1970 Honda CB

1025778

Clear

Up for sale 1969/1970 Honda CB 750 project rare barn find. The motorcycle was sitting for last 18 years inside of the barn in California. Last time it ran was in 2015. Motorcycle is 100% complete. Please look at pictures ask questions!!! We reserve a right to end auction if we get a good offer!!! Little bit of history!!! Honda of Japan introduced the CB750 motorcycle to the US and European markets in 1969 after experiencing success with its smaller motorcycles. In the late 1960s Honda motorcycles were, overall, the world's biggest sellers. There were the C100 Cub step-through—the best-selling motorcycle of all time—the C71, C72, C77 and CA77/8 Dreams; and the CB72/77 Super Hawks/Sports. A taste of what was ahead came with the introduction of the revolutionary CB450 DOHC twin-cylinder machine in 1966. Profits from these production bikes financed the successful racing machines of the 1960s, and lessons learned from racing were applied to the CB750. The CB750 was targeted directly at the US market after Honda officials, including founder Soichiro Honda, repeatedly met US dealers and understood the opportunity for a larger bike. Early racingEditIn 1967 American Honda's service manager Bob Hansen[13][14] flew to Japan and discussed with Soichiro Honda the possibility of using Grand Prix technology in bikes prepared for American motorcycle events. American racing's governing body, the AMA, had rules that allowed racing by production machines only, and restricted overhead-valve engines to 500 cc whilst allowing the side-valve Harley Davidsons to compete with 750 cc engines.[15] Honda knew that what won on the race track today, sold in the show rooms tomorrow, and a large engine capacity road machine would have to be built to compete with the Harley Davidson and Triumph twin-cylinder machines. Hansen told Soichiro Honda that he should build a 'King of Motorcycles' and the CB750 appeared at the Tokyo Show in November, 1968[16] and was publicly launched in UK at the Brighton, England motorcycle show held at the Metropole Hotel exhibition centre during April 1969,[16][17] with an earlier press-launch at Honda's London headquarters,[16][17] the pre-production versions appearing with a high and very wide handlebar intended for the US market.[16] The AMA Competition Committee recognised the need for more variation of racing motorcycle and changed the rules from 1970, by standardizing a full 750 cc displacement for all engines regardless of valve location or number of cylinders, enabling Triumph and BSA to field their 750 cc triples instead of the 500 cc Triumph Daytona twins.[15] Dick Mann's Daytona-winning CR750 on display at Le Musée Auto Moto Vélo, a transportation Museum in Châtellerault, FranceThe Honda factory responded by producing four works-racer CR750s, a racing version of the production CB750, ridden by UK-based Ralph Bryans, Tommy Robb and Bill Smith under the supervision of Mr Nakamura, and a fourth machine under Hansen ridden by Dick Mann. The three Japanese-prepared machines all failed during the race with Mann just holding on to win by a few seconds with a failing engine.[15] Hansen's race team's historic victory at the March, 1970 Daytona 200 with Dick Mann riding a tall-geared CR750 to victory[2][18] preceded the June, 1970 Isle of Man TT races when two 'official' Honda CB750s were entered, again ridden by Irishman Tommy Robb partnered in the team by experienced English racer John Cooper. The machines were entered into the 750 cc Production Class, a category for road-based machines allowing a limited number of strictly-controlled modifications. They finished in eighth and ninth places.[19] Cooper was interviewed in UK monthly magazine Motorcycle Mechanics, stating both riders were unhappy with their poor-handling Hondas, and that he would not ride in the next year's race "unless the bikes have been greatly improved".[20] In 1973, Japanese rider Morio Sumiya finished in sixth place in the Daytona 200-Mile race on a factory 750.