Cycle News

CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE H onda was selling motor- cycles like hotcakes in the 1960s. The Japanese maker redefined motorcycling in this country, and its reliable little machines won over a generation of new motorcyclists. That group would serve as backbone for a massive expansion of motor- cycle sales during the 1970s and onward. One thing Honda didn't do much in those early days was race, at least not here in Ameri- ca. Enter Bob Hansen. Hansen was a former-racer-turned Honda dealer and he saw serious racing potential in some of Honda's quietly quick street bikes and began converting some of them into racing machines. Hansen's success gradually got Honda's attention and when the company decided to race its revolutionary CB750 at Daytona in 1970, it was Hansen they turned to. Born in Racine, Wisconsin, on October 15, 1919, Hansen first became interested in motorcy- cles when he was in high school. A school buddy was a motor- cyclist and Hansen decided he wanted to try the sport as well. At 16, and with little money, his solu- tion was to buy a 1931 74-cubic- inch Harley-Davidson totally disassembled in a bushel basket. Hansen and his buddy never P116 THE MAN WHO HELPED GET HONDA RACING IN AMERICA cycle racing, from hillclimbing to TT to flat track races. "Those were the true early days of Class C racing," Hansen said. "We would ride our motor- cycles to the races, strip them down for the race, then put them back together afterwards and ride them home." After serving in World War II, Hansen resumed racing and earned a national number. He raced mainly in the Midwest, but occasionally ventured farther, such as the annual trek to Day- tona every spring. By the late 1950s, Hansen was tuning for and sponsoring several racers primarily on BSAs. In quite completed the restoration of the old Harley, but they got close enough that Hansen was able to work out a deal with the Racine Harley-Davidson dealer to trade in the partially completed bike on a newer 45-cubic-inch model. At times, his motorcycle was his only form of transportation and Hansen rode year-round, even in the brutal Wisconsin winters, by mounting a sidecar on his Harley. Hansen joined the local mo- torcycle club and became quite involved in the club's activities. One of the primary activities was racing. By the time he was 18 years old, Hansen was competing in just about every form of motor- Bob Hansen and Dick Mann at Daytona in 1970.

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