This photo accompanied an article I wrote for The Daily Telegraph in 1996, when Honda UK brought in these two machines for evaluation. They were both already on sale in Japan. Sadly, Honda UK decided against bringing either of them into the UK officially, but quite a few Canopies were imported via the 'grey' market and they've been used as delivery machines all over the world. The Cabina was a really pleasant machine to ride in town - very light, narrow and nimble, but unlike the tilting, 3-wheeled Canopy, I've never seen or even heard of one being grey-imported. Ironically the Canopy used the same patented tilting system first used on the ill-fated Ariel 3 moped which was going to save the British Motorcycle industry in 1970 but sadly didn't...
Now, in 2018, Honda have just announced the re-birth of the Monkey Bike, in a much bigger 'funked up' version than the original tiny 50cc machine, to be powered by a 125 engine.
They have also announced that they will be launching electric and hybrid versions of the NCX scooter later this year, in India.
I think both these machines could be revivd and rejuvenated to good effect, in 125, hybrid and all-electric versions, preferably in more FF-ish form too! PNB
PS For trivia fans, Graham Sanderson, also pictured here, is the man who brought the Honda Gold Wing 1500 to the Top Gear TV shoot at Wroughton in 1988, and rode it alongside the Yamaha FZR1000 that I rode.