Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that its cumulative worldwide motorcycle production reached the 300 million-unit milestone in September 2014, and held a ceremony at the Kumamoto factory, Honda’s primary motorcycle production plant in Japan, to celebrate reaching the milestone.
The iconic design and shape of the world’s largest selling vehicle, Honda’s Super Cub scooter, has been recognised with it becoming the first vehicle in Japan to be granted a three-dimensional trademark.
Production of the single cam CB750 ended in 1978 with the last of the K and F series machines being coded ‘78’ and offered for sale in the us and Canada.
Honda has been making 125cc motorbikes for years – primarily for customers who demand low cost practicality with something that has a sporting edge.
The last word in motorcycling exotica in its day, the Honda NR750 (RC40) boasts a specification that makes even the current crop of Moto GP bikes seem technologically conservative.
Suzuki got there first with the superb, yet basic 600 Bandit, three years later and Honda slipped into place with its take on the species, the 600 Hornet. We take a look at the evolution of the type and it ten-year life span to date.
Honda introduced the 250cc CB72 Super Sport or Hawk during 1969.
In order to reassert Honda’s threatened position as the premier four stroke motorcycle manufacturer, development commenced on a new ‘supersport’ machine during the mid-seventies.
If you can’t beat them join them, or so the old saying goes, so Honda did just that. Arguably the best Ducati ever made outside of Italy, the SP was Honda’s answer to the Latin twins dominance in Superbike racing.
History tells us that the first machine that we now know as a Superbike was the CB750 and if you look no further in the annals of time than that then all is well. Honda only got there by the skin of their teeth however, as lurking in the wings during the same period was Kawasaki’s much higher specification, 750cc four cylinder machine that unfortunately was being so rigorously developed and tested it missed the limelight by the merest of whiskers.
