Honda was regarded as something of an upstart when it started selling its motorcycles in Europe and America in the 1960s. The little Japanese bikes met with derision from devotees of native motorcycle marques, and investing in Nipponese engineering was frowned upon as ever so slightly unpatriotic. 

The initial frostiness thawed when buyers realised that Hondas were actually reliable, well-made machines which offered excellent value for money. Some of Honda’s offerings were so technically advanced and eminently practical that its market share increased rapidly, ultimately sounding the death knell for the British motorcycle industry.

The CB750 represented the zenith of Honda’s capabilities in the 1970s. Its overhead-cam transverse four-cylinder engine, with twin carburettors, was impressive, but Honda was only testing the water with large engines. The motorcycling press and public were taken aback when it was launched at the 1968 Tokyo Show and it became the subject of universal acclaim.

It helped, of course, that it also featured a front disc brake, five-speed gearbox and electric starter. Cycle called it ‘the most sophisticated production bike ever’. To Cycle World it was ‘the ultimate weapon in one-upmanship’.

The CB750 immediately began to refine its race pedigree, with entries in the 1970 Isle of Man TT. In more recent years, it has been inducted in the American Motorcycle Association’s Motorcycling Hall of Fame, selected for the Guggenheim Museum’s Art of the Motorcycle exhibition and ranked by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. as one of 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology.

The CB750 was celebrated for its 120mph performance, excellent comfort, durability and good braking. Not only that, but it was within reach of most enthusiasts. It quite understandably won the hearts of motorcyclists everywhere and was reputedly the machine for which the term ‘superbike’ was coined. The K1 was one of its earliest and best-selling iterations, with a total of 77,000 produced.

This CB750 was originally sold in the USA, and remained there until being imported into Britain in 1991. In 2021 it was stripped down and treated to a comprehensive restoration, with a repaint in Honda Candy Ruby Red by Image Design Custom of Camberley.

The whole bike was then meticulously rebuilt, staying true to its original specification, resulting in one of the nicest CB750s to be seen anywhere.

Besides its current V5, the Honda comes with various historic tax discs and MoT certificates, plus a large stack of invoices from Honda parts specialist David Silver Spares and Dutch spares supplier CMS, both of which provided parts for the restoration.

Bidders will note that the bike is currently on S.O.R.N.

The outward appearance of this CB750 is positively stunning, with the paint and brightwork both being in possession of a rich, mile-deep shine. The Candy Ruby Red tank is a beautiful colour with an almost liquid texture. 

The paint is all the work of Image Design Custom of Camberley, which painstakingly hand-sprayed everything without ever resorting to transfers. Of course, we cannot guarantee that anything is quite faultless, but the paint looks to us to be as close to perfect as anything ever was.

The brightwork is every bit as good – the polished mudguards have a brilliant mirror-finish and the wheel rims and spokes sparkle away in the light. We can wax lyrical about just about everything else, too.

All the ancillaries – the seat, instruments, handlebar grips, lights and indicators, mirrors, badges, fork gaiters and so on – all look totally fresh and new. The fact is that much of it actually is fresh and new.

The Honda benefits from a new seat and new mudguards among many other things, while the speedometer and rev counter have been rebuilt and all the chrome parts have been rechromed.

Before we get into the serious mechanical details, let us first of all ask you just to look at the engine. Look upon it and take it in. Have you ever seen a better-presented example? While some wouldn’t think twice about calling it an exhibition of mechanical art – a viewpoint with which we could hardly disagree – we will simply content ourselves to praise its outward appearance as an exemplar of sensitive design and conscientious cleanliness.

By this stage, of course, it won’t surprise you to learn that while the bike was undergoing its full mechanical strip-down and rebuild, a lot of the mechanical and electrical parts were completely renewed. All the rubber components and seals have been replaced, along with the filters and plugs, and a whole new wiring loom has been installed. 

The carburettors should be like new after being ultrasonically cleaned and balanced. The front and rear suspension was also fully rebuilt. Now it’s all back together, the vendor advises that the engine and gearbox function beautifully, and everything else works as it should. Since all the engine’s internals, right down to the bearings and rings, were checked and found to be in excellent condition, they were reused, so it does not require running-in.

So far, all this is quite usual for a high-end restoration, but it gets better – can you believe that the bike carries a set of original HM300 exhaust pipes? You’d better believe it, because it’s true! Though they may be nigh-on impossible to track down, this bike’s restorer succeeded in finding a set in virtually new condition.

Of course, since the bike has not been presented for an MoT since its restoration, we recommend that bidders satisfy themselves as to its roadworthiness before riding it, but we do not envisage such a high-quality restoration presenting any problems. The period-correct Continental tyres are brand-new, so there’s no need to worry about them.

If you’ve ever wondered why the CB750 is widely regarded as one of the all-time greatest motorcycles, here is your opportunity to find out. Capable of a top speed of 125mph, the CB750 will eat up the road like nothing else of its day. With a front disc brake and electric starting, it’s also an easy bike to live with and use regularly, so its reputation is entirely deserved.

Now that you’ve convinced yourself you need one, you need look no further than the handsome machine right before your eyes. Having barely been ridden at all since it was restored to the very highest standard, it just needs running in and then it should be one of the nicest CBs around to ride. 

It’s certainly one of the nicest-looking, there’s no doubt about that. No amount of superlatives can really do justice to how lovely this particular CB750 is, so we'll just have to say that it in 2022 it’s the next-best thing to walking into a Honda dealership in 1971 and buying a gleaming, brand-new example from the showroom floor.