Tag Archives: motorcycles

Honda celebrates Golden Anniversary in Australia literally

On February 4, 1969, Honda established an official subsidiary in Australia. Honda Australia was founded for the purposes of selling cars, but naturally Honda’s expansive lineup of thoughtfully engineered motorcycles, power equipment, and generators soon spread across the continent like … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

BIKES: Japan establishes Motorcycle Hall of Fame

The Motorcycle Federation of Japan has established a national Motorcycle Hall of Fame. For its inaugural year, it has inducted two important figures in two-wheel racing into its ranks. The inductees were announced Saturday, December 15, at an award ceremony … Continue reading

Posted in Motorcycles | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

NEWS: 2018 Japan Automotive Hall of Fame inductees include 1966 Toyota Corolla, Honda CB 750

The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has announced its 2018 inductees. Three vehicles and three significant figures in Japanese motoring history will now be forever honored for their part in the country’s auto industry. Here’s what (and who) they are.

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

VIDEO: Watch a MotoGP champ ride through the history of Japanese motoring

Over the weekend MotoGP rider Marc Marquez was in Japan winning his fifth world championship. Before that, the star 25-year-old motorcycle racer made a promotional video for Redbull Racing that takes viewers through the history of Japanese motoring.

Posted in Friday Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 11 — Bikes

Two-wheeled conveyances are an integral part of Japan’s motoring culture, much more so than they are in America. Go to any city in the land of the rising sun and you’ll see hundreds of motorcycles buzzing around — as transportation, … Continue reading

Posted in jccs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Happy 70th Anniversary to Honda Motor Co.

On this day 70 years ago, Honda Motor Corporation was officially established. The photo above is that of Honda’s first factory, in Hamamatsu, with 34 employees. The company’s first product was a small engine strapped to a bicycle, making it … Continue reading

Posted in Anniversaries | Tagged , | 4 Comments

VIDEO: Listen to the revs of this unmolested EG Civic SiR

We periodically like to check in with the Honda Collection Hall to see what the company’s museum is up to. If you’ve visited the facility at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture, you’ll know that they take great pride in … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

NEWS: Honda is coming out with a retro motorcycle too

With Kawasaki’s recent debut of a K1-inspired retro motorcycle, Honda is not about to neglect its own rich two-wheeled history. Internet sleuthing has turned up a Honda patent filing with Japan’s intellectual property administration that reveals what could be a revival of the legendary Honda CBX. 

Posted in Motorcycles | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

NEWS: Kawasaki’s retro-styled Z900RS Cafe goes on sale

Since its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show last year, the retro-styled the Kawasaki Z900RS has been well-received in its home market. The bike we called “the Kenmeri Skyline of motorcycles” for its place in Japanese motoring history just went on sale July 1 and … Continue reading

Posted in Motorcycles | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

NEWS: Honda is bringing Cubs and Monkeys to the US

We were pretty torn up when Honda announced in April 2017 that it would discontinue its Monkey motorcycle by the end of the summer, especially when it was the 50th anniversary of the 50cc mini-bike. The reason given was that it was too hard … Continue reading

Posted in Motorcycles | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

VIDEO: This is how Honda has made 100 million Super Cubs

We at JNC love the Honda Super Cub. Honda recently passed the incredibly impressive milestone of having sold 100 million units since the Super Cub’s debut in 1958. That’s the same sales figures as the Volkswagen Beetle, Toyota Corolla, and Ford F-series pickup, … Continue reading

Posted in Motorcycles | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Tokyo Motor Show: The Kawasaki Z900RS is the Kenmeri Skyline of bikes reborn

There’s just one more bike story to cover from our visit to the Tokyo Motor Show, but it’s an important one. The Kawasaki Z900RS is a glorious throwback to the heyday of Japanese motorcycling, going all the way back to 1972 … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Motor Show | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tokyo Motor Show: No one will ever catch the Honda Super Cub in sales

Some of you wanted more bike stories, so here’s one about the most popular bike in human history. A week before the Tokyo Motor Show the Honda Super Cub surpassed 100 million in sales, stretching its uncatchable lead as the most popular … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Motor Show | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — Because Race Car

In Japan, you have full-blown vintage racing events devoted to Nihon steel, factory sponsored motorsports festivals, and manufacturer exhibits. These things don’t really happen in the US with Japanese automakers, so JCCS is one of the rare opportunities for competition machines to … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE?: Never-titled Suzuki RE5 rotary motorcycle

Given the strengths of the rotary engine, you would imagine that they would be a natural fit for motorcycles. Small displacement, high power and high revving, these are all prerequisites for a motorcycle engine. Surprisingly only a handful of motorcycle … Continue reading

Posted in for sale | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

MINICARS: Lego JNCs that need to be made into sets

Did you know that Lego has an Ideas website where you can submit models for a vote, and if you receive enough, the company will consider making the set? It takes 10,000 votes to get a model reviewed, and combing through … Continue reading

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

EVENTS: New Year Meeting 2017, Part 07 — Motorbikes

The New Year Meeting is an amazing show, but there is one element missing, one that’s just as much a part of Japanese classic culture as the cars we love: motorbikes. Unlike in the US, where two-wheelers are mostly a … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

VIDEO: Watch James May put together a Honda Monkey

James May of former Top Gear and current Grand Tour fame is mostly known for doing loud things with powerful cars. However, Captain Slow, as he’s often called by his more basic colleagues, also has a well documented love for Honda motorcycles, tinkering, … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Prince’s Purple Rain Honda motorcycle was awesome

The artist known as Prince passed away today at the age of 57. His musical achievements are well documented, but if you were a young motorhead in 1984 when Purple Rain came out, his custom Honda was the coolest bike around. 

Posted in Motorcycles | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

MUSEUMS: LA’s shrine to the automobile reopens with (slightly) more Japanese representation

Los Angeles has three major institutions on what the tour guides call Museum Row: one for art, one for natural history, and one entirely devoted to cars. The Petersen Automotive Museum is the Temple of the Car in what is considered the car culture … Continue reading

Posted in museums | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments