Report From Japan
REPORT FROM JAPAN
YUKIO KURODA
YASUO YOSHIHARA
HONDA FOURS FOR DAYTONA
They have the machines all set up to run; 90 bhp and 168 mph strong. And now, with the recent signing of American racing star Dick Mann, plus European aces Tommy Robb and Ralph Bryans, they have the riders. The Europeans got their minds blown when Honda showed up with 10 factory mechanics and works 750s at the Bol d’Or 24-hour race-and promptly won it (though they were pressed hard much of the time by Kawasaki Mach IIIs) to the delight of the French and the joy of the Japanese (and, needless to say, to the dismay of the British, whose last stronghold in road racing-production events-now seems seriously threatened). Those machines pumped out 72 bhp and “Pop” Yoshimura, the top Honda race tuner in Japan, claims he can get 100 bhp from the swift four-cylinder mill. Pop’s engines tend to be very fast, but rather fragile, so a 90-bhp target seems more realistic for a 200-mile race-and Honda has the experience to screw together the machines the right way.
What they won’t have is handling. Man, won’t they not have handling! Thus talk of the King of Kings, S.M.B. Hailwood, coming back to the marque that won him so many world titles. But Hailwood's a pretty choosy fellow, so Honda would have to do a lot of wooing (and write a big, big check) to persuade Mike the Bike to ride for them once more. The four-cylinder 500s that Mike wrestled around the GP circuits of Europe for several years, often on the brink of catastrophe, were said to handle like a crippled camel in a high wind; and with the drastically higher weight of the 750, you know there'd be thrills and chills riding it hard on Day tona's banked turns.
KAWASAKI WANTS THE BIG ONE
The fastest-rising company in recent years in Japanese motorcycling has been Kawasaki, but the unquestioned success of their swift and pretty road machines has not been matched by any noticeable achievements in competition. They have been shut down every year at Daytona, in spite of large teams and expensive preparation.
This year they are pinning all their hopes on the H-1R. There will probably still be A-IRs and A-7Rs running at Daytona, but the factory effort will be aimed at winning the big 200-Mile race with the racing version of the Mach III 500. The H-1R should have the horsepower—the works bikes put out over 80 horses. But once again there’s the matter of handling, which is not as smooth or predictable as first thought. In all fairness to Kawasaki, it should be pointed out that to make any 300-lb. motorcycle that has 80 bhp and a pointy power band behave is a very difficult chore.
One big problem is frontal area—and this machine looks as though it’s got as much frontal area as a moving van, thanks to the gigantic expansion chambers that swell out about 6 in. from the frame tubes. The comparatively poor streamlining of the dolphin-type fairing adds to aerodynamic instability; there’s going to be a lot of racers doing over-the-ton wheelies at Daytona this year, if they aren’t careful.
While Kawasaki, having a sister aircraft division, should be able to plot and design the best streamlining possible for a racing machine, they encounter the same problem common to all Japanese companies with racing aspirations: no really adequate test facilities, and a lack of experienced test riders who can help them interpret and solve problems at really high speeds. Kawasaki has been doing much testing at FISCO, since it’s got a banked turn similar to Daytona and ultra-fast straights that allow it to show its maximum speed. But apart from Ken Araoka, they’ve lacked the riders to handle the machines. Also, I’m told that there was a similar reluctance of riders to do high-speed testing of the Mach III during its development period, simply because of its extraordinary top speed. And the machine is admittedly unstable above 100 mph, due, I believe, to the soft front suspension.
to suspension. The H-1R could pull the victory switch for Kawasaki, though. I wouldn’t mind getting an H-1R myself and doing some raping and pillaging at Daytona—if I could ever get around to pillaging.Z
GRANT PAYS A VISIT TO SUZUKI
West Coast ace rider Ron Grant stopped by at the Suzuki factory on his way back from a winter of racing in New Zealand, as the guest of Suzuki importer Rod Coleman. While there, he test-rode the 250-cc and 500-cc machines that he will ride for Suzuki at Daytona this year. As you may recall, Grant led the Sears Point AMA National road race for many laps, and the event was won by Suzuki teammate Art Baumann on a similar machine.
There was talk that ex-works rider Yoshimi Katayama was going to race for Suzuki this year; Katayama is now working at the Toyo Kogyo firm in Hiroshima, and racing their Mazda cars in Japanese events. He is said to have preferred big machines to the 50s and 125s that he rode for Suzuki in many events in Japan and Europe. He might find the 500-cc Titan racer just the machine to do the job at Daytona.
GEBOERS AND ROBERT GET SET FOR NEW SEASON
Reigning world champion Joel Robert and second-place man Sylvain Geboers gave a press demonstration of their riding techniques and of Suzuki’s new GP motocross machines for 1970, during a visit to Japan in the last part of January.
They apparently were pleased with the handling and power response of the machines, though Robert admitted that the RH70 and RN70 250-cc and 360-cc machines would take some getting used to, since they are many pounds lighter than the factory CZ machines he rode last year.
The RH70 puts out 30 bhp at 7000 revs. Suzuki offered to tune the engine for much more power, but Robert said thanks, but no thanks—given good handling and lots of low-end torque, 30 bhp would be plenty. The bigger RN70 puts out 38 bhp/6500 rpm; weight on the two machines is given at 194 lb. and 202 lb., respectively. While the engines share the same cylinder and head castings as the 250-cc Savage trail machine, down below it has cast magnesium cases and internals that show a good deal of custom preparation.
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The RH70 has a five-speed transmission, while the RN70 gets along with only four gears.
Mix is a 20:1 gas/oil—what the English call “petroil—ratio; this is guzzled through 32/36-mm carburetors. Exhaust is by “crossunder” pipe that twists in tight against the engine and single downtube frame members. The gearchange is on the left, which should cause some exciting moments if either of the riders, used to shifting on the right, should forget in the heat of competition.
Geboer’s machine has a wheelbase of 54.9 in., while Robert asked that his machines be stretched an inch longer for better handling—handling being, to a certain extent, a matter of personal preference.
1969 PRODUCTION SETS NEW RECORD
The Japan Automobile Manufacturer’s Association announced that 1969 motorcycle production was considerably up from the previous year. Exports were also higher, continuing to climb along with domestic sales. You might be interested to see figures for the past three years, to give you an idea of how Japanese machines keep moving steadily upward:
TRIALS CATCHING ON IN JAPAN
After winning many world championships in road racing, and even fielding motocross machines at home and abroad, Japanese riders have started to get interested in lesser known, and more esoteric, forms of competition. The case of the Clean Riders Trials Club is a good example of this.
The club takes its name from the goal of all competitors in a trials event: to “clean” a section without losing any points for footing or running into a spectator or falling off into a patch of boulders, etc. It holds one event each month, usually near the Tokyo area, according to Mr. Yasuo Manzawa, com petition chief of the club. One of the most interesting riders in the small club is Matsue Sumida, who is a girl. Wow, is she ever a girl. She is good buddies with Mr. Manzawa, which I gather is how he talked her into taking on the thankless job of club manager. Mr. Takeo Manza wa, Yasuo's elder brother, also rides with the club. He laughed and told me he was president. I guess it pays to keep management in the family. -
Trials are usually held near Tanzawa, not far from Yokohama, and other clubs from the Central Japan area come for the monthly meets.
Yasuo Manzawa’s machine is one of the most special of the bikes run. It is based on a Yamaha DT-1, which he now calls a DT-1 Special, having shortened the rear top loop on the frame, moved the steps back, increased the steering lock, added a CL90 front hub and SL90 handlebars, notched the tank to fit the wider turning range and painted it nicely afterwards, fitted a wide-ratio five-speed box, a 21-in. front wheel, and even built a Bultaco-like chain tensioner. He wears soccer pads on his shins when he rides, claiming it gives much better leg protection, and said that he plans to fit a reed valve and modified exhaust setup to the Yamaha for the ultimate trails machine—in Japan, anyway.
NO MORE REAL NEWS FOR NOW
So we’ll have to make some up. Did you hear why the chicken crossed the road? To get to the other side. And did you hear why he crossed back again? To get a better look at the new top-secret Honda four-cylinder 350-cc road machine as it came wailing along.
Yeah, I know—some of the rumors and stories about new machines take a lot of swallowing to get down (and sometimes the machines are so secret that not even the companies involved have heard anything about them). But hold on to your muffler bearings, ’cause this could be for real. For Honda never rests. Over the years they’ve come out with machines that time and again blew the British and Italian competitors out of the water—and even made some long faces among their Japanese rivals. Remember the hubbub when the dohc 450 first came out? Or the gaunt stares on the faces of Triumph/BSA dealers when CYCLE WORLD ran the four-cylinder CB750 on its cover a while back? Honda just loves to spring surprises like that...
And they might have other reasons for the production a machine unbelievable just a few years ago. For example, there’s the matter of the tremendous success of the CB750; they’ve sold 10,000 in the few months they’ve been available, and could have sold many thousands more, but keeping production up with demand has been a problem. Of all the multis, this has obviously been the most successful four-stroke design—at least with the buying public. By now Honda has probably aced out all the cost and production problems involved in the four-banger configuration. Honda has always been exceedingly good at shaving costs without sacrificing quality, and the advantage of building a fresh, exciting design is that it can be costed for a production run of five or ten years, if necessary. Hell, the Europeans have been building some of their ohv wonders with the same design for 30 years now, and if they still sell that proves both the soundness of the design and the concept. The Japanese manufacturers are continually opening up new markets abroad (making deep inroads now into the Australian, South African and European markets), and the success of such business ventures often depends on novel, appealing machines.Z
A four-cylinder 350 should be lightning-quick off the line and sound like a banshee with rabies. And it should be silken-smooth. . . as Honda proved with the CB750: there’s no substitute for cubic cylinders. If this machine glides out of your dreams and onto the roads, it will do so sometime in 1971.
EASY RIDER BIG HIT IN JAPAN
Scores of motorcyclists come to see Easy Rider at every performance, along with thousands of other young Japanese—the film has really caused a smash here. The parking area in front of Tokyo’s Subaruza Theater is continually jammed with bikes and bikeys. The only thing missing is the pleasant fragrance which I’m told fills darkened theaters in the States during performances ....
NEW CL350S FROM HONDA
Nobody has more models than Honda. And now there’s been an addition to their line of medium-range Twins, with the new CL350 street scrambler pictured here.
Engine and transmission specs on the CL350 are the same as the popular CB350; it shares the lovely new tank design inspired by the CB750 and CB450 motifs. Universal tires are fitted front and rear, and another feature is the traditional crossover pipes, seen on CL models for many years, that come out the left side of the machine, and feed into two large torpedo-type mufflers located high on the side of the machine beside the shock absorber, to keep milady’s leg nice and warm while you’re busy driving.
Honda has not officially announced plans to export the CL350, but they’re sure to soon. [O]
