By: Alan Liptrot
I wonder if Soichiro Honda knew what he was starting when as a schoolboy in the late thirties, he began his development of the piston ring. As his ideas came to fruition and production began, he tried to sell his rings to Toyota, but was told that his work didn't meet their rigorous standards. Undaunted, he carried on and two years later he finally earned a contract with the Japanese giant.
The man's determination was shown in the lead up to the Second World War. Japan was short of building materials, so the enterprising Mr Honda invented a new concrete making process that allowed him to construct a factory so that he could feed the hungry Toyota. His factory was bombed twice and destroyed by an earthquake, but still he came back.
After the war he turned his attention to motorcycles, and in.1947 he produced a ½ horsepower motorcycle called the A-type. This machine gave off so much smoke that it earned the nickname of 'The Chimney'. The Honda Motor Company was born in 1948 when Soichiro was 41. He went into partnership with Takeo Fujisawa and together they laid the foundation for what was to become the biggest motorcycle company in the World. This was the year that they introduced a 90cc version of the A-type named the B-type.
1949 saw the birth of the two-stroke D-type Dream, a machine that was Honda's first real motorcycle, rather than an engine mounted on a push bike. Soichiro oversaw every step of the development from design to production. It was indeed his dream.
By 1952 Honda were producing machines in large numbers. The F-type Cub was a ½ horsepower 50cc two-stroke that was available as a whole bike, or you could just purchase the engine to fit into your pushbike. Sales would soon reach 6500 per month.
A 90cc four-stroke was made available in 1953. This became known as the 'Benly' which means 'convenience' in Japanese. A three speed gearbox was fitted to the J-type Benly along with rear suspension. 1000 Benly's per month were being sent out of the factory gates. These were good times for Honda and a 200cc scooter soon followed.
The first twin cylinder offering from Honda appeared in 1957 with a 250cc four-stroke C70 Dream. By 1958 the 250 Dream had acquired an electric start, and in July 1958, what is considered to be the World's most successful motorcycle, the C100 Super Cub was born. They would eventually sell in excess of thirty million units.
In 1959 Honda showed its C72 Dream in Amsterdam, impressing the public with its aluminium engine, electric start and indicators.
In 1961 Mike Hailwood's victories at the Isle of Man cemented Honda's reputation and began their honeymoon with racing. Honda collected more than one hundred major motorcycle racing championships throughout the world, and the knowledge gleaned from building high performance machines has been used in the development of production bikes.
Honda changed the face of the motorcyclist too, when in 1962 an advertising campaign declared 'You meet the nicest people on a Honda', destroying the tough guy image that motorcycling had carried with it for some years. Now bikes were attractive to everyone, and at the Tokyo Show of 1968, the World's first true 'Superbike' was launched in the shape of the CB750F. It was the biggest motorcycle ever produced in Japan. The CB750 that introduced the following year was capable of 120mph, phenomenal for its day and by far the fastest bike on the road.
In 1975 Honda introduced their famous 'Goldwing' and in doing so, created a cult along with the bike that is still setting the standards today. It had a shaft drive, disc brakes and a fuel tank that was located under the seat.
Today, Honda is massive, employing more than one hundred thousand people in Japan and the USA, and it was all started by a schoolboy and his piston rings.
Alan Liptrot is the founder of www.motorbike-tours.co.uk”>Motorbike Tours.co.uk The Company offers guided www.motorbike-tours.co.uk”>motorcycle tours in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
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