Over time, more than a few manufacturers have tried their hands at charming underbone motorbike designs, with varying degrees of success. The most popular of all time, of course, is the Honda Super Cub—but you already knew that. Of course, you’ve already probably spotted that this little scoot is something else entirely.
It also isn’t a Yamaha TownMate, a CSC Monterey, or a Motron Cubertino. What you’re looking at is a 2000 Hyosung FX110 Midas, a tidy little late-1990s/early 2000s gasoline-powered underbone machine. It may appear pretty much as you’d expect a bike like this to seem, but it’s got a few quirks up its sleeve that you’ll see in this video from the excellent small bike and scooter YouTube channel, Small Bike Stuff.
For a start, the tiny, 99cc single-cylinder engine is a three-valve design, which isn’t very common. SBS mentions feeling that third valve in the riding portion of this video, but it’s not totally clear whether he’s serious or joking about it, and we clearly can’t offer an informed opinion of our own since we haven’t ridden one. Still, it’s an interesting thing to contemplate.
On the rear shock, you can soften or stiffen the suspension with a simple twist mechanism, offering your choice of two settings. Two stick-figure drawings illuminate the nature of the settings, so it’s easy to see whether you’re setting it up for a solo riding or pillion riding situation, no matter what language you may speak. Pictograms like this make it much easier to sell in global markets without running the risk of translation hassles and/or mistranslations—see all of Ikea’s instruction booklets for a great example.
The little FX110 came with both an electric and a kick start, which was located on the right side. You’ll also notice an absolutely massive brake pedal on that side, as well. When SBS takes the little FX110 out for a ride, it sounds quite strong and good, even above the fairly significant wind noise. This one has a rack with a top box mounted in place of the pillion seat, but a separate pillion seat was also available for this scoot when it was new.
Hyosung offered the FX110 from approximately 1998 to 2005, in various markets. SBS is located in New Zealand, as is the specific bike seen in this video. Here in the US, I’ve seen small-displacement Hyosung motorcycles on occasion, but I’m not sure whether we got many (or any) of the company’s scooters here. The company’s American web presence seems to mostly list bikes between 250cc and 700cc, while parent company KR Motors several bikes and scooters, including two two-wheeled electric scooters and one electric three-wheeled scooter.
