Few motorbike producers have been as profitable at sensing what shoppers need in addition to Honda has. In 1958, Honda caught lightning in a bottle by promoting the Super Cub to non-riders and bicycle riders. In a subsequent try to realize extra riders, Honda tried to carry new riders to the two-wheel life-style.
How? A preferred perception is that Honda’s automotive design workforce dreamed up a bike to draw automotive drivers to motorcycling. But the truth is a bit completely different.
This is the Honda Pacific Coast 800. Launched in 1989, this futuristic-looking bike had some concepts that may nonetheless be good at the moment, over 30 years later.
One of essentially the most outstanding options of the PC800’s design is the fully enclosed engine. Not even the racetrack-replica sportbikes cover their engines as completely because the PC800 does.
The complete motorbike is clad in ft of plastic from prime to backside, hiding all of the motorbike bits it may. The intentional hiding of bike elements would possibly make you ask, who’s motorbike this for? Why cover the elements that make it a bike?
When researching the PC800 I had the identical query. I encountered a bunch of articles from completely different shops saying the motorbike was designed inside an automotive division of Honda. Supposedly, the motorbike was supposed to get automotive drivers on a bike. Then, I discovered a enjoyable video by the Fortnine Youtube channel.
I really like Fortnine’s movies, and this was no exception. However, it deepened the thriller for me, as not solely was the motorbike supposedly designed by Honda’s automotive designers, however particularly Acura’s designers. Maybe. I imply, it actually appears impressed by a automotive. Check out this gauge cluster:
It even has a trunk that appears straight out of a automotive.
Forget facet baggage, overlook instances, throw your stuff into an built-in trunk! Best of all it may be drained so it’s straightforward to scrub.
Despite the bike’s car-ish design, I discovered nothing from Honda confirming something of the type. The earliest mentions of this had been the private blogs of Pacific Coast homeowners.
I made a decision to achieve out to Honda’s Powersports division. Honda’s consultant was a part of the PC800’s launch and had additionally heard the identical rumors. Alas, it was confirmed with one of many motorbike’s designers that the Pacific Coast was designed fully by Honda’s bike division:
I used to be in a position to affirm that design was all motorbike personnel in Japan. No Acura or Honda Auto. This rumor most likely obtained began as a result of they initially constructed the clay mannequin utilizing one of many Auto studios. But it was all Motorcycle facet design – sketch, clay to manufacturing.
That actually settles it. The Pacific Coast was not designed by Acura and even any automotive designers. The principle for the way the rumor obtained began really is smart. 20 years have handed for the reason that rumor was created and it obtained morphed like a nasty recreation of Telephone. It’s a very good instance of how folks can consider in one thing they learn on the web, just for it to prove to not be true.
But that also leaves the query: Who was it made for? The PC800 appears and rides like a automotive. But if it isn’t designed to draw automotive drivers, who was it made for? The rep had the reply for that, too.
What I can let you know is that initially the PC800 was focused to introduce new riders to motorcycling. People that wouldn’t take into account a bike due to the “inconveniences”… upkeep, storage, wind safety… therefore the design being extra auto like. Plastic encased every little thing really easy to scrub and the pondering on the time was that this goal buyer wasn’t mechanical so seeing the engine could be intimidating. Had a big trunk to make it straightforward to hold issues, don’t need to strap something down simply throw it within the trunk. Large windscreen/fairing to guard from parts. Everything was designed with this potential buyer in thoughts.
That really explains rather a lot. Honda needed this motorbike to be all in regards to the driving expertise with none of the downsides. The engine isn’t encased in plastic and rubber mounts to cover it away from a automotive driver, however to draw somebody who might not need to wrench on their very own motorbike. It’s why Honda went to nice lengths to make it as maintenance-free as attainable. This is a giant motorbike for a non-rider and non-wrencher.
The bike itself wasn’t dangerous. Motorcycle.com felt the Pacific Coast 800 to be tame, however wise. The engine strikes the roughly 640 pound motorbike with solely 57 horses on faucet, so energy is predictable.
To do any main engine work you must take off a number of items of plastic. There’s a lot to take away to work on the carburetors that Honda positioned the idle adjustment screw subsequent to the gasoline filler cap.
The Pacific Coast 800 didn’t stick round for lengthy in America. The quirky motorbike wasn’t provided in 1991-1993 and Honda ended gross sales of the mannequin in 1998.
Honda tried to ask non-riders to its bikes a few extra occasions with the DN-01 and NM4. These even had automated transmissions, however offered in small numbers identical to the PC800. The DN-01 could also be acquainted to Grand Theft Auto V gamers because the Thrust.
I dig the PC800. It appears straight out of a Nineteen Eighties science-fiction movie happening in 2020 or so. I may see myself filling up the trunk with drinks and driving out to the seashore for a day beneath the solar. These are low-cost, too. You can get one all day lengthy for $1,500 to $2,000. Oh crap, I’m taking a look at one now.
Fortnine’s video remains to be a very good watch — this motorbike is correctly bizarre!
Source: jalopnik.com