Fuji Heavy Industries/Subaru has a long history in the US, going all the way back to 1957. It wasn’t tiny kei cars like their infamous 360 they was selling back then, but a highly competent, advanced, powerful and well built scooter with a torque converter, no less; no clutch or shifting. There were also whitewall tires, a two-tone paint job, electric start, and a (claimed) top speed of 65 mph. This was the Buick Dynaflow of scooters.
Japan’s Nakajima Aircraft Co.was a major supplier of military airplanes during WW2, like this B5N carrier attack bomber. That company was of course broken up after the war, and then reborn as Fuji Heavy Industries. But what to build? Japan was poor, and the market for products was very limited.
Watching American GI’s zipping around Tokyo and other Japanese cities on their Powell scooters, which had become quite popular in the US starting in the 1930s, the folks at Fuji had their Eureka moment. Scooters!
Thus was born their 1946 Rabbit scooter, obviously heavily inspired by the Powell. Nevertheless, it was a landmark, not just for Fuji, but for the Japanese post-war personal transportation industry. This would put Japan on wheels, even if it was just two for now. It’s not a stretch to say that they unleashed what would become the world’s biggest and utterly dominant motorized two-wheeler industry.
The new scooter was acclaimed, and a Rabbit was even given as a gift to the emperor, but one suspects it wasn’t likely used too much. But who know what went on behind the high walls of the palace.
Not many months later, another former aviation heavyweight, Mitsubishi, also jumped on the scooter bandwagon with their Silver Pigeon. Others did too, including Honda, with a motorized bicycle. Honda’s first attempt at a real scooter, the 1954 Juno K, was a rare flop. They stuck with motorcycles for the time being, like the immortal Super Cub.
Like rabbits are wont to do, Fuji’s bunny quickly matured, and soon became an aspirational vehicle. Hence the rapid increase in power, size, comfort styling and convenience; the Rabbit was a leader in these all, and developed a reputation as “the finest motor scooter” in the land.
Starting in 1957, the Rabbit made the great leap over the pond to North America. Rabbit Motor Sales in San Francisco was the first, but the number of dealers quickly multiplied. And in Canada, the importer was no less than Malcom Bricklin, who would later secure the US rights to the Subaru 360 car. That was to be Fuji’s next new main product, the successor to the Rabbit, which went out of production in 1968.
This 1964 example still sports 1964 Oregon tags, as well as a Santa Monica-based Ossman Scooter Cycle Co. plate protector. I’m not sure which (or any) is original, but I can check with its owner, Tony.
That’s Tony’s foot as well as his Jaguar XJ-12 (with Chevy LS-1) in the background. It turns out I’ve shot and posted a goodly number of his cars and bikes over the years here at CC, including a previous XJ-12, the Rokon, and several others. That’s what happens when you leave such interesting vehicles sitting around the streets of Eugene. I will find them, sooner or later.
This time I ran into him out front of this garage that he shares, and he invited me in to check out his recently acquired Rabbit. I was rather expecting a four footed one, since he’s also a VW aficionado.
One of the first things I noticed was this Rabbit logo. At first glance from a distance, I thought maybe someone had put on a Chevy Impala logo. Not so! In fact, as that 1946 S1 photo earlier in this post shows quite clearly, the leaping Rabbit logo predates the Impala by over a decade.
There’s a pretty elaborate “dash board” with an 80 mph speedometer and a few other goodies, including a “flash” button or indicator for the headlight, presumably.
And its pretty curved rear end, the Superflow logo is there for all the world to see. I assumed it was just marketing hyperbole. Oh no! I was informed by Tony that this has a genuine hydraulic torque converter. And like the original Buick Dynaflow, there’s no actual shifting of gears; it’s just a wide-ratio torque converter (yes, the early Dynaflow and Powerglide did have a manually-selectable Low gear.
Stupidly, I didn’t get down for a good closeup of the little torque converter. But that has to be it, there on the right side of the engine. I wonder if that plastic bottle on top of it isn’t possibly a reservoir for its oil?
The 200cc single cylinder two-stroke mill has fan-forced cooling, and was rated at 11 hp. That’s pretty good, for the times.
There’s a pretty good sized trunk under the passenger seat. And it all exudes high quality materials and construction; a solid little thing.
And a very nice big tail light, to round things out.
I was impressed. But I’d like to hear it go, to really appreciate that torque converter. It would the the outboard motor equivalent of a Buick Dynaflow’s motor-boat sound.
Yet another machine I never knew existed. What a find! Where did he find it? Looks to be in great shape. You may have to revisit it when he gets it running. 🙂
It does run.
Amazing find. That coil is huge for that era small engine. I recall installing automotive coils on my Yamaha RD 350 in the early 70s. Decent performance upgrade on a 2 stroke as the larger coils provided a stronger spark. Looks like the Rabbit thought of this upgrade from the factory. Wonder if this was a 6v or 12v system.
I wonder whether that coil, along with that huge battery are simply non-OEM replacement parts, or perhaps that is simply how beefy and industrial manufacturer like Fuji decided to make them. Even working on my ’99 Forester, I was taken aback (and impressed) at some of the engineering decisions like the redundant air filtration, the easily accessible fuel filter, the spin on transmission filter, etc.
Original was 2 smaller 6 volt baterries together to make 12 volts
Just a thought WRT the speedometer, given it’s design… With the numbers around the outside, I wonder if it was originally an 80 km/h speedometer and it was easier to change the label and the drive ratio than to change the numbering – because I doubt you could go 80 mph on this, and even if you could, you wouldn’t want to!
80 km/h seems like it might be a reasonable-ish top speed for this.
Good thought. The two scooters I’ve owned as daily commuters (a Jinan Qingqi 150 and a Yamaha Zuma 125) could touch 60 mph, they were definitely a lot happier at 50, and were starting to run out of breath at 55 – especially the Qingqi. And with the small wheels, stability above 55, while there, wasn’t exactly confidence inducing, especially if you’re used to a full sized motorcycle.
Given that 80kph is 48mph (roughly), figuring in engine performance for the time, and the drivetrain losses thru the torque converter, your guess makes a lot of sense.
The idea of old-school cable/gear speedometers with apparently high top-ends isn’t that the vehicles are capable of those speeds. They’re there for accuracy at the more typical midpoint speeds.
Thus, an indicated 80 mph maximum speed is there so that when traveling at a more attainable 40 mph, it will also be the most accurate.
Evan and Syke; Your logic/assumptions are off-base. As noted in the article, the claimed top speed is 65 mph. Maybe that was under optimum conditions, but 60 or so was undoubtedly doable, with a tuck.
These were “prestige” scooters in Japan at the time. You think someone would spend a big chunk of their income on a scooter that could do 100km/h but whose speedo only went to 80km/h? Where’s the status and prestige in that, never mind the rather silly notion of having a speedometer that didn’t go up to the vehicle’s top speed. Nobody ever did that. The kiss of death.
Evan, your “thought” could have been tested in 20 seconds by Googling “Fuji Rabbit speedometer km/h” as this image below would have popped right up. It reads to 120 km/h.
The Rabbit featured here has a speedometer that’s clearly marked MPH, just under the window for the mileage indicator. So having the printed dial face read up to 80 mph means the high end of the scooter’s speed range, leaves plenty of additional ‘room’ on the speedo dial, like almost all vehicles.
60 mph, tops
I’ve seen one of those in the metal in my lifetime, in an independent motorcycle shop specializing in vintage restorations on the MD/PA border around York/Lancaster. This one was on the bench and about halfway finished, with the bodywork sanded down and being readied for primer.
Always surprised they didn’t take off better in the US, but then Americans in general have never gone for a scooter anything if there was a motorcycle alternative available. And the Honda 50 (C100 Cub) certainly put a good wall up against Fuji’s expansion in the American market.
Polaris Industries in 1968, inked a deal with Fuji, that supplied them with the exclusive “Star” engines. Growing up around snowmobiles, we learned quickly. Polaris was the best, because of those Fuji/Star engines.
Even after Polaris started building their own engines, the pistons were still built by Fuji. In fact, they might still be.
Wow, that’s really neat! What’s the deal with the lady in her underwear in low heels holding a top hat and the tag line”The Choice of a Gentleman “ ?
Yes, there’s a lot to unpack in that ad for sure. Maybe she’s a magician and just pulled the rabbit out of her hat?
I’ve never heard of this either, but some seat time on my brother’s Vespa scooter made me a non-fan of small wheeled scooters.
Very cool styling, the front looks like a 1950’s upright vacuum cleaner. Too bad those indicator lights aren’t pushbuttons, what would “Rabbit Flash” and “Rabbit Beam” actually do?
Hmm. Maybe for going spotlighting so your pillion passenger can shoot rabbits? 🙂
Digging the “oh well” attitude of the models. What’s a little ripped skin or torn scalp when
you made it past WW2? My interpretation of the Ad is that a gentleman prefers an
attractive woman as well as a Rabbit scooter, Vin diagram style.
Add me to the list of people that have never heard of this things. It’s a good reminder as well of the breadth of the world of scooters/mopeds/etc in terms of size/power/speed. I’m currently working on reviving a neighbor’s early 80s Suzuki FA50 (50cc “no-ped” with a 28mph top speed), and it is a vastly lighter weight, simpler machine than this.
I’m amazed at the size of the battery that’s installed in that thing, though judging by the zip-ties that might not be quite factory spec.
Very neat — I’ve never heard of this scooter before. From the pictures, it does look very well-built.
I find the name of the distributor – American Rabbit Corporation – to be amusing and unforgettable. And looking around at some more information on these scooters, their ads were memorable too, like this one below. “Have a girl? Have a Rabbit!” and “designed and manufactured by internationally famed jet aircraft builders.”
Also (just a minor point) – I think the Santa Monica dealer’s name was Possman, not Ossman (the P is hidden by the red reflector).
Wow. They were really into the sex appeal of these, on both sides of the Pacific. That’s quite the un-subtle ad. As if…
You have to _see_ one of these in the flesh to understand how well made they were .
This survivor is great, I hope Tony (?) makes it into a regular rider .
I find scooters with their tiny tires , dangerous although I know some who ride them at their limit .
-Nate
“Up to 18 horsepower” That 18 hp makes 65 mph for the Fuji Rabbit quite realistic. My ’65 Honda Super 90 had with hp, and it could touch 64 mph, but only and very briefly and under optimal conditions. Sixty was the best it could do for any length of time.
60 mph, tops