in 1955, a little company called Nippon Gakki unveiled a 125cc 2-stroke motorcycle known as the YA-1. It won a couple of races and started selling at the blistering pace of about 200 units per month. Fast forward 57 years, and the company -- better known as Yamaha -- has gone back to its roots with the Y125 Moegi concept bike.
The Moegi looks more like a classic bicycle than most scooters, but its decidedly high-tech from the handlebars to the tires. Yamaha's engineers chose to mold the aluminum frame from die cast aluminum, resulting in a machine that weighs a mere 176 lbs.
Like its ancestor, the bike uses an air-cooled 125cc engine, although the modern low friction 4-stroke power plant uses the world's first mass production aluminum die-cast cylinder for motorcycle use. While it won't win any races, the bike is probably capable of 45 mph and the company reports that the miserly power plant couple manage as much as 188 mpg.
Let's hope the company decides to put this retrofuturistic design into production
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