Topic: What's your favorite CB750 model? And why?

[ofreen]

One thing that is strange is that Honda made the CB750 weaker while the Kawasaki Z1-900 entered the market and became the CB750 killer.

I don't remember the Z1 being the "CB750 killer" from those days.  Wiki says there was approximately 86,000 Z1s made 1972-1975.  The number for the CB750 in the same time frame is about 196,500. 

[Stev-o]

One thing that is strange is that Honda made the CB750 weaker while the Kawasaki Z1-900 entered the market and became the CB750 killer.

I don't remember the Z1 being the "CB750 killer" from those days.  Wiki says there was approximately 86,000 Z1s made 1972-1975.  The number for the CB750 in the same time frame is about 196,500. 

I think he meant it in terms of performance.

[ofreen]

I think he meant it in terms of performance.

Really the only thing the Z1 did better than the CB750 was accelerate in a straight line.  It may have “killed” in a drag race (it had a bigger motor after all) but not much else, including sales.

[Terry in Australia]

It's funny how peoples experiences vary depending on their location. The Z1 was definitely a CB750 killer here in Oz, helped by lots of race wins and a cult movie ("Stone") that pretty much killed CB750 sales overnight. Honda tried to build a "Supersports" bike around their SOHC 750 engine, and the CB750F was the result, which aesthetically at least, was no match for the Z1.

Sales of CB750's here were so poor that I was able to buy a shiny new 1975 CB750F fresh from the crate in the dealers warehouse in 1978, for a huge discount. (cheaper than a used Z1, which I would have preferred) I bought a K1 a couple of years later, and like Eric, the K1 is my favourite model.

Honda made an attempt to get a few more BHP out of the CB750 engine with the F2 and failed miserably, turning a good solid engine into a potential hand grenade, if not really well maintained. Cheers, Terry.

[seanbarney41]

not a hand grenade, more of a smoke bomb

[PeWe]

I agree about CB750K2.  A mint blue-green K0 is also welcome in my garage.
Z1-900 was and still is a very beautiful bike. It's engine, sound and power was awesome leaving the CB750's behind. My local tuning company had one in the shop for repair and additional power enhancement a few years ago. 140 rwhp! Street bike without turbo, but 4-1.
I'm convinced that most of us want a Z1-900 in the collection and Z1-900 owners want a mint CB750 too.

[ofreen]

Z1-900 was and still is a very beautiful bike. It's engine, sound and power was awesome leaving the CB750's behind. My local tuning company had one in the shop for repair and additional power enhancement a few years ago. 140 rwhp! Street bike without turbo, but 4-1.
I'm convinced that most of us want a Z1-900 in the collection and Z1-900 owners want a mint CB750 too.

My comments weren't meant to take away anything from the Z1.  They are beautiful bikes and have a great engine that represented a step forward, something that Honda and the rest had to respond to.  All I was saying is the CB750 didn't exactly fade away when the Z1 came out.

[PeWe]

Z1-900 was and still is a very beautiful bike. It's engine, sound and power was awesome leaving the CB750's behind. My local tuning company had one in the shop for repair and additional power enhancement a few years ago. 140 rwhp! Street bike without turbo, but 4-1.
I'm convinced that most of us want a Z1-900 in the collection and Z1-900 owners want a mint CB750 too.

My comments weren't meant to take away anything from the Z1.  They are beautiful bikes and have a great engine that represented a step forward, something that Honda and the rest had to respond to.  All I was saying is the CB750 didn't exactly fade away when the Z1 came out.

No problem, this was clear for me too.
We cannot change history, CB750 was and still is the beginning of a fantastic bike era! We can prolong it for some years more thanks to this forum, its members, all people that make sure that we will get parts to our bikes and drain our wallets while fulfilling our dreams!

[HondaMan]

I think he meant it in terms of performance.

Really the only thing the Z1 did better than the CB750 was accelerate in a straight line.  It may have “killed” in a drag race (it had a bigger motor after all) but not much else, including sales.

You're dead-on about that: in a wiggly race, the Z1 came in dead last in our circuit. They were quicker at the 1/4 mile track (unless I worked on the 750, but that's another story...), but on the roundy-round 1/2 mile and the famous Lake Circuit (which ran around a lake near Colchester, IL) the Z1 seldom finished in the top 10, while the T500 Suzy often took the round track runs. Those were the days when the Hondman moniker came about, illustrating how much potential the SOHC4 really does hide within.