Cycle World

THE FIRST SUPERBIKE

The present era of high-power, multi-cylinder superbikes began with Honda’s four-cylinder CB750 of 1969. It was a natural in the marketplace because the company had invested nine years in international Grand Prix roadracing to make Honda a household word worldwide. When an electric-start motorcycle with four cylinders and four boldly jutting exhaust pipes hit the market, its success was foreordained.

Four-cylinder machines had been successful in roadracing before—the Italian fours of

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