This is a rare bird: a second-year Honda CB750 in highly original and very nice condition, showing only 17,000 miles on the odometer. The Honda CB750 is perhaps the most important Honda ever made, and it changed the motorcycle industry. From its 1969 original year, the Honda CB750 became one of the most popular motorcycles ever, selling more than 400,000 units between 1969 and the last iteration in 2003. The first few thousand CB750 KO models were known as the “sandcast” models but used a gravity casting technique for their crankcases, as Honda was unsure of the new model’s reception. When sales numbers were clear, Honda made new dies for pressure-casting the crankcases, and from these second-series K0 machines forward, all CB750s had die-cast crankcases, which are less prone to leak than the original version; this machine has die-cast cases. The Honda CB750 has classic styling, reminiscent of British machines but with that very distinctive, pleasing OHC 739cc 4-cylinder engine. While the styling is demure, the four exhaust pipes reminded the world that Honda had pulled off the impossible, making an affordable 4-cylinder motorcycle for the masses for the first time ever. The Honda CB750 offered great performance, a smooth ride, an electric starter, turn signals, disc brakes, a quiet motor, and utter reliability for a very reasonable price. With a 120 MPH top speed, the Honda was no slouch either and was a worthy road version of the factory’s invincible 4-cylinder Grand Prix racers. Honda had been developing 4-cylinder engines since 1957, and within a very few years, had taken the World Championship in every capacity, including, finally, the premier 500cc GP class. Their fours dominated the 250cc GP class in 1961 and the 350cc GP class from 1962, winning the World Championship five years in a row. While the Honda CB750 was a very popular motorcycle, finding one in this condition is very rare, as most of them were ridden not hidden. It’s a gorgeous survivor. F218 1970 HONDA CB750
