Sports Cycle: History of Motorcycle

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Thursday, November 26, 2015

Asia's Twenty-First-Century Explosion in Motorcycle Production

As Japan’s surviving manufacturers are well aware, China is the world’s largest motorcycle market, followed by India in second place and Indonesia in third place. Japanese firms have been making inroads into Asia for many years, in terms of both sales and local manufacturing. From the Suzuki Motor Company’s first overseas motorcycle assembly plant in Thailand in 1967, the manufacturing web of the Big Four (Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha & Kawasaki) makers has spread to developing countries throughout Asia.

The Honda Motor Company entered the lucrative Indian market in 1984 through a joint venture with a local producer, thus forming Hero Honda Motors, Ltd. To date, the New Delhi-based firm has created 2,400 customer “touch points” comprising a host of dealers, service centres, and parts shops throughout urban and rural India. Driven by this well-informed effort to stay connected to its customer base, Hero Honda has been the world’s leading motorcycle manufacturer since 2001. In that year alone it produced 1 million motorcycles – a figure that boosted its total sales history to 5 million units.

The firm’s sales soon doubled to 10 million units by 2004, and in July 2006, pleased with its 48 percent share of the Indian motorcycle market, Honda announced that it would invest an additional US$650 million in a new subsidiary company to expand its production of both motorcycles and automobiles. In a press release, Honda announced that it expected its share in the Indian motorcycle market to reach 7 million to 7.5 million out of a total 12 million units annually.

Faced by such a manufacturing juggernaut, India’s second-largest motorcycle producer, Bajaj, has opted to pursue the world’s third-largest market, Indonesia. Although sales in Indonesia jumped from roughly 1 million units in 2000 to over 5.1 million in 2006, the country now has just one motorcycle for every seven people – compared to one in four people in neighbouring countries. Bajaj therefore sees serious potential in Indonesia and, despite a recent market slump due to inflation and rising interest rates, the company announced in 2006 that it expected to sell 100,000 motorcycles there in its first two years. The Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki motor companies all have production facilities in Indonesia, however, so Japan’s top producers continue, for the moment, to maintain a greater reach than their Asian rivals.

In the long term, the country with perhaps the greatest manufacturing potential is China. Already by the year 2000, Chinese motorcycle manufacturers had an annual production capacity of over 20 million units, even though the country’s domestic sales then totalled approximately 11 million units per year. Domestic sales are limited by China’s municipal governments, and motorcycle usage and sales are banned in major cities in order to curb traffic congestion, noise pollution, and exhaust emissions. Consequently, China’s many motorcycle producers have been forced to pursue aggressive export strategies – particularly to large developing countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Argentina, and Brazil. Chinese makers have been less successful in India, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, however, because those countries’ governments fear that inexpensive (and often illegally copied) Chinese imports will damage their domestic motorcycle industries.

In China itself, Honda Cub - type motorcycles are not as popular as scooter and sport models, but due to the popularity of the Cub type in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia and Vietnam, most exports from China are illegal copies of Japanese Cub-type models. In 2001, Indonesia granted import licences to eighty-seven new motorcycle brands, fifty-seven of which came from China. The quality of these Chinese exports, however, was often very poor.

In a 2001 report, the president of the Association of Motorcycle Industries of Indonesia, Ridwan Gunawan, highlights an important parallel between the development of China’s motorcycle manufacturers and Japan’s postwar motorcycle industry. Gunawan points out that many Chinese motorcycle manufacturers were once government-owned defence companies that produced arms and materiel for China’s military. Over time, many became redundant and therefore converted their operations into vehicle and particularly motorcycle production facilities. Their initial investment cost was low due to their ready supplies of production material, machinery, and trained technicians, and they shortened development time by obtaining licences and forming joint ventures with Japanese manufacturers. But many of these Chinese firms’ local partners later copied those Japanese models without entering into any licensing arrangement with the Japanese patent and design owners.

Thus while the Japanese motorcycle and scooter designs entered the Chinese manufacturing network legally, their illegal replication by unlicensed firms expanded the volume of production tremendously.

The Japan Times reported in 2002 that in addition to China’s 140 licensed motorcycle manufacturers, as many as 400 unlicensed makers were in operation. The article cited a survey by the Beijing office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), which found that roughly 90 percent of the 1,300 motorcycle models with engines measuring 125 cc or less sold in China in 2000 were copies of Japanese models. JETRO continues to press China’s government on the issue of the illegal copying of motorcycle designs and their various component patents, but Chinese manufacturers are merely speeding up the product development process. This is precisely what the Japanese firms Fuji and Mitsubishi did in 1946 when they copied American designs to produce their Rabbit and Silver Pigeon scooters, respectively.

Nevertheless, the products issued by China’s unlicensed firms are often inferior to Japanese designs because the firms lack the requisite technical skills to manufacture the components correctly; they often incorporate inferior emission- and noise-control devices; and they use locally made materials and machine tools, some of which do not meet the minimum quality standards demanded by licensing agreements. Despite their lower quality, both legal and illegal Chinese motorcycles appeal to consumers in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, where they are sold less expensively than domestically produced models. Although Gunawan notes that competition from imports is positive, giving consumers more choice and stimulating domestic industry, illegal import practices such as under-invoicing and tariff-avoidance cheat the government and undermine the competitiveness of domestic producers. China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 may well obligate its manufacturers to follow rules against intellectualproperty rights violations, but in reality only tougher import regulations and smarter consumer behaviour in other regions will affect the bottom lines of unlicensed Chinese motorcycle makers.

On this front, there is hope for licensed manufacturing. In May 2007, George Lin, the president of the Taiwanese motorcycle firm Taiwan Golden Bee, said that although China’s domestic motorcycle industry is still home to dozens of makers and sellers of low-quality, low-cost, copied products who provide no after-service, consumers in neighbouring countries are becoming savvier. Lin said,

"Several years ago, international buyers were very much attracted to China’s low-price motorcycles and parts, but now users of these ‘Made in China’ products have been scared off by their poor quality and durability."

As a result, noted Lin, most of the importers of Chinese motorcycles, especially in developing countries, have closed down. This leaves competing regional firms like Taiwan Golden Bee in a good position to follow the model set forth by Japanese manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s. Lin explained:

" Japan offers a good example for us; motorcycle makers there stayed competitive despite increasing production costs by taking the lead in the upper-end and larger-displacement segment with unmatched design, development, and cost-control capabilities, and with the introduction of high-end, high-quality products that rivals in Europe and the United States were not producing. Our manufacturers have equally good competitiveness, and they can make the most of the small-volume, large-variety business model. Our motorcycle makers should take aim at their Japanese rivals and not get mired in segments of the industry that can easily be occupied by price-cutting rivals in emerging countries, especially China."

As Lin points out, Japanese firms were forced to stay competitive by investing continually in new designs and manufacturing systems and taking full advantage of economies of scale. Japan may well have begun its initial postwar boom in scooter and motorcycle production through copying foreign designs, but that is not what kept its industry growing and advancing. Copying alone is a technological dead end that will turn only short-term profits, and firms that rely solely upon copying will ultimately fall by the wayside just as they did in Japan during the 1950s and 1960s.

The pattern of explosive growth and rapid contraction of Japan’s motorcycle industry will ultimately play out once more in China, where the illegal copying of licensed designs by inferior firms will eventually fail to generate significant or reliable returns. Furthermore, Japan’s industrial development is not the only pattern that should be studied as a model for developing nations undergoing rapid motorization: Japan’s comprehensive efforts since 1970 to combat road accidents and fatalities could be usefully applied in developing regions throughout South, East, and Southeast Asia.

Honda CB750, Glamorous & Glorious !

Big Japanese Inline Fours start with the Honda CB750. It’s cheap, invincible, and it’ll get you there on modern roads.

Four decades ago, Honda changed motorcycling forever by making the first mass produced in-line four. The 125mph CB750 had features that rival’s brochures just could not match. They included an engine with obvious grand prix ancestry, electric starting, a five-speed gearbox and a disc front brake. The Dream Four, as Honda originally named it, was unveiled at the 1968 Tokyo Show and was on US roads the following summer. It was sold in the UK from January 1970.

Despite huge development costs, the blockbuster four was keenly priced – it cost less than a Triumph's Inline-Triple in the US. They sold by the shedload. Hugely influential, the CB750 design remained in production until 1978, with updates and derivatives. An estimated total of 553,000 were built. Well equipped – and weighty – the CB750 offers a remarkably modern level of sophistication. Prices are rising and some spares are getting scarce, but the dependable Honda can take you many miles at modern traffic speeds with hardly any spannering.

Honda CB750 - The Engine !

Company founder Soichiro Honda set a challenging brief for the youthful project team who were charged with creating the company’s first 750cc motorcycle engine. The bike had to deliver stronger performance than any of its rivals, but with less vibration and more reliability.

Imposing appearance was important. Yet the engine had to be compact enough to avoid creating an unmanageable monster, while being cost-effective to produce and easy to service. Honda chose an in-line four engine over Horizontally-Opposed and Vee Four cylinders. The layout’s advantages included smoothness and an affinity with Honda’s successful grand prix racers – riders were going to be much more interested in buying motorcycles that were like the race winners.

The finalised design electrified the 1968 Tokyo Show, and set an industry pattern that endures today.

Plain bearings are used throughout the bottom end, with big-end journals disposed at 180-degree intervals: the inner two are at top dead centre when the outers are at bottom dead centre. The cam chain and twin primary chains are driven by sprockets cut in the crank metal between the inner cylinders’ webs. Valve gear is simple, with a single camshaft in plain bearings that opens eight valves via rockers with clearance adjusters.

The biggest challenge was how to cut down the weight and width of a large capacity four. To minimise engine width, Honda made a radical decision to sacrifice revs – the bore is 2mm less than the 63mm stroke. To reduce engine height, they tilted the cylinders forward. And to find more ground clearance, they used a dry sump lubrication system – almost every other Honda has a wet sump system.

Oil is circulated through internal galleries by a twin rotor trochoidal pump in the crankcase. Some lubricant is supplied to the gearbox from where, on pre-1976 engines, a trickle was passed to the chain across the inner face of the output sprocket.

Driven by the paired primary chains via a shock absorber, the multi-plate clutch is in the right-side portion of an elaborate horizontally - split crankcase. There are five ratios in a conventional two-shaft gearbox, with output from a third shaft carrying the sprocket. The alternator is a sophisticated three-phase 180 watt Hitachi type with exciter coils rather than permanent magnets. It mounts at the leftward end of the crankshaft.

Four 28mm Keihin round-slide carburettors with integral float chambers are operated by a rocking beam throttle mechanism. The earliest models have an all-cable one-into-four exhaust. Honda knew that four separate exhaust pipes were not essential for performance but instead used them for striking visual effect on its 1968 bombshell and all later CB750s except the Super Sports and Automatics.

Teething troubles included a leaky head joint, soon addressed by an extra holding-down bolt. Honda dealt with early drive chain failures by enlarging the gearbox sprocket. You can get cam chain rattle if the tensioner’s badly adjusted or carburation is unbalanced. Generally however, Honda’s landmark engine is trouble-free.

Riding The Honda CB750 !

Size and weight are the things that strike you when you first approach the CB750. Yet the Honda is far from being unmanageable. Rolling it off the stand won’t give you a hernia and the choke lever is readily to hand. A mere jab of the thumb sets the four-cylinder powerhouse burbling and its power delivering is pleasantly docile at small throttle openings.

We rode a 1976 CB750, coded K6. On several markets, including the UK, it was the first update of the four since the K2 of 1972. The 900cc Kawasaki Z1 and Honda GL1000 Gold Wing had arrived by 1976, so the 750 could no longer claim to be the ultimate bike. It was simply an affordable 110mph workhorse ready to go the distance, while offering a high level of comfort and convenience.

Some of the edge has gone off the grand prix howl of the original four’s exhaust note. But the environmentally corrected K6 engine still has a pleasant tone and a useful head of steam. It may not spin as readily as a modern four, but making music by winding up to 7000 RPM through the gears makes for an exhilarating ride.

For a quieter life, you can saunter along in a high ratio, knowing you only need snick the leftside pedal down to stoke up enough revs for strong forward thrust when it’s needed. The gearchange is notchy at low speed and the clutch on this machine is far from silky, but on the whole the bike is easy to control, letting you to concentrate on enjoying the ride.

The seat is really comfy, although tingly high frequency vibes penetrate the filling across a fair span of the rpm range. The bars and footrests are well placed for brisk, rather than frenetic, road riding, with windblast inevitably becoming an issue at motorway velocity.

Except when making tight turns, when topheaviness is apparent, the four’s bulk can be largely forgotten. But, although the front disc and rear drum offer effective braking for leisurely riding, when the machine’s 218 Kg - plus weight is rolling at speed it’s a mistake to expect too much from the disc.

On minor country roads the ride is bouncy, the impression being that the K6 has over-firm fork action and poorly-damped rear units. Suspension was one of the most frequently revised areas during CB750 production and many owners fitted aftermarket rear shocks. When the stock rear units on this bike are warmed-up, wavering can be felt when cornering with verve, although not to an alarming degree at legal speeds. Handling quirks are the price you pay for 68 HP allied to Sixties’ Japanese chassis design.

Modern Avon tyres are fitted although specialist restorer John Wyatt, who built this gleaming beauty out of a 100,000-miler, says he prefers the lighter steering of a slimmer front tyre with a ribbed tread of the type seen on original fitments.

On this model, which has a Honda replacement tank, the single petrol tap is on the left. Earlier fours had it on the right: not good for switching to reserve while operating the twistgrip at the same time.

Also on the left, under the forward part of the tank, the ignition key is awkward. It comes as no surprise that a US aftermarket conversion for re-siting the switch on the handlebar was a hot seller. A lock is provided for the seat, which lifts to give access to the battery and a tray for the rarely-needed tools.

Many refinements were made during the CB750’s long production life. New regulations had to be met and Honda tried to minimise risks, holding talks with US safety campaigner Ralph Nader. Faults and weaknesses that cropped up in service were addressed. As a result, although blander and slower than the earlier models, the less lusted-after later Ks offer more sophistication and dependability.

Direct comparison with a 21st century four may make the Honda seem rough, clattery and sluggish, but the CB750 is a spectacularly clever package for a 46-year-old design. Positive attributes, such as strong performance, decent brakes, dependable electrics and reliability far outweigh the shortcomings. It won’t win you friends among the more blinkered devotees of its British contemporaries, but this eye-grabbing classic gives you the freedom to go as far as you want whenever you want.

Honda CB750 Specifications

Manufacturing : Honda

Model : CB750

Production Year : 1969 – 2003, 2007

Engine : 4-Stroke, Inline 4-Cylinder, SOHC 8-Valve, Air-Cooled (1969-1978) | 4-Stroke, Inline 4-Cylinder, DOHC 16-Valve, Air-Cooled (1978-2003)

Bore x Stroke : 61 x 63 mm

Capacity : 736 cc

Compression Ratio : 9,0 : 1

Induction : Keihin Carburetor 28mm (1969-1978) | Keihin Carburetor 30mm (1978-2003)

Transmission : 5-Speed Gearbox, Constant-Mesh

Starter : Electric & Kick Starter (1969-1978) | Electric Starter (1978-2003)

Maximum Power : 68 HP @ 8.500 RPM (1969-1978) | 77 HP @ 9.000 RPM (1978-2003)

Maximum Torque : 60 N.m @ 7.000 RPM

Top Speed : 125 Mph ( 200 Km/h )

Frame : Tubular-Steel Open Duplex Cradle

Dry Weight : 218 Kg

Fuel Tank Capacity : 19 Litre

Dimensions L x W x H : 2200 x 890 x 1100 mm

Wheelbase : 1460 mm

Seat Height : 790 mm

Front Suspension : Telescopic Fork

Rear Suspension : Dual - Shock absorber, Swingarm

Front Brake : Single Disc Brake, 296 mm Disc

Rear Brake : 180mm Drum Brake

Front Tyre : 3.25 – 19 Inch

Rear Tyre : 4.00 – 18 Inch