When Honda rolled out the CB750 in 1969, nobody really knew what was coming. It wasn’t just another motorcycle; it was a line in the sand.
The bike that took “fast,” “reliable,” and “affordable,” and decided they could all live in the same garage.
Until then, if you wanted a big bike that could break 120 mph, you were either wrenching on a British twin or praying it wouldn’t leak itself into early retirement.
….Then Honda showed up with four cylinders, a front disc brake, and an electric starter.
Why the CB750 Mattered
The CB750 didn’t just set new numbers; it changed what riders expected a motorcycle to be. This was the first time a production bike offered the inline-four engine.
It made about 68 horsepower, topped out around 120 mph, and came with something almost no one had ever seen on a street bike: a disc brake that actually stopped. Honda wasn’t chasing some boutique market here; they were rewriting what a performance bike could be.
For context, in 1969, Harley was building big V-twins, Triumph was still pushing out parallel twins, and Kawasaki hadn’t yet dropped the Z1 bomb. The CB750 was a total left hook. It was so advanced that the term “superbike” was literally coined to describe it.
The inline-four engine
At the heart of it all was a 736cc inline-four, the first of its kind in a mass-produced street bike. It was buttery smooth, free-revving, and shockingly reliable. Honda’s decision to build it with four carburetors and a single overhead camshaft gave it both performance and polish. You could hammer it all day, and it wouldn’t complain.
Throw a leg over, and everything feels familiar yet foundational. The clutch is light, the throttle is smooth, and the engine spins like silk. Even 50+ years later, it’s shockingly civilized. The front disc adds a sense of control that, at the time, felt like science fiction. You could actually stop fast without praying.
It wasn’t a lightweight, and it didn’t need to be. Long stretches of road were its home, and it could eat up miles without coughing, leaking, or shaking bolts loose. For a lot of riders, that was the revelation: performance without punishment.
Legacy That Still Rips
Every superbike that came after, from the Kawasaki Z1 to the modern CBR, owes something to the CB750. It proved that mass production didn’t have to mean mediocrity. It made Japanese motorcycles the global standard.
The CB750 showed the world that high performance wasn’t reserved for racers or the rich… it could belong to riders.
Final Thoughts
Some motorcycles define an era, and then some motorcycles define every era that follows. The 1969 Honda CB750 is the latter. It’s the bike that built the template: four cylinders, front disc brake, reliability, and speed.
More than half a century later, you can still spot one at a local meet, sitting next to bikes that owe it everything. And if you’re lucky enough to own one? One that hasn’t been chopped into a cafe racer, hold onto it, you might be holding the last untouched one.
