Soichiro Honda started the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946, to experiment with machinery and find more efficient travel methods for ravaged postwar Japan. That same year, he marketed a small engine that could be attached to a bicycle. The next year, Honda released a half horsepower motorbike, the 'A-Type,' and then in 1948 a 90cc version called the 'B-Type.'
Honda kept pushing for more powerful engines, and in 1949 released the 2-stroke 'D-Type,' Honda's first true motorcycle. This was followed by the 4-stroke 'Benly' in 1953 and the 'Juno' scooter in 1954. The company's big breakthrough came in 1958, with its 'Super Cub,' an easy-to ride 'scooterette' in 50cc, 70cc, and 90cc models.
Over the next 10 years, Honda's bikes got bigger and bigger, culminating in the 4-cylinder CB 750, which could easily reach 120 mph. Honda entered off-roading in 1973, and has dominated the sport ever since. Another 1970s Honda innovation was the Gold Wing, a touring bike that launched an entirely new style of riding.
Interviews & Articles
American Picker Dream, Part II: Mike Wolfe On Enduros and Land Rockets

I was 13 when I saw my first motorcycle. I was walking down the sidewalk when this guy who was like the high school champion stud—… [more]
Harley-Davidson, Before and After the Knucklehead

I’ve been a lifelong motorcyclist. I started riding a motorcycle when I was 11, and I started writing for magazine after I got ou… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Classic Motorcycle Archive

This simple website contains photos and descriptions of over a thousand classic antique motorcycles and motorized b… [read review or visit site]
Clubs & Associations
- Antique Motorcycle Club of America
- American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association
- SoCal Chapter of the AMCA
Vintage Guru Reveals Her Glamour Secrets
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The Beautiful Chaos of Improvisational Quilts
Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming
This 1959 Goggomobil Is Insanely Cute and Gets 55 MPG. Why Can’t Detroit Do That?
California Cool: How the Wetsuit Became the Surfer's Second Skin
The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers, Plus Tommy Chong's Big Fat Jamaican Vacation
World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects
Fightin’ Femmes: Unmasking Female Superheroes with Author Mike Madrid

by 

