Report From Japan
REPORT FROM JAPAN
W. B. SWIM
THE DATE of the Japan Grand Prix has been decided. It will be held Sunday, Nov. 10, at Suzuka Circuit. The Motorcycling Federation of Japan, which is a member of FIM, formally announced the date at a well-attended party in Tokyo on Aug. 29. Nov. 8 and 9 will be set aside for inspection of machines and official practice. Events will be held in four classes. The schedule is: 50cc class, 9:30 a.m. start, 14 laps, 84 km; 125cc class, 10:50 a.m., 20 laps, 120 km; 250cc class, 12:50 p.m., 24 laps, 144 km; 350cc class, 2:30 p.m., 25 laps, 150 km. Awards ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. Japanese Prince Takamatsu will be honorary president of the meet. The MFJ expects several top foreign riders to compete, including Hugh Anderson, Hans Anscheidt, Ernst Degner, Luigi Taveri, Frank Perris, Jim Redman, Tarquinio Provini, Franta Stastny, John Hartle and Remo Venturi. Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha will enter factory teams, but Tohatsu has decided not to compete in this First Japan Grand Prix, president Hideo Hirashima told CYCLE WORLD. Foreign riders will find it easier to get through immigration and customs this time, as they will be classified as amateur athletes. Foreign racers coming to ride in the First All-Japan Championship Road Races at Suzuki Circuit last year were treated as professional talent such as movie stars or vocalists and had a rough time getting into the country.
The National Police Agency has placed orders for 793 new police motorcycles to be delivered in time to be used during the Olympic Games, which will be held in Tokyo late in 1964. Honda got an order for 423 CP-77 3()()cc machines and Kawasaki-Meguro got an order for 370 500cc Meguro police motorcycles.
Japan is the leader in the world of motorcycling in many different ways — largest production, best Grand Prix racing machines in their class, motorcycle sportslands, etc. Look for it and you can find almost anything in the way of motorcycles here. One oddity, which most motorcyclists surely have not heard of, is a 5()cc motorcycle with a water-cooled head and air-cooled engine. It is the Taff 50 made by the Iseki Agricultural Machinen Manufacturing Company. The single-cyl inder two-cycle engine has 4.2 hp @
8.000 rpm and a top speed of 75 kph (57 mph) through a three-speed rotary transmission. A 55cc model is also available. The company, which was begun in 1926 and is one of Japan’s oldest and largest makers of tractors and other farm machinery, developed a two-cycle engine with a water-cooled head in 1960. This 261cc engine was to be used in stationary positions on the farm as power for pumps, threshers, etc., and the water cooling was necessary because of a lack of sufficient air cooling. It proved so successful, and Iseki patented it in Japan and applied for patents in many foreign nations including the U.S., that the firm decided what was good for a stationary engine would be even better for a motorcycle. Production of the “Taff,” which comes from the English word “Tough,” a spokesman told CYCLE WORLD, began in June of 1961, and between 1,000 and 2,000 are made monthly now. The only major export to date was
1.000 machines to Taiwan.
Unlike the watercooled EMC or Bultaco racer, the Taff has only the head cooled by water and the rest of the engine depends on air cooling. A 1.2 liter (0.31 gal.) water tank is located in the center of the backbone-type frame right above the engine. The head sticks straight forward and at the very front, surrounding the spark plug, is a hollow chamber filled with water with two pipes leading up to the tank from it. The water circulates by heat: When the water in the head chamber around the plug gets hot it travels up one pipe, forcing cooler water to come down the other pipe into the head, as hot water rises above cold water. An added advantage, the Iseki official said, is that by draining the water and pouring in hot water in winter, starting is easy as the head and cylinder are warmed up by the hot water. No exports have been made to the United States and none are being considered yet, although the company has received inquiries. The firm has a unique sales network. They don’t have a single dealer anywhere. All Taff motorcycles are sold only through farmers’ cooperatives, of which there are nearly 2,000 in Japan. The firm has never entered any races, although one individual entered his own Taff and rode in the 1962 Asama Rally.
Honda Motor is really splurging on Sept. 23 to mark the firm’s 15th anniversary. The company reserved practically the whole city of Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital city, for the night at a cost of 100,000,000 yen ($277,000). Some 7,500 company employees, each dressed in cream-colored shirt and black tie Honda uniform, will have their way paid to Kyoto for the “Night of the World.” Major hotels, cabarets, night clubs, auditoriums and theaters have been reserved. Japan’s top movie stars and entertainers, ranging from the ranking popular singers to headline comedians, have been hired to perform for the Honda employees. These top stars are so busy Honda had to agree to charter several airplanes to take the 350 entertainers to Kyoto and bring them back to Tokyo. Some weeks ago Honda held a company-wide competition among its employees to get suggestions on the best way to celebrate its 15th anniversary. No limit on the amount of money to be spent was set at all. The winner was the number one machining section at the Hamamatsu factory, which received $4,600 in cash for its winning suggestion of a free night in Kyoto for all company employees. The section is using part of its prize money to donate a traffic light to be installed at a busy intersection in front of the factory. Tohatsu has announced a new 90cc motorcycle. It is a single-cylinder twocycle machine with four-speed rotary transmission and 90 kph (56 mph) top speed. The forward inclined 47x50 mm engine has a compression ratio of 9:1 and gives 7 hp @ 5,500 rpm. It has a maximum torque of 0.82 kg-m @ 5,500 rpm and gets 189 miles per gallon of fuel, engineers claim. Telescopic forks and swinging arm rear end, both hydraulically damped, and big internal expanding brakes are other features. Export models will have buddy seats. No price or name have yet been announced.
Kawasaki-Meguro have announced two new models of the four-cycle Meguro, both singles. The Meguro Junior S-8 is a 250cc machine and the J-8 is 30()cc. The 250cc model has 13.5 hp @ 5,400 rpm and a maximum speed of 115 kph (74 mph). The same maximum speed is claimed with 15 hp @ 5,500 rpm from the 300cc model. Full details and specifications on the two new models have not yet been released.
Honda Motor profits for the six-month period from March to August were up 20 percent over last year to a roaring $15,277,000. A company spokesman stated that exports were up from the 1962 figures by more than double. The company now claims more than 50 percent of all new motorcycle sales in the United States.
Yamaha and Suzuki each sent two-man teams to compete in the Jahore Grand Prix in Singapore Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, but they didn’t compete against each other. Yamaha’s top factory rider Furnio Ito and Giichi Sunako were to ride 250cc machines. Suzuki’s Haruo Koshino and Shunkichi Masuda were competing in the 5()cc and 125cc classes.
Honda Motor president Soichiro Honda left Tokyo for Belgium Aug. 25 to officiate at the formal opening of the company’s new factory in Brussels, which will swing into production of a 50cc moped model for the Common Market countries and exports to Africa. Engines and transmissions are sent from Japan and the rest of the machine manufactured in Belgium. While in Europe Mr. Honda will spend a few weeks introducing the company’s new 500cc sports car, which will retail for around $1,500 or a bit more. The car is also expected to be exported to the United States. •
