Above : Mike Hailwood starts the 1967 Isle of ManTT on 500-4
Right : CB750 Engine detail
also won the Isle of Man Senior TT in both those years . Hailwood ’ s 500-4 was an evil handling , fire breathing monster , but by the time the CB750 hit the showroom floors , Honda had learnt from this experience . By the standards of the day , the CB750 handled brilliantly , and the brakes were superb . It weighed in at 230kg and the motor produced 67bhp at 8000rpm . Top speed was around 198km / h .
THE FIRST SUPERBIKE This was to become Honda ’ s first Superbike , and it was a springboard for the many four-cylinder machines which
followed . There were other four-cylinder machines from companies such as MV Agusta during the 1950s and 60s . The MV Agusta 750S , was a huge hit at the 1969 Milan Show , but it sold for four times the price of the CB750 . In the following ten years MV sold fewer than 2000 bikes , and the CB750 sold 61,000 in the first three years in the USA alone . Honda ’ s CB750 was the first mainstream four-cylinder machine to be available to the public at an affordable price . It is said that the CB750 , in many ways , wasn ’ t an engineering break through . In-line four engines , disc brakes , and
72 KIWI RIDER