back in the late 80’s there was a huge import revolution going on. japanese auto manufacturers were making smaller front wheel drive models which were more economical and fuel efficient. while most kids were begging their moms and dads for a 5.0 mustang parents usually opted for the insurance friendly honda civic.
being from the car customizing capitol of the world, so cal kids started tricking out their rides with anything they could find. homemade intakes from home depot, dynomax and flowmaster mufflers normally found on domestic cars were fitted to the back ends of these new FF (front engine front drive) racers. cut springs and speaker boxes from their family’s home stereo system were often hooked up and installed on the weekends.
the weird thing is that any and everything you did to a honda made it faster. seriously, after a bit of tweaking with some cams, intake, exhaust, header and sometimes nitrous these little hatchbacks were actually giving those mustangs a run for their money. we were driving cars that would get over 30 mpg, was reliable enough to get us to school and around town and still lay down some respectable 14 second time slips down the quarter.
i remember getting laughed at when we would pull up to the street races in compton in our econo honda’s. it wasn’t until the domestic crowd got taken for a whole shit load of cash did we start gaining some respect. eventually we ran the domestics out and those 14 second civics started to near the 10 second mark and beyond.
ive always wanted to visit honda hq and was lucky enough to do so this trip.
and as luck would have it honda was having a scooter exhibition during my visit. scooters and cars? yes please.
80’s fashion at it’s finest.
before fiberglass and carbon fiber molds they used to handcraft fairings out of steel…
this zoomer looked sick as all hell in blue.
seeing so many of the larger scooters cruising the streets of tokyo makes me want one bad. this is the honda forza also known as the honda reflex here in the states. and yes, mugen produces parts for this bad boy.
blue or orange. you decide.
honda had this dope display for the forza.
some useful information for all you met fans out there…
just outside the downstairs exhibit hall they had an area where they restored and maintained both bikes and cars.
can you tell which side has been refinished?
i almost wet myself when i saw this…
out in the back they were working on the raybrig nsx.
keep in mind that all of this was just on the first level. i almost forgot to go upstairs.
this is what was waiting for me…
team repsol pit bike.
sick mini bike collection.
the honda nr was revolutionary for its time. oval pistons and 8 valves per cylinder all for a modest price of about 50k.
for a second there i almost forgot honda made cars.
not many designs can withstand 20 years and still look this f’n sexy. best believe the nsx-r is the hotness.
glass top crx.
f’ a razor i want one of these guys…
this one is for you e…
i dig visuals but for those who dig sounds this kiosk is for you.
og type r badge.
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the many incarnations of asimo. these robots kinda game the creeps. we all know what happened with ED 209 in robocop.
honda has its own race track in their backyard. it’s called twin ring because there is an oval with a circuit track inside of it.
not only was i fortunate enough to step foot on the track but we rode go karts around the entire oval. to say it was surreal would be modest.
the go karts were slow as hell but it gave us sometime to cruise the oval and check the scenery.
i pointed my camera behind me and caught my boy scotty acting a fool.
this has to be one of the dopest spots in all of japan that i’ve visited. theres so much to do here with plenty of activities for families, the museum, racetrack and the asimo display. they say when honda has their customer appreciation day it gets super crazy round these parts. i can only imagine.
special thanks to my main man tetsu for driving 2 hours out of the city and escorting me to the happiest place on earth.
-b