Honda TRANSALP XL600-650V (1987-2002) [5/291] The birth of a
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Honda TRANSALP XL600-650V (1987-2002) [5/291] The birth of a

Honda AFRICA TWIN XRV750 (1987-2002) [5/291] The birth of a

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0 4 Introduction xThe Birth of a Dream by Julian Ryder here is no better example of the Japanese post war industrial miracle than Honda Like other companies which have become household names it started with one man s vision In this case the man was the 40 year old Soichiro Honda who had sold his piston ring manufacturing business to Toyota in 1945 and was happily spending the proceeds on prolonged parties for his friends T However the difficulties of getting around in the chaos of post war Japan irked Honda so when he came across a job lot of generator engines he realised that here was a way of getting people mobile again at low cost A 12 by 18 foot shack in Hamamatsu became his first bike factory fitting the generator motors into pushbikes Before long he d used up all 500 generator motors and started manufacturing his own engine known as the chimney either because of the elongated cylinder head or the smoky exhaust or perhaps both The chimney made all of half a horsepower from its 50 cc engine but it was a major success and became the Honda A type Less than two years after he d set up in Hamamatsu Soichiro Honda founded the Honda Motor Company in September 1948 By then the A type had been developed into the 90 cc B type engine which Mr Honda decided deserved its own chassis not a bicycle frame Honda was about to become Japan s first post war manufacturer of complete motorcycles In August 1949 the first prototype was ready With an output of three horsepower the 98 cc D type was still a simple two stroke but it had a two speed transmission and most importantly a pressed steel frame with telescopic forks and hard tail rear end The frame was almost triangular in profile with the top rail going in a straight line from the massively braced steering head to the rear axle Legend has it that after the D type s first tests the entire workforce went for a drink to celebrate and try and think of a name for the bike One man broke one of those silences you get when people are thinking exclaiming This is like a dream That s it shouted Honda and so the Honda Dream was christened This is like a dream That s it shouted Honda r Honda was a brilliant Intuitive engineer and designer but he did not bother himself with the marketing side of his business With hindsight It is possible to see that employing Takeo Fujisawa who would both sort out the home market and plan the eventual expansion into overseas markets was a masterstroke He arrived in October 1949 and in 1950 was made Sales Director Another vital new name was Kiyoshi Kawashima who along with Honda himself designed the company s first four stroke after Kawashima had told them that the four stroke opposition to Honda s two strokes sounded nicer and therefore sold better The result of that statement was the overhead valve 148 cc E type which first ran in July 1951 just two months after the first drawings were made Kawashima was made a director of the Honda Company at 34 years old The E type was a massive success over 32 000 were made in 1953 alone a feat of mass production that was astounding by the M Honda C70 and C90 OHV engined models

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