Honda’s flagship factory, in the Kumamoto Prefecture, is now back to normal production levels, after its slow recovery from earthquake damage sustained earlier this year.
For those who don’t remember, Honda took the Kumamoto factory offline on April 14th, resumed minor operations on May 6th, and resumed production of key models on June 6th.
Honda says that its large motorcycle production lines are now ready to go back to work, meaning the production at the Kumamoto factory is now back to its normal levels, though mini-vehicle parts production has been transferred to Honda’s Suzuka factory.
This news is perhaps the most important for American riders waiting to get their hands on the Honda Africa Twin adventure-touring motorcycle, whose production schedule for the USA was heavily disrupted by the earthquakes.
The Honda Africa Twin is built on Kumamoto’s “FUN line” which handles large-displacement motorcycles, so today’s news directly affects its production schedule.
That line is also responsible for the Honda CBR1000RR, which means it is likely the plant responsible for making the superbike’s successor.
We expect the next Fireblade to drop later this year, which means production for the model will surely start in the next few months – today’s news permitting.
Honda still has some work to do to bring all of its factory operations back to normal activity, which should put into perspective the massive effect the earthquakes had on the island nation.
Source: Honda
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