Post Sale Update: This Honda sold for $3,200 after 29 bids on eBay in Vacaville, California.
Well, file this one under “bikes that I didn’t know about”. Apparently, Honda offered a “Dealer Special” of the Trail 55/C105T that was all chromed out, similar to the “Christmas Special” chromed Z50.
The seller describes this bike as “often talked about but rarely seen”, which seems accurate considering I haven’t found a definitive source that has significant information on this machine. Do you remember seeing one of these?
Someone refers to his friend’s chromed Trail 55 in this Honda Trail Forum back in 2010 – he calls it a “Dealer Promotion “Chrome Thing” Trail 55.” He also says that “each U.S. Honda dealer that wanted one could get one per year (1962, 1963 & 1964)“, but we’ve all seen claims that aren’t true on the ol’ internet. OldMotoDude says calls it a “Chrome Edition” and has photos of one at the Forney Transportation Museum in Denver, Colorado. There’s also this random image on a website that doesn’t seem to know that it’s a special edition. So I’d like to think it’s an official product, but I don’t have much in the way of official facts about it.
This example is said to start easily and run well, though the key has been misplaced and the ignition switch “has been modified to work with any key.” the chrome presents well but there’s a small dent in the muffler. The sale includes the owner’s manual, shop manual, black CA license plate, and the original pink slip. I dig it, and I hope one (or more) of you knows more about this thing than I do. If so, please share what you know in the comments!
Find this chromed out Trail 55 for sale in Vacaville, California with bidding up to $1,125 and the reserve not yet met here on eBay.