History

Picture it: Britain, late 1950/60’s. The streets roared with BSA, Triumph, and Norton — and then, like a polite but unexpected guest at a noisy party, along came… Honda. The first Honda motorcycles arrived on UK shores in 1957/58, smuggled in (legally, mind you) by enterprising dealers, many of them from Germany. Back then, there was virtually no official support, no spares, and little information. The British motorcycling public, loyal to their home-grown machines, mostly scoffed.

The First Sparks

In 1961, in both the North and South of England, little clusters of Honda owners began to gather. Why? Simple. They were tired of being the odd ones out in a sea of British iron and needed some mutual support.

Up North… Mike Evans had been enduring the sharp tongues of the British bike crowd. His solution? Start a club. “That’s what Englishmen do when they wish to make a point,” Mike quipped. “Strand two of us on a desert island and we’ll immediately form a club. Within a year we’ll be organising a concours d’elegance.”

So he penned a notice, published in The Motor Cycle on 13 July 1961, inviting Honda owners to gather. To his surprise, around 20 turned up to the inaugural meeting on 27 July in the somewhat gloomy upstairs room of the Market Tavern, Wigan. By the end of the night, without knowing whether other groups existed, they had christened themselves the Honda Owners’ Club of Great Britain.

Meanwhile down South …

‘Honda’ Pete Goodger was the President of the Honda Owners Club (GB) and still rode his immaculate CB500 to many of the Club’s events until he sadly passed away in 2019 remembers it well. He wrote to Harry Louis, editor of The Motorcycle (known to readers as the “Blue ’Un”), suggesting they form a club for Honda riders. Louis, in turn, mentioned a young bank clerk in Birmingham with the same idea — Mike Evans. Pete got his address, wrote a letter, and discovered Mike already had a handful of interested riders. Pete put out the word in London and Horsham, where he lived. The first London club night? A cosy gathering of eight in a private house in South London. The first London Branch Secretary? None other than Richard “Dick” Pryor, a London taxi driver who also happened to be a racer.

The Golden Wing Takes Off

I was simply amazed at the quietness and comfort of the C72, a week or two later I wrote to Harry Louis, the editor of the Blue ‘Un ‘The Motor Cycle’, thinking that it would be rather nice if we could get together to form a club to look after the interests of those of us who would be riding these Hondas. Harry Louis said he had just heard of a young bank clerk around Birmingham who was thinking of starting a club for Hondas. He passed me an address which I wrote to, it was of course young Mike Evans he already had half a dozen people interested up there, so I advertised in the London area and in the Horsham area where I was at the time living. Members soon came rolling in from around London and of course the Horsham area. I think the first Club night was held in a private house in South London with around eight of us. Our first London Branch secretary was, I believe, Richard (Dick) Pryor a London taxi driver who also raced, I believe it was in Dick’s house we were having a meeting at the time when the phone rang it was for Derek ‘King of Brands’ Minter, yes he was there too, the phone call was from Honda in Japan offering him a works 4 cylinder Honda and a good wage into the bargain. I think he was offered a back up to Jim Redman and other works riders of the day. He turned it down, so we heard later, on the grounds that he didn’t like riding to team orders and he liked British bikes! I think he would have gone on to be a world champion in one of the Honda classes. Anyhow time marches on and in those days our early magazine “Gold Wing” was about four sheets of paper coming out every now and then, though we did print or type our own newssheet, my wife Joan doing all the typing in the evenings, a one finger job.

In 1961, with precious few Hondas, even fewer spares, and only a handful of dealers, the club became a lifeline of knowledge, friendship, and mechanical improvisation.

The first newsletter appeared in mid-1961 (sadly, no copy survives). The second came in August, inviting members to suggest a name for the forthcoming club magazine. By October 1961, Golden Wing was born — price: sixpence. John Wallwork the then Treasurer, suggested the name and he became General Secretary the following year. The magazine was a combination of news on the club, adverts for suppliers, events and members’ thoughts.

And the Wheels Keep Turning

From those smoky pub rooms and handwritten letters, the Honda Owners Club (GB) has thrived for decades. Branches popped up nationwide. Members rallied together for rides, rallies, race meets, and the occasional bit of good-natured mischief. It’s still run by the members, for the members — bound by the same spirit that started it all: support, friendship, and a love of two wheels with that little wing on the tank. As they say, the rest is history. (For more on the early days, see “The Genesis of the Honda Owners Club (GB) 1961–1971” it is packed with eyewitness accounts and facts and photos.

Contact Classic@hoc.org.uk  for more information