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There’s no better time in the bike industry than when your chosen manufacturer is throwing new models at you. 2024 is just such a year with 8 new models released on 7th November 2023. So we thought this might be a good time to remind you eight iconic releases from the Big H. Starting with this bad boy...
First ever Honda was a Dream
The first Honda motorcycle fully designed and developed from the ground up was released in 1949 and was fittingly called the ‘Dream D-type’. Prior to that, founder Soichiro Honda was dipping his toe in the water of two wheeled production by fitting generator motors to bicycles. But the ‘Dream’ was something very different and signified the start of Honda’s journey from modest beginnings to the becoming the biggest manufacturer of motorcycles the world has ever seen.
Cubbin’ together
In 1958, a star was born. The Honda Super Cub came into production and its direct descendant is still in the Honda range to this day. That’s over 60 years in production. It started its life as a 50cc moped and an affordable transport for the masses. Nowadays it boasts a semi-automatic 125cc engine and is still just as popular to this day. It continues to hold the record for the best-selling production vehicle ever.
Tour de Force
At the Cologne motorcycle show in 1974, a new machine stole the stage. The GL1000 Goldwing hit the town with naked street styling, but mile-munching touring comfort. And of course that now synonymous Honda reliability. Upon its official launch in 1975, it was the first four-stroke motorcycle to feature water-cooling. Since then it has gone on to an 1100cc Interstate in 1980 with full fairing and panniers, more akin to its modern equivalent. It gained another 100 ccs in ’82 after the success of the Aspencade and another 24 months on it got a stretch to a 1200cc. A major shift in 1988 saw a new chassis, improved brakes and a seamless fairing as well as its biggest capacity hike to 1500cc. Production also moved to Ohio, although it is back to Japan these days. ABS brakes joined the party in 2001 and equally a bag of more ccs took it to an 1800cc classic. Smoother handling and also an optional satellite navigation came to fruition before another major revamp in late 2017 which is much more akin to today’s Wing. A complete shift at the front end gave a much better ride and shed a significant amount of weight meaning that the bike continuing to be a big bike on paper whose weight dissipated as soon as the wheels started rolling.
Gettin’ RC
A road racing icon if ever there was one. With its DNA firmly stemmed from the fire breathing RVF hand built racers of the 1980s, the RC bared its teeth in the racing world in 1988. Many legendary names of motorcycle sport enjoyed great success on the V4 Honda. Joey Dunlop won road races aplenty at the Isle of Man TT and joined Carl Fogarty to Formula One World Championship success on the world stage. There was a time where you would have been forgiven for thinking that race series were essentially an RC30 cup, such was their popularity at one stage. Nowadays, they are very much a modern classic with good examples fetching well in excess of £20,000. Not bad for a bike that only cost £8,000 35 years ago.
Six appeal
Who doesn’t love the sight of a jelly mould? Well, forget your Birthday parties…..take a trip down memory lane to the first CBR600F….affectionally nicknamed ‘the jellymould’. Before 1000cc sportsbikes ruled the roost (see next for details), the 600cc sportsbike was a thing. It’s a thing again next year when the 600Fs more focused stepbrother is re-released for 2024 in the guise of the CBR600RR. The 600F though was a staple all-rounder. From its infancy it had that forgiving nature we secretly all crave for when we’ve taken that turn a little too fast. In its heyday, it sold in its thousands and now its back better than ever with the 650R AND that RR equivalent tearing up our showroom tiles for all to see and do. It’s seen conventional forks to upside-downers, bog standard single-piston calipers to four piston radial flavour brakes, carbs to fuel injection and tacho to TFT dash. It even gained a headlamp in 2001! You can plug your phone into the latest one. What a performer!
Sharp as a Blade
Tadeo Baba was the Father of the Blade. It debuted in 1992 with its beautiful fox-eye headlight design and it truly changed the production superbike world forever inspiring its competitors to dish up the likes of the R1, ZX10-R, Mille, maybe even the 916 you could argue. Plenty to thank Bab-san for in that regard. The Fireblade has seen much evolution of the years including a switch from side mounted exhaust to underseat to MotoGP style stubby and back to side-mounted (albeit Akrapovic) in the present day. It joined the electronics race in 2017 with an intuitive ‘no need to be an IT expert) dash that allows you to change quickshifter, power modes, torque control and suspension at the flick of a switch. It dominated the Isle of Man TT races with John McGuinness in the late 2000s/early 2010s, scored World Superbike glory with James Toseland and BSB success with Ryuichi Kiyonari and Alex Lowes.
Scootin’ around
Not to be forgotten is our best seller, the PCX125. It first hit our towns and city streets back in 2010. Its DNA is steeped in Honda’s unrivalled success with small bikes worldwide. The PCX has been thrashed, dashed and crashed by many a new rider and plenty of old riders too. But there’s one thing that remains the same, they’re bloody hard to break. A single cylinder automatic motor that goes to the moon and back on a tank of juice. Voluminous underseat storage and pretty to boot. A fabulous machine that outsells everything in the UK.
Twin Peaks
Starting life as a 650cc V-Twin, today’s Africa Twin, some 35 years later lives its life as an 1100cc parallel twin. The world of Electronic suspension, fuel injection and cruise control must have seemed a long way away back in 1988. But the Africa still gained credence as the bike that can do it all both on road and off road. It jumped 100ccs some time later and then disappeared from our shores for a while before coming back with a vengeance in 2016. We still believe it to be a modern day saint in the world of adventure bikes. As capable on road as it is reassuringly straight forward on the dirt, a true adventure bike you could say. Without the sheer bulkiness of its rivals, but with all the road presence you would wish for. Comfort aplenty and for plug-in types it’s got Apple Car Play to help the miles much a little faster. A true icon.
