Seiko's most accessible mechanical line, the 5 Sports, is also its most playful. Alongside the plain dive-style and field models, Seiko uses the platform for collaborations that would look out of place anywhere else in the catalogue, from Pepsi to the Pink Panther. The latest partners the brand with Honda to mark the 45th anniversary of the Motocompo, and it is one of the more charming results the series has produced. Monochrome covered it on 4 August 2026, with the full details.
The scooter that folded into a car
The Motocompo is worth explaining first. Released by Honda in 1981, it was a compact folding scooter with a dry weight of 42kg, a 49cc two-stroke engine making 2.5 horsepower, and handlebars and footrests that folded flat into its boxy body. The idea was that it would fit in the boot of the Honda City, a small car launched at the same time, so an owner could drive into town and then unfold a scooter for the last stretch. It was never fast, but it was clever and it looked like nothing else, which is exactly why it is still remembered.
A dial full of references
The watch is built on the compact Seiko 5 Sports Mid-Field model, using the same 36.4mm steel case, 12.5mm thick and 44.4mm lug to lug, here finished in a matte black hard coating. The crown is engraved with the word "TURN", a nod to the Motocompo's fuel cock, and the watch is water-resistant to 100m under a Hardlex crystal, with a decorated mineral-glass caseback.
The dial does most of the storytelling. It is a matte Motocompo yellow, with embossed black Arabic numerals and Lumibrite markers, crossed by a black horizontal bar carrying the Honda logo in the manner of the scooter's protective side bars. The "Automatic" text is set in the same typeface Honda used for the Motocompo badge, and there is a day-date at 3 o'clock with matching black discs.
Inside is the 4R36, Seiko's familiar automatic workhorse, running at 21,600vph with a 41-hour reserve, hacking seconds and a day-date. It is not a high-specification movement, but it is the reliable, serviceable base that keeps the 5 Sports affordable, which is the entire point of the line.
Carrying point, insertion point
The details continue onto the strap. The grey nylon band is modelled on the tie-down strap used to secure the Motocompo inside a car, with keepers marked "Carrying Point" and a tip marked "Insertion Point". The watch even ships in a box designed to look like the corrugated carton the scooter was delivered in.
The Seiko 5 Sports x Honda Motocompo HDB010 is a limited edition of 8,000 pieces, available worldwide from September 2026. Seiko has not confirmed a final price, but expects it to land around EUR 400. At that figure, for a mechanical watch this thoroughly and affectionately themed, the appeal is easy to see. The comments under Monochrome's coverage, a run of collectors admitting they do not need it but want it anyway, make the point better than any spec sheet.
