Tier 3 — Very Uncommon:
This is where builds stop being straightforward and start becoming work. While every base in this tier has been built before (examples are provided), doing so is rarely simple or efficient. If you are new to scooters, you should not start here.
You will not find much inspiration for these builds online. Period-correct examples are scarce, and modern references are limited. In most cases, you will need to rely on magazine scans and archival material rather than social media or build threads (see the archive on Instagram and on the site here). As a result, inspiration often has to be pulled from other bases and adapted from rare, period-correct examples.
Expect to fabricate or modify your own fiberglass parts, cut and weld exhausts to make them fit, and solve all wheel swaps and panel compatibility issues yourself. There are no guides, no reliable templates, and no guaranteed solutions.
Parts are often expensive, difficult to source, and may require months of searching. Even when parts do exist, they are rarely designed for your specific base. These scooters can be built, but they demand significantly more time, money, and problem-solving than Tier One or Tier Two.
Honda Tact / New Tact (AB07)
The Honda Tact started as a practical, budget-friendly commuter scooter, designed for everyday use. It came in a handful of colorways and trim options, including the fullmark variant, and featured classic AC Courrèges trim that was a main influence in the AF09 tact colorway. The headset was minimal, letting the headlight and turn signals dominate the front, while the front panel included transparent side protectors for lack of a better term. Stock wheels were standard 10-inch trispokes, though the drum brake sits on the opposite side compared to most scooters, which can make swaps like Shuriken wheels look visually “flipped” like the scooter here.
The New Tact pushed the design forward with sharper lines, a more angular front fender, and a silhouette similar to the passol 2. Its panels remain simple and approachable, making it easy to modify for clean, OEM+ style builds or subtle personalization. While not as flashy as sport-focused scooters on this list, the Tact is a base that will try and fight you along the way, if your willing to adapt your own fiberglass cowls, wait months for parts to show up on auction and figure stuff out yourself, you will love this base.
Honda G-Dash (AF23)
Honda Dio 3 (Live Dio)
Starting production in the early 90s, the Live Dio is essentially the Dio 2’s inflated sibling, with rounder, more modern styling. Technically it doesn’t fully belong on this list, as it’s a bit too new and falls into 90s Yankee styling, featuring a raised rear, stitched seat cover, and silver-plated floor.
That said, if you come across a Dio 3, there are plenty of aero parts available, including some of the more extravagant pieces. With the Live Dio, however, you won’t find period-correct builds, so the best approach is to look at the Dio 2 for inspiration and avoid going the dominican route with a cooler on the front and eveything, yuck. There isn’t much more to say, just keep the rear stock, don’t stretch it please, and for all our eyes please only stick to stock, zoomer or cool iron wheels, I don't want to see any of that neo chrome bs.
Yamaha Jog 3 (Helmet-In Jog) (3KJ)
Yamaha Excel (1YT)
The Yamaha Excel came out in the mid-80s as a large commuter scooter, but unlike other basic 50cc bikes, it has a slightly futuristic feel for its time. The headset is sharper, with a short rectangular headlight and long integrated blinkers, giving it a more modern, forward-looking vibe. Underneath, it still runs the standard 49cc 2-stroke engine with CVT automatic, making it light and easy to ride in the city like any of these scooters. While it wasn’t built for speed or flashy performance, the styling helps it stand out from other scooters in the same class and gives it a subtle sense of personality beyond being just a basic runabout.
Suzuki Hi-Up (CA1DA, CA1DB(R))
Suzuki Sepia (CA1EA, CA1EB(ZZ))
The Sepia is one of the few scooters missing from all my catalogs, so I’ll keep it short. It came out as a scooter aimed at younger riders who wanted something sporty yet practical. At first glance, it can be confused with the Dio 1 because the headset shares similar styling and two-tone colorways.
Where the Sepia stands out is the ZZ model. This trim added more aggressive styling, a racing-style livery, OEM rear wing, dual suspension, and a sporty exhaust with a silver tip. Personally, it’s fun to see people building unusual bases like this, giving scooters like the Sepia a chance to shine.
Suzuki Address (CA1FA, CA1FB(V Tune))
Suzuki Love 3 (CA51A)
The Suzuki Love 3 sits in the category of ultra-basic 50cc runabout scooters, similar in spirit to the Honda Eve or Yamaha Mint. It was designed to be easy to ride, cheap to run, and accessible for new riders. Part of Suzuki’s “Love” family, it emphasized small size and convenience.
It didn’t break any styling records or land speed records, but because it was so affordable, you see afew of these scooters built wild featured in Rider Comic magazines, though less often in Jr. Young Auto.
Tier 4 — Wrong Bases:
The bases in this tier fall outside the intended scope of this guide. While a few of these scooters on this tier did exist during the period and were built “correctly” at the time (correct today ≠ correct then), they are extremely niche and largely undocumented outside of private collections and a handful of original magazine examples.
Rarity alone does not make a base suitable. These platforms were only ever built by experienced builders with deep historical context, and even then, examples were exceptionally limited. Using their existence as justification to build one today often results in forced aesthetics and inaccurate interpretations of the style.
For this reason, all bases in this tier are treated as incorrect within the context of this guide. They are intentionally excluded from examples, recommendations, and build references. This is not an oversight. It is a boundary.
Honda
★ ホンダ イブ / ホンダ イブスマイル → Honda Eve / Eve Smile (AF06)
☆ ホンダ リード50 → Honda Lead 50 (AF20)
★ ホンダ スカイ → Honda Sky (AB14)
☆ ホンダ モトコンポ → Honda Motocompo
Yamaha
☆ ヤマハ ベルーガ50 → Yamaha Beluga 50 (CV50E)
★ ヤマハ ベルーガ80 → Yamaha Beluga 80 (CV80E)
☆ ヤマハ チャンプCX → Yamaha Champ CX (3FC)
★ ヤマハ キュート → Yamaha Cute (53L)
☆ ヤマハ サリアン → Yamaha Salient (CA50E)
★ ヤマハ トライ → Yamaha Try (52W)
☆ ヤマハ アプリオ → Yamaha Aprio
Suzuki
★ スズキ ラブ → Suzuki Love (FA11A)
☆ スズキ 薔薇 → Suzuki Rose / Bara (CA13A)*
★ スズキ 蘭 → Suzuki Ran (CA11A)
*Listed for historical context only. Inclusion does not imply suitability.
From Mr. Kuroki..
I’ve been wanting to genuinely make a project like this for a while, and I really appreciate you taking the time to read through it. If I’ve helped even a few of you discover a base you never knew about, then I’m happy. I imported 20+ dealership pamphlets and piles of magazines to make a lot of this information possible. Keep in mind, I’m from Canada, the only scooters I’ve actually ridden are a Honda Tact with a bent frame and a Dio 2 with a low-compression top end lol. I’ve tried to keep everything as true as possible to how these bases are in real life, but if you know a lot about one of these scooters or notice anything that’s incorrect or missing, please shoot me a message on Instagram @kuroki808. I’d love to expand this guide. If you also have a ton of knowledge on any of the tier 2-3 scooters, I’d love to eventually make full guides for them as I have for all of tier 1.
I hope you learned something. This project took months to make, so thanks for waiting with me, and thanks for Gavyn and Ingram for helping put this list together.