Report From Japan
REPORT FROM JAPAN
AUTOMATIC TRANNY CB 750?
YUKIO KURODA
You sneer. But just think about it a little: you can forget about using the clutch—maybe even the shift lever and there would be no more missed shifts or, even worse, half-missed shifts, with grinding gears and teeth. That would let you concentrate more on your riding and make the big Honda Four (already a pretty sweet handler, at least for a 500-lb. motorcycle) even more of a joy to ride.
Well you can’t buy one yet, but I have a strong hunch that Honda is working on such a device (among other goodies). One reason is the vast market for four-cylinder CB 750P police motorcycles. It would be much less tiring for an officer who has to ride all day to be able to eliminate the constant shifting and clutching. Many forward-looking touring riders would also appreciate a slush-box, if it could be made compact and efficient. And if anyone can do it, Honda can.
Matter of fact, they have. The 360-cc version of their mini-sedan, the N1II, now has an optional three-speed automatic transmission, designed to fit in the same cavity and run in a conventional “motorcycle” fashion (behind and parallel with the transverse twin-cylinder engine), unlike American automatics, which use a planetary gear assembly and consequently encounter various design and space limitations.
The torque converter runs off the left end of the crank, and power is then fed via triplex chain back to the trans, which has a one-way low gear clutch that forbids shifting into low while in motion. The gearbox is said to run at 91 percent efficiency of manual transmissions, as opposed to 85 percent for the popular Borg-Warner design. It shares engine oil, so there is no problem of a separate lubricant, as an oil cooling radiator is also used. And the automatic is only 33 lb. heavier than the manual version.
If the mention of an automatic transmission brings back gruesome memories of the old Buick “Dyna-Flush” or the classic DeSoto Fluid Drive, which, it was said, wouldn’t pull the hat off your head, even in a high wind, then I would just refer you to Jim Hall of Midland, Texas, who has been stompin’ the shift linkage out of everybody else in the Can-Am with an automatic.
SUZUKI SHOWROOM OPENS
The new motorcycle boom in Japan has gladdened the hearts and fattened the purses of domestic manufacturers, who always prefer a good solid home market to the trouble and indecision of export markets. Suzuki has taken the initiative in Tokyo and opened up a new showroom in the Shinjuku area, which is famous for its bars, nude shows, knife-equipped pachucos and general night life.
Among other models seen in the new two-story building are a jazzed-up Suzuki 250-cc chopper (the chopper thing in Japan is absolutely out of control), which may look a little weird at first. But if you rest your eyes on it awhile, it looks positively pretty. Also seen in the showroom is an extinct breed of machine called Koreda, which means “This One” in translation.
WONDER WOMAN ON MACH III
Her name is Peggy Hyde, and when you see a picture of her wrestling a 60-hp Kawasaki Mach III production racer around the tight turns of the one-mile Calder Raceway in far-away Australia, you’d swear she could take on Godzilla’s mother-in-law.
Peggy first did it to the men on January 4, when she steamed around some 90 brave male racers to grab the Australian Tourist Trophy', held on Philip Island. When the 24-year-old Aussie lass showed up at Calder that meant big trouble. Sure enough, though she got off to a bum start in the six-lap Senior C event and was eighth away, she beat all 30 gents in that race, and won by seven seconds. Man, that must have taken some ovaries, all right!
Best of racing luck to Peggy Hyde, a natural heroine for believers in Women’s Liberation! And thanks to Kawasaki Cycle World for the info and the photo.
MOTOCROSS REPLICAS FOR 1971?
I’d say that Suzuki just about has the world motocross championship sewed up, with its wins and places in Spain, France, Belgium, Yugoslavia, etc. etc. And that’s a beautiful achievement for a manufacturer who only went over for the first time this year. Their previous motocross experience was confined to factory-backed Japanese events and a machine lent to Olle Petersson for European events. Their years of Grand Prix road racing experience must have helped out considerably, and the riding talent of Joel Robert, Sylvain Geboers and Olle Petersson has a lot to do with their success.
It would be only natural for the company to follow up a world championship with a limited-production series of replica machines for top-line riders in the U.S. and Europe. Considering the current popularity of motocross events around the world, the company would be sure to garner plenty of publicity with their machines in local or national events.
I don’t believe that Suzuki has decided yet whether or not to produce the machine in large numbers. If they do they’ll probably wait for the experience that competing in the remainder of GP events this year can provide.
POLLUTION ISSUE IN JAPAN
There are a number of laws on the books concerning air pollution in the United States, and more are on the way. Until now, Japan, a country more concerned with making money and winning new markets than saving natural resources, has proceeded merrily along, without even minimal emission control devices on new cars and new car sales are in the hundreds of thousands every month. But a recent survey in one area with heavy traffic flow revealed that 82 percent of its population suffered from air pollution. The effects of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide have become severe enough by now that some attention has been focused on the matter.
The first item on the agenda is the matter of lead, a deadly poison which is contained in most gasolines of ' any considerable octane rating. It is sprayed into the atmosphere to settle over lungs, food, eyes, clothes and everywhere else there’s air. Nice thought, especially when you consider that lead settles in your body forever. There’s no way to rid yourself of it like some poisons, because it accumulates very gradually, so the effects are not immediately noticeable.
The government is now warning people that they should not buy leaded gasoline, which is feasible as most Japanese cars have low-compression engines, and don’t need street-racer fuel. The manufacturers have countered by claiming that lead don’t hurt you nohow. Meanwhile the skies get dimmer, and we hope we can last till 1975, when no-lead gasoline is promised, sort of.
MCQUEEN RIDING A SUZUKI 500?
That’s what it looked like, until I looked closer and saw that it was only a lifelike wax statue of the famous movie star and racer, featured in an exhibition now running in the Tokyo Tower Building. Steve looks very much at home on the big ’Zuke, and his traveling companion looks like she digs the 30-in. twostroke, too.
(Continued on page 94)
TRAIL RACER FROM HONDA
This month’s jewel from the world’s most prolific manufacturer is the SL 90, the trailing model of the recently introduced vertical Single. Like its sisters, the CB and CL versions, its looks are proportioned so perfectly that it fools you into thinking it’s a 500, until you get up close. Chromed fork sliders with alloy legs, the organically shaped fuel tank that curves back to match the lines of the seat, and a muffler that creeps up from under the engine and nests tight in alongside the frame are its principal differences.
I bet they sell a jillion of these for the good looks alone!
BUYING A MOTORCYCLE
Japan sells more motorcycles in the U.S. than anybody else, and many Americans visiting Japan naturally wonder how they can buy a machine here and take it back home when they return, thus saving a little coin and time. And the bike makes a lovely souvenir of the tour through Japan. Many American military personnel returning to the home front (as it has come to be called recently) also want to buy a machine to take back with them, so I have scouted around to rustle up the address of places where machines can be ordered for U.S. delivery.
Unlike deals offered in many European countries, it’s not possible to buy a machine in Japan with an international (tax-free) plate. So ride it in Japan and have it shipped back to the States; the government hasn’t gotten quite that sophisticated yet.
But the places mentioned below will let you select the machine you want and will ship it in a sturdy crate to the nearest port of entry for you. You’ll still have to handle customs, pay duty, and do the clearance procedures on the machine, but you can save 30 to 40 percent on the cost of the machine Stateside.
KANAGAWA KAWASAKI MOTORCYCLE SALES CO., 4-11 Chojya-machi, Naka-ku, Yokohama 232. Telephone: (045) 261-3441.
SUZUKI MOTORS (for Yamahas) 2-13 Yasuura-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa-ken. Telephone: (0468) 23-2148.
SUZUKI SHINJUKU (for Suzukis, natch) 23-2 Daikyo-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. Telephone: (03) 352-3494.
DAIICHI HONDA HANBAI LTD., 3-5-16 Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. Telephone: (03) 362-4131.
These places will undoubtedly have personnel who can speak English and arrange the paperwork for you. And you can be pretty sure that the folks at these places will do their best to answer any questions you might have about the machines.
LAST LITTLE SECRET
In last month’s report I suggested the possibility of a true single-cylinder motocross Honda, and now it looks as though that prediction just might come true. Spies have spotted a prototype 250 running around the countryside, in company with Suzukis and Yamahas of the same class, apparently for purposes of comparison. No other info, except that it looked plenty fast and super light. And that’s all you need to know to predict. Four-stroke motocrossers shall rise again! [O]
