Motra in version 3.0. To tell the truth, we would be talking about two variants with clear structural modifications based on their propulsion system. In any case, whether gasoline or electric, the general configuration of the model remains faithful to its original design.
This consists of a simple tubular steel chassis, single-cylinder engine (in the case of the combustion variant), conventional front fork, rear side shock absorbers and the characteristic luggage racks at both ends. On this occasion the mechanics would be 125 cc, inherited directly from the C125, Monkey or Grom. For its part, the “e-Motra” dispenses with the swingarm of the conventional version.
In your case it “replaces with a motor system integrated into the swingarm that seems taken directly from the e-CUV electric scooter”as confirmed by AMCN. Finally, they point out that “Given that the e-CUV has similar performance to a C125 Super Cub and costs about the same, the electric Motra is likely to be directly comparable to the internal combustion engine version in both price and power.”
