Prince Rogers Nelson, the Grammy-winning pop star who died April 21, loved music — and motorcycles.
Prince, 57, rode a customized 1981 Honda CM400 Hondamatic in Purple Rain, his breakthrough movie of 1984. The bike, with its purple Craig Vetter fairing, high handlebars and passenger seat with sissy bar, became an icon of the film and was prominently featured on movie posters and album covers.
For Prince, the Honda was a good choice for a motorcycle. It weighed a little more than 400 lbs., even with the fairing, so it was easy to control. The seat height was a low 30 inches, which made it easy for the 5-foot-2 Prince to mount and dismount.
And it was easy to ride because it didn’t have a clutch. The Hondamatic was one of Honda’s first attempts at building automatic transmissions for motorcycles. It wasn’t a true automatic, as in a car, nor did it have a constant velocity throttle as on a scooter. Instead, it had a two-speed transmission with a torque converter.
All Prince needed to do was ease off the throttle and move the footshifter from neutral into low, then high gear. No clutch was needed, so Honda replaced the clutch lever with a parking brake lever on the left handlebar grip.
The engine topped out at about 27 horsepower, tame by today’s standards. The bike had both an electric starter and a kickstarter.
Depending whom you ask, two or three bikes were used for the film. One belonged to Prince; the other, or others, were replicas used by stunt riders for the more daring sequences. Next time you see Purple Rain, watch the not-Lake Minnetonka scene and look closely at the motorcycle tires — you’ll see how the tire changes from street to off-road tread.
Prince kept his motorcycle and used it again in Graffiti Bridge, his 1990 sequel to Purple Rain. Prince again played his character, The Kid. His bike retained its Vetter fairing, but was repainted black and some of its chrome pieces were gold-plated. After Graffiti Bridge, the motorcycle was retired to his Paisley Park estate.
The Hondamatic line was not so lucky. Honda produced the 400cc version from 1978 to 1981. Other engine sizes were offered in different years, but sales were poor, and Hondamatics were discontinued after 1983.
But whatever its color, the Purple Rain bike endures as a roadworthy icon of a landmark film and of Prince himself.
Follow George Petras on Twitter: @GeoPetras
