james may's motorcycles

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4y ago
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"You meet the nicest people on a Honda"

It was their 1960's ad campaign, back when Kihachiro Kawashima set up American Honda in the backroom of a photo supply store in Los Angeles. The sales of their small-capacity bikes eventually paved the way for Honda to start bringing their cars into The States.

It turns out James May owns, among other things, quite a few Honda motorcycles. Here's a list of his past and present bikes - in no particular order.

Honda vfr750 rc30

We challenge any biker, old or young, to omit an RC30 from their dream garage. James May bought himself this mint, standard UK example and you can see from the clip above he seems pretty pleased with his new toy. Of course the RC30 will feel slow, heavy and clumsy next to any modern machine, which entirely misses the point! It's an example of Honda's engineering genius - the 750cc v-four with gear-driven cams and perfectly linear power delivery that masked the sheer pace it boasted at the time. A true icon.

honda cbr600rr

It's been widely reported that James May picked up the fastest speeding ticket ever. Not for top speed, but for distance travelled from collecting his new bike to being flashed by a camera van - ONE MILE! Surely a record? Even though it cost him a ticket, James is still a huge fan of his 600. Read his opinion on it here:

TO BE HONEST, ON THE FEW OCCASIONS I OPEN IT RIGHT OUT, I PRETTY MUCH SOIL MY GERMAN BEER-DRINKING TROUSERS.

Mister Slowly

Yamaha fs1-e

Picture the scene. It's the mid-seventies and a sixteen-year-old James May is hankering after Yamaha's latest and greatest moped, the 49cc FS1-E - dubbed the 'Fizzie'. Its 5bhp two-stroke motor powering it to a decent 45mph top speed.

The only problem being his parents wouldn't let him have one. Oh Cock.

It took him another couple of decades before he finally passed his test and eventually got hold of his very own Fizzie. It was recently part of the Bonhams auction where James sold eight of his bikes, including the FS1-E that had also belonged to Richard Hammond previously.

moto guzzi v11 sport

Seen here making progress at the 2004 Thundersprint

Seen here making progress at the 2004 Thundersprint

It was pretty obvious James May would have at least one Guzzi in the garage. Full of character, a bit wobbly and a tad leaky - and then there's the Guzzi...

The V11 was the sporty choice in the range at the time, with James owning this lime green example from brand new. No wonder he lists his favourite tool as his Optimate battery charger...

Triumph daytona 675r

For a man nicknamed 'Captain Slow', James certainly likes to own some quick bikes. Unfortunately, living in London and owning nice motorcycles doesn't seem compatible lately.

In the photo above is James purchasing his shiny new Daytona. The photo of the RAC recovery was taken literally one day later, after moped thieves attempted to smash the ignition and push it away. Thankfully they were foiled. James isn't a fan of bike thieves. Here's his solution:

honda cbr900rr fireblade

We're not sure if James owned this late 90's FireBlade or whether it was a loaner. We do know it was arguably the worst incarnation of the 'Blade, right before Honda pulled its socks up and released the brilliant 929.

Check out that shocker of a 90's paint job!

honda cub 90

I’d like to declare the Honda Cub to be the greatest machine of all time; nay, the single most influential product of humankind’s creativity.

Bold words from Die Langsame aka James May

The Honda Cub 90 has broken so many records it's hard to count them all.

Sixty million produced over half a century, the best selling motorcycle of all time and a revolutionary of nations across Southeast Asia. The Honda story itself is one of the most fascinating around, right up there with the story of Honda's own racing success a couple of decades later at The Isle Of Man. Soichiro Honda started the entire company in a shed, was a bit mad but crucially, he was a visionary that drove the brand forwards - far ahead of its time.

The Cub was proof of this. Durable like nothing that came before or since, the little C90 could be neglected, abused and ridden forever without missing a beat. Most Cubs were designed to carry around entire families in the days when cars just weren't affordable. They were used as vans to transport goods many times their own weight - truly the motorised donkey of the era.

Those who think of the AK-47 as the liberator of the people never rode a Honda Cub 90.

best of the rest

We're sure we've missed loads more out but James May has also owned at one time or another:

Honda CB750

Triumph Speed Triple

Moto Guzzi California T3

Ducati 900SS

Honda CB500-4

Honda CB250K - 1968

Honda C70

Honda C200 - 1964

Suzuki AP50 - 1976

Ossa 250 trials bike

Suzuki TS250 - 1979

Honda CD175 - 1973

Honda CB200 - 1975

Kawasaki Samurai 250 - 1971

Yamaha SR400 'Grievous Angel' - by Deus Ex Machina - 2010 (pictured below)

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Comments (13)

  • e bravo May!

      4 years ago
  • Ps. The second pic with the Daytona (the one with the dealer) was him trading it in for the Orange Street Triple which I love.

      4 years ago
  • Good Man. James. Keepin it real.

      4 years ago
  • Shaun, beautiful post, as a Honda fan, i enjoyed verry much.. the history of Honda company is very interesting. And there's nothing sounds better then a Honda!

      4 years ago
    • I disagree the Britten and many Ducati's. I do have to say though my VFR400 does sound amazing when it's screaming to 15k

        4 years ago
  • Great Choices pictured ...I'm a very jealous datatool jockey. You have a typo i think It's a 400 . Rc30 fan.

      4 years ago
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