Africa twin manufacturing kumamoto factory

[max]

A video just came out about the africa twin assembly.
The kumamoto plant has no doubt the same methodology than hamamatsu where our bikes come from, still fascinating to see how things are put together without any finger prints or scratches anywhere, parts are presented at the right time at the right place and the right way up.

I like the part where the assembler hits the swingarm bolt home with his plastic mallet, he must have practiced a lot.....
And haven't seen the final roller bank test where the exhaust fumes extractor lifts out of the floor after the bike rolls over the top of it.
A constant stream of hard focused work that i can appreciate when zooming along without any worries.:clap:

 

[pdedse]

Very cool. I wonder if the workers move from one area to another so that they learn a number of the different assembly stages, or whether they do the same thing, every day.

 

[peterbaron]

Goode stuff Max
GO, did you see how they hit your AT with a plastic mallet ?

 

[Cormanus]

Max, I thought the CB1100 came from Kumamoto.

 

[max]

Cormanus you are right, i had a look at my vin plate before i posted the link and got it wrong, i keep confusing myself over this, thanks for the correction.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Goode stuff Max
GO, did you see how they hit your AT with a plastic mallet ?

A previous version of that video has been around for a few years. These Africa Twins are the 2017 model year.

This video, independent of this thread, I found this morning is an extension of the original video with more details, particularly of the engine assembly and test. No cylinder sleeves!

Yes, I do remember the scene of the swing arm shaft being driven in. What, all of two seconds of labour time?

 

[treedoc_imp]

Great video, I imagined less people and more robots in the production line. Everyone seems so focused and hard working.

Seeing that sort of thing makes me realise how lucky I am to live where I live and do what I do...

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Treedoc, exactly. I love videos like this but I too would have expected more robotics and automation. I guess with the relatively few number of each specific model being assembled, it doesn’t pay to put in the investment.

Take a look at the Porsche and BMW assembly line videos — they are truly fascinating.

 

[pekingduck]

Curiously, at about the 4min:20sec mark, you see half the workers wearing masks.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Curiously, at about the 4min:20sec mark, you see half the workers wearing masks.

A bad pollution day on the isle of Japan?

The model year they are assembling is circa 2017.

 

[tod.branko_imp]

Curiously, at about the 4min:20sec mark, you see half the workers wearing masks.

Wearing a mask in Japan, and far east in general, is a cultural thing, also unlike the rest of us that were protected in the last 15 years, they have had an onset of both SARS and MERS, and have learned how to deal with these respiratory illnesses.
I went to Japan in 2017 and had to pass a MERS screening point at the airport even tho the epidemic has passed by then.

In another note, this being an Africa Twin thread, I have to share a pic of my RD-07 which I sold just a month ago

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Oh look at that: An ol' school Africa Twin.