subject: The Honda Cb750 - A Modern Classic Japanese Motorcycle [print this page] After World War 2, the motorcycle world was led by the European and American marques, at least in the 500cc+ class.
Almost unnoticed however, were the sales of light and middleweight Japanese bikes which grew consistently after the late 1940s.
1968 will, for many, be remembered as the year when the Japanese motorcycle industry changed the rules. Having decided that the Japanese would never try and assault the top end of motorcycle making, European and American manufacturers were about to have the shock of their lives.
October 1968 saw a massive change in motorcycling. Just a few months earlier in the year, triumph had launched their new "big bike", the Trident. This machine produced 58bhp and a top speed of 125mph. It handled well and Triumph has high hopes for it.
The 1968 Tokyo bike show was the curtain raiser for Honda's new CB750. A four cylinder, 750cc machine with four exhaust pipes and a host of modern features was launched. No more kick starting - electric start was standard, as were fore and aft disc brakes.
This was a Rolls-Royce of a machine. The design brief was to develop a new engine that was suitable for long journeys - in other words without the usual amount of vibration - and "the bigger the better".
Indeed, given the usual parallel twin design of so many bikes at the time, trying to expand these out over 500cc was found to be impossible without unacceptable levels of vibration. Testing showed that inline 4 cylinder engines were the best configuration for the new and smooth CB750.
The bike was a massive hit, combining so much state of the art design both in terms of styling and mechanics. It was ultra smooth for its day and due to some of the design changes in its brand new engine, horizontally split crankcases for example, was a machine that was unlikely to leak oil or need constant attention.
The CB750 was an instant hit, and paved the way for massive change within the motorcycling manufacturing industry. This was the dawn of the superbike.
