I'm still looking for info on the KIA Honda motorcycle, the only maker of bikes in Korea for at least 20 yrs.

Question

Thank you all for the answers, but I'm afraid that KIA Honda did exist. I can provide a close up pics of myself on one from 1974 thru1980. Friends can attest to this as far back as 1967. As far as I was told by my Korean mechanic, around 1959 or 60 Korea had insufficient capacity to manufacture motors for cycles. A delegation from Honda came to Korean and studied their roads and needs. They made three models, the "step thru" 50, the regular 50 motorcycle and the famous 90. The joined with KIA company and started assembling KIA Hondas, the first, and by the time I left in Dec '80, the ONLY motorcycle maker in Korea. About 1970 the did a short production run of a 250 version of the famous Honda CB 350. No one could afford the $4000 or the $8 for the rationed gas to ride it, so it was dropped by 1972, a couple years before I arrived as an Army radio announcer for AFKN in Seoul. Later, as a civilian, I owned several of them until a "mini Civil War" erupted and I left in late 1980.

Answer 1

hyosung motors and machinery was founded on june 5th 1978
the first bikes were sold outside korea in 1982. italy was the first country to import hyosung, 3 years later germany followed
with an annual capacity of 200,000 motorcycles hyosung is koreas biggest exporter of motorcycles and takes up 40 percent of the domestic market. hyosung is now exporting to 8 countries world wide, so as of 1978 hyosung, and suzuki have been in korea and marketing in south korea as "hyosung suzuki"

Answer 2

Have you tried contacting the company?
because if it was a mini market only in Korea - it'd explain why nothing is showing for those KIA Honda bikes online.... my brother brought me a wonderful radio back from Korea and it would get tons of stations from all over the world ... the only trouble was nobody could get parts for it when it quit working !