Sochiro Honda was not only one of the most gifted engineers in history, but also a widely accomplished man. According to Wikipedia, at least, "Even at [an] advanced age, Soichiro and his wife Sachi both held private pilot's licenses. He also enjoyed skiing, hang-gliding and ballooning at 77, andhe was a highly accomplished artist."
His machines absolutely dominated motorcycle racing to the point where they had nothing further to prove, and they eventually withdrew entirely from the sport to give the other guys a chance. Some of Honda's GP designs from the '60s are mind-bending in their precision and creativity. The 250 cc 6-cylinder was a stunner, from the 18 000 rpm redline to the individually tapered shafts and custom-sized-to-application bearings. I remember reading that some of the surface treatments they managed to produce on the titanium bits - remember, this was nearly 50 years ago - used techniques that nobody has since managed to figure out.
I recently came across a few of his essays on the philosophy of design...
... the latter of which made me also think of the Italian concept of sprezzatura and the Japanese wabi-sabi.
Give 'em a read if you get a chance. He might have had a few insights.
His machines absolutely dominated motorcycle racing to the point where they had nothing further to prove, and they eventually withdrew entirely from the sport to give the other guys a chance. Some of Honda's GP designs from the '60s are mind-bending in their precision and creativity. The 250 cc 6-cylinder was a stunner, from the 18 000 rpm redline to the individually tapered shafts and custom-sized-to-application bearings. I remember reading that some of the surface treatments they managed to produce on the titanium bits - remember, this was nearly 50 years ago - used techniques that nobody has since managed to figure out.
I recently came across a few of his essays on the philosophy of design...
... the latter of which made me also think of the Italian concept of sprezzatura and the Japanese wabi-sabi.
Give 'em a read if you get a chance. He might have had a few insights.
