Tampa Racing - Happy Birthday Soichiro Honda

The man that started it all...
Born November 17, 1906 Soichiro Honda spent his early childhood helping his father, Gihei, a blacksmith, with his bicycle repair business. His mother, Mika, was a weaver. At 15, without any formal education, Honda arrived in Tokyo to look for work. He obtained an apprenticeship at a garage in 1922, and after some vacillation over his employment, he stayed for six years, working as a car mechanic before returning home to start his own auto repair business in 1928 at the age of 22. In 1948 Honda began producing motorcycles as president of the Honda Motor Company. Honda turned the company into a billion-dollar multinational that produced the best-selling motorcycles in the world. Honda's excellent engineering and clever marketing resulted in Honda motorcycles out-selling Triumph and Harley-Davidson in their respective home markets. In 1959 Honda Motorcycles opened its first dealership in the United States. Soichiro Honda died on August 5, 1991 of liver failure.