Happy in the Four-Stroke Barn

Scooter xpress visited the Four Stroke Barn in April 2015 (because our foreign customers could not like our site under this name, the name has now been changed to Fourstrokebarn).

HOW IT STARTED

Kjell van Oostrum was 10 years old when he got his first moped and from that moment on he was infected with the moped virus. Many mopeds followed and although of course he was not allowed to ride on public roads he drove in the yard and the cross track. On his sixteenth birthday he was finally officially allowed on the road and his means of transport became his brother’s old Honda SS50. Not a strange decision because living in the utrecht area, the well-known four-stroke moped was hugely popular. You just had to drive a four-stroke in that area. A Kreidler, Zündapp or Yamaha just didn’t come into oostrum’s house. Once possessed of the four-stroke wonders from Japan, the number of mopeds grew steadily. His interest in the Japanese brand was aroused and in no time there were about six to seven Hondas in the barn of Kjell. However, the collection grew faster than the barn was large and soon Kjell’s mother got a bit fed up. A larger accommodation had to be sought for all his Hondas and parts. A barn was soon found and Kjell was able to continue his urge to expand.

HONDA IN THE NETHERLANDS

It is clear that Kjell’s love goes beyond just the SS50. This may be Honda’s most famous four-stroke moped, but many more have been delivered. It all started in 1963. Then the first four-stroke 50cc Honda was delivered in the Netherlands. The C310 (model with standing tank and leg screens) and the C320 (sporty moped) were the first models and were delivered until the early 1970s. In 1967 came the famous C50 and we can call this type the forerunner of the equally famous SH50 scooter. In addition to the C50, we also saw the CD50 and that was the forerunner of the SS50. This moped already had foot gears instead of a hand-holding bucket. In 1975 the SS50 will follow up the CD50 and that will be the only four-stroke Honda link for the time being. The C50 is no longer available for the Netherlands. Due to the complicated stair design that is mandatory here in the Netherlands, it does not pay to adjust the C50. The SS50 has company in the form of honda’s vending machines. The P50 (engine in the rear wheel), PC50, PF50 and the 2-stroke Camino had to make it difficult for the Puch Maxis but unfortunately that didn’t work. By the way, sales are not doing so well during the period when they are new from the factory. The four-stroke mopeds are not really cool. One prefers to go out with roaring 2-strokes than with the snorting 4-strokes. The 4-stroke Honda moped acquires its ‘cult’ status much later and because people in Japan cheerfully continue to build 50cc 4-stroke mopeds, models appear on the market that have never been sold here.

Not only Dutch Hondas

Choirs on the mill for Kjell because this way he can expand collection even further. His collection of mopeds has grown so much and so have the parts.

Kjell is now known to be found and so it is that the parts and mopeds sometimes change hands. He registers with the Chamber of Commerce and the Four-Stroke Barn* is a fact. However, Kjell continues to do his normal job. The Four-Stroke Barn in its current form is open on Saturdays and if you can’t on that day, it is always available to make an appointment. By the way, you don’t have to leave the house for a part or a moped. The website is very up to date and everything can be ordered via the webshop.

On his website there are also all mopeds that are for sale and you can see the most separate models in between.

Models that we have never seen here but that Kjell does have in his assortment and that can often even be obtained on license plate. On arrival we fell over a Honda Motra. At first I thought of a prototype of a Zoomer because that’s what he loves the most. It turns out to be a model from 1982-1983 that was only made for the Japanese market. A special heavy duty recreational moped with plenty of storage space front and rear. Just like the. Zoom nothing no fuss but just very basic. But the best part is yet to come. This Honda Motra is equipped with a 3-box with high and low gearing.

Similar to a quad bike, only applied to a moped. Very special! Also very special is the Honda Kick N Go scooter. Not equipped with a 4-stroke engine and in fact, it has no engine at all. It is a kind of scooter that you see a lot in the youth nowadays. Honda built this scooter back in the 1970s and has a patented freewheel chain drive system that allows you to get ahead pedalling. Unique and I’d never heard of it. Kjell has several stands and also in different colors. Have you ever assembled a Honda car building box from the Tamiya brand? No? Well, there was usually a very small foldable Honda moped – de Motocompo – and of course Kjell also has it. In addition to this Honda with small wheels, it also has the ‘normal’ Honda 4 strokes with the small wheels.

We all know the Dax, Monkey, Gorilla and ZB, but there are just a few other variants in the Four-Stroke Barn. Have you ever seen a Baja in real life? Or a Monkey R? This ZB with retestrak ass is really a beauty to steal the show with. Kjell has it, and so do the parts. A lot of second hand parts but also new parts are in the warehouse. Of course also scarce and special parts. For example, Kjell has a few petrol tanks that used to be made especially for the SS5Û. Now scarce and special but then Honda Nederland had them specially sprayed because they still had a large stock of SS50’s. They were no longer available to sell in the 1980s because of the popularity of other brands.

WELL WORTH A VISIT

At the Maarssenbroeksedijk number 1 in Utrecht, Kjell not only sells mopeds and parts, you can also go there for repairs and maintenance. You can even have your Honda built on it as you envision it or have it completely restored, but then you have to be patient. It takes a lot of time to build up. If you are in the area on a Saturday then I can definitely recommend a visit. The coffee is always ready and Kjell always has time for a chat. His knowledge in the field of the Honda 4-stroke models is great and so is his offer. Weren’t you supposed to be a Honda fan and still around? He also sometimes has ‘strange’ brands that are definitely worth seeing.

This article was published in the journal Scooter xpress, April 2015. Text and photos Jurgen van Son.