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Until 1968, the large capacity motorcycle industry was the preserve of British, European and American manufacturers.
The Japanese were coming however, and had indeed made significant inroads into light and middle weight classes since 1948.
However, in 1968, everything changed. No one had really seen it coming. It may have been complacency when the British motorcycle industry decided that the Japanese would never enter the big bike scene.
Of course the definition of "big bike" meant anything over 750cc, and in many ways referred to the 750cc class itself, and again that was all about to change in the 1970s.
However, 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.
However, cosmetically it was somewhat ugly for the time, and expensive when compared to the standard twins of the era.
The 1968 Tokyo motorcycle show saw the shock launch of Honda's CB750. The styling immediately caught the eye. Flowing lines, as opposed to Triumph's rather "square" look, mostly as a result of the rectangular "bread bin" tank, and the stunning four cylinder engine with its four exhaust pipes, disc brakes front and rear, indicators and an electric start mad this quite something.
It was technologically advanced to. The engine was all new and had very low levels of vibration, making it incredibly smooth for its day, and the brakes were a revelation.
The smoothness of the engine had much to do with the design brief which had the keynote "the bigger the better" as regards the engine.
One of the main aims was to develop a machine that could be ridden comfortably for long stretches. One of the keys to this was reducing vibration, and many configurations were studied to find out what type and size of engine would offer the least amount of vibration.
Vibration was found to be a problem in engines over 500cc capacity in the common parallel twin configuration. V twins and boxer style engines were tested, and the result was the inline four configurations at 750cc.
The bike was well received in America and then in the UK, where the entire first batch had been presold.
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.
About this Author
Zac is also a keen fly fisherman. For some great tips and deals, visit his latest website about fly fishing combos where you can get information on buying balanced fly fishing combos which is generally cheaper than buying the individual components you need.
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