who invented dirt bikes you guessed it honda the funny thing
is that it wasn't something that they set out to do on purpose
the honda team was frustrated and just letting off steam
some of the biggest business breakthroughs come about to sheer luck
let's find out how it happened it's 1958. honda is one of the leading
motorcycle manufacturers in japan now it's time to conquer the world
soichiro honda and takeo fujisawa sent kiachiro
kawashima to look for sales opportunities in different parts of the
world kiachiro has been with honda for many
years he joined fresh out of the hamamatsu
institute of technology and is now a personal friend of soichiro
when chichiro goes to america he finds it's kind of the land of
automobiles with all its vast distances americans need cars kiachiro feels it
will be a hard market to enter the motorcycle market is also small in
america sales are only between fifty thousand to
sixty thousand motorcycles per year this is only one tenth of the
market in japan in japan people are riding motorcycles
every day and everywhere they ride them on and off the
road to get to work into the shops average
americans don't ride motorcycles they drive motor cars
the small number of people who do ride large motorcycles of 500 cc's or more
they use them for over-the-road distance drivings where
power size and speed are vital motorcycles also have a negative image
in america this has been influenced by the
image of groups like hell's angels motorcycle shops are dark and greasy and
not inviting back in japan kiyochiro tells
suichiro and takeo that honda should begin with
southeast asia he thinks it will be very hard to
compete in america tequila says let's do america it's the
center of the world's economy the feeling is if they succeed in
america they will succeed worldwide khiro arrives back in los
angeles later that year and america honda
opens its doors in september 1959 with the lineup of the dream bentley and
the super cub bikes which did enormously well in japan
but kiachiro doesn't have high hopes for the super cub in america
the super cub is a tiny 50cc scooter what would americans even use it for the
team plans to focus on the more powerful motorcycles like dream
and bentley there are different stories about why the honda team in america
changed their selling strategy there are problems with the dream and
the bentley some reports say they aren't handling
the tougher conditions or speed down highways shipments are returned for
problems to be investigated the team therefore has nothing else to
sell but the super cubs another story goes like this kiachiro is
frustrated with the problems he's experienced
he and the team take their super cubs into the hills to let us some steam
off-roading isn't something people in america are doing back then
some people see the honda team and want to try dirt biking too
word spreads and soon the honda team finds they've invented the whole new
market in america quite by chance people start using these small bikes on
trails and campgrounds this pretty much kickstarts dirt bike
riding as we know it today it's likely that both stories are true
honda continues to focus on selling their smaller
motorcycles to the on-road market to do this they must transform the image
of motorcycles in america completely they also continue to expand the dirt
bike market they created in the end honda does not only introduce
dirt biking in america it also transforms the image of
motorcycles in america completely in just a few years
motorcycles no longer belong to motorcycle gangs and
serious bikers but to everyone they become part of ordinary
american life you meet the nicest people on a honda
was there mode this is how they did it they run bright catchy ads that don't
even use the word motorcycle the super cub is
advertised as nifty thrifty honda 50. honda staff wear
business suits to look professionals their own showrooms are spotless and
they encourage dealers to market in a similar way
then honda launches another memorable advertising campaign
created by their agency gray advertising you meet the nicest people on the honda
suici rohana doesn't like convention one of the films begins with the words
you can be conventional and use four wheels
then it shows how you can try something different avoid traffic
avoid uphills on a bicycle and save money on a honda
gray advertising convinces them to sponsor the academy awards
honda's the first foreign corporation to do so this is also
unconventional and becomes a topic of conversation the idea that nice people
can ride motorcycle catches on sales of the super cub are honda 50 as
it's known in the u.s take off it is broad appeal
it's small and easy to ride with a quiet four-stroke engine
not a smelly loud two-stroke it appeals to men and women
and becomes popular with students it has a wide step which
stops the wind lifting up a woman's skirt price is 250 dollars
it's reasonable and 75 percent less than harley davidson
by the end of 1962 america honda is selling 40
000 motorcycles a year kia shiro also arranges to have the super cubs sold in
sports good stores and camping stores honda starts manufacturing motorcycles
especially for dirt bike racing they make suspension stronger and
increase traction with larger tires competitors quickly follow keen to get
on the action too but honda keeps moving ahead
ever wondered what the difference is between a motorcycle and a motorbike
why do we call it a dirt bike riding and not dirt cycle riding
a common myth is that a motorbike is less powerful than a motorcycle but
actually the two are completely interchangeable the word
motorbike came a lot later and grew popular in the 1950s when people
preferred fewer formal words but it never really caught on especially
in america it's used in the uk and australia in
america motorbike is associated with smaller
kids bikes everything's opposite in england anyway
they call public schools private schools and private schools public schools
motorbikes motorcycles everything's backwards there
but back to honda by 1964 has become the world's largest manufacturer of
motorcycles it didn't take them long this brings us
to the next chapter in the honda story it's finally time for surichiro's dream
of making cars to become a reality too turns out that this is already happening
honda's first automobile is the t360 mini pickup truck
it's three months later and the x 500 sports car is released
it has chain driven rear wheels that show its motorcycle origins
it's based on s360 roadster which they'll develop for sale in 1962 was
never produced now it's 1969 the n600 model is launched
honda uses its established dealerships to sell in the beginning the four-wheel
n600 is displayed amongst the motorcycles the cars don't
have the same logo as the motorcycles the logo is simply h for honda
not much is known about the origins of the logo we know today it was created
somewhere towards the end of the 20th century some
say the h is broader at the top to symbolize reaching for one's dreams
you could also imagine two wings if you're really imaginative
and if you're even more measured if you can see the wings closing in to form the
a logo of acura honda's luxury brand in the u.s the
official story is that it's just an h for honda some people wonder if
hyundai copied honda's logo the answer is no
hyundai is a korean word that means modern the h
not only represents the company name but also the customer and company
shaking hands the ovo represents global expansion
yeah well if you ask me it really looks a lot like honda
that's their take not mine but this story is not about hyundai so let's get
back to honda it's 1964. the honda r8271 is japan's
first formula one race car it debuts at the german grand prix the
following year it wins in mexico suicidal and takeo retired together in
1973. srichiro stays on his director and is
appointed supreme advisor in 1983. people magazine dubs him the japanese
henry ford it's now 1974 the honda civic is
launched with its groundbreaking cvcc engine it's the first vehicle to meet
emissions in the u.s clean air act and it does it without a
catalytic converter the marketing anthem is leave blue skies
for our children two years later the accord arrives it
starts as a humble hitbit but it's a big hit it's one of the best
selling passenger cars in america and after a few years honda develops the
world's first car navigation system while this is happening both so ichiro
and his wife sachi enjoy skiing racing cars
hang gliding and even ballooning at the age of 77.
they both agreed that their sons should not join the company
suichiro honda dies in august 1991. he's posthumously appointed the order of
the rising sun and inducted into the automobile hall of fame near detroit
over the next 20 years the honda aircraft company is established and the
first time the jet takes to the skies honda launch is the first hybrid car
available in north america if you've watched our video on toyota
you'll know that prius launch is seven months later but overtakes the insight
and sales because of its four doors then fcx clarity fuel cell vehicles
introduced the world's first fuel cell sedan
what began as a bicycle with an auxiliary motor used to generate
wireless radios has become the world's leading
motorcycle manufacturer in one of the world's leading carburetors
suichiro honda was a man who believed in the unconventional and in the power of
dreams
the man may be gone but his dream
continues
you