Years ago, while growing up in Italy, a contributor to Groovyman.com witnessed frequently smoky clouds emitted from the tailpipes of Moto Guzzis favored by the Italian Police. These corpulent cycles could never hold anything but a overly rich fuel mixture in their carbs, which frequently caused them to belch and break down. The same can be said of numerous older Harleys which remain prized pieces of trash for what can only be considered misplaced patriotism.
Unlike the American, Italian and British horrors of that period, Hondas still perform reliably and suddenly look very groovy with their two tone paint jobs, chromed parts, screwed together chassis’ and, of all things, fuel injection..
Aesthetics and quality aside, its also worth noting that Soichiro Honda was a true maverick and was shunned ocassionally by a society that prized conformism. Honda shares that distinction with the auteur Akira Kuozawa, Godzilla and other Japanese creatures that are frequently misunderstood.
