Japan’s cultural exports in the 1990s were often as radical as they were just plain good. Most of us know this best from its cars, but these traits permeated Japanese automakers’ other projects, too. Few had their fingers in as many pies as Honda, which dared ask a question you’d only hear today from a YouTube build channel: What if we turned a scooter into a snowmobile? That answer manifested as the Honda EZSnow, a one-of-a-kind powersports toy that’s so rare you probably won’t even find it in a museum.
Good info about the EZSnow is about as rare as the machine itself, but as The Drive‘s resident automotive cryptid hunter, I was able to sniff out what few details are out there. The EZSnow was confirmed for production in November 1991 after making a splash at that year’s Tokyo Motor Show, building off the success of the new EZ-9 minibike. We knew it in the U.S. as the Cub EZ90, and if that doesn’t ring a bell, let this classic ad set the mood for you:
Likened to an off-road scooter by Silodrome, it was designed to be an ultra-approachable entry point to two-wheeled powersports, with a streamlined body covering its engine, exhaust, and chain drive so new riders wouldn’t accidentally hurt themselves. It featured an electric start (and a backup kickstart) and automatic choke on its 90-cc, two-stroke, one-cylinder engine, which was joined by a multi-plate centrifugal dry clutch to an early CVT and protected by an underbody bash plate. It only made 7.5 horsepower and 6.7 lb-ft of torque, but it also weighed just 223 pounds wet—there’s only so much trouble you can get into on a bike this mild.
The EZSnow took that formula and traded its front wheel and drum brake for an aluminum ski steered by the forks, and its rear wheel for tracks made of nylon rubber. This 11.4-inch-wide tread had a circular cross-section like a motorcycle tire to mimic bike-style handling, meaning you had to kick your foot out in pretty much every turn to keep it upright. Between handling like a less-stable snowmobile and its single rear drum brake, it’s not a vehicle you’d want to ride quickly. That is, if you even could. Videos of the EZSnow in action make it look about as quick as a Power Wheels, if many times more fun.
Honda anticipated sales of 120 EZSnows per year, and set its price at the modern equivalent of $2,800. For one reason or another (probably a lack of demand for such a niche vehicle), production wasn’t sustained, and the last EZSnow was built in 1992 or 1993 according to Bike-urious. Various sources peg the total number made between 180 and 300 units, with Bike-urious indicating a believable 275.
Sources also debate whether Honda sold the EZSnow as a complete vehicle, as a kit, or as both at varying stages. Honda’s original 1991 Japanese press release makes no mention of a kit, though forumers speak of them being sold as such. It’s equally possible that complete EZSnows were converted back into bikes and had their unique parts sold off at a profit.
That’d make the EZSnow even rarer than its tiny production numbers imply, and help confine it to the status of an obscure novelty known only to collectors and those trying to turn a buck off them. A pair is listed for sale by Belgian classic bike reseller TVP Classics, with one missing its front ski, and an intact example demanding the equivalent of more than $19,300.
Keep in mind—that’s for a winter toy that you can’t even use anymore. Not because snow may now be a rarity in parts of the world, but because of the treads that are obviously critical to the EZSnow. If they’re original, they’re now more than 30 years old and far too dry-rotted to be relied on. If you snap ’em, it’s hard to imagine replacements are readily available (if they exist at all).
The Honda EZSnow certainly looks like a fun ride, but it’s a ride that’s probably best enjoyed vicariously, even by those who can afford one. And if you do have the cash, you can probably also afford to build something similar yourself—though it may not look quite so Akira-meets-Dr. Seuss.
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