The Honda Collection Hall is one of the must-see venues within the Motegi racing facility located in Motegi-cho in the Tochigi Prefecture two hours north of Tokyo

This is a replica of the Daimler Reitrad built by German engineer Gottlieb Daimler. Considered the world’s first motorcycle, the Daimler Reitrad is one of the first exhibits you see when you walk into the motorcycle display.

This specimen was ridden at the 1961 Isle of Man TT, sweeping the top five positions and earning Honda it’s first-ever victory at the prestigious event. This machine bears the livery of Isle of Man winner, Mike Hailwood.

Ahh yes the Honda motorcycles still look good today. How many chrome covered 250 motorcycles make an enthusiast drool? Not many...

This green machine was the other 4-cylinder in Honda’s street line-up for 1982. Its combination of light weight and capable inline engine made it a popular bike in its day.

American Honda used this motorcycle to sweep the top three positions during the 1982 Daytona 100 as well as having it compete in the AMA Superbike Championship that same year. This is the bike ridden to victory at the Daytona 100 by Freddie Spencer.

A fully restored 1965 Honda RA272 was the first Japanese race car to win in Formula One competition with American driver Richie Ginther at the controls during the Mexican Grand Prix. It would be Ginther’s only win in Formula One.

The Honda Collection Hall was opened to the public on March 21, 1998 as part of the 50-year anniversary of Honda.

The Honda Collection Hall features two towers connected by a central lobby and walkways on the upper floors. The South Towers are focused on the Motorcycle history while the North towers housing the automotive side of Honda.

Honda Collection Hall Tour

Almost every exhibit in the Honda Collection Hall is in running order. Could you imagine that janitor being tempted to fire up one of Doohan’s NSR500 race bikes and spinning a few laps around Motegi under the lights – then getting the display back before anyone knows it was missing?

Manufactured by ROC, this Elf sponsored project featured a NS500 engine provided by Honda. The best result was a seventh place finish with Ron Haslam riding it.

Honda’s first off-road model was this 2-stroke powered CR250M. Although this was a production bike, at the time its aluminum tank and light weight components made it every bit as trick as some factory race bikes.

Honda engines were considered the key to Formula One racing success between 1983 and 1992. During that time Honda-powered race cars claimed six manufacturer titles to go along with five driver championships.

This is an example of Honda trying to help make the lives of humans, easier. This heavy-duty scooter was powered by a Cub-series engine with a dual-range transmission that featured gears suited for work. It could climb hills as steep as 23-degrees so it was probably fun to ride too.

This motorcycle was another case where lessons learned on the track were transferred to the street. Powering the MVX250F is a 3-cylinder 2-stroke developed using the technology of the NS500 Grand prix bike.

This V4 powered 4-Stroke 500 was on display during the 1983 Tokyo Motor Show. It featured advanced composites in its design including titanium, magnesium, carbon brakes and carbon fiber fork tubes.

Honda believed in, and was racing, the oval-piston technology as early as 1979. This NR500 OX was piloted by Takazumi Katayama during the 1979 British GP.

Although this magnificent motorcycle never made an impact on the sales floor the technology employed in its design was the culmination of years of effort on the race tracks of the world. At the heart of the NR750 was an oval-piston V4 that featured 8-valves per cylinder.

Powered by the oval-piston NR750 engine, this motorcycle was supposed to establish the unique engine design with a good showing at the 1987 le mans 24 Hour Race. After qualifying second fastest the team failed to complete the race.

Honda’s first liquid-cooled 3-cylinder 2-stroker powered 500cc road racing motorcycle. American Freddie Spencer rode this motorcycle to victory at the 1982 Belgian and San Marino GP.

Max Biaggi claimed the 1997 250cc World Championship on the NSR250, winning five of the fifteen round series on the way to the title.

This example of the 1997 Honda NSR500 was ridden to the 1997 World Championship by Mick Doohan. It was a dominant year for the Big Red machine as the top five motorcycles in the championship standings were all Hondas.

In 1987 Wayne Gardner rode the all new V4-powered NSR500 to victory in 7 of 15 races during the season and setting the stage for a dominant era for Honda in the heyday of Grand Prix motorcycles during the 80s and 90s.

Piloted by Eddie Lawson to the 1989 500cc GP championship, this NSR500 featured a gull-style swingarm.

On display at the Collection Hall, is this example of how the 32-valve oval piston configuration looks: Very interesting indeed.

Honda Collection Hall Tour

The world’s first 4-stroke Twin cylinder powered road racer was the RC112. Tommy Robb rode the bike to victory at the first All-Japan Road Race at Suzuka.

The stuff of legends in the off-road community, this double pro-link front system equipped dirt bike dominated the All-Japan Championship in 1981. Unfortunately, the technology never made an impact in the states, but it sure looked cool and it graced the pages of off-road magazines anticipating its arrival in the US for many years.

During the 1961-1962 seasons, Luigi Taveri won the FIM Road racing World Championship and claimed all 10 of the championship races in 1962, seven of which were won by Taveri.

This machine, ridden by Makoto Tamada was a 2-time winner in 2004. Honda claimed 7 of 16 races that season.

American Nicky Hayden rode the number 69 Repsol Honda RC211V to his first and only MotoGP championship to date in 2006.

One of the most dominant superbikes of its era, the RC45 claimed AMA Superbike, World Superbike, World Endurance and a number of Suzuka 8 Hours championships in the 1990s.

Freddie Spencer rode this 1025cc V4 to a runner-up finish at the 1982 Daytona 200.

In 1985, American Freddie Spencer established himself as a racing legend when he rode this RS250RW to the 250cc championship. The critical part of the equation was that he also won the 500cc class the same year.

This is the 1984 World Endurance Champiosnhip winning RS750R motorcycle that was piloted by Gerard Coudray, Patrick Igoa and Alex Vieira.

Ridden to a third place finish in the 1983 Suzuka 8 Hours race against larger displacement 1000cc motorcycles, the 850R proved that bigger is not always better.

In 1991 the dream team of Wayne Gardner and Mick Doohan raced this RVF750 (RC45) to victory in the Suzuka 8 Hours.

The VFR400R was powered by a DOHC V4 engine, had a single sided swing arm and twin-spar aluminum frame. It was essentially a small displacement, street-legal version of the successful RVF (Rc30-RC45) superbikes.

In 1986 the VFR750F was Honda’s premier road-sport motorcycle. It was powered by the company’s famous V4 engine and was well on its way to becoming a benchmark machine in the motorcycle industry.

This is the Honda W3XCR77 ridden to a second place finish in the 350cc class by the legendary Jim Redman in the 1963 Finland GP. Based on the CR77, this motorcycle was massaged from the ground up and in order to make it competitive with the European machines on the circuit at that time.

Honda has been a staple in the SCORE Baja off-road racing history with 19-overall race titles to its credit. Although Scott Summers and Johnny Campbell didn’t win the race in 1992, it was the start of one of the most dominant eras for Honda in the history of Baja.

The MV won 8 of 9 races in the 500cc class in 1965 with Mike Hailwood at the controls.

In 1977 this motorcycle won 6 of 8 races in the World Championship. Powered by a water-cooled square four engine, the RGA500 was the dominant motorcycle for two years with the legendary Barry Sheene at the controls.