Soichiro Honda's passion was automobiles, but, paradoxically, he introduced Honda motorcycles. He adored driving extremely fast, as well as enjoying racing, and since he worked in an automobile repair shop as a teenager, he knew the mechanical things. He got a good amount of experience with riding motorcycles, because he owned both an Indian, and a Harley.
Honda had a repair shop in 1928, but was 41 years old in 1948, when he originally started the Honda Motor Company. He paid plenty of attention to good quality, because he understood that to compete he needed well-designed products that were made well. His company almost failed in 1953, even though motorcycle sales were increasing, due to economic depression in Japan. Even though an limited number of sales were being generated, he kept his factory going because he disliked the thought of taking work away from people. It was a good call, because the C100 Super Cub was introduced in 1958, and it became the world's most successful motorcycle. The transmission was capable of only three speeds, and the motor was 4-stroke, but it really was versatile, cheap and anybody could use it.
Not only could new drivers operate it easily, but it became a way of commuting for women. The recognition of this bike catapulted Honda to the number one position by number of motorcycle makers in 1959. They determined that it was time for advancement all over the world. They planned to set a precedence, and so they elected to come to the United States. Endorsement by the American public would mean acceptance by the rest of the world. The very first retail store selling Honda motorcycles opened in June of 1959, in Los Angeles, and by 1960, successful dealerships, selling Honda's, were more than 75.
By making available half the funding for two important organizations, Honda showed their commitment to the community and won a huge amount of public trust for their company. These were the Motorcycle Industry Council, and the Motorcycle Safety Council, both highly valued by devotees of motorcycles. People kept favoring Honda as being the number one motorcycle manufacturer during the seventies, as they continued developing new bikes which were irresistible. They were soon viewed as the fastest bikes in the world, flowing from their winning of over 70 global races in 1973. The innovative GL1000 Gold Wing was launched in 1975, making touring bikes comfortable and stylish, and the style was hurriedly emulated by Honda's competitors.
Revolutionary motorcycles, attractive to different cultures, have continued to be produced by Honda. Part of their excellent image is due to their continued practice of giving motorcycles to causes that they regard as worth supporting. Bike safety keeps benefiting by Honda's continued funding of training courses and dissemination of valuable information for the promotion of motorcycling safety. For many decades they have proven their motorcycles to be probably the most reliable of those manufactured. They've become renowned rulers in the motorcycle industry, in no small part because of their readiness to innovate irrespective of the circumstances.
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