I rode a Honda C50 all over Ireland when I was working there in the 1960's. Even with a pillion passenger it pulled up steep hills in the Wicklow Mountains. Sometimes, late at night, coming back to the hotel from Dublin Airport, where we were working, I'd have one of my colleagues on the back and another one sitting on the handlebars - the Guarda were quite relaxed about such things in those days.

Honda definitely pioneered small 4-stroke engines - I have an outboard motor and a generator both made by them - and they always start first pull on the recoil starter.