About Honda
Honda is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan and has been since it started production in 1955. At its peak in 1982, Honda manufactured almost three million motorcycles annually. By 2006 this figure had reduced to around 550,000 but was still higher than its three domestic competitors.
Soichiro Honda began producing motorcycles in 1946 to satisfy a thirst for cheap transportation in war devastated Japan. Honda began his effort by installing military surplus engines in bicycles. As Honda became more prosperous, he designed his own 50cc engine for the bicycles. The first motorcycle that featured a completely Honda designed motor and frame was produced in 1949. It was called the Model D for Dream. Soon Model J Benly appeared.
Honda wanted to sell a more powerful motorcycle that led to the 146cc over head valve four-stroke E-Type Dream with a top speed of 50mph. The motorcycle featured Honda's own designed frame and suspension on both wheels.
In 1952 Honda began producing the Cub with two-stroke engine. Its big sales became basis for future development.
In 1953 Honda began producing a four-stroke single powered motorcycle featuring more engineering sophistication. This small motorcycle was also called a Benly and featured a three-speed gearbox, pressed steel Frame, rear suspension with the engine and swinging arm on a sprung pivot, and telescopic front suspension and produced 3.8bhp.
A revolution in the motorcycle industry began in 1958 when Honda brought the C100 Super Club to the American market. It was the first Honda motorcycle sold in the U.S. The small step through design was easy to ride reliable bike. It was featured in the famous “you meet the nicest people on a Honda” marketing campaign that eventually made the C100 motorcycle the best selling motorcycle of all times. Eventually more than 30 million would be built.
CB models included the CA72 (250cc) and followed by the CA77 (305cc). The parallel twin engines proved very reliable, however their stamped steel welded frames handled poorly at higher speeds.
Performance and handling improved when the company bolted the little parallel twin engines to a steel tubular frame and added twin carburetors for more power. The motorcycles were known as the CB 72 and 77 super hawk models and gained a reputation of reliability.
The first commercially successful large motorcycle was the CB450, brought out in 1965 and called the black bomber. This innovative engine featured torsion bar valve springs that allowed high rpm and was the first serious effort by Honda to challenge English dominance in the American marketplace.
This was followed in 1969 with the Honda CB750 four. A powerful and reliable motorcycle that dominated the motorcycle market. The success of the CB 750 4 cylinder Honda led to a series of smaller Honda motorcycles with 350, 400, 550 cc motors and ushered in the era of the universal Japanese motorcycle.
This design would reach its fruition when it morphed into the cult classic inline 6 cylinder CBX in 1978.
The reliability and power of the four cylinder Honda 750 soon led to a new kind of motorcyclist, the long distance touring rider. Craig Vetter designed a full fairing for the motorcycle called a Windjammer. Before long thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts were touring the countryside on their motorcycles behind a Windjammer.
In 1974 Honda brought out the GL1000 Gold Wing. The motorcycle featured a flat four cylinder 999cc a water cooled engine with power delivered through a driveshaft. It proved to be as reliable as the cars of the day. Soon thousands of Goldwings were bought up and converted to touring motorcycles by their new owners.
With interest running so high for touring models, Honda brought out the Interstate model in 1980. This was the first Japanese produced motorcycle to roll off the assembly line as a complete touring motorcycle. The motorcycle featured a full fairing, trunk and saddlebags.
In addition to touring motorcycles, Honda began developing a series of V-four engines in the 1970s. This led to the production of the Honda Sabre and Magna in 1980. These two models led to a whole series of VF designated high performance motorcycles ranging between 400cc and 1000cc. But due to mechanical problems the VF line was unable to sustain itself.
Following the VF was the new VFR series of motorcycles. The VFR 750R was a sport touring motorcycle with lots of power, good balance and reliability.
In 1996 Honda produced the fastest motorcycle in production with the CBR1100XX Super Blackbird (1137cc). The motorcycle became popular with the long range high speed touring crowd.
Soichiro Honda died on August 5, 1991 of liver failure.
Honda's entry into the U.S. motorcycle market during the 1960s is used as a case study for teaching introductory strategy at business schools worldwide. There are a few theories explaining their great success.
Moto blog
Wed, 15 Jun 2011
Honda announced it will begin a trial program for its EV-neo electric scooter in Barcelona, Spain. Already available in Japan under a lease sale program, the Honda EV-neo is designed to be a commercial delivery vehicle, with performance said to be on par with an under 50cc scooter. The electric scooter will make its European debut as Honda is providing Barcelona City Council with 18 EV-neo scooters at the beginning of July for a one-year trial.
Tue, 14 Jun 2011
Honda Motor Co. announced its forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. Left out of Honda’s previous fiscal report because of the uncertainty created by the March 11 earthquake, the 2011-2012 forecast predicts a 63% decrease in net income compared to the 2010-2011 results.
Mon, 13 Jun 2011
Honda has initiated a recall campaign for certain 2010-2011 Shadow series cruisers due to a problem with their bank angle sensors. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the bank angle sensors may incorrectly read that the motorcycle is leaning. The bank sensor uses a weighted pendulum that swings into a motorcycle’s lean.
Mon, 13 Jun 2011
On average approximately 50,000 motorcycles are stolen each year. They're taken from outside homes, from large urban environments across the countries major cites and highly organised gangs are at the heart of thefts preying on innocent motorcyclists. Experts of motorcycle security, Acumen advise on how to protect your bike:
How to reduce the chance of theft
Protection is like layers of an onion – the more the layers; the longer it takes.
Fri, 10 Jun 2011
The Isle of Man TT usually provides a lot of drama, and this year’s event was no different. John McGuinness, second on the all-time TT wins list, added two more wins to his resume to win the Joey Dunlop Trophy while MotoCzysz once again fell just short of taking the bounty for being the first electric motorcycle team to record a 100 mph lap on the Mountain Course. The 2011 Isle of Man TT also had its share of tragedy with three racing fatalities.
Tue, 07 Jun 2011
Get the Flash Player to see this player. Applications are now being accepted for the new Moto3 class in the 2012 Grand Prix World Championship. Teams interested in competing in the four-stroke 250cc Moto3 class are asked to register their interest with the International Road Racing Teams Association.
Mon, 06 Jun 2011
Hey folks, it’s Dennis here, Motorcycle.com‘s Designated Newbie. As documented in our Motorcycle Beginner articles (and if you haven’t read them yet, check out the Related Reading links below!) we’re taking a look at the new rider experience and what it means to be a motorcyclist. I’ve had a couple of weeks’ worth of riding on the new Honda CBR250R (more on that in our next Motorcycle Beginner article) and so far I’m having a blast.
Thu, 02 Jun 2011
Honda has released official specs for its new NSF250R racebike developed for the new Moto3 class which will debut in the 2012 Grand Prix World Championship season. The Honda NSF250R’s four-stroke single-cylinder engine was developed specifically for Moto3 competition, promising power delivery in the high rpm range. The engine is equipped with titanium valves and uses an offset cylinder with a nickel silicon carbide surface treatment to reduce friction and improve durability.
Thu, 02 Jun 2011
The amazing Alex Lowes is deservedly grabbing all the attention in the BSB paddock at the moment, but I believe last year’s top Superbike rookie, Alistair Seeley is doing an equally impressive job in the Supersport class. Although he looks ten years younger, thirty one year old Seeley is riding one of only two 2011 600 GSXRs (fellow countryman Marty Nutt is on the other) in the class. Alistair has finished on the podium four times including a race win at the opening Brand Hatch round and currently lies second in the championship. He also took victory on the Gixer in the only race run at the North West 200 last month and was looking like the runaway winner last Sunday at Thruxton until electrical gremlins struck after opening up a seven second lead.
Wed, 01 Jun 2011
Words fail me. Presumably, if your pockets are deep enough to buy all the engine parts from Kitaco (how about a DOHC four-valve head?), this sort of performance is within the reach of every C90 Honda owner. All those cabbies doing their 'knowledge' would make mincemeat of London traffic with this sort of acceleration.