1965 Honda CT200 Trail 90
Honda entered the motorcycle market in 1949 and by 1955, and still today, are the largest manufacturer of motorcycles worldwide. In 1964, Honda introduced their Trail series of motorcycles based on their very popular Super Cub line of bikes. These bikes were small, affordable and very reliable. The Trail series were built for off-road uses and not for speed. The CT200 Trail 90 was built from 1964-1966 and featured a four-speed transmission and adjustable handlebars. This bike was also marketed to hunters and fishers with an optional gun rack.
Manufacturer: Honda Motor Company
Engine: 1-cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled
Displacement: 89.6 cc (5.4 ci)
Bore and Stroke: 50 x 45.6 mm (1.96 x 1.79 in)
Power: 5.219 kW (7 hp)
Transmission: 4-forward, chain drive
Weight: 81.64 kg (180 lb)
1937 - Soichiro Honda founded Tokai Seiki (Eastern Sea Precision Machine Company) to make piston rings
1941 - After initial failures, the company figured out how to mass produce high quality piston rings and supplied to Toyota
WWII era - Tokai Seiki was placed under the control of the Japanese War Office and Sochiro Honda was demoted from President to senior managing director after Toyota took a 40% stake in the company.
1946 - Soichiro Honda sold the company to Toyota and started the Honda Technical research Institute where they built motorized bicycles using surplus military radio engines. When the engines ran out, Honda started making their own engines
1949 - First complete motorcycle (frame and engine) made by Honda was the D-Type with the name Dream
1955 - Honda has become the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and retains that title still in 2024
1959 - Honda began exporting to the United States
1982 - Honda's peak production year for motorcycles, they were producing almost 3 million motorcycles annually
