Web Analytics

 Honda - 100 Dream type D
 Back to brands list


Honda Dream type D  motocyclette motorrad motorcycle vintage classic classique scooter roller moto scooter
Photo ou archives : D. Ganneau
1008

Capacity : 100
Model : Dream type D
Production : 1949 - 1951
Category : (R) Street Bike

HONDA

100 Dream / Type D - 1949

Dreams do come true

In 1949, Honda had only been established for two years, yet it already had three models in its catalogue: little workaday two-strokes which were badly needed in postwar Japan. But the company had wider ambitions. The resulting type D lived up to the hopes of its builder and was instantly given the name "Dream."

Modern – for a Japanese Bike!

While the Dream certainly represented a considerable advance over the other Japanese bikes of the period, it was strongly reminiscent of the Zündapp and Gnome & Rhone machines of the Thirties with its pressed steel frame devoid of rear suspension. The type D was nevertheless an instant success, placing Honda in the first rank of Japanese constructors: in 1950, it built 1000 out of a total of 2633 motorcycles produced in the country. In grateful remembrance, Honda would baptize several subsequent models "Dream."

Difficult Period of Expansion

However, the Dream's success caused the small-town Honda company its first growing pains, for at that time its distribution network consisted mainly of bicycle shops. By rapidly signing up the Fujisawa factoring company, by moving its commercial and industrial base to Tokyo, by rapidly creating a four-stroke model – the Type E – Honda quickly got back on target and the international career of the marque was off to a flying start.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: air-cooled 98cc (50x50 mm) single-cylinder two-stroke

Power Rating: 3.5hp @ 4500rpm

Valves: crankcase induction

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: 2 speeds; chain final drive

Suspension: telescopic forks (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: drum

Wheels: 3.00x20in tires

Weight: 176 lb

Maximum Speed: 31 mph

Honda's first real motorcycle was still only a two-stroke single with, as its sole novelties, the crankcase induction system and the rear-facing exhaust port.






Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.