Report From Japan

REPORT FROM JAPAN

SUZUKI PLANT NEARS COMPLETION

Construction is scheduled to be completed soon on Suzuki’s new motorcycle plant at Oyabe City on the Japan Sea coast. Additional facilities are planned to augment the 25,000-square yard facility by 12,000 square yards in late 1970. The goal of the plant is to achieve a production rate of 30,000 motorcycles a month by early 1971. Since the complex is located in the snowy region of Hokuriku, its roofs and pillars have been specially designed to withstand heavy loads of snow.

TAS ANNOUNCES NEW MINIBIKE

TAS Industries in Narashino City, a company that had discontinued motorcycle production eight years ago, has released its new 50-cc TAS mini. Known as the TMB-400, the new scooter has been developed to comply with the large demand for minibikes in the United States and Australia. Production is expected to be 1000 units per month.

HONDA AUTO FOR U.S.

Honda Motor Company has announced that it will place its N600 Minicar on the American market before the end of 1969. The company has already shipped 700 sample cars to the U.S. in the past 18 months for evaluation. The minicar will likely be retailed through the vast network of Honda dealerships in the United States. While thousands of the N600s have already been exported to southeast Asia, initial U.S. exports are expected to run between 1000 and 2000 units per month.

HAPPY CORPORATE BIRTHDAY, HONDA-SAN

It has been 21 years since the Honda Motor Co., Ltd., was formed; and 21 is young for a giant. Back in those postwar years all was dismal and dread, the rest had been destroyed. But somehow, in September 1948, the company came to life. Its nucleus was a small man with a scintillating mechanical mind, Soichiro Honda. A month later, the first product saw light: a 50-cc two-stroke auxiliary engine for bicycles. Now, 21 years later we’ve seen a remarkable phenomenon take place: a small company grow to fantastic international proportions while retaining a scientific vitality and courage unmatched by any firm in the world. With age, expansion and diversification a corporation often forgets and forsakes its roots; not so with this one. The sport is part of Honda, and Honda is part of the sport.

...AND THE GIANT’S STILL GROWING

The Honda Motor Company has released its cumulative production figures for the 21 years of its existence. As of the end of July 1969, Honda has produced 1 2,237,497 motorcycles and scooters.Also, for the first half of this year the company reported a production increase of 19.5 percent and an export increase of 17.6 percent over the previous year. To cap this off, the company expects to finish the current year with more than 1,400,000 units in production and 900,000 units for export sales. Now Honda enjoys 140 customer nations with assembly operations in 12 countries.

FANTASTIC RUMOR

There has been some extremely interesting talk in Japan about Kawasaki’s future plans for ultra-fast street machines. As you may know, the 500-cc Three was developed mainly for export markets. The bike’s impact on the motorcycling public was, understandably, nothing short of incredible. Now, even in Japan one must be a good “string puller” to buy one. And, as we’ve reported in this column before, the factory literally cannot build them fast enough to cope with the demand. Word is now, because of the rapid performance of the Honda 750-cc Four, the Kawasaki factory has readjusted its sights higher. They want to develop a production motorcycle that will “blow the Honda into the weeds,” so to speak. General guidelines for this machine have already been laid out: the cylinder displacement is to be in the neighborhood of at least 850 cc and to yield between 90 and 100 bhp! That’s not all; acceleration over the quarter mile is to be about 11.6 seconds. Now before you more skeptical readers mutter “balderdash” and turn the page, don’t forget those other “rumors” so widely circulated before the Mach Ill’s debut. It just might show up at the Tokyo Motor Show this year.