Difference between revisions of "Coming of Age in the Age of Aquarius (Honda)"

[[Image:1959_honda_C100.jpg|right|thumb|1959 [[Honda C100]]]]

[[Image:1959_honda_C100.jpg|right|thumb|1959 [[Honda C100]]]]

[[Image:Soichiro Honda.jpg|100px|thumb|left|[[Soichiro Honda]]]]

[[Image:Soichiro Honda.jpg|100px|thumb|left|[[Soichiro Honda]]]]

[[Image:1969_honda_cb750k0.jpg|right|thumb|300px|1969 [[Honda CB750K|Honda CB750K0]] in Blue]]

[[Image:1969_honda_cb750k0.jpg|right|thumb|300px|1969 [[Honda CB750K|Honda CB750K0]] in Blue]]

Matched to this process was the stairway of models Honda developed during the decade, leading upward from the entry-level [[Honda C100|50cc C100 Super Cub]] toward the ground-breaking [[Honda CB750K|CB750 of 1969]]. Mr. Honda's goal in this was not merely to supply a demand for products, but to create, nurture, and expand that demand itself. America in 1960 had very limited demand for motorcycles, but Mr. Honda had seen that Americans needed recreation and enjoyment of that kind. By making it possible to first try a cute and little Super Cub, he opened the door for something larger. Honda's method was really no different from taking a friend skiing, showing them how much fun the bunny slope is, and then letting nature take its course.

Matched to this process was the stairway of models Honda developed during the decade, leading upward from the entry-level [[Honda C100|50cc C100 Super Cub]] toward the ground-breaking [[Honda CB750K|CB750 of 1969]]. Mr. Honda's goal in this was not merely to supply a demand for products, but to create, nurture, and expand that demand itself. America in 1960 had very limited demand for motorcycles, but Mr. Honda had seen that Americans needed recreation and enjoyment of that kind. By making it possible to first try a cute and little Super Cub, he opened the door for something larger. Honda's method was really no different from taking a friend skiing, showing them how much fun the bunny slope is, and then letting nature take its course.

Another crucial element to Honda's growth in the 1960s was the company's parallel growth in engineering expertise and sophistication. With new models, Honda showed what the company had learned, and pushed the boundaries of performance in a variety of displacement classes. The [[Honda CB92|1959 CB92 Benly Super Sport® 125]], for instance, was important, for combining electric starting with a sporting motorcycle--a first. More significant to sales were the similarly configured [[Honda CB72|CB72 250 Hawk®]] and [[Honda CB77|CB77 305 Super Hawk™ twins]], introduced the same year of the first manned space flights, in 1961. For the first time, a [[:Category:Japanese motorcycles|Japanese motorcycle]] could offer direct performance parity with an established market fixture, the Triumph 500. The Honda twins revved higher than their competition, and therefore produced unusual power for their displacement. Higher revs were made possible by precision valve drive by overhead camshaft--a feature heretofore reserved only for factory racing engines. This, by eliminating the weight of [[pushrods]] and tappets, enabled the valves of Hawk models to operate accurately out to 10,000 rpm, an unheard-of figure in a world accustomed to 6500-rpm redlines. The double-overhead-camshaft [[Honda CB450|CB450]] continued this theme of escalated capability. Introduced in 1965--the same year Whammo patented the frisbee, and Craig Breedlove set a land speed record of 600.001 mph--the 450 offered more power again, as always combined with automobile-like reliability, electric starting and effective lighting equipment.

Another crucial element to Honda's growth in the 1960s was the company's parallel growth in engineering expertise and sophistication. With new models, Honda showed what the company had learned, and pushed the boundaries of performance in a variety of displacement classes. The [[Honda CB92|1959 CB92 Benly Super Sport® 125]], for instance, was important, for combining electric starting with a sporting motorcycle--a first. More significant to sales were the similarly configured [[Honda CB72|CB72 250 Hawk®]] and [[Honda CB77|CB77 305 Super Hawk™ twins]], introduced the same year of the first manned space flights, in 1961. For the first time, a [[:Category:Japanese motorcycles|Japanese motorcycle]] could offer direct performance parity with an established market fixture, the Triumph 500. The Honda twins revved higher than their competition, and therefore produced unusual power for their displacement. Higher revs were made possible by precision valve drive by overhead camshaft--a feature heretofore reserved only for factory racing engines. This, by eliminating the weight of [[pushrods]] and tappets, enabled the valves of Hawk models to operate accurately out to 10,000 rpm, an unheard-of figure in a world accustomed to 6500-rpm redlines. The double-overhead-camshaft [[Honda CB450|CB450]] continued this theme of escalated capability. Introduced in 1965--the same year Whammo patented the frisbee, and Craig Breedlove set a land speed record of 600.001 mph--the 450 offered more power again, as always combined with automobile-like reliability, electric starting and effective lighting equipment.