There are a few over in a junkyard near boulder i'm going to take a look at, and pick up most likely. I've never dealt with a Belt driven/variated moped before and wondered if maintenance as well as taking apart and rebuilding the engine was as finicky as a french bike.
any hints would be greatly appreciated, thanks
check it.
hobbits are arguably the best mopeds ever made. Once you get the hang of the "difficult" to access carb you'll really love them. They have a carb like you've never seen before. It has no slide, instead a butterfly door that opens and closes. some people whine about how hard they are to work on.. here are some pros and cons.
PROS:
They are dual variated (meaning a static engine placement, no pivot like the french)
Have cast iron cylinders
Case induction with huge reeds
17" wheels
incredible electronics, points that never die and rarely need re-timing, great lighting.
Stock 12mm carb and reeds are good for 55mph+ and once you get them right, they are rock solid.
CONS:
proprietary controls (not magura, domino, etc.. however, use super generic cable ends on the levers if you use a knarp on the wheel side.)
hard to access carb which is very intimidating to novices. Its made by Keihin, a massive O.E. manufacturer.
brakes are generally a laugh
cranks are pretty brittle once you reach like level 7...
Bas gas mileage...
From 1978-1979 they were called the Hobbit. they came in RED (PA50-1) and YELLOW (PA50-II). the red ones are slow, the yellow ones are fast. *there are a few slow yellow ones out there, i've seen them.
however, in 1980-1983, they dropped the hobbit name and are all called PA50. They are all PA50-II spec, meaning the 30mph FAST stock version. Always check the year.
If you are worried because you own a RED 78-79, dont fret. You just need a PA50-II reedblock, intake and carb.. cylinder (unless you're throwin on a kit!) and the outermost variator ramp plate to make it PA50-II spec. you'll need to dremel out that plate a little bit so it can slide on but thats no big deal. Or, PA50-II complete motors are common on ebay and sell for less than $100 usually. Watch out for the variator weight guides.. they are made out of plastic and frequently break, making the variator weights unable to open all the way therefore not hitting top speed.
There is a massive aftermarket following for Honda Caminos (same thing) in Europe, lots of fun videos to watch on Youtube. caminotuning.be is a cool site if you love to read through translators.. Hobbits and Caminos are from Belgium, not Japan!
Hobbits are naturally VERY powerful.. with a Proma Circuit ($110 @ TreatsHQ) you'll have a bolt on 8 mph increase, with no jetting change nessesary. This makes your hobbit a legit 36-38 mph with just a bolt on pipe. Then buy a kit, upjet to a 90 and have a legit 45mph bike that RIPS up to speed. Mod the variator walls and get another 10mph. Get some reeds and have some better throttle response and midrange. All of this on the stock carb. A new carb wont give you any more top speed unless you're into some level 8 or 9 shit, with a motomatic pipe ya know?
55 redonkulously reliable mph for under $300. Bonus.
Many people have told me that riding a hobbit is like riding nothing else. The level of whimsy and speed and smoothness and fun is unrivaled by any other ped and i agree. Plus, they are cheap as fuck to make fast and are by far the most reliable of all peds that i can think of. its a honda!
so.. scoop them alllll up! i wish i had like 10 more hobbits to mess with, my stash is depleted.
Hey, thanks for the info and opinions, Peter. Good stuff.
I just picked up a couple of these mofos. I'm addicted.
I want one for my next bike.
do it justice, best bikes out there. i have four and i love them all equally.
Great write up Peter. since I now know e50's inside and out, im ready to move onto honda tech. and start messing with this one I just picked up for $50(!).
It's a red 78, so I guess im on the lookout for those PA50II upgrade parts.
Personally enjoyed reading that. Awesome, Peter.
Damn, now I kinda want one...
you should also put this in the wiki
hey peter... shhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ah nevermind its to late. hobbit bandwagon 09
;)
so...what are your thoughts on that malossi phbg conversion kit thing?
honesty? i think its a total rip off but i'm a hacker and a dreamer. it retains the bad stock location, has a totally bogus carb-topper slider solution, and the choke lever they provide is a joke.
honda gifted us with tons of meat on the stock intake so using your dremel to open it up to a size like 21mm isnt a big deal. then, you can go ahead and use a stock Puch header flange and about 2-3 inches of the stock pipe (maxi 19mm, magnum 21mm) and it bolts right onto the honda intake. this hooks the carb to the outside of the frame with a little help from some bent hose. meaning its alllll good to have an outside access carb. Oh, and your new 19-21mm intake and shit cost you nothing, just an hour of your time, and you can use whatever spigot mount carb you like. The hardest part of the entire thing is making a throttle cable! This is the setup Matt Aberle from GR used with his 18mm PHBG to blast everyone at FlockYeahII.
here are some out of frame carb setups i have built in the past:
matts hobbit was fucking epic. so awesome.
Don't forget they're comfortable for the over 6 foot crowd with the long seat and pull hills good thanks to the variator.
Dang... I remember a year ago when most people weren't interested in em... Everyone was on a rigid puch kick or some such... Now it's all Hobbits and Derbis...
Cool for me though, got a garage full of em and I'm onto Hobby build number 3. Who's got a line on the 'DMP Green' performance crank. Those dutch tuners won't email me back.
HOBBITS SUCK DONT GET 1 ha
Casey B one of the OG TBS guys with me had a PA50II. It did a legit 40 MPH with a variator mod and a Proma Circuit... That was crazy back in 2000...
hey sean i know your reading this prepare to be blasted
I'm with you matt... hobbits suck.. you don't want one.
I liked it better when me and peter were the only one singing praises to the H badge and everyone else was giving their hobbits away.
I fucking hate the term "dual variated." As if the action happening to the gear ratio itself were somehow different.
yea hobbit was my first bike and i only saw a few now every 1 has 1 it kinda sucks.
peter, i thought u hated me and would never respond to this, but by god thank you for that write up, Im getting down on that hobbit shit
so what is the difference between a hobbit and a camino??
fred
100$ hobbits for everyone.., I got mine.
caminos have better headlights, magura controls, and variations in luggage racks, slight body differences. etc.
justice, everyone likes their ego stroked now and again.
i cant wait to piss in your closet
sounds hot
euphemism?
Want to post in this forum? We'd love to have you join the discussion, but first: