The Marysville Motorcycle Plant was a
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
manufacturing facility located eight miles northwest of
Marysville, Ohio
Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Ohio, United States, approximately 27 miles (44 km) northwest of Columbus. The population was 22,094 at the 2010 census, a 38.59% increase from 2000.
Marysville's longtime slo ...
. The assembly plant opened in 1979 as
American Honda Motor Company
The American Honda Motor Company, Inc. (sometimes abbreviated as AHM) is the North American subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company. It was founded in 1959. The company combines product sales, service and coordinating functions of Honda in North ...
's first production facility in the United States. It was on the original
U.S. Route 33, renamed Honda Parkway when the Route was moved, at the site of an abandoned
Pure Oil
Pure Oil Company was an American petroleum company founded in 1914 and sold to what is now Union Oil Company of California in 1965. The Pure Oil name returned in 1993 as a cooperative (based in Rock Hill, South Carolina since 2008) which has grow ...
gas station and a long since razed "lubritorium," and the former rail crossing of the abandoned
Erie Lackawanna
The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...
Marion-Springfield spur.
Honda of America Manufacturing began motorcycle production at the Marysville Motorcycle Plant in 1979 with the
CR250M Elsinore.
All-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...
s as well as the
Gold Wing
The Honda Gold Wing is a series of touring motorcycles manufactured by Honda. Gold Wings feature shaft drive and a flat engine. Mooted by press in September 1974 as "The world's biggest motor cycle manufacturer's first attack on the over-750cc ...
and
Magna motorcycles, among others, were made there. The 500,000th vehicle produced at the plant was a Gold Wing Aspencade motorcycle in 1991, and the one-millionth vehicle in 1996 was another Gold Wing Aspencade. Annual output peaked at 174,000 vehicles in 1997. Production of ATVs at the plant ceased in 2005. In June 2009, the Marysville Motorcycle Plant ceased production after almost 30 years, as Honda consolidated global production of specific large motorcycles at a new factory in
Kumamoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, M ...
, Japan.
Some employees there were moved to the
Marysville Auto Plant
Honda Marysville Auto Plant (MAP) is a Honda manufacturing facility located approximately six miles northwest of Marysville, Ohio, and 42 miles northwest of Columbus, Ohio, near the intersection of US 33 and State Route 739. It is one of the m ...
, located at the same facility, or took early retirement.
Honda consolidated suspension sub-assembly for its vehicles including:
Honda Accord
The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of cars manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States since 1989. ...
,
Acura TL and
Acura RDX at the old motorcycle plant to free up space at Honda's auto plants in order to add flexibility and increase production.
This facility is now used to receive parts and sequence them for consumption at the line at the Marysville Auto Plant.
See also
*
Marysville Auto Plant
Honda Marysville Auto Plant (MAP) is a Honda manufacturing facility located approximately six miles northwest of Marysville, Ohio, and 42 miles northwest of Columbus, Ohio, near the intersection of US 33 and State Route 739. It is one of the m ...
*
East Liberty Auto Plant
East Liberty Auto Plant is a Honda automobile factory in East Liberty, Ohio, United States. The assembly plant opened in 1989. East Liberty is about 45 minutes northwest of Columbus, Ohio.
It was the first plant in North America to implement H ...
Notes
External links
Honda of Ohio
{{coord, 40.278773, -83.508371, display=title
Honda factories
Economy of Ohio
Buildings and structures in Union County, Ohio
1979 establishments in Ohio