1980 Yamaha QT50 Yamahopper. Owner: Kathleen Daly, Atascadero, California.
Looking in Cycle magazine?s ?1980 Buyers Guide,? the Motorized Bicycles section has more than 20 bikes listed. Most of them are a hair under 50cc, making them eligible in many states for young teenagers without driving licenses. The Yamahopper blurb reads, ?Despite its low price the ?Hopper is equipped with turn signals, Autolube oil injection, solid state CD ignition, front and rear luggage carriers, and drum brakes at each end.? The magazine does not list the ?low price,? but the owner of this 1980 model, who bought it new, remembers paying $600 for two, one for her and one for her husband.
There was a serious energy crisis in the 1970s, with gas prices going way up, and many motorcycle manufacturers thought they could take advantage of this by producing small motorbikes that not only sipped fuel, but also cost very little. Instead of driving that big gas-guzzling V-8 to the market on a sunny day, one of these 135 mpg vehicles would do?presuming one put a big basket on the luggage rack to hold the groceries. This was a no-pedal (noped) machine, with fixed footrests and a kickstarter. The chassis begins with a skeletal frame, officially labeled as a ?steel tube underbone, as simple as they come.? A well-bent tube came down from the steering head and stayed low for step-through efficiency (especially for a lady in a dress), then rose up to support the seat. A single seat sufficed, as this was a one-p...