There was a 50cc racing class in the 60's including would you believe Isle of Man 50cc TT races.The Japanese manufacturers -Honda and Suzuki in particular- were emerging as major players in the motor cycle markets in Europe and the US and they used the 50cc class as a laboratory for their engineering.
They produced engines revving upto 20,000 rpm and producing amazing power for their size.Some were producing over 320bhp per litre at a time when F1 engines were only producing 100-150 bhp per litre.
The 50cc engines were twins with DOHC and 4 valves per cylinder and Honda apparently had a 4cylinder 50cc engine under development when the governing body changed the rules and the manufacturers walked away.
I was really fascinated by these bikes at the time and remember eagerly reading and re-reading the English Motor Cycle magazine's TT issue ( I can't remember the year) with great cutaways of the Honda 50cc engine.
I was so taken with the Hondas that I bought a new Honda bike when they really were really an untried brand in the UK and my friends were riding BSAs and Triumphs or heaven forbid Vespa scooters.They initially thought that I was crazy but it was well priced,quick,reliable,economical and it did not leak oil .
See Honda 50cc and Suzuki 50cc for some interesting background and photos on these extraordinary racing bikes.
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