I was prowling the 'net recently looking at motorcycles for sale. I came upon this restored surviving warrior:
A 1965 150cc Honda Benly.
As far as scooters go it's not much to look at. Under-powered with stamped steel frame it wasn't a big seller...and it was Japanese. And being born with the smell of WWII still heavy at the Cash family dinner table, Japanese products were categorically dismissed as cheap copies. This might have possibly been true with water guns and toy cars. but with Honda motorcycles, it was far from the truth.
One of my fellow paper route junkies from the 'hood came up with a brand spanking new 305cc Honda Super Hawk in 1966. It was a marvel of simplicity and reliability.
Somewhat built on Honda's earlier Benly platform, this motorcycle shot lightning through the motorcycle world. In less than 5 years, by 1971, Honda had a chunk of the American motorcycle market that they would never let go. They were slick, available, affordable...and fast. These attributes were by design, and that is exactly what Soichiro Honda set out to produce.
Soichiro was born in 1906 in Japan, the son of a blacksmith that operated a bicycle shop. Being born into a mechanical world he apprenticed with an automotive mechanic as a young man. His love of racing almost killed him in 1936 and he dialed back the power setting on his life just a bit. He opened a manufacturing and machine shop and picked up a cool contract producing piston rings for an upstart automobile manufacturer, Toyota.
I'm sure that post WWII was hard on the Japanese people, emotionally and financially. In 1946 Soichiro sold his piston ring manufacturing business and opened up the Honda Motor Company. Cheap and reliable personal transportation was his goal. He came up with a marketable scooter:
Although successful, Honda couldn't stand the noise and smell that two-stroke engines produced. He quickly began developing his 4 stroke engines. By 1959 he had perfected a reliable, simple and quiet motorcycle. We know it as the Benly.
Now remember Soichiro was a racer as a young man, and the need for speed still ran through his veins.
I don't know how old Mr. Honda was when this pic was taken, but two things stand out. His $5000 Italian silk suit...and his smile. He loved going fast on motorcycles. I can relate.
Back in the middle to late fifties motorcycle racing was epitomized by an annual race known as the Isle of Man TT in Great Britain. This grueling and deadly race had been dominated for years by Europeans and their well-oiled machines. The spirit of the race was almost medieval in the fact that dying on the course was bested only by winning, like glorious knights and their steeds. Each year the Italian, German and Brit motorcycle manufacturers would throw perfectly healthy young men at the race hoping for either a trophy or a funeral. As you could imagine this also appealed to Mr. Honda and his quasi-Samurai heritage.
Eventually Honda entered racing, and did rather well. In 1959 Honda took the manufacturer's trophy at the TT. The same year the American Honda Motor Company was opened in Los Angeles. He eventually dominated not only the TT, but most other races that Honda focused on.
Soichiro's desire for an affordable, dependable and well performing motorcycle changed motorcycle history here in America. His bikes almost single-handedly dealt a death blow to the aging British designs and market. He set standards that motorcycle manufacturers even today strive to attain. Not bad for "Jap" bike...
Oh, and one other thing. Thank God Mr. Honda hated two-strokes. Me too, Soichiro, me too. 😉
Thanks a lot you old fart.;-)
Sitting here watching reruns of “Beavis and Butthead” and then POOF! A 305 Super Hawk pops up.
Started with a Honda 50 Super Sport – next a 150-then a 160, and finally the 305 SH. Puberty happened and it didn’t take long to figure out that girls weren’t too keen about a date on a motorcycle so the cars came next. And Brother Paden I worked my ass off for the first one. 66 Chevelle 327/275hp/4speed(hurst shifter). I have old fashioned pictures of all these but need to convert them to digital.
Have a great day!
I loved my "Shivvies"
> ...66 Chevelle 327/275hp/4speed(hurst shifter)....
Chevy man myself, too. Although my "first" car was a '41 Ford Sedan.
'66 was a good year for the Chevelle. We use to call the 275 hp small-block the "vette" motor. It was a great high-performance engine. Too bad we can't buy the gasoline nowadays it took to run those things!
My brother purchased a white '66 in '68 that was pretty tame. It had a 283 with the Powerglide tranny. We use to call it the "Powerslide" because it took so long to shift at high speed.
But he put some Cragar dark-center mags with raised, white lettered Goodyear pavement mops on it and it "looked" fast. He found out the girls liked that car better than a loud hot-rod. Who knew?
My "fastest" Chevy was a 1964 Impala SS. Factory 409 c.i. with a Borg-Warner T-10 4 speed mated to a 4:11 third member. There was a model that had two four barrels installed at the factory, but this had just one. That engine had so much torque I broke a motor and transmission mount racing. It was a beast.
It died a warrior's death with Holden at the wheel. He almost died with it. Took me a number of years to forgive him for wrecking my "SS".
I loved my "Shivvies"
“My "fastest" Chevy was a 1964 Impala SS. Factory 409 c.i. with a Borg-Warner T-10 4 speed mated to a 4:11 third member. There was a model that had two four barrels installed at the factory, but this had just one.”
She’s real fine my 409….
The fastest and worst handling thing I have ever driven was a Camaro. It was the first time they plopped a 396 in them. Traded in the Chevell for it. The 396 was only 325hp a 360hp was an option I couldn’t afford at the time. (Did install a Crane cam and some headers and a Elderbrock manifold with a Holly4bbl) When my girlfriend (whom has been my SWMBO for the past 45 years) drove it she got a real thrill shifting from first to second and flooring it to see how much rubber she could burn. It was impossible to drive on wet roads. With positraction and a 311 axel it had a tendency to spin the rear towards the right. However it would “out run” damn near anything as long as it was in a straight line.
Happy trails to you…..
EDIT:
He found out the girls liked that car better than a loud hot-rod. Who knew?
That's because "car's" had a back seat where half the Pregnancy's in the '60's took place. I know for sure, I read it on the internet.;-)
I had to pull the battery out of my Enfield today - off to Wally World for a new one...
Ah, but then there was this model that if I hadn't such a prejudiced wife and weren't using what once upon a time was the garage as my office would be in said garage as a modern classic from the pre-Shrinerized Honda GL period.
You've found your nekkid GL. Looks like an easy "paint" if you wanted to change the color...;-)
Suggestion: I've seen some men try the "profit" angle to get their better half off high center...
That's where you acknowledge the logic of your wife's resistance to sharing your time and affections with a mere machine. But while standing behind her 100% with her wishes you can't turn this deal down from a financial point of view. IT IS such a rare bike. And IT IS such a good deal that even Quasimodo could turn a profit by merely flipping the bike.
IT WOULD have to stay in the garage for a short period of time. And there probably would be a few things to fix and tweak before resale. BUT that's all you're looking at is the financial gain. Promise her you will sell it as soon as you can....After all, you only have her best interests at heart with your investments....
I've seen it work a number of times. The only problem I foresee is that surveyors generally have a tendency to gravitate toward intelligent women. It's our downfall. Money Penny could smell a line like that a mile away....:pinch:
back seats
> "car's" had a back seat where half the Pregnancy's in the '60's took place...
Years ago, in 1979, there was a young lassie in the neighborhood that made extra money with baby-sitting. Her name was "Nova". When she told me she was fifteen I did some quick math and that put her birth year at 1964...
I asked her if she knew what kind of car her father had when her folks got married. She said she didn't know, but she would ask...I told her never mind, it wasn't important......:snarky:
I think this was a 1966 Honda Scrambler, my first. It was a stolen wreck got it for $65 from the insurance company.
CL160 Scrambler
If I remember, that was a CL160 maybe?
Kick start only, twin carbs and a bash plate under the engine. I think it had a heat shield on the exhaust from the factory. Those were some good looking scooters. Most of them I saw were just black and silver.
If you just shut your eyes you can probably remember what it felt like, sounded and smelled like....B-)
back seats
:good: :good: :hi5:
> The only problem I foresee is that surveyors generally have a tendency to gravitate toward intelligent women. It's our downfall. Money Penny could smell a line like that a mile away....:pinch:
Yep, Can't stand a female that can't keep up with me mentally. Been married 3 times. Each one has been more intelligent than her predecessor.
I bounce ideas off of this one. When we both agree it nearly always works.
B-)
