Ever heard of the world-famous Honda Collection Hall at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit in Japan? What if you were put in charge of all these iconic machines from MotoGP bikes to Formula 1 cars? To Kuniyoshi Iwata, that’s the dream job for a gearhead and we can’t deny one single bit!
Mr Kuniyoshi Iwata and a team of five mechanics are in charge of making sure that all these machines are in their prime conditions for visitors to enjoy all year round. Their task is not only to keep them clean and shiny but also perform maintenance works to ensure that they’re always in running conditions for parades and events.
The Honda Collection Hall comprises of mostly Honda bikes dating back to the 1940s. There’s also their very superbike, Honda CB750, together with the entire line-up of Honda GP bikes from the mighty Honda NSR500 two-stroke beasts all the way up the RC211V, RC212V, and of course, the RC213V.
Iwata is no mere mortal, ladies and gentlemen. Having acquired his skills through the golden era of GP racing back in 1980s and 1990s, he has worked on many great machines, including the NSR500 rode by the legendary Freddie Spencer and Mick Doohan. Hundreds of other machines are kept in perfect condition thanks to Iwata and his team of highly trained mechanics.
According to Iwata, “We maintain the machines, so they are ready for running at any time. I think it’s a very important job and I’m proud of it. The machines are strong and tough but maintaining them when they are very old is difficult. Most of the parts we use in the machines are one-off parts. Luckily, we get a lot of support from Honda R&D Centre Asaka [for motorcycles] and from Honda Racing Development Sakura [for cars]. We display a total of 350 machines in the Collection Hall – both two wheels and four wheels”
“I feel very happy when I see the machines we maintain being ridden and driven. Also, it makes me very happy when I see people enjoying watching the historic machines. Our machines run at events in many countries, but the Honda Racing Thanks Day is always very special for us, because it happens so close to the Collection Hall and it gives us the chance to run many of our historic machines. Machines never lie – success will always come if they’re really good. So, let’s show the world what we’ve done. Then they can see the real Honda!” added Iwata.
