朝日新聞社
ホンダ・モンキー１２５ｃｃで復活？ 「反応見て判断」
ホンダは２５日、東京モーターショーの報道公開で、参考出展車として「モンキー１２５」を披露した。惜しまれながら今年８月で生産が終了した原付きバイク「モンキー」の後継車の位置づけで、来場者の反応をみながら生産を検討するという。
「モンキーはホンダの遊び心。生産中止のままでよいはずはない」（広報）と狙いを話す。排ガス規制の強化で５０ｃｃでの生産は終了した。そこで、同社の１２５ｃｃの「グロム」をベースにし、車体は一回り大きくなりながらも、モンキーらしさを追求した。
全長よりも高いと思わせる縦横のバランスや、シートが車体の一番上にあるように見える配置で、タンクも小さくした。一方で、ディスクブレーキや倒立サスペンションを採用し「排気量が大きくスピードも出るので、より走りを楽しめるようにした」と、デザイン室チームリーダーの立石康さん（４９）は話す。
また、生産台数が累計１億台に達し、来年で発売から６０年となるスーパーカブも展示されている。１９５８年に発売された初代モデルや、自転車のようなペダルがついていてこぐことができるモデル、最新のコンセプトモデルなどが並ぶ。（神澤和敬）
（朝日新聞デジタル 2017年10月25日 22時42分)
関連ニュース
(朝日新聞社提供)
▼画像集が開きます▼
名画に登場するバイク
Easy Rider (1969)(01 of15)
A landmark in American film history and the quintessential 1960s counter-culture film, Easy Rider sees freewheeling bikers Captain America (producer and co-writer Peter Fonda) and Billy the Kid (director and co-writer Dennis Hopper) riding their choppers through the American South, heading for New Orleans. The bikes used in the film were used Harley-Davidson Hydra-Glides, modified by African-American chopper builders Cliff Vaughns and Ben Hardy. Culturally, of course, the film is also responsible for turning Steppenwolf\'s Born to be Wild into the unofficial biker anthem it is today.
The Great Escape (1963)(02 of15)
The Great Escape contains what is arguably cinema\'s most celebrated motorbike scene, in which Steve McQueen\'s Hilts (aka The Cooler King) jumps a section of barbed-wire fence on a motorbike, thereby eluding his Nazi pursuers. McQueen was a noted speed-freak (indeed, the scene was added to secure his participation in the film) and he did his own riding, but the actual jump was performed by McQueen\'s friend, stunt man Bud Ekins. The motorbike was a Triumph TR-6 Trophy 650CC, a modern-looking bike in 1963, which was modified to look like a German-made BMW R75.
The Wild One (1953)(03 of15)
“What are you rebelling against, Johnny?” “Whaddaya got?” Such was the impact of The Wild One on release that it was officially banned in the UK for 14 years by the British Board of Film Censors. More than half a century on, that seems absurd and the antics on display barely even qualify as the BBFC\'s much-derided “mild peril” - indeed, the film is now a PG. However, at the time, Marlon Brando\'s leather-clad biker gang leader (astride his 650cc Triumph Thunderbird) represented a sexually charged symbol of youthful rebellion, funny-looking hat or no funny-looking hat.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)(04 of15)
“I need your clothes, your boots and your mo-tah-cycle.” The mo-tah-cycle in question, purloined from a suitably gobsmacked biker, is a 1990 Harley Davidson FLSTF Fatboy, which the reprogrammed T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) promptly uses to catch up with young John Connor (Eddie Furlong), who\'s being pursued on a dirt-bike by advanced killing machine the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), driving a giant truck. The mother of all chase scenes ensues, culminating in a spectacular sequence in the Los Angeles storm drains.
Electra Glide in Blue (1973)(05 of15)
A 70s cult classic that gained belated exposure in the UK thanks to its appearance on Alex Cox\'s much-loved Moviedrome, Electra Glide in Blue stars Robert Blake as a motorcycle cop who enjoys a short-lived promotion to Homicide, before falling foul of hostile workplace politics and being demoted back to Traffic Enforcement. The film takes its name from the model of motorcycle issued to traffic cops and the bike featured in the film is a Harley-Davidson Shovelhead FL Electra Glide.
World's Fastest Indian (2005)(06 of15)
Like The Straight Story, but faster, Roger Donaldson\'s delightful feel-good drama tells the true story of New Zealand pensioner Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins, terrific), who travels to America with his 1920 Indian Twin Scout motorbike, enters the 1967 Speed Week event at Utah\'s Bonneville Salt Flats and ends up setting several speed records, one of which still stands to this day. Amongst the films many highlights: Bert challenging a local biker gang to a race on the beach. The film used two replicas of the 1920 Indian Scout, as well as two modified Italian-made Ducatis for the racing scenes.
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)(07 of15)
Set in 1952, Walter Salles\' beautifully shot road movie-slash-biopic sees 22 year old medical student and future revolutionary Ernesto \'Che\' Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) embarking on an eye-opening 8 month-long trip across South America with best friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), the pair of them perched on a beaten-up 1939 Norton 500 motorbike nicknamed La Poderosa (The Mighty One). The production used several restored Norton International motorbikes, as well as a handful of modern Suzuki bikes for stunt scenes, though Salles claimed that the older British bikes were more reliable.
Girl on a Motorcycle (1968)(08 of15)
Directed by Jack Cardiff and based on the novella La Motocyclette by André Pieyre de Mandiargues, this erotic slice of 60s psychedelia became the 6th most popular movie on general release in Britain during 1968. Released in the US under the more provocative title Naked Under Leather, the film stars a smoking hot Marianne Faithfull as a newly-married woman who hops on her trusty Electra Glide (symbolising freedom and escape) and zips across France to visit lover Alain Delon, indulging in various fantasy reveries along the way. The film is also notable for popularising Faithfull\'s full body leather suit.\n
The Dark Knight (2008)(09 of15)
Conceived primarily as an attempt to top “wow factor” of the Tumbler from Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan and production designer Nathan Crowley came up with the Bat-Pod, a two-wheeled vehicle that detaches from the Tumbler and comes equipped with machine-guns, rapid-fire cannons and grappling hooks. The production built a working, full-scale model of the bike from scratch (complete with 20 inch-wide wheels) and it proved so difficult to ride that stuntman Jean-Pierre Goy commented that he had to “nearly un-learn how to ride a motorbike” in order to master it.
Kill Bill – Volume 1 (2003)(10 of15)
Quentin Tarantino\'s “roaring rampage of revenge” derives a good part of that roar from the yellow Kawasaki ZZR 250 that Uma Thurman\'s Beatrix Kiddo (aka The Bride) zips about on as she seeks bloody vengeance on her former colleagues. The film also spawned a thousand Halloween costumes, thanks to The Bride\'s instantly iconic (and motorbike matching) yellow and black tracksuit ensemble.
Ghost Rider (2007)(11 of15)
Based on the Marvel comic book, Ghost Rider stars Nicolas Cage as motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze, who\'s tricked into making a deal with Mephistopheles (Easy Rider\'s Peter Fonda, a nice touch) and becomes the Devil\'s bounty hunter, complete with a flaming skull for a head and a ghostly motorcycle called the Hell Cycle, that comes when he whistles. Using a heavily customised hard-tail chopper from Australia, the production team tricked out the 11-foot long bike with metal, bone and wheels that were constantly on fire (via the miracle of special effects) to make it look as hellish as possible.
Top Gun (1986)(12 of15)
If you feel the need...the need for SPEED, then you should probably try and track down a Kawasaki Ninja 900 / GPZ900R, the bike memorably ridden by Tom Cruise\'s Maverick in Top Gun. At the time of shooting, the bike was the fastest sports motorcycle in the world, though all Maverick really uses it for is giving Kelly McGillis a lift while burning along to Kenny Loggins singing Danger Zone.
Quadrophenia (1979)(13 of15)
Though not strictly a motorcycle, no list of iconic movie bikes would be complete without the kitted-out Lambretta scooter Phil Daniels\' Jimmy rides in Quadrophenia. Directed by Franc Roddam and memorably scored by The Who\'s concept album, the film paints a portrait of disaffected 1960s British youth that still resonates today. And who could fail to be moved by an anguished Jimmy yelling “You killed my scooter!” after his beloved Lambretta is totalled in an accident? Also great: Jimmy driving Sting\'s scooter off a cliff at the end.\n
Tron (1982)(14 of15)
The first major production to make extensive use of CGI, Disney\'s sci-fi adventure Tron is still celebrated for its (at the time) jaw-dropping Light Cycle scene, which features heroes Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) racing computerised bikes (check out their spectacular cornering abilities) against the forces of the evil Sark (David Warner). The bikes were created by concept artist Syd Mead, of Blade Runner fame, but the film was refused an Oscar nomination for Best Special Effects because, according to director Steven Lisberger, “The Academy thought we cheated by using computers\".
Akira (1988)(15 of15)
Set in a dystopian version of Tokyo in the year 2019 (so, like, in five years time), Katsuhiro Otomo\'s science-fiction animated thriller features one of the coolest bikes ever designed. Driven by the film\'s hero, Kaneda, the bike\'s most iconic moment is its ultra-cool sliding stop, complete with flaring tail light. Though obviously not a real-life motorbike at the time, the animated version inspired obsessed fans to create their own replicas – indeed, the first entry when you google “Akira bike” is an article entitled “The Akira Bike Is Real And We Rode It”.