Honda CB750

The Honda 750/4 was the world's first superbike but was soon upstaged by Kawasaki's radical Z1. Now, 30 years after the bikes first went head-to-head, Rod Gibson and Chris Pearson borrowed a couple of very early versions of these two iconic bikes.

One of the best things about working on any bike magazine is getting the opportunity to ride lots of bikes. And one of the best things about working on Mechanics is the opportunity to ride some of the finest production bikes ever seen, for the era of the 70s and 80s saw motorcycle design move away from the utilitarian, low-tech post-war singles and twins we'd known for decades, and move towards the future with the invention of the hi-tech, high performance superbike.
It's not my job, here, to wax lyrical about the merits of either the Honda CB750 or Kawasaki 900, for lots of column inches have already been dedicated to that, both here and in other publications. But it's a rare opportunity indeed to have the chance to ride examples of the very first models of either bike, and to get to ride both of them together is probably a once-in-a-lifetime event. These two bikes before you are among the earliest examples of the two models which turned motorcycle technology into the modern age.

This CB750 is an unrestored example of one of the very first 'sandcast' models, and lives in the collection of Norman Blakey in rural Lancashire. Norman wanted a CB750 in his collection and hunted high and low before tracking down this bike, which is rare enough almost to be unique. The bike shares garage space with, among others, Norman's Z1. Not a Z1A, nor a Z1B, mind, but a Z1, the original first model instantly identified by its unique paint scheme and black finished engine castings.
The bikes are separated by four model years, and for those four years the Honda was undisputed king of the superbike market. To take the crown the Kawasaki had to raise the game in every area. Having been beaten to the starting-post by Honda, who got the 750/4 into production just before Kawasaki's own first four was due to launch, the Z1 was pumped up to 903cc and grew an extra camshaft. However, where it really impacted on the market was with its styling. The swoopy lines of the tank, panels and ducktail were like nothing ever seen before, and the lines of the exhaust pipes and lower clock covers left the poor old CB750 looking positively staid alongside it in the showrooms.

Riding the CB750

Riding the CB first was without doubt the best way to approach these two machines. On first cocking a leg over and pressing the starter button the first surprise is that nothing happens one has to wait for the engine to whirr away, reaching a certain revolution before it chimes in.
The top end is not rattly but there is some noise evident from the cam cover and (when warm) the bottom end, with its chain drive between the crank and the gear train. This joins in with the percussion section, too, adding a syncopated beat to the rhythm of the rockers and cam chain.
The CB is heavy but carries the weight well, the engine is smooth and the carburation adequate. During steady cornering the big Honda tracks true and securely, but turn the wick slightly and the rear end gets a little soggy. Once on the move the rest of the chassis does tend to join in with the dance and you can easily be doing the twist mid-bend as the supple steel tubing yields to the road forces. Add a touch of throttle during this process and yet another force begins to act upon the poor old frame and it becomes difficult to hold a consistent line.
Braking produced nothing shocking and even for the period the floating caliper front brake must have been pretty poor; one can only describe the anchors as adequate. All this aside, it is a nice bike and certainly, should you have jumped on one in 1969 after a lifetime riding thumping singles and twins, it would have been a revelation. It does lack a certain technical complexity and would surely have benefited from double overhead camshafts, used by Honda much earlier in the middleweight twins. The overall feeling when riding the CB is one of safe performance and convenience.
The Honda is most certainly not a nutter's tool and, once you take away the 'world's first superbike' tag, surprisingly becomes a little bland. This is a reasonably rapid, if a little docile, large capacity machine that you could live with, trouble-free, day after day, and back in the late 60s that would have been a real first.
CP

I expected the sohc four to feel stodgy and underpowered after riding the Z, but the CB750 was sweet, lithe and nimble, with a smooth response from the engine. This is an American spec bike (as were most early 'sandcasts'), and the tall handlebars offered a relaxed, upright riding position not dissimilar to the Z1. Despite the plastics used for the clock housings there's a quality, hand-built feel to this bike which is not present in the later, mass-produced sohc Hondas. It would be interesting to ride this bike against, say, a K6 model, and I'm guessing the earlier bike would be lighter and swifter. Against the Z it acquitted itself well, and was not as outclassed by the Kawasaki's greater power as I might have expected, though the handling felt a little less secure than the big Kawasaki when pressing on.