Honda Motorcycles

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

Nicky Hayden Makes Aspar Team Debut Testing Honda RCV1000R

American racer Nicky Hayden made his first appearance with the Aspar Team, testing the Honda RCV1000R production racer at the official MotoGP post-season test at Spain’s Valencia circuit. Hayden completed 76 laps on the RCV1000R, posting a top lap time of 1:32.576, putting him 13th on the time sheet. The test time was 0.188 seconds faster than his top lap time in Sunday’s race at Valencia on the Ducati Desmosedici.

55th Anniversary Edition Honda Little Cub Announced for Japan

Honda revealed a pair of special edition versions of the 50cc Little Cub for the Japanese market to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the original Super Cub C100. The Super Cub is one of the longest continually-produced model series in the world, with Honda producing more than 85 million units since 1958. That averages out to about 1.55 million Cubs produced per year.

Jeremy Burgess Out and Silvano Galbusera In as Valentino Rossi’s Crew Chief

Valentino Rossi has parted ways with longtime crew chief Jeremey Burgess, ending a partnership that extended across 14 years and three different manufacturers while capturing seven MotoGP and 500cc Grand Prix World Championships. Burgess will be replaced by Louis CK lookalike Silvano Galbusera, a veteran crew chief and mechanic whose most extensive experience comes from World Superbike and Supersport racing. As crew chief and/or technical director, Galbusera has worked with an impressive roster of riders including Troy Corser, Noriyuki Haga, Cal Crutchlow and Ben Spies.

Italian Authorities Seize Alleged Knockoffs from EICMA Show – Again

In what’s become somewhat of a dubious EICMA tradition, Italian authorities have seized scooters from various show exhibitors because their designs allegedly infringed on the designs of other manufacturers. Back in 2011, authorities seized a three-wheeled scooter called the Yiben YB 250 ZKT because it was deemed to resemble the Piaggio MP3. Last year, authorities seized six models from five exhibitors that allegedly infringed on the trademarked design of Vespa scooters.

Honda RCV1000R MotoGP Production Racer Revealed

Honda Racing Corporation officially introduced its new RCV1000R production racer which will be sold to racing teams hoping to compete in MotoGP‘s new “Open” prototype class. The RCV1000R is based on Honda’s RC213V factory prototype, with the same chassis and a similar 90° V-4 engine claiming more than 234 hp at 16000 rpm. The key difference is the engine uses traditional spring valves whereas the valves on the RC213V are activated pneumatically.

EICMA 2013: 2014 Honda CTX1300 First Impressions – Video

From the moment we published the 2014 Honda CTX1300 Revealed story, virtually all the comments about the bike have been negative. From its looks to its engine and everything in between, it seems that many of you aren’t a fan of Honda‘s latest entry into the cruiser(ish) market. Of course, all this judgement is based on pictures.

EICMA 2013: 2014 Honda CBR1000RR First Impressions – Video

It may not have a fancy electronics suite like many of its rivals, but the Honda CBR1000RR has long been one of our favorite literbikes due to its light and nimble handling combined with strong, accessible torque. For 2014, Honda is upping the ante with the CBR1000RR SP edition. No, it still doesn’t have any electronic aids, but it does have a bevy of top shelf suspension components.

EICMA 2013: Honda NC700 Family Gets Upgraded to 750 – But Not in US

Honda announced at the 2013 EICMA show the NC700 series would get a number of upgrades including an extra 75cc in displacement. Unfortunately, it does not look like those upgrades will make it to the U.S. As Honda made its EICMA presentation American Honda announced a number of updates to returning 2014 models including the NC700X.

EICMA 2013: 2014 Honda Crosstourer

The Honda Crosstourer was launched in 2012 as Honda’s range-topping adventure sports touring motorcycle. The original design team set out to create a machine that gave the rider a sense of challenge and the facility to explore. Powered by a 1237cc V-Four, it became a unique contender in its class.

EICMA 2013: 2014 Honda VFR800F

Gracing the new 2014 VFR800F is traction control, ABS, heated grips, adjustable seat height and self-canceling blinkers. The V-Four-powered machine has been re-tuned  for greater low and mid-range torque, and also receives a new telescopic fork, Pro-arm swingarm, wheels, new, slimmer bodywork and styling. Starting with the 782cc V4-VTEC engine, Honda engineers focused mainly on cam timing and valve duration/overlap to increase low-to midrange power and torque, claiming 104.5 hp @ 10,250 rpm and 55.4 ft-lbs of torque @ 8,500 rpm. Bore and stroke is 72mm x 48mm, with compression ratio of 11.8:1. VTEC valve timing still operates one pair of inlet/exhaust valves per cylinder at low rpm, and then switches to four as revs rise. Honda’s single-mode Traction Control System (TCS) is fitted as standard equipment and is operated from the left handlebar.