www.by-Honda.com

Honda had a humble beginning. In 1946, Soichiro Honda started the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan. Thirteen years later, the company, now called Honda, opened its first storefront in Los Angeles, California.

Although Honda started out as a motorcycle manufacturer, a very success one at that, they soon branched out into other areas of mechanized transportation. Honda is now known world wide as a manufacturer of cars, generators, trucks, marine equipment and even garden equipment. With a Honda dealer in every state, and lots of other distribution companies that carry Honda equipment and Honda parts, Honda has truly permeated the US market.

Touring/Sporting Touring- these are bikes designed for comfort and luxury. However, don’t be fooled by their demeanor, bikes in this series also pack power (up to 1832cc). Honda motorcycles in this series include the popular Gold Wing (called the Honda Goldwing by a lot of people) series bikes. Prices range from $13,999 for the base model of the ST 1300, to $22,799, the price for a Gold Wing Audio/Comfort/Navi/ABS with all the bells and whistles.

Cruiser/Standard- more like the bikes you see on bike building shows on television. Cruisers are the typical bikes that come to mind when someone thinks about bikers or biking clubs- hundreds of bikers riding into the sunset like modern day cowboys. This bike is reminiscent of the vintage Honda bikes. The bikes in this class range from $3,099 for the Rebel, to $13,699 for the VTX1800N (Neo-Retro). However, this class also includes the Valkyrie Rune, a bike that is a whopping $27,699.

Sport- the classical (or should I say modern) sports bike is one that is easily recognized. This bike is used to race in many motorcycle circuits and is a very popular model here in the States. Who hasn’t had a motorcycle overtake them while they were driving on the freeway? Prices range from $7,399 for the 599 (w/ a 599cc engine) to $11,999 for the RC51 (w/ a 999cc engine).

Motocross- also designed for sports, the Motocross bikes are designed for cross-country racing that involves rough terrain, steep peaks and large mount dirt. The base model of the CR85R costs $3,099, while the CRF450R has an MSRP of $6,899.

Off-Road- these bikes are designed to dominate travel across everything that isn’t pavement (except water of course!). Bikes in this class are popularly called Honda dirt bikes. The prices range from $1,299 on the CRF50F model (w/ a 49cc engine), to $7,199 on the CRF450X (w/ a 449cc engine).

The Honda Scooter and Honda ATV are not considered under the motorcycle category- under the Wing logo of Honda, you have motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and watercrafts, each being in a different category.

Scooter- the price of the Honda scooter ranges from $1,849 (w/ a 49cc engine) for the Metropolitan II, to $7,949 for the Silver Wing (w/ an incredible 582cc engine; more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing).

ATV- The ATV market is becoming bigger everyday. This makes the Honda ATV part of the ever-growing market of such vehicles. Honda ATVs come in 2 categories- Sport and Utility. Sport ATVs are used for exploring and having fun, while the Utility are more geared to work related activity (not to say you can’t have fun on them!). The least expensive model in the Sports class is the TRX90 (w/ a 86cc engine), which retails for $2,649. The most expensive is the electric-start TRX450R, which goes for $6,799. In the Utility class, the FourTrax Recon is the least expensive vehicle, going for $3,599 with a 229cc engine. The most expensive is the FourTrax Rincon GPScape (w/ a 675cc engine), which sells for $7,999.