JAPAN: THE CRITICAL OIL SHORTAGE HAS SEVERELY AFFECTED THE CAR INDUSTRY -- BUT MOTORCYCLE PRODUCTION IS BOOMING.

Record ID: 345011

  • Title: JAPAN: THE CRITICAL OIL SHORTAGE HAS SEVERELY AFFECTED THE CAR INDUSTRY -- BUT MOTORCYCLE PRODUCTION IS BOOMING.
  • Date: 23rd December 1973
  • Summary: 1. GV EXT Suzuki factory 0.05 2. GV Honda sign on factory 0.10 3. GV Yamaha factory 0.14 4. GV & CU Mechanics and riders check new bikes before testing (2 shots) 0.27 5. CU New motorcycle engine 0.30 6. GV Riders looking at bikes 0.38 7. SV Mechanics filling tanks with petrol 0.46 8. CU Mechanic tops up tank with water from teapot 0.51 9. GV Rider rides bike onto test track 0.58 10. GV Motorcycles down road 1.01 11. GV Motorcycle around corner 1.12 12. GV Motorbikes down road and around bend 1.23 13. GV PAN Motorcycle along track 1.30 Initials BB/2120 BL/AH/BB/2152 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 7th January 1974 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: FUKUROI, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Reuters ID: LVA1196ILEHUU9XOALQILBKGW9PT
  • Story Text: The Arab oil cutback -- which has forced the Japanese Government to declare a State of Emergency -- has hit the nation's industries hard, especially the oil-dependent motor industry.

    Half-completed cars clog the country's assembly factories because oil-derived products are not available to complete them.

    But the motor cycle industry is enjoying a boom, as the demand for low consumption machines increases, and the manufacturers prepare for the coming racing season which looks like going ahead despite the fuel shortage.

    Yamaha -- Japan's second largest manufacturer of motorcycles, has reported a 20 per cent increase in sales during the past few months.

    The company has begun tests on a new machine and has signed a contract with the World champion, Giacomo Agostini, to ride it in Europe next year.

    The new models are tested at the Fukuroi test track near Hamamatsu, 150 miles (241 kilometres) southwest of Tokyo. The latest model, the TZ 750 has a top speed of more than 170 miles (273 kilometres) an hour. Its engine is water cooled.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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