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Difference between revisions of "Soaring in the '70s (Honda)"
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However, not all of Honda's innovations gained widespread acceptance. [[Hondamatic]]™--a torque-converter-based automatic transmission for motorcycles--was a successful technology that didn't catch the public's fancy. Electric starting had brought a lot of people to motorcycling, and Honda wondered: Would an automatic do the same? The [[Honda CB750A|1976 CB750 Automatic]] and [[Honda CB400A|1977 CB400A]] were remarkable machines, but riders chose high-performance over this convenience. Honda also launched two other wildly diverse products in 1977--the [[Honda NC50|NC50 no-ped]], an ultralight, minimalist motorbike, and the FL250 Odyssey® four-wheeler, a natural evolution of the ATC90. | However, not all of Honda's innovations gained widespread acceptance. [[Hondamatic]]™--a torque-converter-based automatic transmission for motorcycles--was a successful technology that didn't catch the public's fancy. Electric starting had brought a lot of people to motorcycling, and Honda wondered: Would an automatic do the same? The [[Honda CB750A|1976 CB750 Automatic]] and [[Honda CB400A|1977 CB400A]] were remarkable machines, but riders chose high-performance over this convenience. Honda also launched two other wildly diverse products in 1977--the [[Honda NC50|NC50 no-ped]], an ultralight, minimalist motorbike, and the FL250 Odyssey® four-wheeler, a natural evolution of the ATC90. | ||
By 1978, Honda had prepared to close the decade with a barrage of innovative machines. The first shot came in the form of the [[Honda CX500|CX500]]. A significant new direction in engine design was packaged into the unusual CX500, whose liquid-cooled [[V-twin]] [[engine]] was set sideways in the chassis. With four valves in each cylinder, the CX500 was a high-performance pushrod V-twin in a sea of overhead-cam inline-fours. Its radically oversquare bore and stroke of 78mm by 52mm made it the forerunner of all modern short-stroke, big-bore sport bike engines. | By 1978, Honda had prepared to close the decade with a barrage of innovative machines. The first shot came in the form of the [[Honda CX500|CX500]]. A significant new direction in engine design was packaged into the unusual CX500, whose liquid-cooled [[V-twin]] [[engine]] was set sideways in the chassis. With four valves in each cylinder, the CX500 was a high-performance pushrod V-twin in a sea of overhead-cam inline-fours. Its radically [[oversquare]] bore and stroke of 78mm by 52mm made it the forerunner of all modern short-stroke, big-bore sport bike engines. | ||
Air cooling wasn't finished yet, though. Two stunning new machines used it to probe the future of sports motorcycling in 1979: the 16-valve, twin cam, transistor-sparked [[Honda CB750F|CB750F]], and the technologically astounding [[Honda CBX|1047cc six-cylinder CBX]]. The 750F was a production outgrowth of Honda's successful twin-cam endurance racer, and beckoned the company deeper into sport bike territory. As the first CB750 had realized the legend of Honda's racing fours in the showroom, so the six-cylinder CBX grew naturally from the heritage of [[Mike Hailwood]] and the 250cc and 297cc six-cylinder racers of 1964 through 1967. The 1979 CBX became an exotic signpost to the future. | Air cooling wasn't finished yet, though. Two stunning new machines used it to probe the future of sports motorcycling in 1979: the 16-valve, twin cam, transistor-sparked [[Honda CB750F|CB750F]], and the technologically astounding [[Honda CBX|1047cc six-cylinder CBX]]. The 750F was a production outgrowth of Honda's successful twin-cam endurance racer, and beckoned the company deeper into sport bike territory. As the first CB750 had realized the legend of Honda's racing fours in the showroom, so the six-cylinder CBX grew naturally from the heritage of [[Mike Hailwood]] and the 250cc and 297cc six-cylinder racers of 1964 through 1967. The 1979 CBX became an exotic signpost to the future. | ||