Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left to right) Yoshl Gokan , Suguru Kanazawa and Takash l Shlnozakl. H o n d a Mo tor Co mpan y," exp lai ns Kanazawa, "We never make a profit. At the beginning of each year, we make a contract on the racing activities with Honda Mo tor, wi th some budget. Then we must do everything within that bu d get . If we spend money over budget, we ask Hon d a Motor to increase. "As for which race series are impor tant, so meti mes HR C proposes to Honda Mot or, so me times Hon da Motor proposes to H RC _ " For HR C, th e first-p riority raci ng a ctivi ties a re 50 0cc G r and Pri x a n d World Supe rb ik e, follo w e d by 25 0cc Grand Pri x, Japan Su perbike, and the Suzuka B-Hours," continued Kana zawa. "Below tha t are the AMA Superbike an d World End u ra nc e . For ex a m p le , if Am eri can Honda asks HR C to prep ar e so me ma ch ines for the ir su perbike seaso n, we su ppo rt them. But, if the re is no budget, then their division must p ay to make some machines." HONDA R & D VS. HRC A lth ough H onda R&D an d HRC are separa te com pa nies wi th in Hon d a, both companies re po rt to Takashi Shinoza ki, exe cu tive vi ce presi dent. It is Shin ozaki-san's job to ensu re that coo pe ra tion exists between th e tw o d iv isions a nd th at in format ion is share d between th em . To keep the two divisions close, Hond a continually rotates engineers between HRC and Hon d a R & D. "Fro m the university, first the engineer will go to Hond a Motor Comp any," says Shinozaki. "There he will have some trainin g time, in one or more areas - m aybe ha lf a year or one year, th en Ho n d a R&D . H e will spend tw o o r th ree yea rs in Hond a R &D for training - draw ing a nd te sti n g . Then he w ill come to HRC After at least thr ee years, he will go back to Honda R&D. "In this frame, we have eight people that wi ll go back to Hond a R&D, and 10 people will come here. The new people are from Honda R & D." On e of the eng ineers leaving HR C is Yoshi Gokan, who spent the 1995 season with the Smokin' Joe's AMA Su perbike team, and the 1994 season on the Castrol World Superbik e team. "For example, I worked at Honda R & D cent er for al most nin e years, and then moved .to HRC," exp lained Gokan. "I have wo rked at HRC almost six years. l O W , I will move back to Honda R&D. "We have a very deep, strong connection wi th Hond a R&D," continued Gokan. " For RC45 kit parts, we have a ve ry strong connection with R&D. If w e find out about so mething for th e production bikes, we feed it back to R & D. Wh en we find a good item or device on .the racing bike, we offer it to R&D. For exa m ple, gear-train unit , we developed a gea r-train sys tem, a slipper-type clutch for V-four engine, and then feed , it back to Honda R &D. On tw o-strokes - it is very difficult to explain - 's pecial projects: " A ny w ay, twin -tube - typ e fram e, HRC developed. We accomplished good stre ngth for motorcycle, and we offered it to Hond a R & D. The n Ho nda R&D perfected the twi n-tube-type frame , and offe re d it on th e NSR250 (s treet bike), an d the RVF." MARKETING An im po rtan t marketing function is also served by HRC, and that is pr ovid ing a foca l po in t for the Hond a fan' s inter e s t. In m u ch the sa m e wa y as Yoshimura is the most ad vanced user of Su z uki products, HRC is th e m o s t advanced user of Honda products. By r a ci n g under th e HRC b ann er, th e H ond a race' fans can clearly id enti fy their "tea m " fro m the masses of other Hondas in a race. " We mus t promote for full use of Hond a products," sta ted Kanazawa. "Of course, we must win the big race, for exam ple, 500cc Grand Prix and Suz uka 8-Ho u rs. Afterward, for someone who uses Honda pr od ucts, ma ybe he is more satisfied with h is motorcycle . Th at is importan t for our racing pr oject. Another one: If someone uses another product - Yam a ha o r Suz u ki o r so me th ing those peopl e see some racing, and then ma ybe ch ange their mind and bu y our pro duct. Tha t is a second reason . "We h ave tw o typ es of cu stomers: On e is the d irect cus to mer, and one is th e in d irect custo mer," ad ded Gokan. "V isua lly, we h ave the d irect ty pe o f cus tomer, they are the Gra nd Prix riders and the teams. Behin d th em we h ave an other type of customer - the in d irec t custo me r - who are the race fans and Ho nda Motor Com pany." In a culture where grou p identity is more important than individ al id en tity, HRC provides a gro up identity that the Japanese Honda fans can relate to. It is road racing's equivalent of the New York Yankees, or the Chicago Bulls. TECHNOLOGY The group approach can be found in the way Hon d a tackles the development of new technology, as Kanazaw a outlined . " If w e need so mething n ew, so me I new technology, we have man y peop le in HRC ga the r a ro u n d fo r a ' fran kly talkin g' conference - haba d ash i. If an idea has possibilit ies, then we pick it for d e v el opm en t, a n d m a ke s o me th in g new ." The frankly ta lking con fere nces can co ns is t o f a di verse ra nge of peopl e, including crew chiefs a nd riders. The ideas developed from these brainstorming sessio ns are moved into th e HR C design center, which makes up the bulk o f th e seco n d floor . The m e ch a n ica l dra wi ngs from th e d es ign g ro up are rou ted to the first-floor machi ne sho p, which can fabricate all p arts , except for .castin gs (the se ar e so u rced e lsewhere within Honda). The parts then move to a n ins pection s ho p to ve ri fy confe r- mance to p ri nt, and to gather b a s ic dimensional data. Depending on the nature of the part , HR C will analyze it at the co mponen t level. This may include a scanning electron microscope analysis of surface finish, fatigue testing, and so on . . From there it's back down to the first floor to the assembly shop, where all the Gran d Prix, Superbike an d Su zu ka 8Hour motor cycles take form, The com p leted motorcycles are then ru n o n o ne of H RC' s co m p u te r-co ntroll ed dynamom eters, and finall y subjected to a rid ing test. The riding test may ta ke pl ace at one of Hond a's p riva te facilities n ear HRC, or at Su zu ka Circu it, about 300 miles sou th of HRC Thou gh thi s proced ure is stra igh tforwa r d, a r r iv ing a t a fin a l d e cisi on whether to em p loy a new technology can require consideration of latent need s. "It is very d ifficult. Of cou rse, if we make something new, it m ust be better," sa id Kanaz aw a, ske tch in g the h or sepower curves o f the fue l-injec ted and carbureted NSRSO motors. "The fuel O injected one is better on the en gineeri ng side, But, for the rider, he may pick the ca rbu rete d one, with less power tha n the fuel injected . a HRC Mission Statement To J7lI rsue new innovati ve technology. Ou r first aim is to feedback new innovative technology ga ined through racing activ ity into mass production machines, which has been the consistent basic idea in the course of Hon da's com pany developmen t. Since we ha d go ne th rou gh a temporal period withdrawn from races, it was a ve ry stro ng necessity for u s to de velop outs tandi ng new innovative technology in particular. To train new generation representing Hondll. Starte d from Mr. Honda as orig in, racing spirit was the generative power for the development of Honda. In the course of defining goal s set extremely high, we are aim ing to transmit this racing sp irit, as a nourishment for company development in the future, into young engineers who will represent the next generation. Under the above cir~mstances, the NR Gro up wa s fou nd ed by you ng engi neers inexperienced in races as a main core. To respond to Honda fans' support and enhance the morale of Honda group by wining the highest level race in the world, Accordi ngly, the target for 'race entry was decided as WGP 500 from the very beginning. .;... 0.. ~ 33

• Cover