SELLER SAYS: 1969 sandcast Honda CB750 for sale. This bike started the superbike race and the demise of the British motorcycle industry. This is a rare bike and is No. 1637 of the only 7,414 Sandcast Hondas ever made. It is an older partial restoration. Has the sandcast cases, wrinkle tank, short cut guard, recessed ignition, round oil filter cover, left hand horn and more that are exclusive to these early bikes. Has high quality replica Yamiya Lotus roots pipes and red sponge seat. The original gauges were refurbished and zeroed so don’t reflect original mileage. The motor is original and strong. Currently on club rego and cannot be transferred, so being sold unregistered. These bikes rarely come on the market. Contact Grahame by email at gmagarry49@gmail.com (Cairns, Queensland).
EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: It seems laughable now, but when Honda decided to build the CB750 they had reservations about whether it would be a big seller. The early so-called ‘sandcast’ bikes were effectively Honda’s test-the-water bikes. If they sold well enough, Honda would be prepared to commit the resources to build them in big numbers with “proper” die-cast crankcases. The bosses had a target of building and selling 1500 CB750s in the first year. Hah! As we all know now, the bike was a massive success and sold its socks off, knocking the British bike industry for six and completely reshaping the global motorcycle industry. Dare I say it — the most successful motorcycle of all time? Honda’s initial 1500-a-year figure was quickly revised to 1500 a month, and Honda went on to sell almost half a million in less than a decade. All early CB750s are highly sought-after today, despite the big build numbers, while those first 7,414 examples makes them the most sought-after of all. Definitely a Lotto bike, this one!
