Honda is one of the biggest names in motorbike manufacturing in the world today. Like many of the major entrepreneurial success stories of the twentieth century, the company had very humble beginnings.

Soichiro Honda was born in Hamamatsu, Japan. As a youth, Honda was an apprentice in an automotive garage in Tokyo. In 1928, he opened his own repair garage and built his own racing car.  In 1937 he set up a piston ring manufacturing company and became one of Toyota’s key suppliers.

He sold his business in 1946 and saw a market opportunity for affordable transportation in war-devastated Japan.  He adapted bicycles by adding two-stroke motors to them.  The motors were war surplus supplies – originally intended to be military radio generators.

In 1949, Honda established the Honda Motor Co. Ltd and the company manufactured its first motorcycle in 1949. The bike was powered by a 98cc two-stroke motor.  Legend has it that an employee looked at it and said “It’s like a dream.” Dream was incorporated into the bike’s name, with it being known as the Model D.

The first motorcycles were very noisy and the fume smells crowding the streets of Japanese cities inspired Honda to create a four stroke motorbike in 1951. This was known as the Dream E.

Honda went onto manufacture accessory, clip-on motors for bicycles, producing the Cub F motor in 1951. This was a two-stroke, 50cc motor that was sold by thousands of bicycle shops in Japan.

In 1953, Honda released its Benly J motorbike. They had Benly tank badges and the Honda name only appeared on the engine case. These proved very popular with Japanese racing amateurs.

In 1958, Honda manufactured what was to become the most popular motorbike of all time – the Super Cub – otherwise known as the CA100, the C100 and the Honda 50.  It had a pressed-steel frame and 50cc four-stroke motor. It would also go on to have a 70cc and 90cc engine in later generations.

In 1959, Honda opened the American Honda Motor Co. in Los Angeles and has been the biggest motorcycle manufacturer in the world ever since.