From Marketing Stunt to Legend: The Baja 1000
The impetus of the Baja 1000 came from none other than Honda American.
In the early 1960s, motorcycle riding and specifically dirt bike riding were seeing a massive surge in popularity. Honda American was at the forefront of this movement and was doing everything they could to convince riders that their bikes were not only the most capable but also the most reliable. Anyone who knows motorcycles today knows that this is what Honda bikes are really known for, and this branding started early on.
To prove the reliability of their brand new CL72 Scrambler, brand geniuses Jack McCormick and Walt Fulton of Honda American wanted to push the scrambler on a long-distance run across terrain that included everything from rocks and sand to mountain passes and dried out washes. An amalgamation of what dirt bike riders would encounter on their own riding days. Northwest Mexico would be the perfect environment to test out the overall durability of Honda's plucky CL72 Scrambler.
In the early 1960s, motorcycle riding and specifically dirt bike riding were seeing a massive surge in popularity. Honda American was at the forefront of this movement and was doing everything they could to convince riders that their bikes were not only the most capable but also the most reliable. Anyone who knows motorcycles today knows that this is what Honda bikes are really known for, and this branding started early on.
To prove the reliability of their brand new CL72 Scrambler, brand geniuses Jack McCormick and Walt Fulton of Honda American wanted to push the scrambler on a long-distance run across terrain that included everything from rocks and sand to mountain passes and dried out washes. An amalgamation of what dirt bike riders would encounter on their own riding days. Northwest Mexico would be the perfect environment to test out the overall durability of Honda's plucky CL72 Scrambler.
