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Heritage: Honda ATV Model History Timeline, 1970-Present

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 15:10:12 -0800

1970 ATC90
"What Is It?" asks Honda's advertising brochure. Just a revolutionary off-road vehicle destined to launch a whole new industry that will sell more than 6.5 million machines*. Honda's first ATV is a three-wheel ATC, or All-Terrain Cycle, originally named the US90; the name was later changed to ATC90. The 89cc four-stroke single cranks out 7 horsepower and features extras such as a Swivel-Lok™ handlebar for easy loading in a trunk or station wagon.
*Estimated industry sales from 1970-August 1999

1973 ATC70
Honda releases an economical little brother to the popular ATC90 intended for youngsters. Features include foot guards, easy-to-operate brakes and a U.S. Forest Service-approved spark arrester.

1979 ATC110
With a larger, 105cc four-stroke engine, a dual-range four-speed transmission, a parking brake and an enclosed drive chain, the more powerful ATC110 proves a popular successor to the venerable ATC90.

1980 ATC185
Introduced as Honda's most powerful three-wheeler, the new 180cc engine cranks out twice the muscle of an ATC110. Equipped with a five-speed semi-automatic transmission with an ultra-low first gear, the ATC185 could be equipped with optional Hondaline& front and rear racks and a trailer hitch to convert the super-trike into a super-mule.

1981 ATC250R
The first true high-performance ATC is powered by Honda's air-cooled 248cc two-stroke, complete with an engine counterbalancer to reduce vibration. Designed for experienced riders, the ATC250R wins legions of loyal customers with its adjustable front and rear suspension, front disc brake-both ATC firsts-and a close-ratio five-speed manual transmission.

1982 ATC200E Big Red
One year later Honda introduces the first ATC designed for utility, the 192cc electric-start Big Red. With standard front and rear cargo racks, Big Red features telescopic-fork front suspension and a dual-range five-speed semi-automatic transmission.

1983 ATC200X
ATC sales are booming when Honda introduces this XR-type high-performance single-cylinder four-stroke with full suspension and lightweight aluminum wheels. Honda's reputation for performance and durability makes the 282-pound 200X one of the industry's most successful sport ATVs.

1984 Big Red (ATC200ES)
Big Red matures in 1984 with the addition of reverse gear, a virtually maintenance-free shaft drive and a 700-pound towing capacity.

1984 TRX200
Honda's first four-wheel ATV is powered by a durable, single-cylinder four-stroke engine running through a five-speed dual-range transmission with shaft drive and reverse. Front and rear racks make it an indispensable tool for thousands of jobs.

1986 FourTrax 250R (TRX250R)
Honda introduces the definitive high-performance ATV in the FourTrax 250R. Equipped with a liquid-cooled counterbalanced two-stroke single-cylinder engine, six-speed close-ratio manual transmission, fully adjustable front and rear suspension and triple disc brakes, the 328-pound 250R is designed for expert riders seeking the ultimate sport/competition ATV.

1986 FourTrax 4X4 (TRX350)
Honda's first ATV with full-time four-wheel drive features a limited-slip front differential. This powerful workhorse is equipped with a tough 350cc four-stroke engine, a vibration-reducing counterbalancer and a fan-assisted oil cooler as standard equipment.

1987 FourTrax 250X (TRX250X)
The TRX250X is a 246cc four-stroke sport model featuring a five-speed transmission with reverse and adjustable suspension. It becomes very popular with sport ATV riders. Honda also coins the FourTrax name in 1986 for its four-wheel ATV lineup.

1987 FourTrax Foreman 4X4 (TRX350D)
One year after the successful launch of the FourTrax 4x4, the celebrated Foreman name is born. The 350cc Foreman 4x4 features front and rear racks, a high-output, 310-watt alternator and an 850-pound towing capacity.

1988 FourTrax 300 (TRX300)
Honda introduces a totally new 282cc four-stroke-powered ATV that is 42 pounds lighter than the popular TRX250 it replaces. The new 300 uses McPherson& strut front suspension to deliver a plush ride and tight turning radius.

1988 FourTrax 300 4X4 (TRX300FW)
Honda adds full-time four-wheel drive, double-wishbone front suspension and a limited-slip front differential to the FourTrax 300 to produce the best-selling ATV of all time. The FourTrax 300 series of 2WD and 4WD ATVs enjoys an incredible production run through the 2000 model year, selling a combined total of more than 530,000 units.

1993 FourTrax 300EX (TRX300EX)
Honda's FourTrax 300EX replaces the successful TRX250X sport ATV, adding 36cc of displacement and the convenience of electric starting. The 300EX is acknowledged as one of the best trail riding ATVs ever made.

1994 FourTrax 90 (TRX90)
Honda releases an ATV designed for riders age 12 and older. Roomy ergonomics and smooth-running 89cc four-stroke engine make this a popular ATV.

1995 FourTrax Foreman 400 (TRX400FW)
The next Honda ATV to proudly display the Foreman name features a torquey, longitudinally mounted 395cc engine designed to minimize frictional losses. A new overhead-valve design shortens the height of the engine, permitting more ground clearance and a lower center of mass. Weighing up to 50 pounds less than its rivals, the Foreman is a nimble machine when the workday is over and the fun begins.

1997 FourTrax Recon (TRX250)
Honda's value-packed, light-utility Recon is an immediate success. Featuring the same longitudinal engine layout as the larger Foreman 400, the Recon offers full-size ergonomics and dependable shaft drive.

1998 FourTrax Foreman S/ES (TRX450S/TRX450ES)
Honda's largest and most powerful ATV arrives in two versions: the manual-shift Foreman S and the electric-shift Foreman ES. Introduced in a market increasingly drawn to competitors with automatic transmissions, the ES is named the ATV of the Year by ATV Magazine. Honda's Electric Shift Program (ESP) gearbox offers the convenience of an automatic transmission with the durability and engine braking of a conventional transmission, allowing riders to shift up or down with the push of a button.

1999 FourTrax 400EX (TRX400EX)
Honda's first high-performance ATV in more than a decade immediately awakens the sleeping ATV sport industry. Using an XR400-derived four-stroke power plant and a cast aluminum swingarm-another industry first-the 374-pound 400EX is an instant success on the showroom floor and at the track.

2000 FourTrax Ranchers (TRX350TM/TE/FM/FE)
The four Rancher models-2WD and 4WD-conventional or ESP-controlled electric shifting-replace the ever-popular FourTrax 300s. Four-wheel-drive versions feature a new torque-sensing front differential that sends power to the wheel with the most traction. Utilizing Honda's longitudinally mounted engine design, Rancher engine height is further reduced by a dry-sump lubrication system carrying oil in a separate tank inside the engine cases. With more ground clearance and an even lower center of gravity, the multi-purpose Ranchers handle as well as some competitor's sport machines.

2001 FourTrax Foreman Rubicon (TRX500)
Honda stuns the ATV world with the four-valve liquid-cooled 500cc single-cylinder four-stroke Rubicon-equipped with the revolutionary new Hondamatic™ automatic transmission. The Hondamatic is compact, quiet, rugged, maintenance-free, sealed against external contaminants, and features engine braking-all refinements lacking in less sophisticated belt-drive transmissions. Honda's most powerful multi-purpose ATV, the Rubicon features many innovative design features of its siblings: longitudinally mounted, dry-sump OHV engine; torque-sensing front differential; and ESP-controlled shifting in addition to the automatic shifting modes.

2003 FourTrax Rincon (TRX650FA)
Honda introduces the SUV of ATVs-the 2003 Rincon. The world's most comfortable ATV offers up a full host of desirable features, including Honda's largest-displacement ATV engine, a liquid-cooled OHV 649cc single-cylinder powerplant; a radical, new automotive-style automatic transmission; and clean, cool SUV styling cues. Add in Honda's TraxLok selectable 2WD/4WD, torque-sensing front differential, fully independent suspension front and rear, plus liberal use of aluminum components to reduce weight, and you've got one of the most sophisticated and luxurious ATVs available.

2004 FourTrax Rancher AT/FourTrax Rancher AT GPSCAPE (TRX400FA/TRX400FGA)
The world's best all-around ATV? None other than Honda's FourTrax Rancher. And for 2004 Honda takes the Rancher's strengths to a whole new level. The '04 Rancher AT features an all-new 397cc OHV single, in Honda's proven longitudinal placement in the chassis for superior drivetrain efficiency, mated to a second-generation Hondamatic automatic transmission, plus push-button Electronic Shift Program (ESP) for manual "shifting" SUV-influenced styling keeps the Rancher AT's looks fresh, while the addition of a built-in GPSCAPE GPS unit extends the Rancher AT's appeal even further.

Heritage: Honda ATV History 101

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 15:01:26 -0800

If necessity was the mother of the first ATV, Honda engineer Osamu Takeuchi was its father. In 1967, American Honda asked Honda R&D Ltd. for a new product dealers could sell when motorcycle sales cooled off in the winter. Mr. Takeuchi was assigned to lead the project, along with a small group of Honda engineers. This was clearly the group for the job, since Takeuchi and company had been working to develop other new recreational vehicles that never saw production. These projects gave Takeuchi the tools to develop Honda's first ATV, the US90.

Forget the proverbial blank sheet of paper. Takeuchi started in the shop with a head full of ideas and an eclectic assortment of components. Two-, three-, four-, five- and even six-wheeled configurations were examined, but the three-wheel concept delivered the best combination for the machine's intended mission. It dealt with snow, mud and assorted slippery conditions a two-wheeler couldn't, while providing more maneuverability than other configurations.

In the early stages, a Honda ST™70 motorcycle gave up its 70cc four-stroke single-cylinder engine for the cause, along with assorted chassis parts. An extended rear axle carried cultivator wheels designed to handle rough terrain. Two driving wheels in the rear worked well. Cultivator tires didn't. The biggest challenge would be finding a tire capable of getting a grip on soft, changeable terrain such as snow, sand and mud. Two wheels, three wheels, four wheels or more? Motorcycle tires weren't an option.

The design process quickened when American Honda sent Takeuchi an American invention called the Amphi-Cat& that rolled on six 20-inch low-pressure, high-flotation balloon tires. The light bulb went on. Revamping his ST70-based prototype to accept the new low-pressure rolling stock, he went to work on his own tire design, ending up with a 22-inch tire inflated to 2.2 psi. With the tire dilemma solved, the 70cc engine lacked the muscle necessary to push a full-sized rider through snow or mud. A 90cc engine running through a special dual-range four-speed gearbox added the requisite flexibility over varied terrain.

The next phase of development was optimizing the chassis to match the new engine and tires. Testing over rough roads, sand hills and slopes as steep as 35 degrees gradually established chassis dimensions effective for recreational riding as well as agricultural work. Laid out in the shape of an isosceles triangle with the footpegs located outside the triangle to optimize control, the ATC design was unique enough to let Takeuchi patent the arrangement.

Exhaustive testing brought other lessons to light as well. Using a thumb throttle instead of the typical motorcycle twist grip let riders shift their weight for optimal vehicle maneuverability while maintaining precise throttle control. A rear differential was considered, but discarded when a live axle performed better. Though suspension is an integral part of the modern ATV, Takeuchi's original balloon tires soaked up rough terrain best by themselves. Exerting less pressure on soft or sensitive terrain than the average human foot, those tires let the vehicle go places others couldn't, leaving little or no evidence of their passing-an advantage that looms large in hundreds of modern ATV applications.

The 1970s: The World's First ATC
Officially introduced to America in 1970, the US90 sent its 7 horsepower through a dual-range four-speed gearbox with automatic clutch, and sold for $595. It was renamed the ATC90 later that year as Honda trademarked the ATC name. Three models carried that Honda ATC monogram through the 1970s. The ATC70 gave younger riders a scaled-down version of the fat-tire experience. And by the end of the decade, requests for more power turned the original ATC90 into the ATC110 in 1979. The ATC was as evolutionary as it was revolutionary from the beginning.
Good as the original fat tires were on snow and sand, they were vulnerable to punctures from things such as stubble from harvested crops. The fact that those original tires weren't repairable compounded the problem, so a fabric carcass was added, and steel hubs replaced the first hubless wheel design in 1975. Tougher, color-impregnated plastic fenders were added in 1975 as well.

Though it was primarily a recreational vehicle through the '70s, farmers were beginning to see the ATC as a tool to make their lives easier. Honda engineers followed their machines into the field, gathering data to guide the machine's natural adaptation to a rapidly growing market. The ATC was as capable at labor as at leisure, and America was catching on.

The 1980s: An Expanding Marketplace
Moving into the '80s, the two arenas looming largest in the ATV lexicon were utility and racing. The popularity of utility usage was easy to understand. On the farm, a tractor cost exponentially more to purchase and maintain, and an ATV uses 8 percent of the fuel necessary to feed a tractor. Consequently utility usage exploded in the 1980s and ATVs became multi-purpose machines, serving both recreational and utility purposes. This multi-purpose usage grew from 30 percent of total usage in 1985 to approximately 80
percent of today's ATV market.

Introduced in 1980, the ATC185 was popular among utility users. Rolling on larger, 25-inch tires that afforded improved traction, the 185 featured a five-speed transmission with an automatic clutch, and a 180cc four-stroke single-cylinder engine that was considerably more powerful as well. Though designed to split its duties more or less equally between work and play, the 185 set the stage for Honda's first purpose-built utility ATV two years later.

The 1982 ATC200E, a.k.a. Big Red®, had more of everything necessary to get a host of jobs done. Its 192cc engine and five-speed dual-range gearbox cranked out more power, especially low in the rev band, to make chores such as towing, spraying, seeding and fertilizing easier. An electric starter in addition to the standard recoil system made starting the day as easy as pushing a button. Dual racks and a 9.2-liter storage box made carrying tools, hay bales, fencing and other agricultural essentials easier. A new sealed rear drum brake survived the muddy fields and water crossings, and telescopic-fork front suspension made a day in the saddle that much more comfortable. Big Red added a reverse gear in 1984, and its drive chain was replaced with shaft drive for extra durability and less maintenance.

The other major ATV theme of the '80s-racing-was being played out everywhere from frozen lakes in the East to Western deserts to the dirt ovals of Middle America. Racing was an essential part of Honda from its founding in 1948. Thus it became part of ATC vocabulary as well, and the introduction of the ATC250R in 1981 put the rest of the world on official notice that Honda was as serious about winning on three wheels as it was on two. The world's first high-performance two-stroke ATC adapted Honda's CR® motocross technology to the three-wheel world with predictable results, taking hordes of unsuspecting competitors by storm.

Running unofficially in the 1980 Baja 1000 on pre-production ATC250Rs, a group of Honda associates surprised racing legend Mickey Thompson when they caught and passed him pre-running for the race. Honda's first official ATC racing participation came in the SCORE-sanctioned 1981 Parker 400 held in the Arizona desert. Thanks to Thompson's considerable influence, an official three-wheel class was sanctioned in the 1981 Baja 1000. In 1984, Honda's ATC250Rs started just behind the motorcycles rather than from the very back of the starting order, and then finished first and second in class, putting them fourth and fifth overall. Nothing on four wheels finished ahead of the ATCs. The three entries that did well were all large-displacement motorcycles, including Honda's race-winning XR™;. Honda raised the bar in 1985 with an all-new, liquid-cooled version of the 250R that cranked out 38 horsepower and offered nearly 10 inches of suspension travel at both ends, giving it the power to do disappearing acts ahead of other brands at race tracks across the country.

Though it was never as successful in the desert as the more potent 250R, the ATC200X that debuted in '83 proved that Honda four-strokes could run with the best of them. The 200X combined a high-performance 192cc engine, five-speed gearbox and manual, motorcycle-style clutch with long-travel suspension and sporty chassis geometry that was more at home ripping up race tracks than handling farm chores.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, building ATVs to endure the stress of utility use put Honda R&D on a steep learning curve. Approaching the mid-'80s, ATVs were inspected, dissected and exhaustively scrutinized with more data acquisition equipment than any other Honda product. Machines were run hour after hour, day after day for weeks, with riders wearing 50-pound instrument packs that recorded information on every aspect of the machine's operation. As the market's swing toward utility continued, Honda's research made it clear that the next step in the ATV's evolution would be another wheel. Thus Honda's first four-wheel ATV, the TRX200, debuted in 1984.

The market responded almost immediately, making 1984 Honda's biggest sales year for ATVs. The 370,000 units delivered in 1984 remain the high-water mark for Honda ATV sales, making up a full 69 percent of total ATV sales in the U.S. that year. The upswing in utility use and the introduction of the four-wheel TRX200 were also the beginning of the end for Takeuchi's three-wheel matrix. Four-wheelers were considered more versatile tools by customers, and tools were what people wanted most.

By 1986 the smart money was all on four wheels in the ATV world. The ground-breaking Honda TRX250R made an unmatched four-wheel performance statement with a liquid-cooled 246cc two-stroke engine similar to the ATC250R's. On the utilitarian end of the spectrum, Honda unveiled the first four-wheel-drive ATV that same year. The FourTrax™; 350 4x4 arrived at its coming out party in grand style-lowered from a helicopter to show all four wheels moving under their own power. Market forces were already at work to replace three wheels with four.

In 1984, skyrocketing ATV sales led to an increase in accidents, prompting an investigation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In 1986, CPSC statistics suggested that most ATV accidents were due to improper rider behavior that ignored the distributor's warnings. No inherent flaw was found in the three-wheel or four-wheel ATV design.

Honda's owner's manuals and product warning labels stressed the importance of proper ATV operation to its customers. Through a national industry safety campaign, there was a 33 percent decline in recorded CPSC injury statistics between 1984 and 1988.

Nevertheless, on April 28, 1988, the U.S. ATV distributors entered into an unprecedented 10-year agreement with the CPSC called the Final Consent Decree. Under the agreement, the ATV industry made a $100-million commitment to expand existing safety programs. Among the many components of this agreement, free training and training incentives were offered to owners and purchasers of new ATVs. Additionally, distributors would no longer market three-wheel ATVs, repurchasing any unsold three-wheel models from dealer inventory.

Although three-wheel ATV sales were trailing off across the board at the time, and Honda had already introduced a line of four-wheel ATVs, the CPSC agreement did serve to accelerate the process.

On the eve of the '90s, Honda introduced the 1988 FourTrax 300 and FourTrax 300 4x4, the revolutionary pair of hard-working Hondas that would ultimately become the most versatile, most popular ATVs in history. Combining an ideal balance of size, weight, power and capacity, the 300s sold more than 530,000 units over the ensuing 12 years. Powered by a 282cc air-cooled four-stroke single-cylinder engine, the FourTrax 300 sent its 20 horsepower through a five-speed transmission, automatic clutch and maintenance-free shaft drive. An ultra-low first gear helped it tow up to 850 pounds. Tough steel racks let it carry up to 66 pounds in front and 132 pounds in the rear. And if the hardest-working ATV in America ended up packing tackle to your favorite bass fishing spot on Saturday morning, nobody else had to know.

The 1990s: Workhorse Of The '90s

Throughout the 1980s, more and more people saw the ATV as a vehicle capable of getting thousands of different jobs done faster and easier. By the time the '90s rolled in, the Honda FourTrax had become an essential part of the great American toolbox. You'd be hard pressed to find a Louisiana rice farm, Washington apple orchard or Montana cattle ranch that didn't have at least one.

From copper mines to banana plantations, golf courses to pig farms, forest reclamation projects to shopping center maintenance, nothing on wheels had ever been as versatile, reliable, efficient and affordable, on the job or on the weekend, as the Honda ATV.

Though sport models such as Honda's FourTrax 300EX and the new-for-'99 400EX are immensely popular with sport and recreational riders, industry observers estimate that 85 percent of ATV use in the '90s revolved around some sort of enterprise. Mr. Takeuchi's idea had grown up, gone to work and done a good job. When asked what products had the greatest impact on their farming operations since 1967, the readers of Farm Industry News ranked the Honda ATV right up there with Dekalb Biotype E Sorghum, A3127 Hybrid Soybeans and the Miller Electric Mig Welder as a Landmark Product of the last 25 years. That's high praise from one of the most brutally sensible groups of people on the planet.

In America, having a FourTrax on the job makes a host of jobs more efficient. In countries without our infrastructure, manpower and financial resources, the Honda ATV's reliability and efficiency handle jobs that simply couldn't be done before. Folks on other parts of the planet were discovering what America had discovered a decade before, and began putting Honda ATVs to work, performing all manner of work that was either impossible, impractical or both. Whereas Honda ATVs were largely a domestic phenomenon before 1990, they're currently working in more than 35 different countries worldwide.

The 1995 Foreman 400 4x4 introduced the working world to the strongest, most efficient Honda ATV yet. Powered by an innovative longitudinal engine design that positions the crankshaft perpendicular to its axles, the '95 Foreman's front and rear drive shafts transfer power to all four wheels with fewer power-robbing directional changes, fewer parts, less weight and a lower center of mass.

In 1997 Honda introduced the advantages of its longitudinal power train to a broader circle of ATV users with the FourTrax Recon, a mid-size 2WD ATV that works hard and can scurry down a trail better than anything in its class.

In 1998 Honda debuted its Electric Shift Program (ESP) on an all-new 450cc ATV, the Foreman ES. Combining the convenience of an automatic with the control of a manual gearbox, ESP allowed Foreman ES riders to shift up or down with push-button ease. Honda's meticulous approach means the only thing harder than building the toughest ATVs on earth is improving them. Improving the single most popular ATV model, the FourTrax 300 series, was a truly difficult undertaking.

Moving into the new millennium, the Rancher lineup achieved just that. Putting the compact, powerful efficiency of the 329cc longitudinal-powered drive train in an all-new chassis creates a better version of what was arguably the most versatile multipurpose ATV ever created.

Responding to a skyrocketing market's demands for even more hard-working horsepower and a true automatic transmission in an ATV with Honda innovation and durability, the 2001 Rubicon is introduced in the spring of 2000. The largest, most powerful multi-purpose Honda ATV ever is also the most innovative. Muscle from its liquid-cooled overhead-valve longitudinally mounted 500cc engine flows through an all-new, continuously variable Hondamatic transmission with enough original ideas inside to have more than 100 patents pending.

One of Honda's greatest strengths has always been its ability to create all-new products that don't fit in existing categories-such as the original US90. Honda does it again with the 2003 FourTrax Rincon to create the world's most comfortable ATV. It features taut, modern SUV styling, Honda's largest-displacement ATV engine, plus liberal use of aluminum to reduce weight. Conversely, Honda has also easily expanded a product's versatility to satisfy a broader audience, and that's the case with the 2004 FourTrax Rancher AT/FourTrax Rancher AT GPSCAPE. An all-new longitudinally mounted 397cc OHV single, SUV-influenced styling, plus a smaller, more efficient Hondamatic automatic transmission with Electronic Shift Program and, on GPSCAPE models, an integrated GPS unit, only broaden the Ranchers' appeal as the world's best all-around ATVs.

Heritage: Why We Race

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:55:23 -0700

At Honda, racing is much more than a platform for marketing products, or a venue for research and development. To Honda, racing is the very soul of the company, a touchstone reaching back to our founder and the very foundations of the company.

Soichiro Honda formed the Honda Motor Company in 1948. One year later, World Championship Motorcycle Grand Prix racing was born, and soon the histories of both entities would become forever intertwined. While the dream of earning World Championship status captivated the thoughts of every motorcycle manufacturer around the world, this goal resonated in perfect harmony within Soichiro Honda.

In 1954, Mr. Honda made his intentions public by stating, "My childhood dream was to be a motorsport World Champion with a machine built by myself. I here avow my definite intention that I will participate in the TT races and I proclaim with my fellow employees that I will pour in all my energy and creative powers to win."

As the head of an upstart company, Soichiro Honda may have been just a single voice in a worldwide marketplace. However, a mere five years later, Honda entered the prestigious Isle of Man TT for the very first time. And within two years--a blink of an eye by racing development standards--Honda captured its first World GP race win on April 23, 1961. Exactly 39 years, 11 months and 15 days later, Honda would win its 500th GP victory, an achievement far surpassing that of every other motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

Impressive as this heritage of GP victory is, it barely scratches the surface of Honda's total racing achievement. In addition to GP racing, Honda has earned 96 National titles, encompassing Superbike and Supersport road racing, motocross, Supercross, Grand National Cross Country, and Hare Scrambles competition, and has amassed a record-setting 13 Baja 1000 victories. Name the racing discipline, and you'll find a collection of Honda championships.

Again, lofty as these marks stand, they constitute only one area of excellence. After expanding from motorcycle to automobile production, Honda once more set its sights on the highest goal--that of World Grand Prix auto racing--and soon achieved success within that stratospheric level of competition. In 1966, Honda-powered cars won the Formula 1 and Formula 2 GP Championships, and Honda notched more race wins and other notable achievements before leaving the sport of auto racing to focus on the production of consumer automobiles. Following a 10-year hiatus, Honda entered the F1 arena once again in the 1980s, and by 1992 Honda had amassed six Constructor's Championships, five Driver's Championships and 71 Grand Prix victories--an amazing achievement.

Having made its mark in F1, Honda next set its sights on the American racing scene, in CART IndyCar events. Following a brief start-up period, Honda earned its first race win in 1995, then went on to dominate the sport with five consecutive Driver's Championships in this premier venue by the close of the 2000 season.

Honda's unabated passion for motorsports continues to fuel the company's dreams in a new millennium. As one journalist said of Soichiro Honda, "He went racing because he loved it; it was in his blood. And what made Honda successful was that it was a company led by engineers. . . ."

This drive to conquer new engineering challenges, whether on the race track or in the production of consumer products, continues to forge the soul of Honda Motor Company. Racing inspires new heights of creativity at Honda, dismissing traditional solutions in the unceasing search for new designs. Within Honda, the status quo is never enough; to stand still is to run backward. Honda's overarching corporate commitment to develop breakthrough technology serves as the most compelling challenge of all.

Honda's longstanding and deep-seated passion for racing and excellence continues to power the dreams of today--dreams that will appear as the Honda products of tomorrow.

Heritage: Soichiro Honda

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:49:06 -0700

Soichiro Honda created a motor vehicle industry when it should have been impossible. The time for that was the turn of the century, when Ford, Peugeot, and Daimler were created. Shipbuilding magnate Henry J. Kaiser tried to break into the auto business in 1947, and lasted only a decade. The territory was taken, transportation was a mature industry, and its giants wanted no new competitors. By mid-century, one man could no longer create such a manufacturing empire.

Yet Honda did. It's easy to say that postwar Japan needed transportation, and Honda seized the moment. Yet so did many others, and where are they today? Japan had its own established giants, but Honda somehow made himself their equal.

This man, despite being a results-oriented pragmatist who suffered no fools gladly, was driven at the core by a dream. He was born at the junction of old and new, as Japan swept from agriculture to manufacturing. Strong contrasts filled his early life, as this blacksmith's son gazed with wonder at the future's new machines--engines, pumps and airplanes. Young Soichiro ran after the first car he saw, savoring its exotic breath. He dreamed of transcending the dusty road with machines that moved, that multiplied human abilities. And machinery made sense to him. Book-learning did not. He couldn't wait for school diplomas to unlock his future--he plunged into practical work with cars and engines.

Honda knew his own countrymen well enough to lead them, and he sought in others talents he himself did not have. He was no isolated engineering nerd, dreaming in private. Honda demanded practical results, and he found a way of working that brought those results. He learned to regard failures as necessary steps toward understanding. He instilled in others the drive to learn without fear of failure. Such was the road to success.

A motor vehicle empire is not created simply by acts of will or diligence. Honda discovered, with his attempts to make piston rings in 1937, that the physical world doesn't yield its secrets to effort alone. Its complexity requires study. Honda went back to school to add the insights of metallurgy to guide his hundreds of experiments. Work and study brought success, so that when he produced his first postwar motor-bicycles, he knew the value of continuous reinvestment in technology.

It was not enough to have a good idea, a strong will and a willingness to put in the hours. If you made a product no better and no worse than your competitor's, the customer had no reason to prefer yours. But reinvestment in technology offered something different--a way to grow ideas into useful new things that people would want. Japan's impressive heavy industries had emerged during Honda's youth, but he knew it would take something more to succeed in the turbulent 1950s.

Honda learned to reach goals by breaking with tradition and accepted views that stood between himself and his goals. His novel way of seeing the world owed much to his playful sense of humor. Learning early and through hard apprenticeship that unconventional ideas could work, he applied this directness to everything in his life. He showed famous disrespect for status, believing that work dignifies the workman, and that therefore work clothes and cap were equally appropriate for financial meetings or shop visits. He expected to be judged by his actions, not by the cut of his suit, and applied the same standard to his associates. Knowing himself, he knew that people of any education or background could have useful ideas.

Soichiro Honda's unconventional ways became the company's personality because he did not pursue the socially correct compromise path of consensus decision-making. He was everywhere in the flesh, checking the progress of R&D projects, visiting production shops, helping workers assemble an engine, injecting his own views, asking questions. Honda's way was to overturn the conventional to seek ideas so simple that traditional thinkers had overlooked them. In Soichiro Honda's view, engineering was not just applied science; it was imagination made real and useful. What do you need? We'll make it.

To make these things, Honda also changed marketing methods, and manufacturing. High quality comes from a creative combination of design for use and design for manufacturing, all aimed to hit a specific market need. A product that can be made in easy steps can be made well, and a product that does its job reliably pleases its users.

The step-through Honda Cub® was the first international success for the Honda® Motor Company, and it was a model for all the successes that were to follow. Recognize a need, create a unique way to satisfy it, incorporate unusual performance, quality and reliability, then build from an expanding reputation into yet other areas. This pattern defined the Honda Way. A need was recognized, and after trial and error, the trouble-free, easy-to-operate 50cc Cub was created.

Marketing targeted the general public with good, clean two-wheeled fun, and introduced millions to motorcycling. When the market was saturated, Honda had the vision to see that a similarly trouble-free kind of sports motorcycle could become equally popular, building on the proven reputation of the Cub. As that success expanded into many countries, Honda expanded its line, always offering customers a step up to more sophisticated models. Soon thereafter came auto production, and the rest of the story is familiar recent history.

The most difficult problems--those shunned by competitors--have been tackled by Honda engineers who know this is the best way to be prepared for the future. From the beginning, Honda sought the challenge of racing, and when his motorcycles won their first Grand Prix road racing title in 1961, the new company's engineering power was demonstrated to the world. Since then, racing has remained a valued element in Honda's development process. From Honda's continuing research and development, a long succession of technological triumphs has resulted--the low-emissions engines, variable valve timing, the latest lean-burn combustion system and minimalist alloy chassis are only a few. Because of work of this kind, Honda products are not commodities. They are unique.

This success was no accident. Soichiro Honda invented himself by hard trial and error, to succeed in difficult, fluid times. His company became an extension of himself, displaying his qualities, employing his methods. Honda's unconventional personality was an essential adaptation to an era of unpredictable, accelerating change, enabling the company, like the man, to make room for itself among less agile giants, to take and hold its place in history as a pioneer.

Heritage: A Brief History of Honda's American Manufacturing

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:44:08 -0700

Honda had painstakingly marshaled a reputation of superb quality for its made-in-Japan motorcycles. But in the '70s, consumers' attitudes had been hardened by years of disappointment and frustration in American-made products, best illustrated by General Motors' problems with the Vega, Ford's with the Pinto, and the AMF-built Harley-Davidsons of the time. Honda's first U.S. plant offered an opportunity to change consumers' minds about American quality. But the effort had to succeed. If it did, Honda could proceed with the $250-million auto plant it planned to build. If the Marysville Motorcycle Plant (MMP) failed because of quality problems, Honda's reputation, and its future, could have been damaged beyond repair.

Of course, as history shows, the Marysville experiment did everything expected of it: It upheld Honda's reputation for quality and allowed the company to expand with additional plants in this country. Although the MMP was built primarily for motorcycles, the plant was designed to allow production flexibility, including the assembly of ATVs. Ten years after the first motorcycle was assembled, the best-selling ATV in America--the FourTrax® 300--rolled off the line. Honda followed the MMP with the Marysville Auto Plant (MAP, the first Japanese auto plant in the U.S.), the Anna Engine Plant (AEP), Honda Engineering North America (EGA), the East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP), Honda Transmission Manufacturing (HTM), Honda Power Equipment (HPE), and Honda of South Carolina (HSC), the company's first exclusive ATV plant.

Several reasons account for the success of Honda's U.S. plants. Start with just the physical aspects. Both the 260,000-square-foot MMP and 280,000-square-foot HSC plants are far smaller than their counterparts in Japan. Japanese plants in particular were of little use as models, in part because of their vastly greater production capacity, and because of their hodgepodge nature; they had been built and then expanded repeatedly over the years.

What the American plants needed was the strictest efficiency and, in the MMP's case, flexibility to assemble different models. As Takao Shirokawa, one of the MMP's original team members, said, "The plant was designed to minimize traffic between adjacent departments, to try to minimize space, and try to maintain efficient logistics inside the plant. We tried to make the most efficient, but small, motorcycle plant. Profitability was the key to this plant. So [the question was] how to minimize the cost of assembly. We tried to pursue efficiency."

One crucial element of efficiency and quality control at HAM is the use of Honda's own assembly and production machinery. Tour the MMP and the HSC ATV plant, as well as Honda's other facilities, and you'll see the usual array of Japanese die-cast machines and American tubing-benders. But most of the high-tech precision equipment was designed and built by Honda Engineering. Welding equipment used for ATV frames, as well as stamping dies, injection molds and other machines, all bear the Honda Engineering stamp.

The American Advantage

Building machines to make machines also provides Honda with a rapid response time.

In a competitive market, the ability to respond quickly to customer needs has given Honda an invaluable marketing edge. At Honda Engineering-including Honda Engineering of North America--engineers work closely and early in the design process with those in R&D, saving time in creating new jigs, fixtures, stamps, and dies. The arrangement also allows better, more rapid maintenance, as well as kaizen--the Japanese word for improvement--of equipment and processes.

Physically, there's little else about the MMP and HSC that break new ground. The processes and the people make the greatest difference. Take, for example, the sophisticated powder-coat paint process used for FourTrax frames at both the MMP and HSC. This efficient, high-quality, low-emissions technology received the Ohio governor's award for Outstanding Achievement in Pollution Prevention in 1998.

Apart from such purely physical aspects, the attitude the region's inhabitants bring to their work is also crucial. Before construction began on the MMP, Honda officials visited several Midwest manufacturing plants, and were convinced the people there owned a work ethic similar to that of their Japanese counterparts.

What's more, Honda treats its associates in ways almost unheard of at other plants. For instance, open communication allows associates, as Honda's employees are called, to make assembly techniques more efficient. And every associate is treated equally, down to the seemingly minor detail of all employees sharing a single common lunch room, rather than being segregated into labor and management dining areas.

Honda also offers a single pay scale for all assembly associates, which facilitates movement from department to department. Such movement allows cross-training of associates, the development of new skills and a clearer vision of the entire assembly process that has led to many associate-driven improvements over the years. Keeping associates involved and satisfied is a key point in maintaining Honda's high level of quality.

Honda also ensures quality by working closely with its suppliers. At first that was difficult at the MMP because American suppliers were unwilling to supply Honda with parts because of the low production numbers (150 Gold Wings a day in 1981-1983 vs. 1000 units a day at one of Honda's Japanese plants). Suppliers were also unaccustomed to the level of quality Honda demanded, and were initially unwilling to make the investments necessary to provide such quality at such low volumes.

Honda persisted, though, offering training, advice, and even furnishing equipment--an unheard of relationship between client and vendor at the time, and still rare in this country. Yet most suppliers appreciated Honda's involvement, because it allowed them to improve their own quality, and so expand their business. These days, Honda of America Manufacturing (HAM) spends more than $6.4 billion on goods and services from some 450 vendors and suppliers.

The Honda Difference: Putting it Together

Perhaps the most important way Honda ensures the highest quality in its ATVs and motorcycles is by guaranteeing and monitoring quality every step of the way. "It starts with very high-grade materials," says one company spokesman, "continues with quality suppliers, and then, in a phrase we use, quality in the process. That means we have standards, measurements, repeatable and monitorable, whether it's for a weld, or for material specs for frame material, or the quality of the injection-molded plastic material, or how long it stays in the mold--all those things are very quantifiable for high quality and durability.

"Finally, the ultimate standard we apply is customer satisfaction, which has to do with the customers' expectations and how they use the product. If they put a premium on durability and longevity and performance, we have to think up what materials and processes will ensure those things that will satisfy the customer for many years of use."

At the outset, with the construction of the Marysville Motorcycle Plant, Honda took an enormous gamble. But Honda bet that the quality of its U.S.-assembled motorcycles and ATVs would lead to success, and so it ensured quality at every level, with people, processes, material, and machinery.

That commitment to quality led to the building of seven more facilities in this country over the following two decades, for a total of eight, with a total work force of more than 20,000 associates, and a capital investment of $4 billion in Honda's North American Manufacturing and R&D operations.

Honda built its reputation on that most enduring value--quality-from the very beginning, and never relented. Every motorcycle and ATV that rolls out of the MMP and HSC is a testament to that lifelong commitment.

Heritage: Defining the '80s

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:41:47 -0700

Soichiro Honda's meteoric rise from postwar bicycle-maker to world leader in motorcycle innovation and production is one of the most inspirational stories of our century: In the '50s, the company began building small motorcycles; by the end of the '60s, Honda® had unleashed the mighty CB750 Four, arguably the most important new motorcycle of the postwar era; the '70s saw Honda set all-time sales records with the CB350 and then hit the afterburner with the audacious CBX and liquid-cooled Gold Wing®.

Recession and inflation in the 1980s found Honda, and most other motorcycle companies, grappling with growth and direction. The temporarily uncertain market required manufacturers to think carefully about their products and their customers, and about the evolving market segments. As has often proved the case, the decisions and leadership Honda exercised in the '80s made a profound impact on motorcycling, an impact that is still strongly felt today. It was within this decade that Honda helped define and establish each of motorcycling's principal segments: touring, sport bikes, cruisers, standards, dual-sport, and off-road.

In the touring segment, prior to Honda's launch of the '80 GL™1100 Gold Wing Interstate™, major manufacturers left it to riders to build their own full-dressers; even Honda made no fairings or saddlebags. This all changed with the Interstate, Honda's first standard full-dress touring bike. It was the beginning of a touring legacy which, 19 years later, reveals the GL1500 Gold Wing as the most popular tourer ever built.

The success Honda fostered in the full-dress touring market would soon be matched in other segments. In 1982 Honda introduced the first modern V-4 motorcycle engine in the Sabre™ standard model and Magna® cruiser, followed in '83 by the ground-breaking VF750F Interceptor®, the most important performance bike built by Honda since the original CB750 Four. The Interceptor's perimeter frame and narrow V-4 engine established design architecture still used on the current Interceptor. With riders such as Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey, Fred Merkel and Bubba Shobert at the controls, the Interceptor won five consecutive Superbike titles during the decade. In '86 the Interceptor was upgraded to the aluminum-frame, gear cam-drive VFR™750F and proved its mettle by winning eight of nine Superbike races. The mighty RC30™ racer soon followed, winning the first two World Superbike championships in 1988 and 1989.

One of Honda's brightest stars of the '80s is certainly the CBR®600F Hurricane®. For most of the late '80s as well as the '90s the CBR set the sales and performance standards for the 600 class. That the inline-four-cylinder CBR could forge its own identity in a Honda product roster headlined by the V-4 VFR is a testimony to its spectacular engineering. Fully clad in aerodynamic bodywork, the CBR changed the notion that a motorcycle's engine must be seen. For Honda, the dollars normally spent on external engine cosmetics were instead put into performance development. Not only did the CBR establish a new manufacturing direction for sport bikes, the Hurricane also attracted legions of riders into the sport bike segment.

Other models also showed Honda's willingness to think off the page, venturing into the rarefied air of discovery. These included the 1982 GL500I Silver Wing® Interstate, a mini Gold Wing; the recumbent Helix™ scooter; the CBX sport tourer; the ferocious '82 CX500 Turbo, Honda's first turbocharged production street bike; and the 1989 Pacific Coast®. The most successful of all was Honda's line of Shadow® cruisers. The technical accomplishments of the original '83 VT™750C V-twin Shadow cruiser are often overlooked in the bright glare of other Honda innovations of the time. Even so, the Shadow's liquid-cooled, narrow-angle V-twin engine offered a variety of innovative technologies, including three-valve combustion chambers and a vibration-canceling offset dual-pin crankshaft, a classic Honda feature still in use today. More importantly, the Shadow line helped strengthen the Japanese cruiser segment, currently the fastest-growing class in today's marketplace.

Off-road, the CR®125 and CR250 motocrossers made Honda by far the dominant player in motocross. It all began with the world's first liquid-cooled motocrosser, the 1981 CR250. With its progressive-rate Pro-Link® suspension, this bike established the major engineering protocols for motocross machinery for the entire decade. Through the 1980s, Honda's Red Riders™ won 22 National motocross and Supercross titles, while helping Honda win eight manufacturers' titles.

Cross-feeding technologies helped evolve the dual-sport XL and off-road XR™ machines. Four-stroke race bike and street bike technology improved the XL and XR singles, as did motocross frame and suspension technology. This cross pollination further indicated Honda's willingness to experiment, as motocross suspension technology was even applied to road racing. In 1986, this crossover helped Honda win every available National motocross title as well as the coveted AMA Superbike road racing title. Meanwhile, on the street, Honda models introduced technology such as integrated cylinders and crankcases for the V-4 engines and the GL1500 Gold Wing's Reverse System.

Honda's worldwide racing successes during the '80s don't tell the whole story of competition. Equally as compelling as victory is the struggle, the company's willingness to risk failure in its search for innovative solutions. The now-famous NR™500 oval-piston Grand Prix machines of the early '80s absorbed enormous resources and never won a major race. But the NR500 project led to a new course, resulting in the innovative NS500 two-stroke triple, which brought Honda its first 500 GP title in 1983, and then the NSR500 V-4, which has won seven 500 GP titles to date. Characteristically, what Honda learned during its Quixotic quests often improved the breed, including the motorcycles we ride today.

It is this innovative spirit, the willingness to experiment with new products and ideas, that has always helped define Honda's place in the motorcycle market. Sure, a few notions missed the mark. But more striking is the longevity of some of Honda's best ideas, models that were introduced or evolved in the '80s, and that are still with us today. The list forms the backbone of Honda's current model line: VFR and CBR sport bikes; Shadow cruisers, Nighthawk® standards; full-dress Gold Wings; and XR and CR off-road bikes. Honda's creative thinking sharpened the focus of each of motorcycling's principal classes, and led to machinery that motorcycle enthusiasts saddled up and rode straight into the '90s.

Heritage: Soaring in the '70s

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:39:19 -0700

Honda became a classic American success story in the '60s. In this single, crucial decade, Honda transformed itself from a domestic supplier to an international corporation, and planted a firm foothold on American soil. Honda began the '60s with 50cc step-throughs, and created a displacement escalator that carried the motorcycle market up to the incredible CB750 four by 1969. U.S. sales skyrocketed from a mere 3200 units in 1960 to an amazing 345,000 units by the end of the decade--more than 50 percent of the U.S. motorcycle market.

Having established itself with a sizable market share, a full line of machines, and a clean-cut image that bucked the hell-raiser Hollywood stereotype, Honda entered the '70s prepared to flex its creative muscle and take off in directions no one else could.

The company's success in the '60s had been based on the proven air-cooled, two-valve engine and tube-frame technology that found its maximum expression in the CB750. And that technology started the decade off with Dick Mann's 1970 Daytona 200 win on a race version of that very motorcycle. But then, Honda broke that familiar mold with a flurry of innovative products that introduced riders to new ways to enjoy motorcycling.

An important element of Honda's strategy has always been innovation, offering completely new products that create new market segments. The ATC™90, introduced in 1970, is a classic example. It single-handedly created the ATV market. Honda also pioneered evolution in existing markets. For example, taking the place of the CL off-road twins of the 1960s were new lines of highly functional single- and multi-cylinder four-stroke SLs, and single-cylinder XLs. The TL125 introduced motorcyclists to another new sport: trials riding. In 1973, Honda parried the two-stroke thrusts of its rivals with the radical CR250M Elsinore™, a purpose-built two-stroke motocross racer that won the National championship its first year out. That same year, Honda's concentrated efforts in the off-road area had helped the off-highway segment grow to 25 percent of the total bike market. Into this thriving market, Honda launched a proliferation of enduro and trail MTs, XLs and SLs, including the hugely successful XL350 in 1974.

Honda was at the same time expanding its automotive efforts, and exploring the idea of producing some of its products in the United States. What's more, a fascinating struggle began to take shape within the company, one that would redirect design and unlock new possibilities for a long time to come. Mr. Honda strongly believed innovative engineering could produce air-cooled auto engines as good as or better than the liquid-cooled competition, so 1960s Honda cars as well as bikes were air-cooled. But Honda's younger engineers strongly favored liquid cooling, both for performance and market appeal. Mr. Honda initially resisted, but after a showdown with company vice president Takeo Fujisawa, he eventually accepted liquid cooling as the key to future development.

Honda's new liquid-cooled direction led first to the CVCC clean-burn auto engine, introduced at the 1972 Tokyo show. This was the first production auto engine to meet the 1975 EPA standard without a catalytic converter, and it demonstrated Honda's research capability to the world. The Honda Civic auto, with this and other liquid-cooled engines, immediately became popular in the U.S.

Such thinking and research led to the creation of yet another new market segment--though not even Honda knew it at the time. The 1975 GL™1000 Gold Wing® was Honda's first thorough synthesis of automotive and motorcycle technologies. The temperature stability of liquid cooling allowed the GL to develop high power, yet lose none of Honda's customary reliability. Gold Wing engineers had envisioned it as the ultimate performance bike, combining 1000cc power with flat-four smoothness and liquid-cooled silence. Indeed, the Gold Wing posted the quickest quarter-mile of its day, but buyers saw its greatest value as a long-distance machine. In a unique partnership with Gold Wing owners, the GL created a whole new category of motorcycle: the dedicated touring bike. Its evolution continues to this day.

However, not all of Honda's innovations gained widespread acceptance. Hondamatic™--a torque-converter-based automatic transmission for motorcycles--was a successful technology that didn't catch the public's fancy. Electric starting had brought a lot of people to motorcycling, and Honda wondered: Would an automatic do the same? The 1976 CB750 Automatic and 1977 CB400A were remarkable machines, but riders chose high-performance over this convenience. Honda also launched two other wildly diverse products in 1977--the NC50 no-ped, an ultralight, minimalist motorbike, and the FL250 Odyssey® four-wheeler, a natural evolution of the ATC90.

By 1978, Honda had prepared to close the decade with a barrage of innovative machines. The first shot came in the form of the CX500. A significant new direction in engine design was packaged into the unusual CX500, whose liquid-cooled V-twin engine was set sideways in the chassis. With four valves in each cylinder, the CX500 was a high-performance pushrod V-twin in a sea of overhead-cam inline-fours. Its radically oversquare bore and stroke of 78mm by 52mm made it the forerunner of all modern short-stroke, big-bore sport bike engines.

Air cooling wasn't finished yet, though. Two stunning new machines used it to probe the future of sports motorcycling in 1979: the 16-valve, twin cam, transistor-sparked CB750F, and the technologically astounding 1047cc six-cylinder CBX. The 750F was a production outgrowth of Honda's successful twin-cam endurance racer, and beckoned the company deeper into sport bike territory. As the first CB750 had realized the legend of Honda's racing fours in the showroom, so the six-cylinder CBX grew naturally from the heritage of Mike Hailwood and the 250cc and 297cc six-cylinder racers of 1964 through 1967. The 1979 CBX became an exotic signpost to the future.

Honda closed the decade by opening a motorcycle manufacturing plant in Marysville, Ohio, designed initially to produce the Gold Wing. This 260,000-square-foot plant introduced production versatility not found in other Honda plants, giving the company the ability to respond quickly to changing tastes, and to satisfy new and expanding markets. This plant, like Honda's innovative machines, defined a decade marked by classic, hallmark Honda thinking: That anything was possible. From the many new elements discovered and created in the experiments of the 1970s, Honda synthesized new directions for the 1980s. These would lead in turn to new surprises and opportunities.

Heritage: Coming of Age in the Age of Aquarius

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:37:01 -0700

During the 1950s, the Honda Motor Company emerged from obscurity, having survived and won the battle with hundreds of competing postwar motor-bicycle companies. The company had found a first key to financial strength in the successful step-through 1958 Super Cub®, and would now reinvest its earnings in further research, and production plants such as the one built at Suzuka, then the largest motorcycle manufacturing plant in the world.

Honda motorcycles of the 1960s can be viewed as intelligent social engineering. Mr. Honda understood the U.S. market was ripe for the enjoyment of motorcycling, but there were problems to overcome. For instance, the motorcyclist of 1960 expected lighting and ignition troubles in the rain, and accepted the need for the athletic act of kickstarting his mount to life. Hondas put an end to the motorcycle's primitive status with their reliability and electric-start convenience. Motorcyclists also had image problems in this country at the time, something Honda blunted with the "You meet the nicest people" advertising campaign in 1962, and with attractive entry-level bikes.

Matched to this process was the stairway of models Honda developed during the decade, leading upward from the entry-level 50cc C100 Super Cub toward the ground-breaking CB750 of 1969. Mr. Honda's goal in this was not merely to supply a demand for products, but to create, nurture, and expand that demand itself. America in 1960 had very limited demand for motorcycles, but Mr. Honda had seen that Americans needed recreation and enjoyment of that kind. By making it possible to first try a cute and little Super Cub, he opened the door for something larger. Honda's method was really no different from taking a friend skiing, showing them how much fun the bunny slope is, and then letting nature take its course.

Another crucial element to Honda's growth in the 1960s was the company's parallel growth in engineering expertise and sophistication. With new models, Honda showed what the company had learned, and pushed the boundaries of performance in a variety of displacement classes. The 1959 CB92 Benly Super Sport® 125, for instance, was important, for combining electric starting with a sporting motorcycle--a first. More significant to sales were the similarly configured CB72 250 Hawk® and CB77 305 Super Hawk™ twins, introduced the same year of the first manned space flights, in 1961. For the first time, a Japanese motorcycle could offer direct performance parity with an established market fixture, the Triumph 500. The Honda twins revved higher than their competition, and therefore produced unusual power for their displacement. Higher revs were made possible by precision valve drive by overhead camshaft--a feature heretofore reserved only for factory racing engines. This, by eliminating the weight of pushrods and tappets, enabled the valves of Hawk models to operate accurately out to 10,000 rpm, an unheard-of figure in a world accustomed to 6500-rpm redlines. The double-overhead-camshaft CB450 continued this theme of escalated capability. Introduced in 1965--the same year Whammo patented the frisbee, and Craig Breedlove set a land speed record of 600.001 mph--the 450 offered more power again, as always combined with automobile-like reliability, electric starting and effective lighting equipment.

As its business plan unfolded, Honda made itself a household name in another forum: racing. Beginning with the Isle of Man team prize for its performance in the 1959 125cc race, Honda expanded its racing success with a 250cc road racing world championship in 1961, followed by many more like it, and culminating in 1966 with Honda's constructor's championships in all five classes, 50, 125, 250, 350 and 500, an international first. Thus the Honda name took its place among the other greats of racing: Norton, MV-Agusta, Gilera, and Moto-Guzzi. The research and development that made these successes possible went hand in hand with new-product research, and each served the other. Honda research explored such things as complex casting technologies, combustion at ultra-high rpm, and low-cost but high-performance materials.

Such explorations were also crucial to Honda's engineering growth, but not just in driving machine capability ever higher. Honda manufacturing was completely different from methods considered normal in European motorcycle factories in 1960. Honda introduced design for manufacturing, by which the speed and economy with which parts can be made and assembled is considered and provided for early in the design process. Engine internal parts were laid out sequentially in one crankcase half, then the other half was closed over it. Parts assembly was rational and easy--both on the assembly line and in service.

All of the elements--engineering for performance and reliability, racing experience, sophisticated design for production purposes, and the stepladder up to higher-displacement models--came together in a single motorcycle in 1969, the year of Woodstock, "Abbey Road," and man's first walk on the moon. As the riding public readily accepted the larger models, it became clear the time had come to assert Honda's leadership in the largest-displacement category. Because racing success with four-cylinder machines had given worldwide special meaning to the words Honda Four, the new machine would have to be just that.

Honda's CB750 was the top of the scale, the pinnacle of the ladder of motorcycle models the firm had so carefully constructed throughout the 1960s. It offered high performance and the capacity to carry two people and luggage long distances, combined with all the expected virtues of previous Honda machines. Above all, it personified the dream and tradition of the Honda Four, with its flashy bundle of four exhaust pipes. Other manufacturers had attempted or planned four-cylinder machines, but their complexity was too much for existing manufacturing methods. The CB750's engine was air-cooled, with a single overhead camshaft, and was assembled by Honda's usual horizontal-split crankcase system--with a difference. Instead of the complex, multi-piece rolling-bearing crankshaft of previous Hondas, the big 750 had a one-piece forged crank, supported in automotive fashion by pressure-lubricated split-shell plain bearings. This not only made the crankshaft stronger, it also saved valuable production time and expense. The crankshafts of all four-cylinder sport bike engines today are made and supported in exactly this fashion.

Throughout the 1960s, Honda built success upon success, strength upon strength. In a single decade the firm went from offering products to a purely domestic market to international distribution, with eight distributors worldwide. Honda began the '60s with 50cc step-throughs, and ended the decade with 750cc fours. U.S. sales rocketed from a mere 3200 units in 1960 to an astonishing 345,000 by the end of the decade.

On the way up, Honda revolutionized motorcycle design and production. It single-handedly created the modern motorcycle market in the United States by skillfully overcoming motorcycling's traditional shortcomings, and then by shrewdly creating a demand for products that went up the ladder in displacement, performance and sophistication. In the 1960s, Honda took us all up that ladder. It's a journey that continues to this day.

Heritage: A History of Excellence

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:32:54 -0700

Defining Excellence

Defining excellence isn't a problem; all it takes is a dictionary. Etymologically speaking, the key to excellence can be found in the root of the word, excel: to be superior to; surpass in accomplishment or achievement. In the real world, getting a handle on excellence can prove to be quite a bit more difficult--unless you're a company with the name of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda first began engine production to power bicycles in 1947. The ensuing 56 years has witnessed the company's historic rise as a global leader in the production of motorcycles, automobiles, marine and other power products--a list that expanded to encompass personal watercraft.

First Stop: Motorcycle Racing

Along the way, Honda not only attained a level of genuine excellence, but also achieved excellence within a scope and breadth that strains the imagination. For example, after producing its first complete motorcycle in 1949, Honda earned world-class respect by winning its first Grand Prix motorcycle road race in 1961, followed by two class championships that same year. In short order, Honda was winning races and championships in five different world GP classes--a dominating effort for such a young company. Fast-forward to 2001, and Honda has chalked up its 500th world GP win in 40 years, a landmark that far surpasses the accomplishment of every other motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

Impressive as this heritage of GP victory appears, it barely scratches the surface of Honda's total achievement. Honda Racing has established a record of superiority in virtually every arena of national and world championship motorcycle competition. In addition to GP racing, Honda also earned championships in Superbike and Supersport road racing on the American AMA circuit and in the FIM world championship series, and has also dominated the legendary Isle of Man TT event, a notoriously technical and demanding race run on public roads. Within the realm of motocross, Honda has earned championships in all classes of competition in America with the AMA and around the world in FIM competition. In America, Honda also boasts championships in drag racing, dirt track, Grand National Cross Country, and Hare Scrambles competition. In AMA national roadracing, motocross, Supercross and off-road titles alone, Honda has won an unrivaled 96 championships. And in the punishing environment of desert racing, including the infamous wilderness of Baja California, Honda has become synonymous with winning.

Formula 1 and CART Championships

Again, lofty as these marks stand, they constitute only one area of excellence. After expanding from motorcycle to automobile production, Honda once more set its sights on the highest goal--that of Grand Prix auto racing--and soon achieved success within that stratospheric level of competition. In 1966, Honda-powered cars won the Formula 1 and Formula 2 GP championships, and Honda notched more race wins and other notable achievements before leaving the sport of auto racing to focus on the production of consumer automobiles. Following a 10-year hiatus, Honda entered the F1 area once again in the 1980s, and by 1992 Honda had amassed six Constructor's Championships, five driver's titles and 71 Grand Prix victories--an amazing achievement.

Having made its mark in the F1 arena, Honda next set its sights on the American racing scene, in Indy car and CART racing events. Following a brief start-up period, Honda earned its first race win in 1995, then went on to dominate the sport with five consecutive driver's championships in this premier class by the close of the 2000 season.

Excellence for Consumers--Present and Future

While the philosophy holds that racing success translates to success on showroom floors, Honda never lost its focus on developing technological advances that directly benefit consumers. Over the years, Honda automobiles have been the proud recipients of top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy ratings, as well as the coveted number-one spot in the J.D. Power Consumer Satisfaction Index. Honda automobiles and motorcycles have led the way in meeting EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions standards, and Honda has also been a multi-time winner in the World Solar Challenge, the world's premier competition for solar-powered vehicles.

Perhaps most significantly of all, in 1989 founder Soichiro Honda became the first Asian to be inducted into the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame--a crowning achievement for the legacy he created with his life's work in little more than 40 years.

With a track record firmly established the world over, Honda products have truly come to embody industry leadership and engineering excellence.

Heritage: Forty-Plus Years of Four-Strokes

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:30:06 -0700

Think the new CRF™450R and CRF250R are starting a four-stroke revolution? Wrong-Honda® fired the first shot more than four decades ago.

It's easy to think Honda's new CRF motocrossers are the first really successful four-stroke dirt bikes. But you couldn't be more wrong. Because, with only a short look back, you'll discover a whole string of revolutionary and successful Honda four-strokes-so many that the two-stroke Elsinore™ and its CR® progeny might seem just an anomaly in Honda's history of four-stroke dominance.

One could start with the Super Cub® back in 1959, a bike countless thousands of baby boomers used as their first dirt bike. But set that aside, and look toward one of the most significant off-road motorcycle feats of the post-war generation: Dave Ekins' and Bill Robertson's first ride through Baja in 1962 on a pair of Honda CL72 Scrambler 250s. These were high-pipe four-stroke twins that, to today's eyes, look far more like street bikes than state-of-the-art dirt machines. But state-of-the-art is exactly what they were at the time. Ekins and Robertson set off to do the unimaginable--no one else believed motorcycle could possibly travel the length of Baja to La Paz nonstop without suffering numerous breakdowns. But that's exactly what they did, due in large part to their bikes' superior four-stroke engine design.

By showing what a virtually stock Honda could do-and even by the standards of the day those two CL72s were painfully stock-Ekins and Robertson and the CL72s paved the way for the annual Baja 500 and 1000 races we have grown accustomed to, just as we have grown accustomed to a Honda XR™ winning the overall every year, handily besting the monster trucks, one-off race buggies, and every two-stroke in the field.

Honda adapted the CL72 from a street bike, the 1961 CB72 Hawk® 250. And by 1969 Honda was ready to introduce its next-generation dirt bike, a machine in which street bike and dirt bike again shared the overall engine design: the SOHC 350 twins. The resulting dirt bike, the SL350, was the motorcycle that really opened up Baja. Custom shops in Southern California latched on to them and produced machines that flat-out blew off the heavy desert sleds that had dominated the desert racing scene. If anything the 350s were better, faster, and more reliable than the CL72s had been.

But the best was yet to come. In 1972 Honda unveiled the most radical concept yet: the XL250 Motosport 250, the first of the long XR and XL lines. Here at last was a motorcycle still recognized as the defining formula for four-stroke off-road bikes, one that's lasted for more than 30 years: a lightweight single-cylinder engine with a single overhead camshaft, upswept exhaust system, high fenders, long travel (for the era!) suspension, and capable off-road handling. Yes, those original XL-series machines were street-legal. But unlike the machines before them the XLs had been designed as dirt bikes first, then simply equipped with the necessities to make them civil road bikes, not the other way around. Just as important, they were as tough as a Baja steak.

Honda's four-stroke XR and XL dominance continues to this day. Along the way the XRs got revolutionary Radial Four-Valve Combustion chamber (RFVC) heads, tons more ground clearance, and single-shock rear suspensions. In 2000 they also broke new ground by debuting the first liquid-cooled four-stroke XR engine, one wrapped in an aluminum frame to create the XR650R. This latest incarnation of Honda's four-stroke off-road line is its most sophisticated, with a flawless racing pedigree. The XR650R has won every Baja 500 and Baja 1000 it's entered, as well as the once-in-a-lifetime Baja 2000--all in totally dominant style.

But of course we've saved the best for last--the Honda CRF450R and now the CRF250R. The 450 has turned the world upside-down when it comes to prejudices against four-strokes. In 2003 Honda's Ricky Carmichael's incredible win streak in AMA 250 motocross--21 overall victories in a row--was finally broken by the only bike up to the task, the four-stoke CRF450R. Flat track racers have discovered the CRF for short-track events, and it's hardly unusual to see the first two and even three rows mounted on the big CRFs. And the newly rediscovered Supermoto? Owned by CRF riders, who won the inaugural event.

Sure, the CRFs use Honda's revolutionary aluminum motocross frames. But a peek inside the engine provides the real answer. In many ways, the CRFs are the most sophisticated engines Honda offers for sale to the public. Then there's the CRF's unique Unicam cylinder head. It features a single camshaft that directly actuates two intake valves, and employs a forked, low-friction roller rocker-arm. It's a setup that's compact, light, strong, and revs like a four-cylinder sport bike's engine.

While the new CRFs might be sitting in the spotlight today, you can see that rather than standing out, they simply stand at the head of a long, line of Honda four-strokes that have risen to greatness and shown the way in off-road riding. The new CRF250R? In many ways, it is the most advanced of the bunch.

Heritage: Honda's First Dreams

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:26:46 -0700

In August of 1949, the Honda Motor Company had completed the first prototype of a very important motorcycle. Technologically advanced for its day, it featured such Honda firsts as a kickstarter and chain final drive, as well as such rarities as a telescopic front fork and two-speed transmission. Power came from a 98cc two-stroke single with square bore and stroke dimensions, 50mm x 50mm, and it churned out 3 horsepower at 5000 rpm. According to legend, Soichiro Honda and his 20 employees celebrated with a party in the office, complete with home-brewed sake. One of the employees said, "It's like a dream!" And Mr. Honda shouted, "That's it! Dream!" and officially christened the new motorcycle the Dream Type D.

To understand the Dream D's significance to Honda, you have to know something of its background. After World War II, Japan was essentially starting over from the ground up, and people desperately needed inexpensive transportation. Honda's first efforts in 1947 resulted in the A-type engine, a 1-horsepower 50cc two-stroke that attached to bicycles and used army-issue hot-water bottles as fuel tanks. Employees nicknamed it the chimney, partly for its tall cylinder, and partly for the fumes created by the raw pine-resin fuel civilians had to burn at the time. But Honda wasn't the only one engaging in the enterprise. Many others had the same idea to provide cheap transport, and new companies sprouted up left and right; by the early 1950s, there were more than 200 Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. Standing out in such a crowd was crucial to a firm's future, and it was hoped the Dream D would provide a launching point for the Honda Motor Company.

But that's not what happened. At that time, Honda sold both engines and complete motorcycles to distributors, and the Dream D wasn't as popular as putting a Honda engine in a competitor's frame. Honda's business partner, Takeo Fujisawa, told distributors that if they wanted to sell the Dream, they could no longer get engines; if they wanted engines, they could not get the Dream. Such tactics angered some of the distributors enough that they supposedly threatened Fujisawa with knives. The Dream also had problems with insufficient clearance between its tires and fenders; mud would pack up during poor weather on the primitive roads of the time.

Yet Soichiro Honda had always preached learning from mistakes. "To me," he once said, "success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection." The Dream D offered that opportunity, to build success out of failure. And it would result in the Dream E of 1951, a radical departure for Honda, and one that would start the company's climb to the forefront of motorcycle manufacturing.

Fuel was extremely scarce and expensive, and by late 1949 some of Honda's competitors had turned to more economical four-stroke engines. Despite some initial reluctance, Mr. Honda decided to take the four-stroke path as well. This was an ambitious undertaking: If the company had to risk expensive retooling to produce such engines, the design would have to be a good one. But Mr. Honda was willing to wager everything on the strength of bold engineering ideas.

That design was an overhead-valve (OHV) four-stroke engine, an idea far ahead of its time in Japanese motorcycle manufacturing, where most were using lawn-mower-like flathead engines. An OHV engine allows higher rpm because it offers less restriction to airflow through the engine. Its more compact squish combustion chamber also allows a substantial boost in compression ratio, giving not only more pulling power, but better fuel economy too. The single-cylinder 146cc E-type engine could go 220 miles on a gallon of fuel, yet delivered 5.5 horsepower, and in an impromptu test, a test rider took the two-speed prototype on a rainy ascent of the Hakone Mountains, while Mr. Honda followed in a car. The machine made the climb easily, in top gear, averaging 45 mph.

By 1952 demand for the Dream E was brisk, despite the existence of some 200 other motorbike producers. In fact, the E's sales success allowed the company to raise new money, which was used to renovate or build three manufacturing plants, as well as buy sophisticated machine tools and production equipment. It also enabled the company to cut its dependency on suppliers and set up its own distribution network. The Dream E design is regarded as the turning point in Honda's early history for all those reasons--and two more.

The Dream E showcased Mr. Honda's technological genius, and ambition. Honda pushed forward faster than the competition. Other manufacturers could not develop engines as innovative and sophisticated as Honda could, nor as rapidly, and soon began to fall by the wayside, until of the nearly 200 only four now remain. Moreover, the Dream E was one of the first times Mr. Honda was willing to bet it all simply on the strength of an idea. That approach--the belief in bold engineering solutions--became the company's trademark, and is still true today. You can see it in such products as the Interceptor®, the Silver Wing®, the FourTrax® Foreman® ES, and the FourTrax Foreman Rubicon™. By 1952, the Honda Motor Company wasn't out of the woods yet. But it had learned a way of doing business that would allow it to grow and prosper in the years to come.

Heritage: Honda ATV Innovation

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:24:36 -0700

From its unassuming beginnings in 1948, Honda has been defined by creative thinking. Everything that wears a Honda logo comes from a heritage so deeply rooted in innovation that standing still is the same as going backward. Which is why--from the first 1970 ATC90 to the 2003 FourTrax® Rincon™--more advancements in ATV technology have come from Honda than anyone else.

Honda ATVs have always been about smart solutions to tough problems. That sort of fresh thinking goes deeper than flashy technology. It transcends any simplistic bigger-equals-better mentality. Much deeper. Honda's ATV engineering is based on the premise that the truly great ideas are the ones that stand up to a full day's work. That's why Honda ATV engineers tackle the challenges of research and development firsthand. They ask questions. They understand what customers expect a product to do, perhaps better than the customers themselves. Staying ahead of the curve with ATV engineering that's as functional as it is innovative isn't easy. It's just the Honda Way. What follows is a compendium of landmark Honda innovations that have shaped the development of the All-Terrain Vehicle.

Automotive-style Automatic Transmission

A first in the ATV world, the Rincon incorporates a true automotive-style automatic transmission to route power from the engine through a hydraulic torque converter to drive to three forward gears and reverse. An electronic control unit (ECU) takes data regarding throttle opening, vehicle speed, engine speed, gear selector position, brake application and engine oil temperature to determine the optimum gear selection. And because the Honda automatic transmission shifts electronically, there are no unsightly and trouble-prone vacuum lines. Plus, the system provides true engine braking, unlike the belt-drive systems used on other brands of ATVs. In addition, the Honda automatic transmission is fully sealed and impervious to external contamination. Since the transmission uses multi-filtered engine oil as hydraulic fluid, this design simplifies maintenance and ensures an adequate fluid supply under all operating conditions.

Independent Rear Suspension

As another notable Honda first, the Rincon features an independent rear suspension with lightweight forged aluminum components to provide plenty of sophisticated, well-controlled wheel travel. This double-wishbone design incorporates forged aluminum knuckles and upper/lower A-arms that are not only strong but also yield a significant savings in unsprung weight. The rear knuckle pivots feature lightweight metal bushings in place of conventional ball joints and radius arms, thereby eliminating toe-in as the rear suspension travels through its stroke. This elegantly simple design maintains rear wheel alignment and further reduces unsprung weight, contributing to the Rincon's responsive handling. Also, lightweight single-tube gas-charged rear shocks and a stabilizer bar deliver plush, well-controlled damping through the Rincon's exceptional 8.0 inches of rear wheel travel. As an added bonus, the lack of a rear final drive case adds to the Rincon's laudable ground clearance for even better maneuverability.

Longitudinal Engine/Driveline

Though Honda's circle of engineering is comprised of interdependent components, ingenuity often radiates outward from a single bit of bright-think that makes a host of seemingly unrelated advancements possible.

Perhaps the most illustrative example of this is the powerful efficiency of Honda's longitudinal engine and driveline layout introduced on the 1995 Foreman® 400, and currently found in the Foreman 450, Recon®, Rancher™, Rubicon™ and Rincon models. It's an optimal system sending power to the wheels in the most efficient manner: straight lines. The longitudinal layout has many advantages: a lower center of gravity, low seat height, increased ground clearance, lighter weight and fewer moving parts than traditional engine driveline systems.

First, the big picture. By aligning its crankshaft with the vehicle's direction of travel, the longitudinal layout creates a lighter, simpler, elegantly efficient way of sending power to an ATV's drive wheels. This simplicity may be best seen in the driveline: Using 45 percent fewer parts, the Foreman 400 4x4 transmission, for example, weighs 41 percent less than the more conventional design used in Honda's legendary FourTrax 300 4x4, and delivers power to the wheels with 5 percent more efficiency.

Honda's longitudinal engine also rides low enough in the frame to optimize ground clearance and define a low seat height, a difficult accomplishment in ATV design. Ordinarily, increasing ground clearance to avoid hang-ups such as rocks and stumps would raise the entire vehicle. But raising the entire vehicle also raises its center of mass. That compromises handling, especially when traversing inclines, an unacceptable situation to Honda engineers.

The solution is Honda's shorter, overhead valve (OHV) engine design. Using pushrod valve actuation, this OHV design carries its camshaft down in the crankcase rather than up in the cylinder head to reduce engine height. The room that would have been taken up by an overhead cam is put to better use, lowering center of mass, lowering seat height and increasing ground clearance. A counter-rotating balance shaft makes the rubber-mounted engine smoother, smooth enough to allow the use of a lighter frame than would otherwise be necessary.

Because Honda also wanted to maintain the power characteristics of an overhead-cam engine, namely the ability to rev higher than typical pushrod engines. Traditional steel pushrods would not work so lighter pushrods were necessary. Honda engineers set their sights on aluminum to create a lighter, quieter, higher-revving valve train. Aluminum pushrods expand at the same rate of aluminum cylinder and cylinder head, making for more consistent tappet clearance and a quieter engine than with stainless steel pushrods.

However, aluminum can wear faster and bend more easily than steel. A conventional welded steel cap on an aluminum pushrod created a brittle joint. Honda's solution was to develop a new aluminum alloy pushrod material. Using a unique pushrod end shape, Honda engineers came up with a revolutionary design by attaching a steel ball to the end of this alloy pushrod. The results? Two tiny steel bearings and spark of electricity cleared the way for the most extraordinary, versatile ATV design on earth. And the bright thinking in Honda ATVs goes on from there.

Torque-sensing Differential

The Rancher, Rubicon and Rincon 4x4s use a clutchless front differential system that automatically sends power to whichever front wheel has the most grip. By virtually eliminating torque steer, the new system drastically reduces the effort necessary to initiate a turn.

Electric Shift Program™ (ESP™)

Combining the control of a manual gearbox with the convenience of an automatic transmission, the ESP system lets riders shift up or down with the push of a button while an electric motor disengages the clutch, shifts the gearbox and re-engages the clutch. An onboard electronic control unit controls the speed of each shift perfectly after considering engine rpm and countershaft speed, as well as shift drum and shift spindle angles.

To maintain a smooth ride, ESP won't let the gearbox go into first or reverse at engine speeds above 3000 rpm. To ensure adequate control on hills, ESP electronics won't approve a shift to neutral at speeds greater than 2 mph.

Hondamatic™ Transmission

One of the most ingenious drive systems on wheels, the Hondamatic transmission introduced on the 2001 Rubicon creates a compact, quiet, maintenance-free package capable of transmitting engine power with up to 98 percent operating efficiency. Mounted parallel to the crankshaft, the Hondamatic system's engine-driven hydraulic pump drives a variable-capacity hydraulic motor, producing continuously variable torque output with true engine braking. An ingenious set of pump and motor pistons work with a motor-side swash plate to continuously change motor-side hydraulic capacity. The result is a smooth, seamless flow of power, perfectly matched to operating conditions. A dash-mounted knob selects either D1 for maximum performance or D2 for maximum torque. A third position puts the Hondamatic in Honda's exclusive ESP mode, allowing the rider to "shift" via two buttons on the Rubicon's left handlebar.

Radial ATV Tires (Sport ATVs)

An industry first on the 1988 FourTrax 250R and currently offered on the TRX400EX. True radial design allows a tread pattern with bigger knobs that get a better grip on the dirt for improved straight-line acceleration and cornering traction.

Snorkel Air Intake

To keep dirt, water, sand, mud and other indigestibles out of the engine's inlet tract, all Honda ATVs route incoming atmosphere to the reusable air filter via free-flowing ducting.

Vacuum-piston Carburetor

Work or play, mixing an ATV's air and fuel accurately and efficiently at all speeds is extremely tough duty. So Honda started using vacuum-piston carburetors on the FourTrax 300 series in 1988. The carburetor's vacuum-controlled piston equalizes venturi vacuum for smooth acceleration under different conditions. An auxiliary starter pump on the carburetor body injects extra fuel into the carburetor to ease starting under sub-zero conditions.

Electrically Heated Carburetor

The ATV-mounted carburetor integral electric heater system improves driveability and ensures smooth operation in cold conditions. This feature is found on the Rincon, Foreman ES/S and the Rancher series.

Rear Disc Brake

The Rincon comes equipped with Honda's first rear disc ATV brake. Located upstream of the differential, this configuration reduces unsprung weight, and increases ground clearance and wheel travel. The Rincon's rear brake also uses a Collet-type caliper--a first on an ATV--for improved maintenance.

Shaft Drive

Fully sealed shaft drive systems on Honda multi-purpose models deliver power to the wheels with maximum efficiency and minimum maintenance.

Starting

Hot or cold. Wet or dry. Honda engineers have put untold hours of development into exactly what it takes to start an ATV engine thousands of times under the most demanding conditions so you never have to worry about it.

Eccentric Axle Adjusters

O-ring chain-drive systems on Honda's sport ATV models carry the rear axle in an eccentric mounting system that is rotated to maintain proper tension and perfect rear wheel alignment.

Sealed, Easy-access Maintenance-free Batteries

The sealed design of Honda's ATV batteries give owners one less thing to worry about, and they're easy to get at when it's time for a new one.

Heritage: The Honda ATV Difference

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 14:31:48 -0700

More than three decades ago, no one could have predicted that Honda's fertile imagination and three fat tires would develop into a vital part of American labor and leisure--a facet that currently sells more than 700,000 units per year. But from the moment the original All-Terrain Vehicle (which Honda trademarked as the ATC™--Honda's US90) debuted in 1970, that's exactly what happened. By constantly adapting to the needs of an increasingly resourceful public, Honda has provided a complete line of ATVs used for everything from exploring California sand dunes to preserving fragile sea turtle habitats in Florida, working on industrial roofing jobs in Colorado and maintaining soggy Louisiana rice fields.

Over its steady progression from novelty to necessity, sales have grown dramatically from the 12,000 US 90s Honda sold annually in the early '70s. Today, more than 6.3 million ATVs are currently in service in the U.S. alone, and more than half that number are Hondas.

Beyond our borders, Honda's international ATV markets are experiencing unparalleled growth. Any explanation for that kind of market dominance starts with the fact that Honda ATVs, like all Honda products, are built from a philosophy that is fundamentally different from that of other manufacturers.

The Philosophy

Efficiency. Durability. Simplicity. The Honda difference starts with those three words. Where it goes from there--the process of designing and building an ATV that embodies these tenets--is a story in itself.

On the surface, the engineering that goes into every Honda ATV might appear less sophisticated than what goes into Honda motorcycles or automobiles. Under the skin, nothing could be further from the truth. Sport, utility or anywhere in between, an ATV is subjected to rigors far beyond those of other vehicles. Idling obediently for hours in axle-deep mud, firing up instantly after sitting out for days in minus-18-degree cold, working around the clock in a copper mine--in many ways, Honda's engineering standards for ATVs must be even more demanding than those set for other Honda products.

Research and Development

Thirty years of ATV research and development knowledge have enabled Honda engineers to solve problems other manufacturers haven't yet encountered.

From the beginning, Honda engineers were quick to learn firsthand what people were doing with their ATVs. Honda R&D engineers studied the effects of gumbo mud, desert sand and Canadian powder. From elk hunting to ice fishing, rice farming to cattle ranching, Honda R&D has done it. Add to that the feedback of millions of people who use ATVs in the most atrocious conditions imaginable, and you have the most comprehensive ATV knowledge base on earth.

The Circle of Engineering

In a way, Honda ATV design mirrors Honda corporate culture. Every individual component is vital to the success of the larger whole, but no single person or part is the star of the show. It's a paradigm Honda calls the circle of engineering. Experts in lubrication, carburetion, electrical systems, ring and piston design and many others all contribute their own expertise and understanding of how they affect the vehicle as a whole. Systems and subsystems are carefully integrated to work in concert with each other. But long before those parts take shape as a completed vehicle, they're subjected to unusually demanding conditions.

Engines, frames and suspension systems are subjected to extreme stresses inside powerful CAD computers. In the field, R&D teams travel to places such as northern Canada in the dead of winter for months to evaluate in extreme cold. That sort of testing exposes challenges you'd expect, and others you wouldn't; Such as how to design tires that don't shatter like glass after a night of sub-zero cold. Or how to make sure an engine starts after Arctic cold makes oil more solid than liquid. How do you keep seats from taking on the consistency of granite overnight, and what is it about Honda seat foam that piques a polar bear's sweet tooth? Honda engineers have developed solutions for all these challenges (though they're still working on that polar bear thing).

Often, particular engineering challenges come from faraway places. While ranching in New Zealand, for example, ATVs operate in an invasive and abrasive slurry of volcanic pumice. It's hard to imagine things such as seals and brakes surviving a daily immersion in the equivalent of liquid sand paper for days, weeks or years on end, but that's exactly what Honda research and development designed them to do.

When an ATV becomes a tool that carries you through 10-hour days and 60-hour weeks, there is no such thing as an irrelevant detail. Which is why Honda eliminates little problems before they grow into big ones. That's why Honda's ATV engine testing simulates real life, then carries it to extremes. Engines run wide-open under load for well over 100 hours during lab testing. Lab temperatures are manipulated to simulate everything from searing Arizona heat to Alaskan cold.

What if, say, a dollop of Louisiana gumbo mud infiltrates the engine's defenses and gets into the crankcase? And nobody bothers to change the oil? Enter what some would call the "mean test." Engine oil is purposefully contaminated with water or dirt and the engine is run through another gauntlet of torture. While no engine can survive this kind of abuse for long, this extreme test helps optimize the materials used for gears, shafts, bearings and other engine internals so they can better survive extreme conditions in the real world.

Since Honda customers sometimes drop ATVs on the ground (out of a pickup bed, for example), so do Honda engineers, though under more controlled conditions, from various heights and angles, evaluating the results based on real-world criteria. Engineers prioritize a potential damage scenario and build yield factors into things such as steering system tie-rods and A-arms to prevent a bent frame. Like a fuse that is designed to give out first in an electrical circuit, the idea is to sacrifice the easily replaced, less expensive components to the impact forces and save less accessible, more expensive ones. That design philosophy carries through in detail to things such as control mounts and levers.

From large design concepts to smaller details, the Honda difference permeates every component of each Honda ATV model in the line. Start with Honda's largest, most powerful multi-purpose ATV yet, the 2001 Honda FourTrax® Foreman® Rubicon™. It's part tractor, part truck, part pack mule, part recreational vehicle and more efficient than all of the above. That's the modern Honda ATV. Making the new Rubicon and all Honda ATVs tough enough to survive years of use and abuse requires the same hands-on approach and commitment to exceed customer expectations that created the first US 90.

That's a vital part of what defines the Honda difference.