iM Cubaholic EP.16: Cardboard Honda C100 Super Cub Replica

On this week of iM Cubaholic, we are featuring a Honda C100 Super Cub Replica built by a group of Engineering students out of cardboard.

In case you missed last week’s episode, iMotorbike’s weekly iM Cubaholic series covers everything about the iconic Honda Cubs. The Cub is one of the most important bikes in both the motorcycle and Honda’s history. Honda changed the way people look at riding motorcycles with the introduction of the Super cub and the ad campaign “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” back in the 1950s. Since then, Honda has sold over 100 million Cubs with a large Cub lineup/variants where some models are barely known. In this series, we cover everything from both known and unknown Cub models to their; history, specs, features and many more. Are you a Cub addict? well, this is something you wouldn’t want to miss!

Last week, we featured Honda’s Honda Super Cub 100 Million Memorial Race from 2017 with  Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa riding around Twin Ring Motegi in a pair of Honda Super Cubs. As for this week, we decided to showcase an unusual Honda C100 Super Cub Replica built out of cardboard….Yes! Cardboard!

The Cardboard Honda Super Cub C100

A team of six 3rd year engineering students from Ehime Prefectural Yawatahama Technical High School in Hachimanhama City in Shikoku, Japan built this Honda C100 Super Cub replica. Unlike any other replica, you would normally see, this piece of art is made entirely out of cardboard.

According to sources from Japan, the group built this bike back in 2018 for the 60th anniversary of the Honda Super Cub. It was even featured in Honda Japan’s official site some time back!

Looking at the build, the details on this cardboard C100 are insane. You might think there would be a metal frame or something underneath; well, almost 90% of this Super Cub’s components are made out of cardboard! Starting with the front, from the handlebar to the knee-guard, everything is out of cardboard! Look at the instrument cluster and the amount of work went into this!

The frame of the bike is made out of cardboard too! Removing the front fairing you can clearly see the underbone frame of the C100 and the air-cooled engine.

If you think that’s mindblowing, check this out! Moving to the passenger seat, the seat made out of cardboard can be lifted up to access the fuel tank just like the real bike. But here, instead of metal hinges, a set of cardboard hinges hold the seat in place.

Even the wheels and tires are made of cardboard sheets! Other than this, small details like the kicker, gear lever, brake lines, engine oil cap and even the nuts and bolts are made out of cardboard too.

We are quite not sure how long it took them to mould cardboard sheets into these shapes to match the actual components but we salute these guys for building an art inform of a machine!

This is what one of the students from the group commented on the project:

“I brought it from the school’s waste paper storage area and cooperated with a nearby shopping district. I think I used more than 50 cardboard boxes in a folded state. The difference in paper quality and thickness of the cardboard In addition, there is one layer of wavy cushion part inside and two layers of etc. Find the picture of Super Cub C100 on the Internet and find out which cardboard fits which part, hardness and ease of processing, I chose it while considering the appearance etc.”

“We made a tire first because it doesn’t burn without a vehicle shape. However, since the spokes are made of corrugated cardboard, it does not have enough strength. Sticking the kraft paper firmly with the woodworking bond increases the strength after drying. So, I got a hint of production while remaking and reinforcing. I think that I made it about 5 times until I finally supported the total weight. ”