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The Appearance of a full-fledged Motorcycle, the Dream D-Type
The cumulative total of the motorcycles produced by Honda passed the hundred million mark in October 1997. This is counting from the very first motorcycle Honda made, the D-Type which debuted in August 1949. It was named the Dream, a name that seemed to symbolize Honda itself, and this machine was the embodiment of the company’s dream of becoming a motorcycle manufacturer. It is no longer known who gave the D-Type this name.
Years later, President Honda said,
“I can’t remember. I was always talking about how Honda would become a world-class manufacturer, which was like a dream. So somebody probably just started calling it that.”
“I think the Old Man was really happy about it. After all, it was a real motorcycle,” said Kawashima.
Kawashima was in charge of drafting engineering drawings for the D-Type engine, as well.
The D-Type was an offshoot of the C-Type, but it no longer had the look of a bike with an auxiliary engine. The design had evolved into something appropriate for a motorcycle. The D-Type assembly line also used a powered belt conveyor. This was an original company design. |
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