Despite the fact that Honda is a Japanese brand, Honda dirt bikes are among the world’s best sellers thanks to the company’s success in other places, including Europe and North America. Since the first Honda dirtbike was manufactured more than half a century ago, Honda has continued to develop its bikes to appeal to people around the world.

Early History

• The story of Honda dirt bikes started in 1946 when Soichiro Honda established the Honda Technical Research Institute. In 1949, Honda manufactured its first small motorcycle, called the “Dream D.” Within a decade, Honda was the top manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. A large part of the worldwide success stemmed from the first motorcycle shop that Honda opened in Los Angeles in the 1950s.

Advertising

• Although some Hondas started to win road races in Europe, the motorcycle sales in the U.S. did not take off until the “You Meet the Nicest People in the World on a Honda” campaign began. This campaign showed smiling businessmen and nice-looking women on Honda motorcycles. This helped Honda overcome the thinking that motorcycles were only for thugs or criminals. The ad campaign made Honda motorcycles acceptable for all kinds of people to own.

Time Frame

• Thanks to the sales of its motorcycles, Honda was able to devote more time and advertising dollars into promoting their dirt bikes. The dirt bike boom began in 1968 and Honda played a large part in this boom. Around this time, not only were Honda dirt bikes being ridden on trails and courses across the United States, but they were also being ridden in the desert as well as in countries across the world.

Types

• There have been a number of types of Honda dirt bikes created over the last several decades, but perhaps no dirtbikes have been more popular than the Honda Elsinore. When this Honda dirt bike was released in 1973, it immediately received rave reviews from consumers and motorcycle critics alike thanks to the specs it included.
  In addition to being lighter than 200 pounds, the road bike had nearly a 20 horsepower engine at 8,000 revolutions per minute. This set the Elsinore apart from previous types of Honda road bikes as well as from competitors’ bikes.

Significance

• Based on Honda’s last few decades, there is no reason to expect anything less than continued excellence with a few bumps along the road from their dirt bikes. Honda continues to manufacture the CR series, which has been the most popular kind of dirt bike over the last three decades. Honda has pushed the industry to make significant improvements such as aluminum framings and smooth acceleration power.

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