Honda Motorcycle One Man's Vision This Week at LiveAuctionTalk.com
Rosemary McKittrick is a story-crafter. Her weekly art and antiques column focuses on the past and brings what went before to life.
Online, April 28, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Once people realized they could get around on dirt roads without peddling, the invention of the motorcycle was a given. Unfortunately early motorcycles left riders pushing and peddling more often than they cared to do.
Motorcycles were an idea whose time had almost come.
The size and rough terrain of the United States in the early-20th century called for a machine to replace the horse that was both tough and dependable. Harley-Davidson and Indian filled the niche in America as the top manufacturers. But there was still room for small companies like Honda to move in and capture a piece of the market.
Honda motorcycle was the result of one man's vision, Soichiro Honda. The technical wizard loved vehicles and in 1946 founded the "Honda Technical Research Center" in a wooden shed in Japan.
One of Honda's biggest successes came in 1969 with the introduction of the CB750. It was the first mass-produced four-cylinder motorcycle. It was also the first bike with disc brakes and one of the few big capacity bikes with an electric start. In 2007, Honda was also the first manufacturer to offer a motorcycle with air bag crash protection.
On Jan. 6, Bonhams & Butterfields featured its Las Vegas Motorcycle and Memorabilia sale held at The Auto Collections at The Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino. Featured in the auction was a collection of vintage Hondas.
A CB750/4; 1970; second-year edition sold for $4,914.
Read the full story at http://www.LiveAuctionTalk.com
RSS: http://www.liveauctiontalk.com/rss/lat.rss
Share:
Tags: antique, antique auction, Antique Furniture, antiques, antiques auction, live auction, weekly antique column, weekly collectible column, weekly collectibles column
