I think it’s a fact that everybody loves the Honda Cub. It doesn’t matter what kind of Cub it is—be it the Super Cub, Hunter Cub, heck, even the Cub EZ90—you can bet that it’ll be the topic of conversation in any bike meet.
In fact, the Cub is so well-loved that it’s often the subject of imitation, as lots of manufacturers have used the Cub as “inspiration” for their own respective models. Some make it clear that their bikes are an homage to the Cub—such as Yamaha with its new PG-1.
Meanwhile, others seem to disregard trademarks altogether and come up with what can be best described as clone Cubs. And it seems that the fledgling Chinese brand Leten is the latter, as it has just launched what seems to be a blatant copy of the Honda Hunter Cub.
Dubbed the Adventure Cub LT190, the bike does little to conceal its Japanese inspirations. In fact, it one-ups the Hunter Cub by boasting more performance and tech.
On paper, the Adventure Cub LT 190 is pretty impressive. It gets a liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine displacing 188 cubes. Thanks to its DOHC four-valve setup, it pumps out north of 20 ponies—more than double that of the OG Cub. It also gets a CVT, making it ride more like a scooter rather than a traditional motorcycle.
To top it all off, Leten has thrown in tech features you’d expect to find on bigger, more performance-focused machines. For instance, the Adventure Cub LT 190 gets dual-channel ABS, traction control, and even a full-color display complete with smartphone pairing and a tire pressure monitoring system. Best of all, all these features will set you back the equivalent of about two thousand bucks.
While all this may seem cool, especially to newer riders looking to get the most bang for their buck, I personally think that Leten missed the mark completely when it came to creating its own evocation of the Honda Hunter Cub.
You see, nobody loves the Honda Cub because of its tech. Nobody thinks that the Honda Cub is a marvel of engineering, or a performance-oriented machine. I mean, it probably has about as much tech as the air compressor sitting in my garage. And it’s precisely because of this that people love the Cub so much.
It’s simple, charming, and provides a no-frills riding experience. It’s like that low-maintenance friend who’s always there for you no matter what.
This is something we’re seeing from many Chinese manufacturers, both in the automotive and motorcycle scene. They seem to be obsessed with technology, throwing in all sorts of bells and whistles into their products.
And now more than ever, it’s clear that this maximalist approach works for some folks, but not for everyone.
