Testing SOD-1 Plus in an old Honda Cub 50cc

My father-in-law has a 28 year-old Honda Cub 50cc scooter which he used for years to deliver kimonos around his home town of Hita here in Japan. His business was renting kimonos for weddings and other such special occasions. When he retired last year he suggested I use the Honda since he was not going to be doing any more deliveries.

I usually ride a 900cc Vulcan Classic bike around Kyushu, but for short shopping trips and rides down to the local beach I thought it worth agreeing to take the Honda. Then it occurred to me – why not use the Honda to test the effect of SOD-1 Plus? Over the years the Honda had rarely been serviced. In fact it was in such poor condition that it could barely climb even the most gentle hill!

I took it to D1 Chemical where the chief mechanic, Mr Ono, took the engine apart. Inside it was very dirty. Carbon sludge had built up within the cylinder. The carburetor was so badly worn that we tried to replace it, but the scooter being 28 years old there are no more carburetors available. Modern Honda Cubs use a fuel injection system. Ono-san had to repair the carburetor as best he could. The result was excellent (he is a genius mechanic), and the scooter was running well.

We examined the disassembled engine and took photos of the piston, then added SOD-1 Plus at a 10% ratio to new engine oil. I took the bike back to my home in Itoshima and rode it around, including a trip to the island of Himeshima in Oita Prefecture on Culture Day, a public holiday. After all that I racked up 120 kilometres of riding, and we took the scooter back to D1 Chemical to examine the effect of the SOD-1 Plus on the piston.

The result was as we had expected: the piston rings were now clean, and the encrusted sludge on the piston head had been reduced. Bear in mind that this had happened after only 120 kms of riding. We took a video of the whole exercise which you can see here on YouTube under the title of ‘An ancient Honda Cub using SOD-1 Plus.’