President’s Report

WELL IT’S BEEN A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER SO FAR. THE COVID19 VIRUS HAS CERTAINLY CAUSED A MAJOR DISRUPTION TO OUR LIVES IN GENERAL AND ALSO TO OUR CLUB ACTIVITIES. WITH ALL RIDES, MEETINGS AND THE 2020 NATIONAL RALLY STOPPED I GUESS IT’S LEFT A LOT OF TIME FOR RESTORATION AND POLISHING.

Maybe we will see a lot of exceptionally well restored bikes on the road sometime in the second half of 2020. Hopefully the interstate borders will be open soon so at least we can have some local travel. Maybe the Burt Monroe Festival Of Speed in Invercargill on the South Island of New Zealand might be worth a look. I think we will see travel between us and New Zealand before anywhere else in the world. Preparations for the 2021 National Rally have been delayed with the lock down which could mean a delayed rally until later in the year. On a sad note we lost one of our valued members recently with the passing of Phil Dawes from the ACT & Southern NSW Branch. Phil had been ill for a while but took a turn for the worst. Phil was a driving force behind the 2015 & 2016 National Rallies held in Canberra and had been a member for over 20 years. On behalf of the VJMC I send our condolences to his wife Pam and their family. In the absence of a National Rally this year it was decided to hold a Virtual Show and Shine on the website. There was about 60 bikes entered with a wide range of marques and models presented. There was also quite a range in size from 175cc to over 1,000cc. With various classes there were some fantastic bikes entered from unrestored to concourse condition. These bikes can be seen by going onto the website at www.vjmc.org.au and following the prompts. With no rally and as such no AGM we thought we were going to be left two positions short on the National Committee (Natcom) with the Area Rep Coordinator Dave Quinn stepping down and the Secretary position having been vacant for about eight months. However I am very pleased to welcome two new members to Natcom with Wayne Lavers taking up the Area Rep Coordinator position and Tony Mahoney filling the Secretary position. Wayne has been a member for many years and has a collection of Japanese motorcycles. One of these, a Suzuki TS250 Trail Bike he rode from his home at Grenfell in central western NSW to the 2014 National Rally in Victor Harbor in South Australia and back. Average speed was 90kph but with a tail wind on the home run he was able to sit on 100kph. Our new Secretary is Tony Mahoney who hails from North Western Tasmania. Tony has also been in the VJMC for some years and lived in Melbourne until his recent move to Tasmania. I hope the new life in Tasmania works well and it’s good to have Tony on board Natcom. I hope all our members stay safe with this terrible virus that’s changed our lives and that we can soon return to normal club activities. Take care.

John McNair President

THE BUNBURY 2 DAY RALLY

W E S T A U S T R A L I A 7+8 MARCH 2020

THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT, AND THE TIMING WAS PERFECT FOR THIS FANTASTIC 2 DAY ROAD RUN EVENT.

Open to all motorcycles over 25 years old or more, this rally always attracts a lot of very classy machines. Although not all are Japanese, many were so my attention was drawn to those. (Mainly) So this was on the last weekend before the dreaded Virus closed everything down. For the 2 days participants are given a route sheet & sent on their way to ride the 190km course through some of the

most picturesque parts of Australia’s South West. Lunch and Refreshments are provided along the way. With approximately 200 participants, there are 2 different courses so it maybe that you see a fellow rider going the other way. Not a problem as the organisers have been doing it now for 44 years so have it all off pat. After The road trial, there is entertainment provided with a BBQ meal. On site camping is the norm so we were self-contained. An early start for the Sunday leg. Only 100km today on some different roads. So it’s an early

finish in time for the trip home. Of particular interest to me was a rare Honda cb750a (automatic) of which I have never seen one before. Complete with the detachable kick starter under the seat, It has a hi & lo ratio but other than that it uses a torque converter so is totally automatic and has no clutch lever. The pictures show there were many other beautiful machines there, too many to mention, so well done (again) The Indian Harley club of W.A. Ian Curtis A4171

R A L L Y I N G T H R O U G H THE YEARS

Article by John McNair

MOST OF OUR CLUB MEMBERS HAVE ATTENDED AT LEAST ONE VJMC NATIONAL RALLY. IF NOT THEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE MISSED OUT ON. THESE DAYS WE HAVE ATTENDANCES OF 200 OR MORE SOME YEARS BUT IT WASN’T LIKE THAT ALWAYS.

Let’s turn the clock back to 1986 at the Murray Downs Lodges in Swan Hill Victoria. This was the first of our National Rallies with I believe an attendance of around 20 riders.Club member Janet Wild from southern NSW was in attendance at that rally and as far as I know has attended every rally since. What a great effort. One of the entrants complained about some people trailering bikes to the event. He stated that even the small Japanese motorcycles were capable of travelling very long distances. It was suggested the AGM. With the rally moving to the Butterfly Farm Resort near Windsor NSW in 1990 you would have expected a good number of entries but again it attracted less than 20 entries. This area abounds in awesome quiet back roads that make fantastic riding. In 1991 the rally moved to Canberra for the start of a five year succession. We also had a date change that even though that may be the case maybe some of the riders weren’t. With no rally held in 1987 the Murray River town of Swan Hill again played host to the rally in 1988. This was again held at the Murray Downs Lodges with about 40 riders attending.

In 1989 the rally was moved to Hume Weir near Albury NSW. Although this rally was on the fringe of some great riding roads just over the border in

Victoria there were less than 20 in attendance at to March with all previous rallies being held in June. This rally attracted 39 entries and was held at the Canberra Heritage Motel before moving to the Canberra Carotel Motel/Park for the 1992 event which was said to have attracted a record number of entries but we don’t know the exact number. The 1993 rally with 73 entries, 1994 with 56 entries and 1995 with 42 entries were all held at the Carotel Motel/Park.

A major shift was made with the March 1996 Rally which was held on Bribie Island about 80klms north of Brisbane in Queesland. This rally was attended by nearly 100 bikes and history tells me that they probably had about 100 mils of rain too. The bike judged Most Desirable Bike of the Rally was Queensland member Alvin Beutel’s 1963 Honda CB72. This rally seen the introduction of the Fred Howie Perpetual Shield for the Oldest Bike of the Rally with Doug Beak being the winner with his 1961 Suzuki TA250. In 1997 the rally returned to Canberra Carotel Motel/Park and was attended by 44 riders. The 1998 rally with also 44 riders and the 1999 Rally with 60 entrants were all held in Canberra too before a moving north again to Myuna Bay in Newcastle for 2000. This rally attracted 84 entries. In 2001 the rally stayed at Myuna Bay. A feature of this location

was a huge basketball stadium which housed the Show & Shine undercover. For 2002 it was just a short move inland to the beautiful Hunter Valley town of Morpeth, an historic river town where barges used to load timber and other supplies for shipping downstream on the Hunter River to Newcastle and beyond. Attendance at this event was 68 entries. The 2003 Rally was at the same location but with many more entrants, said to be well over 100. A movie company was at this Rally and made a documentary on the event. It was released on the VHS video format.

In 2004 and 2005 the rally was located at Berry just north of Nowra on the south

coast of NSW. This rally took in some great roads in the area for the rally rides. The 2006 rally returned to Myuna Bay in Newcastle and attracted over 200 entries.

After ten years the rally returned to Queensland in 2007 to be held at the Tamborine Mountain showground. Rain again threatened to spoil the fun but it stayed away for those in attendance to enjoy a great rally. The rides took in the adjoining mountain range to the Beachmont Plateau with a shorter Sunday morning ride for smaller bikes on the mountain. This was followed by a very good swap meet. For the 2008 Rally Tamborine Mountain played host again and other than a storm on the Friday night it was a clear couple of days for the rally which included a rally ride to Springbook, a village situated on top of the range behind the Gold Coast. Morning tea was provided for the riders in the Springbrook Community Hall by the local Landcare Group.

For 2009 the rally moved to Healesville about one hour east of Melbourne however the normal March weekend for the rally had to be changed to October following the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in February of that year. The date change didn’t seem to affect the attendance with over 200 entries received for the event. It was quite sad to see the devastation to the forests as we rode through the Black Spur, a very winding road that was very popular with the local motorcyclists. In 2010 the rally was again held at the Healesville Racecourse but was held in March again.

For 2011 and 2012 the rallies were held at Warilla in the southern suburbs of Wollongong in NSW. This location featured a beautiful caravan park at the rear of the club which housed the Saturday Night dinner and Saturday afternoon bike show. The rally rides for these areas were excellent taking in some beautiful coastal areas and also magnificent hinterland areas. These included Jambaroo, Robertson and Macquarie Pass on the first year and Kangaroo Valley in 2012.

South Australian member Peter Hunt attended the 2012 rally and announced that the 2013 and 2014 rallies would be held at Victor Harbor, a beautiful coastal town just over 100klms south east of Adelaide in SA. The bike show was held in a park in the centre of town and attracted a huge crowd of spectators and a hell of a storm coming in off the southern ocean which required all hands on deck to hold on to marquees etc to stop them blowing away. One of the rally rides was to the beautiful historical town of Strathalbyn where the local CWA provided a delicious feast. For those who

stayed a little longer it was only a short ride to the Adelaide Hills and the National Motor Museum in Birdwood. A feature of the bike show was a display by the SA Police Heritage Group which featured cars, solo bikes and even a sidecar outfit.

For 2015 and 2016 the rallies were held in Canberra again after sixteen years and the sight of well

over 200 bikes on display on the forecourt of the Australian National Museum was just amazing. The rally rides took us to many nice places around this beautiful city including the Cotter Dam area along with Bungendore and Tarago. For the first time, buses were used to transfer rallyists from the caravan park to the Presentation Dinner some kilometres away.

Tamworth NSW welcomed members for the 2017 and 2018 rallies. The local members done a great job in organizing both rallies with some great rides taking in Moonbie in 2017 and Manilla in 2018. This was the first rally to have bikes on display in the auditorium of the West Tamworth Leagues Club where the Presentation Dinner was held.

In 2019 the rally moved back to Queensland and was held on the northern fringe of the Gold Coast at Coomera. The Rally Central was at the Gold Coast Tourist Park just off the M1 motorway and after a wet Friday riders were blessed with a fine weekend. The Rally Ride took in Advancetown before climbing up onto the Beechmont Plateau with morning tea supplied by the P&C at the Beechmont State School. The riders returned to the car park of the RM Williams Outback Spectacular complex for the Show & Shine. The evening Presentation Dinner was held within the Movie World complex with several VJMC bikes lining the street as guests entered the venue and were parked on each side of the stage at the front of tables. Brisbane member Graeme Knight had two monkey bikes on the stage with one painted in Superman livery and the other representing Batman. These attracted a lot of attention from the Movie World staff as well as the dinner guests. The Sunday ride took in another bike show at Canungra and a ride over Mount Tamborine.

For 2020 the rally was to be held in Toowoomba just over one hour west of Brisbane and preparations were almost finished when the rally had to be canceled due to the Covid19 restrictions.

HONDA S600

A D I F F E R E N T V I E W O F T H E HONDA MOTOR COMPANY.

MOST VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE ENTHUSIASTS WILL KNOW THAT THE HONDA MOTOR COMPANY ALSO MANUFACTURED CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS.

The earliest variations of the Honda cars and light truck models were manufactured during 1962 as the S360 Roadster and the T360 light truck. These were first displayed at the 1962 Tokyo Motor Show. The S360 was a prototype only, and from my collection of Honda literature, I have estimated that four or more examples were produced. None were sold to the public. The T360 light truck was however produced and sold to the public, making it the very first Honda automobile manufactured for customers. The T360 light truck was certainly a light truck in every sense of the word. These early Honda vehicles sported all aluminium construction water cooled four cylinder engines, with double overhead camshafts (DOHC), two valves per cylinder, and four Keihin constant velocity carburetors. The unbelievably high maximum of 9,500 rpm was amazing technology for a production car during this era. Remember that this was 1962 and even racing cars of the era struggled to achieve these high engine speeds. This was Japanese motorcycle technology skillfully applied to a production motor vehicle for the general public to buy.

Examination of the Honda S600 parts catalog

The author and the Silver 1962 Honda S360 prototype on display at The Honda Collection Hall, Motegi, Japan. Photographed during June 2019.

depicts the complexity of the engine technology and design. The crankcase was a two piece design, and the crankshaft was supported by needle roller bearings. The valve clearance was adjusted with shims, very much of what we now see in our motorcycles. The starter motor clutch mirrored conventional Honda motorcycle starter clutches. Mounted on the input side of four carburettors was a sealed aluminium housing which distributed the fuel to the carburettor inlet side. The 12 Volt

electrics comprised of a conventional ignition breaker point distributor and an alternator.

The exhaust header pipe was a sophisticated four pipe design, affectionately known by S series enthusiasts as “Octopus legs”. This header pipe assembly bolted to the exhaust by a flat flange. The four piece design entered the muffler and exited as two separate tail pipes. The transmission featured four speeds and the first gear was nonsynchromesh. The rear differential sported a banjo style differential head, with shafts extending both sides to a secondary aluminium case featuring a single row roller Chain. This extra ratio increased torque. weight and increase performance. Already at this time, the Honda Motor Company were acclaimed masters of aluminium diecasting techniques. The T500 weighed only 640 Kg and the S500 weighed 675kg. The fuel tank was mounted behind the seats and separated the boot from the seating compartment. The fuel tank filler cap mirrored a race car design, and was lockable. All of the S series cars were based on a 2,000 mm wheelbase, making these compact cars strictly for two people. The S360 and S500 were released as Roadsters only. The S360 featured a very short rear quarter panels. These were lengthened for the S500 onwards to increase the boot capacity.

For this article, let us focus on the S600 Roadster:

During March 1964, the S500 Roadster was upgraded to the S600 model sporting a larger 606 cc engine and with exterior cosmetic upgrades. The bumpers, grille and lights were changed, producing a quite desirable appearance. Many Honda S series enthusiasts look to the S600 as the most attractive looking of the S series cars.

Aluminium featured throughout the drivetrain in an effort to reduce Author’s 1964 Honda S600 Roadster in Ivory White colour.

The S600 was released as a Roadster, and now for

All the S series Roadsters featured a folding heavy vinyl roof as standard equipment.

the first time in the S series evolution, a two door Coupe was also introduced. Also released during the S600 production was a S600M variant which featured extra options including a radio and a heater as standard equipment. The engine was now 606 cc, producing a top speed of 145 kph. The all up weight of the Roadster when fully fueled was 715 Kg. The ultimate performance of these cars was dependent on a high power to weight ratio.

An all steel ladder chassis was employed for the Honda S series. This was taken during the restoration of my own S600 Roadster.

S600 Roadster interior. Full instrumentation and the 9,500 rpm tachometer confirmed that the S600 was a real sports car.

The full sized spare wheel was stored in the boot f loor under a black vinyl boot mat. Strictly for small luggage only. After a successful production, the S600 range was uprated to the S800 model in early 1966. The S800 was first shown at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show. The S800 featured a 791 cc engine and with more changes to the exterior appearance. This was an attempt to modernize the car, and the final result was not as attractive as the S600 model. Early in the S800 production run, the rear axle was changed to a rigid banjo style differential, eliminating the roller chain drives. This change was made to reduce the drivetrain noise for customers.

During 2019 I was fortunate to finally purchase the Honda car that I have always wanted. Three years earlier I was watching an original and very nice condition example being offered for sale in

Nagoya, Japan. I did the sums and the purchase price was close to AUD$48,000, and this did not include the shipping, importation fees and the GST. I thought then that one of these cars would be out of my reach forever.

But fate favoured me, and early in July 2019 my son sent me a link to a fully restored 1964 S600 Roadster that was for sale in Coffs Harbor. This was unbelievable. I immediately phoned the owner, and after our 45 minute conversation, I committed to flying there to drive the car and pay the deposit. The owner was very helpful and appreciated my passion for the car. He let me pay a deposit and with an agreement to pay the balance within two months.

The hard to find original parts are the windscreen air deflector, the steering wheel and centre emblem, the windscreen washer bottle ( simply

un-obtanium ) , and the jack and tools. Electronic copies of the Owner Manual, Parts Catalog and Workshop Manual are freely available online. There are numerous S series parts suppliers worldwide, offering mostly reproduction parts and some do offer second hand parts. The reproduction parts are good substitutes for the genuine items, especially if you do not have the original part.

Current offerings from Japan, from nice original examples to fully restored examples, range in raw purchase price between AUD$48,000 to AUD$65,000.

I look back of the events of 2019 and appreciate that I have been so fortunate to now own this beautiful example of Soichiro Honda’s innovative engineering.

Compiled by Tony Sculpher.