Honda Timmonsville ATV Plant Tour Photo Gallery

Honda associates celebrated the first production 2012 Foreman to roll off the Timmonsville plant assembly line.

See photos of how Honda makes ATV at its Timmonsville South Carolina plant in the Honda Timmonsville South Carolina Plant Tour photo gallery.

Upon our arrival, production at the 536,000 square-foot facility stopped, as factory workers and project developers celebrated the first official production 2012 Foreman to roll off the assembly line.

This Foreman ATV was greeted with particular pride by the Honda workers, as it is the first full redesign spearheaded by Honda’s American R&D department.

Key Honda personnel, including plant President, Katsumi Fujimoto, were on hand to celebrate the Foreman lineoff ceremony.

The engine cases and cylinder heads are made by sand core die cast method on site.

Once cast the extruded engine cases and cylinder heads are thoroughly cleaned before undergoing a series of milling processes.

Engine cases are milled on site.

The crankshaft is not cast on site, though it does get milled and assembled at the Timmonsville plant.

The engine line builds up the ATV powerplant en route to the final assembly line.

Honda worker builds ATV engine at Timmonsville plant.

Timmonsville Honda ATV engine assembly line.

Honda builds the ATV fuel tank on site with a plastic injection molding system.

Honda also produces most of the plastic bodywork, including fenders, at the Timmonsville plant.

Honda associate works on ATV headlight assembly.

Honda ATV plant workers at a sub-assembly station for one of the fenders.

Various sub-assembly stations collect materials to get added at various sections of the final assembly line.

ATV bodywork stockpiled for future production runs.

Human beings welding in an actual manufacturing process? Yes, it still happens!

Welders at the Timmonsville ATV plant get to work on some frame welds.

One of the brake rotor assemblies, awaiting movement to the final assembly line.

Axles await entry into final assembly.

A crucial step in the production process, the engine is mounted into the frame, then moved to the final assembly line.

On the final line, the ATV comes together in short order, workers cranking out a running unit every 60 seconds.

Blink and you’ll miss the fluids getting added, along with the fuel tank and fenders.

The full rolling chassis complete, a seat is tossed on the ATV.

A modest straight lets the tech open up the throttle then work the brakes. Some off-set rumble strips give a basic shakedown of suspension, followed by a three-point turn to check steering and engage the reverse gear.

Though residing deep in the South, the Timmonsville plant operates in the Japanese way. This means a heavy emphasis on the team group dynamic.