If it’s small and it comes from Honda, you can bet your Dollar Steady Garage will eventually surpass it. The Californian automaker is famous for its wild Honda Ruckus and Grom styling, and stocks a surprising amount of scooter and minibike parts. So it’s not surprising that the first custom Honda Motocompacto we’ve seen comes from the Steady team.
Recently released by Honda, the Motocompacto is the all-electric re-release of the beloved, legendary and ultimately short-lived Honda Motocompo. Manufactured from 1981 to 1983 and sold only in Japan, the Motocompo was a 50 cc bike. motorcycle Can be folded to fit in the trunk of a car. It was aimed at commuters who had to park far from work as a ‘last mile’ solution but it never caught on.
The new Honda Motocompacto brings the original Motocompo concept into the modern age, with an electric powertrain capable of reaching a top speed of 24 km/h [15 mph] and the maximum range is 19 km [12 miles]. Initial reviews have been positive and the battery-powered scooter is said to be selling like hotcakes.
The Honda Motocompacto’s small, appliance-like profile is perfectly suited to its intended use—but that doesn’t stop the Steady Garage. When the Motcompacto shows up, the boys can’t resist the urge to mess with it.
“Everyone at the store loves to play and tinker with new toys, especially Honda toys,” said Kevin Dunn, co-founder of Steady. “Since it had two wheels, was small, and looked cool right out of the box, we knew we had to build a few of them and co-design some of the parts with Chimera Technique [Steady’s go-to parts fabricator].”
“We named it ‘Moto Distracto’ because all the engineering staff in the shop dropped everything we were doing and spent a lot of time on R&D for it, distracting us from our work. daily work.”
The Steady team had a lot of ideas for the Motocompacto, but at the top of their list was the idea of slapping a fat rear tire on it (relatively speaking, of course). It may seem like a strange thing to get hung up on, but the big rear wheel is a central part of the Steady’s history.
“Our passion for mini motorbikes and scooters started with the Honda Ruckus,” Kevin explains. “Back in 2007, having a fat rear wheel on a Ruckus was unheard of in America. We saw that Tokyo Parts was doing them in Japan, but in the United States, no one had completed them successfully at that time.”
“Most people who own a Ruckus want one—it’s a way to set the scooter apart from everything else. Through some trial and error we got some work done and created a complete 150cc engine swap with a ‘fat’ rear wheel option for the market. This completely changed the direction of Ruckus construction in the United States.”
“When Honda announced that they were launching an electric version of the Motocompo, our team had every intention of equipping the bike with a fat rear wheel. It was a way for us to evoke the nostalgic times of the pre-2010 era.”
Given its size, there’s not much space around the Motocompacto’s rear wheel. Steady and Chimera worked together, designing and machining a burly new swingarm that Kevin says took a lot of effort to pull off. The wide rear wheel comes from a go-kart and is made from magnesium.
Chimera also machined a new rear axle, which not only matches the kart wheel to a custom swingarm, but also provides cable-actuated disc brakes. (It will provide more stopping power than the OEM drum brake, although we doubt the Motocompacto needs it.)
The other obvious change is the new side profile of the Motocompacto. Created from the ground up by Chimera, they are modeled after the MOLLE webbing system used by the military, providing a flexible way to carry extras on your commute of up to 12 miles.
Next, Steady removed the Motocompacto headlights and replaced them with super bright LED lights from Baja Designs. The OEM unit is recessed into the front of the bodywork, but the Steady’s design is bolder, with a custom-made ‘nacelle’ covering above the lights. Finishing touches include leather trim on the grips and seat, CNC-machined grip tips and motorsport-inspired graphics.
Kevin assures us that this is just the beginning of Moto Distracto’s transformation. As we head into summer, Steady Garage will be busy with a variety of events and activities—but the next phase of the project is already being planned when the dust settles.
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