[Karl Fenn]

Many bikes are electric start only have been for decades, it opened up the market so more riders could buy bikes, many never learned the art of kicking a bike over.

[Bilgemaster]

I was always astonished that my former '56 and current '57 Zündapp Bella 200cc scooters both had electric start, which seems a more modern post-Woodstock Generation thing. They weren't the first motorcycles with them. Apparently that honor goes to the 1914 Indian "Hendee Special" (see: https://thunderpress.net/motorcycle-touring/the-hendee-special/2011/02/20.htm). But Zündapp got there nearly a decade before Harley added one to certain models ('65-'66) and Honda began bolting them onto their all-conquering CB750s in '69.

Zündapp's starter was ultra-clever, rather like that Hendee Special, in that its starter is also the dynamo, simply using different poles to tug along the engine to life. Being a 2-stroke, engine braking and hence resistance is far less than a 4-stroke's, so it just sort of does the job without needing an extra dedicated starter motor.

[zimmemr]

I was always astonished that my former '56 and current '57 Zündapp Bella 200cc scooters both had electric start, which seems a more modern post-Woodstock Generation thing. They weren't the first motorcycles with them. Apparently that honor goes to the 1914 Indian "Hendee Special" (see: https://thunderpress.net/motorcycle-touring/the-hendee-special/2011/02/20.htm). But Zündapp got there nearly a decade before Harley added one to certain models ('65-'66) and Honda began bolting them onto their all-conquering CB750s in '69.

Zündapp's starter was ultra-clever, rather like that Hendee Special, in that its starter is also the dynamo, simply using different poles to tug along the engine to life. Being a 2-stroke, engine braking and hence resistance is far less than a 4-stroke's, so it just sort of does the job without needing an extra dedicated starter motor.

Yamaha used a similar system in the 60's and 70's and one of their starters was adapted to work on Ann Margret's Triumph 500. 

[Richard230]

I recall seeing a early 1960's Japanese Rabbit scooter once riding down 19th Avenue in front of the Stonestown shopping center in San Francisco. A very rare and expensive machine. As it recall it had an automatic fluid drive, hydraulic brakes and some other car-like unusual features. I think it was made by the company that made the Zero airplane during WWII, but I can't be sure about that. 

[zimmemr]

I recall seeing a early 1960's Japanese Rabbit scooter once riding down 19th Avenue in front of the Stonestown shopping center in San Francisco. A very rare and expensive machine. As it recall it had an automatic fluid drive, hydraulic brakes and some other car-like unusual features. I think it was made by the company that made the Zero airplane during WWII, but I can't be sure about that. 

Believe it or not I learned to ride on a Rabbit scooter. The one I had was a twist grip four speed with a clutch, and as I recall cable brakes but that was 55 years ago. I think they were made by Mitsubshi (spelling?) who did build the Zero.

[Karl Fenn]

Those old jap bikes and mopeds were really very good, and quite reliable, of course they put an electric start on the 140 but certainly not the best in the world always playing up, thank got they kept the kick start.

[grey pegasus]

I don't have a dog in the UCE fight, but I've read several times here that 2014 or later is reputed to be some sort of sweet spot for build quality. I couldn't vouch for this notion, and there are lots of happy pre-2014 owners out there, but that's what I've often read here. That said, I've a hunch the UCEs are just like the older Iron Barrels in one respect: there are sweet ones and lousy ones.

You can not say in general. The quality strongly depends on the country or region the bike is made for.  The quality control decides where the fiished bike is going to. They put stickers on the single items telling if the parts are suitable for export or local market sales only. Even for the export there are several classifications, depending of the build quality. The best quality bikes go to European and US market, followed by the ASEAN market, the Central Asian market, the rest of the world and finally the home market.
My C5 is a little bit strange - it has a mid 2019 "European" frame, a end 2017 "ASEAN" engine, some "General" parts and was sold in Germany. There are some isues with the "ASEAN" engine, while the entirere quality is quite good. During the first service the RE dealer secretely changed the ECU without any notice as the Euro IV implementation in the "ASEAN" engine was faulty.  Probably the future will show up more surprises