Photo/Illutration Kazutoyo Motoki stands by Daihatsu Motor Co.’s Bee, which he restored, on Sept. 20 in Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture. (Tsukasa Fuke)

ISHII, Tokushima Prefecture--An automobile mechanic here gave a rare three-wheel minivehicle new life more than 70 years after it was rolled out. 

Refurbished by Kazutoyo Motoki, 70, the Daihatsu Motor Co. Bee went on display on Oct. 9 in a parade at the Toyota Automobile Museum Classic Car Festival in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture.

Daihatsu made the motorized Bee tricycle in 1951. As the name suggests, the three-wheeler is marked by a round, streamlined front part resembling the body of a honeybee.

The model’s production was discontinued after about one year and only three vehicles from the line are thought to remain in existence.

Motoki has restored more than 20 old vehicles for fun since he turned 60. He revived a Chevrolet automobile from 1930, which was exhibited in the festival last year, drawing considerable attention.

Though the newly rebuilt Bee is 21 years younger than the Chevrolet, Motoki argued the three-wheel model is even more historically significant.

“I have heard only three now remain and that this is the only operating one,” he said. “That means the car is rarer than the Chevrolet, since many Chevrolet cars still can be found in the United States.”

Three-wheel cars that were based on motorcycles’ engines and parts and equipped with rear platforms spread before World War II and shortly after the war’s end, according to the Toyota Automobile Museum.

The three-wheelers were, however, not as popular as their four-wheel counterparts. One reason was that the sole front wheel made it difficult to maintain stability while driving it.

Three-wheeled cars, which were reportedly not manufactured in mass quantities, were thus quickly replaced by four-wheel automobiles.

Motoki, who was born into a farming family, said he would spot three-wheelers on streets in his neighborhood when he was a child.

Tricycles based on motorbikes have “simpler engine designs and electric cable arrangements,” so Motoki worked on a few such cars requiring repair in his spare time.

After word spread that Motoki was "a master of three-wheeler car repair” among classic car fans, a succession of requests for restoration started coming in, he said. 

The Bee that Motoki recently worked on was offered by its former owner in Saitama Prefecture, outside of Tokyo, in May of last year. The tricycle’s displacement is 530 cc, a level comparable to a motorcycle, and its blinkers need to be directly turned on by hand.

The three-wheeler initially could not run. Disassembling the engine revealed a crankshaft had broken.

Motoki repaired the Bee, allowing the vehicle to hit the road again. He was given an opportunity in late 2021 to test the tricycle on a driving school’s grounds in Saitama Prefecture as part of a TV program themed on old cars.

“It was barely able to run at 25 kph then,” Motoki said.

Motoki has since taken apart the engine on four to five occasions to replace parts. He said his patient maintenance work ended up enabling the Bee to operate at speeds up to 40 kph or so.

The restored vehicle passed a safety inspection and obtained a new license plate. In the classic car festival, the Bee, the oldest Japanese vehicle among all the models on display, ran on a public road for the first time since its restoration.

“Every time I heard motorized tricycles running in my childhood, I rushed to see them while thinking I would operate them on my own someday,” said Motoki. “I will make effective use of it while shying away from sloped streets and other daunting conditions.”

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