Report From Japan
REPORT FROM JAPAN
W. B. SWIM
THE 1964 ANNUAL Tokyo Motor Show will display only Japanese products again this year after all. Since the first of the shows 11 years ago, it has been restricted to Japanese products. Foreign automobile importers have banded together to hold their own show, but foreign motorcycle manufacturers have been left out in the cold, although a few have displayed in the past at the annual international trade fairs in Japan. This year, plans called for a combined show of Japanese and foreign cars and motorcycles, and invitations to participate had been sent to importers of 19 makes of foreign motorcycles and 40 makes of automobiles. Very few applications were returned by the importers, however, and recently the car importers' association officially announced they will boycott this year's show. This probably means foreign motorcycles will again be missing.
The show is normally held in late October or early November, but this year it was pushed up to Sept. 26-Oct. 9 because of the Olympic Games, which will be held in Tokyo this fall. Detroit new models will not be out in time for the show. The car importers were also dissatisfied because they had been allotted only half as much space as the Japanese makes at the show site. Japan is liberalizing the import of foreign automobiles and motorcycles later this year.
Yamaha has announced three new models, a motorcycle type 50cc, a new 125cc and a model of the popular 75cc (80cc in the U.S.) Yamaha with an automatic oil and gasoline mixer installed. The YF1 is Yamaha's first motorcycle type 50cc, all previous 50s being the skirt-fitting "moped" type. It resembles the company's YG1 in the sporty, light look and features a fine finish. The 4.5 hp @ 8,000 rpm 2-stroke engine has a rotary valve and power runs through a 4-speed gearbox on this single. Suspension is leading link in front and hydraulically damped swinging arm behind. The kickstarted engine has an oversquare bore/ stroke of 40 x 40 mm. a 7.1 compression ratio and 3.25 ft-lb @ 6,000 rpm torque. Top speed of 50 mph is claimed for the 147.4 lb. machine.
The new single-cylinder 125cc YA6 also had the autolube to do away with messy mixing of gas and oil for the 2-cycle engine. The 56 x 50mm engine gives 11 hp @ 6,700 rpm to run through a 4-gear rotary type transmission. A rotary valve is featured again, along with torque of 9.02 ft-lb @ 5,000 rpm in this 264pound motorcycle for a top speed of 68 mph. Telescopic fork, swinging arm and electric starter go along with Yamaha's usual good appearance from a fine attention to detail and finish work.
The surprising thing about the "autolube" YG1-D model of the popular 75cc YGl is that it was put on sale without any increase in price. Yamaha thus not only won the race to see which 2-stroke maker could get an automatic fuel mixer into production first (Suzuki and Tohatsu showed prototypes as well as Yamaha at last year's motor show) but also settled the customer's question about how much extra he will have to pay for the privilege of having separate gasoline and oil tanks. Since the answer is "nothing" with Yamaha, it will be about impossible for other 2-stroke makers to raise prices on their mixer-installed models. Yamaha will come out with the YJ1, a 55cc model with the "autolube," shortly, a spokesman confirmed for CYCLE WORLD. Production of the three new models is 5,000 monthly of the 50cc YF1 motorcycle initially and 7,000 in a couple of months, 2,000 of the YG1-D autolube 75cc and 4,000 YA6 125cc machines per month at first, going up to 5,000 later.
Japan's fourth largest maker, Bridgestone, has also put a new model on sale, the 90cc machine displayed at last fall's motor show. The new machine has a rotary valve and four gears for the 2cycle single cylinder engine, and no cooling fan such as the company's 50 and 55cc models feature. A Bridgestone official told CYCLE WORLD that the higher speeds of the 90cc do away with the need for a cooling fan. A bore and stroke of 1.97 x 1.77 inches gives 88cc for the 60 mph Bridgestone 90. A 4-speed rotary transmission is installed to handle the engine's 7.8 hp @ 7,000 rpm, which gives torque of 6.13 ft-lb @ 5,000 rpm. This gives Bridgestone the biggest horsepower and torque of any 90cc class Japanese motorcycle. It is also the only one with an engine-supporting downtube from the head of the frame. The kick started new 174pound model has a telescopic fork front and swinging arm rear end.
Kawasaki has come out with two new versions of older models, the 53cc B55NC with automatic clutch replacing the B53 and a M5NC 50cc with more horses and speed than the M5 upon which it is based. Power is up to 4.5 hp and top speed is now 47 mph on the M5NC, but that is all that has been changed. The B55NC 2-cycle single has 4.7 hp and a top speed of 48 mph for its 3-speed gear box.
Honda Motor has put a 4-cylinder, 4carburetor sports car powered by a 606cc engine on sale in Japan. It's a larger, more powerful version of their 531cc sports car. These two models along with the Honda 360cc light truck have boosted company four-wheel production to over the 5,000 per month mark now. Honda has also announced plans to contest international automobile Grand Prix races in Europe later this year with a Formula I l,500cc racer, so it seems the company is out to win a reputation for its sports cars through European racing like it did for its motorcycles a few seasons back. Word is that the sports car will not be exported for some time to give the company a chance to correct any bugs found in it. It has a final drive by chain just like Honda's motorcycles.
The publisher of the Motorcyclist magazine, the best of Japan's periodicals for enthusiasts (with which CYCLE WORLD has an exchange of material arrangementEd.), has come out with a thick magazine for automotive bugs, named "Driver." The initial edition had exclusive pictures of Honda's Formula I running on Suzuka Circuit (Honda is being very secretive and still not handing out pictures) and several other big scoops, and all in all it made quite a splash on the local four-wheel scene. Cyclists who know the 2-wheel publication, however, knew what to expect.
The competition season is in full swing, with the next big ones being the 1st Moto-Cross Japan Grand Prix sponsored by the Motorcycling Federation of Japan and the 10th All-Japan Moto-Cross Championships sponsored by the rival Motorcycle Club Federation of All Japan. Bridgestone will make its first appearance with factory backed riders on special equipment at the latter event, it is reported. A 50cc Bridgestone scrambler built around a single engine originally designed for road racing will be used. It is air cooled and has a rotary valve, and reportedly topped 84 mph in a test on dirt with a six-speed transmission. The addition of Bridgestone to the racing scene, closely following Kawasaki's initial, and pretty successful efforts, is welcomed by all interested in the sport. The more the merrier.
One of the best recent events was the 9th Kanagawa Moto-cross, sponsored by the MCFAJ. Tohatsu won two, Suzuki two and Kawasaki topped the remaining event over a 1.2 km (3/4 mile) course. There were 217 entries in the five events. The Johoku Riders Club, who pilot Suzukis, narrowly walked off with the club trophy, with 28 points to the Abiko MCC's 26. Jiro Umezawa on a Kawasaki won the 5-lap Open race with a time of 14 min. 39.3 sec. He also had a second in the 125cc event. Four Suzukis racked up 2nd through 5th places in the Open. Tohatsu rider Tadao Suzuki took the 5-lap 250cc event in 14 min. 35 sec. followed by two Suzuki and two Yamaha scramblers. The 5-lap 125cc was won in 14 min. 26.7 sec. by Toshihide Sugahara on a Suzuki, and 2nd through 5th places were nabbed by Kawasaki, Suzuki, Tohatsu, and Suzuki. Suzuki got the first four places in the 4-lap 90cc with Takeo Enomoto on the winning machine timed at 11 min. 29.1 sec. He also had 2nd places in the 250cc and Open and a third in the 125cc entry. Tohatus nabbed 5th in the 90cc with a 60cc entry. Hidenori Ogawa on a Tohatsu won the 4-lap 50cc race in 12 min. 2.8 sec., followed by three more Tohatsu boys and a Honda. Ogawa also had a 2nd in the 90cc on a Suzuki.
The First Sangaku Rally, sponsored by the MCFAJ and supported by Shell Oil and the Motorcyclist magazine, was a unique one that used two different starting points and two courses to arrive at the same finish line. Exactly 185 entries showed up for the cold 7:30 a.m. Sunday start, and they were divided into three classes, 50cc, 51-250cc and over 251cc. Thirty-six prizes were awarded plus booby prizes in each class. Tsuneo Miyazaki won the over 251cc by losing only 12 points to the second place man's 15. The booby prize winner dropped 141 points. In the middle class Isamu Tanaka was declared winner although he was tied with 10 points dropped with Hideo Kato. Third rider lost 15 points, and the booby prize award went to a fellow whose name we won't mention who lost a grand total of 214 points. In the 50cc class 16 points was good for first place easily for Yasuo Tsuchikata, as his closest competitor dropped 26 marks and the booby prize winner this time lost 130.
