Honda’s response to the challenge was conservative. And waiting in the wings were The Suzuki GS750 and the Kawasaki KZ750, both aimed squarely at the market Honda had built, and creating along the way what was to become known as the Universal Japanese Motorcycle or UJM: the air-cooled, 2-valve, DOHC across-the-frame inline four. And like the Model T, it stayed in production for just a little too long.īy 1975, the Kawasaki Z1 with its 903cc DOHC engine had leapfrogged ahead of the CB750. The 1969 Honda CB750 Four mapped out the future for motorcycles. Something similar happened to Honda in the 1970s. After years of snapping at Henry’s heels, the Dodge Brothers, Louis Chevrolet and the rest streaked out front. By continuing to manufacture the same basic car, Ford maximized the benefits of mass production, but at the cost of market leadership. The problem? Ford was still building the T in 1928, and the market had moved on. When Henry Ford launched the Model T in 1908, there was nothing else like it, and the T established a design template that defined the automobile for more than a decade. The Honda CB750F Super Sport was born out of Honda’s desire to regain its position as a motorcycle pacemaker.

1978 honda supersport 750