Report From Japan
REPORT FROM JAPAN
YASHUO YOSHIHARA
YUKIO KURODA
HONDA DEBUTS NEW CB-90
The most exciting machine from Honda since the CB 750—that's what they are saying about the new CB 90. The S 90 was one of Honda's most popular bikes for many years, but the company is evidently feeling the pressure from the competition (Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki all have brand-new 90s for 1970, if you'll recall); thus they have started anew and designed a totally new machine for Honda lovers.
The CB 90 is the first vertical singlecylinder Honda within memory (apart from the production racing CR 110 of many moons ago); it is interesting to note that the horizontal Single layout has been scrapped in favor of the vertical one (which actually leans 15 degrees forward). I suspect that styling had more to do with this choice than engineering. Both the vertical engine design and the "diamond-type" Harnean amalgam of a pressed steel backbone and tubular design, with a single downtube fastened to the front of the engine—are new directions. The frame design is similar in its combination of pipes and pressings to the popular CB 350—and if it handles like the CB 350, that should make it as steady as it is swift (the S 90 wasn't much of a handler...I remember falling off mine a lot).
The styling rates an A-plus; after many years of designing big motorcycles with tanks that resembled pregnant walruses and little machines that looked little, they have evolved the smooth, lovely lines which you see on the 350, the 750—and this new 90, which, standing by itself, looks like it could be a 500: the proportions are balanced so nicely that the machine doesn't show its small size. The tank has a very neat paint/striping finish, and there are other nice luxury touches, like a side stand and a center stand (usually found on machines so heavy that they need the side stand for flabby riders).
The engine is fairly conservative Honda practice, evolved a step from the famous sohc and dohc series of predecessors, but it puts out 10.5 bhp, matching the tough little two-strokes, and does it at 10,500 rpm. So you know that somebody has put plenty of knowhow into its design. Bore and stroke are a shade undersquare, as has been recent practice at Honda, at 48 by 49.5 mm, and those 10 ponies drive through a five-speed transmission, with ratios of 2.50, 1.72, 1.33, 1.08, and 0.92:1, the fifth gear being a numerical overdrive, which should help you haul it up to the claimed top whack of 68 mph.
No word on the price of the CB 90 yet—the machine has barely been announced so it will be awhile before you can lay hands on one. I'm afraid you'll have to ride that old Duo-Glide just a little bit longer.
FAIRINGS AND TANKS
There are relatively few specialty makers of motorcycle components like fairings, tanks, seats, etc., in Japan, but one who has attracted considerable attention in the motorcycling press and among road racers (as well as street racers) is Mr. Tamotsu Yoshihara, who is the proprietor of Pacific Overseas, located in the port city of Kobe, near Osaka, site of this year's world exposition, Expo '70.
Mr. Yoshihara and his two helpers build a wide selection of components; his best-known creation is the fairing/ seat combo for the sweet little Suzuki 125 Stinger (known in Japan as the "Wolf"). The fairing wraps snugly around the horizontal twin-cylinder engine, and it is even contoured for the header pipes and mufflers which flair out fairly wide on this machine.
Yoshihara-san (no relation to the co-author of "Report From Japan") also makes tanks for road and racing machines. As a matter of fact, he makes all of the fiberglass components for all Yamaha TD-2 and TR-2 road racers, as well as the glass components for the Kawasaki A-IR and A-7R GP bikes. When I asked him how he determines streamlining design for fairings to fit ultra-fast machines (like his handsome set for the Kawasaki Mach III), he smiled and replied, "Wailing down the highway at two in the morning," but the truth is that he manages to stay in close touch with Japanese road racers— over half of the riders at Suzuka and FISCO use his products—thus they should be airworthy at high speeds.
At the present, Pacific Overseas products aren't being exported to the U.S., but Mr. Yoshihara would be interested in sending some to America if he can get a substantial order from a Stateside company. Write in care of CYCLE WORLD if you'd like his address.
AND A HUNDRED MORE 750S FOR THE COPS
The secret of speeding in Japan: be rich. 'Cause you're gonna get nailed for sure, now that the Tokyo Police Department has more than doubled the size of their motorcycle force. They just bought a fleet of 100 Honda CB 750P four-cylinder police specials to chase wrongdoers.
They need them, for there are plenty of young drivers and riders who make it a practice to wail down the roadofttimes bending their machines and their bodies, and much of the scenery, all out of shape when they crash. And with new-generation juggernauts like the Kawasaki Mach III or the 24-valve dohc six-cylinder Nissan Fair Lady Z they have the iron.
While the chances of being caught in Japan are still less than in the States, if you do get bagged, look out! Fines can be as high as 1000 yen per kilometer above the limit-which amounts to $4.48 per mile above the 30 or 35-mph ceilings on most roads.
ROBERT WITH SUZUKI IN 1970
Last year a gentleman named Petersson rode a Suzuki RH-69 works motocross bike to a 3rd place in the world championships; this impressed the company so much that they hired the 1st and 2nd place winners to ride factory machines in the 1970 series. Joel Robert, reigning world champion, came to Japan in January to spend several weeks at the factory sorting out the RH-70 (basically the same machine as last year's) and getting acquainted with the Suzuki folks. He will ride with Sylvain Geboers, 2nd place man last year, perhaps giving the Japanese their first motocross world championshipafter cleaning house in the road race department for so many years. Best of luck to Suzuki's GP motocross effort this year!
GLORIOUS MORNING ON A CB 750
Remember the motorcycle movie I mentioned to you last month? Well, we finally finished editing and printing it, and it debuted on a daytime pop music show—thereby giving half of Japan a chance to dig what a joy it is to go earholing on a big bike. We also managed to show some road race footage I had taken at a West Coast event last year, and we talked about the differences in motorcycle and car technique.
About the most exciting part of the movie was the footage taken with the camera held beside the machine, near ground level: in turns it gave a view more near the horizontal than any road racer can lean!
ANOTHER RUMOR...
. . . for you to chew on. The Japanese firms of Toyo Kogyo and Bridgestone have been working together on several projects recently. For instance, Mazda's recent small two-stroke truck was the first stroker that Toyo Kogyo had built, and it is common knowledge that Bridgestone's technological expertise played a large role in its design. Mazda also builds a line of rotary-engine cars, under an NSU/Wankel license, and though it's a pretty far-out tale they say that Bridgestone is building a rotary-engine motorcycle. Which would sound just fine to me, since the small size, light weight, high output, lack of vibration and gyroscopic motion of the rotary engine would make it ideal for a bike. But at this stage let's just call this a good story, 'cause it's really weird, even compared to the stuff I usually tell you.
Watch out for 1970—on the Japanese calendar, it's the Year of the Dog. Be especially careful what kind of girl you ask to go riding on Poker Runs.
SUZUKI STOKES UP FOR DAYTONA 1970
No news on Suzuki's rumored entry in the big-displacement category, but at this point I'd say they're probably working on a four-stroke design; this would follow the lead of Yamaha and Kawasaki. Incidentally, I can't help but have a sneaking suspicion that Suzuki and Kawasaki are going to spring some surprises on us about the end of winter. While you would normally expect makers to present new models at the Tokyo Motor Show (as Honda did with their startling new CB 750), the fact that the show takes place at the end of October (and on the edge of the cruel Japanese winter) helps to dissuade makers from introducing new motorcycles at a time when few machines can expect to be sold. Kawasaki evidently believes that the Tokyo Motor Show's timing isn't all that good, if you'll recall; the Mach III 500 was introduced about February of last year. Are we going to get some more surprises this February or March? Don't know.
Anyway Suzuki is concentrating a lot of effort on their Daytona program this year, especially since they won the AMA National at Sears Point last fall. This was the very first time any Japanese machine, or any two-stroke, won an open class National and Suzuki fell out with joy at this windfall of good publicity. Now they're doing their best to see what can be done about squeezing that 500 a little harder; they'll have to convince it to go fast enough to do it to Harley on the tri-oval (they already have the brakes and handling). My money's on Harley. The recent change in top displacement to 750 cc is a tough break for Suzuki, and of course for Yamaha too. I can't see them urging many more horsepower out of the factory TR-2s than they had last year, not if they want to do 200 miles on them. And Suzuki, too, will have to find lots more than they had last year to stomp on big racing Sportsters (which Ivan wrote me had done 154 in practice in late 1969).
Speaking of horsepower figures (here we go again), it's getting to be a little hard for anybody to know what the limit will be on output, without actually building an engine and going to a race course and running it or breaking it. Suzuki claimed "over 50 bhp" for the three-cylinder Fronte 356-cc engine that powered their small Formula car to victory at FISCO in 1969, and 60 horses for the 475-cc version—which won a 3rd place for the GT Prototype RP car the same day. The cars were equipped with a four-speed gearbox, making wide ratios and a broad power band necessary for the ultra-fast course—so you know they could get more power if they want to sacrifice flexibility in the engines.
