Greatest Ever Motorcycles - Honda CB 750

" Our third greatest motorcycle is one of the most pivotal bikes ever made; it's the Honda CB750."

" This was the ultimate motorcycle of its time."

" The CB750 was the world's first ever"

" Beautiful."

" Hey, that's--"

" When I was 21, I had walked into a local dealership. The dealer was kind enough to let me test ride a 750 Honda. I took it out through the streets of Hollywood. Running along at about a hundred miles an hour, not that I condone speeding, and came back to the dealer, and the first thing I asked is how do I buy one? Who do I have to kill to get this bike?"

" Here was a bike that could do nought to sixty in 7-1/2 seconds and had such high-quality Engineering, it could run for over 100 thousand miles trouble-free. It was the first time a bike had been so durable and reliable."

" It was a production motorcycle that outperformed virtually everything that was before it, and it changed the way motorcycling in general is designed."

" The state-of-the-art engineering included the first ever disc brakes on a production bike. These are extremely reliable, and meant the CB750 could stop much faster than its British rivals. On top of this was the revolutionary inline 4-cylinder engine."

" 4-cylinders like Ferrari's, they were extremely expensive motorcycles, limited production, parts were not available, then suddenly Honda comes along with this."

" and a disc brake. I mean, disc brakes were for aeroplanes. Even most American cars did not have disc brakes at that time."

" This is my 1970 750 Honda, and I've had it for many, many years now."

" I'm going start it up for you, and I want you to take a listen to this. Close your eyes and pretend this is a Ferrari. "

" Even now, the most high-capacity motorcycles you see on the street are inline 4s just like the CB750. That's like 35 years on."

" The inline 4 took the real glory. Its pistons are filed alternately, and so counterbalance one another. This removes engine vibration and means steady power even at high revs."

" One of the tests that the dealer's salesman tried to show was that they would balance a glass of water on the seat and rev the motor and show that it still stays there. It just so happens I have a glass of water right behind me, and let's try that test. I'm impressed. I didn't realize it was that smooth. I guess it does work."

" The CB750 certainly made it that you didn't have to suffer to go fast. Until then, if you wanted to go fast, you had to put up with vibration, you had to put up with unreliability, you had to put up with oil leaks, you had to put up with bikes that perhaps didn't stop very well, fell apart around you. It just made it really easy."

" Sadly, these outstanding performance and reliability does come with one major disadvantage."

" This is going to sound odd, but riding CB750 is actually a little boring because it's too smooth, and it does everything a little too well."

" I guess British and Italian bikes are about emotion, and Harley's are about emotion whereas the Honda wasn't. It was a much more clinical bike. Get ticked on the boxes, it performed and it stopped and it went around corners and it looked good, but it's just a bit boring."

" The CB750's groundbreaking performance and reliability ultimately made it a dull ride and for that, it gets third place."