My First Inline 4 Motorcycle

[Lurch]

In 1972 a friend of mine loaned me his Honda 500 Four, and I thought that thing was the coolest thing since sliced bread. I loved the smoothness of it. I had a 1970 Honda CL 350 at the time and had drooled over Honda Fours since the 750 Four came out about that time.

It was a lot like this, only green :

Then, in 1976, my wife and I bought this new maroon 1976 Honda CB 750F, which was my first inline four motorcycle to own. It was a real nice bike but didn't handle too good. I think the four pipers handled better. This is a scan of an old 35mm photo, taken in 1976 when the bike was near new.

 

[addyguy]

That is a really neat old pic to see!

Those Honda I-4 motorcycles were, and still are, really quite 'different' from every other bike out there...does/did anyone else make one like this?

Come to think of it, Honda has always done 'different' things with their bikes - I still think one of the coolest engines on the planet for any mode of transport is the tiny flat-6 Honda makes...I'd LOVE to see one of those put in a car!

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: addyguy


..does/did anyone else make one like this?



Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha all followed suit with Inline fours but I think Honda was the Innovator that made the first ones. My friend got a new 1977 Suzuki GS750 and it was DOHC and faster and handled better than my Honda 750.

Kawasaki came out with their KZ bikes around 1973 or so if I'm not mistaken and quit making 2 stroke triples and doubles.

 

[Johnny]

Darn, I got all excited when I saw that picture of the 72. I thought you were going to tell us you found this cream puff in someone's garage. Talking about bringing back some good memories.

 

[Lurch]

Hi Johnny,

I've seen a lot of old Honda fours on eBay. You can get one shipped for $500 or so. I've seen Honda 350-4, 400-4,500-4, 550-4, 650-4 750-4, you name it. It's good just to see those old bikes.

I know where there's a 1980 Suzuki GS 1000L that's in fantastic original condition for $2000, with 10,000 miles. I bought my Kawi from the same guy.

 

[scurvy]

UJMs of the late 70s/early 80s vintage aren't hard to come by. I just sold my 1982 Suzuki GS550 to a buddy for $300 as it needed a new tank petcock and I was in the middle of moving. Still needs a little TLC, but mechanically it was in good shape.

 

[Milkman]

Didn't Honda also make an inline 6 Cyl ?

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: Milkman
Didn't Honda also make an inline 6 Cyl ?


Yes. The CBX 1000. Technically interesting but didn't offer more than a good 1000cc four except an unbelievably beautiful exhaust note.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Originally Posted By: Milkman
Didn't Honda also make an inline 6 Cyl ?


Yes. The CBX 1000. Technically interesting but didn't offer more than a good 1000cc four except an unbelievably beautiful exhaust note.

And then there were truly mad blokes like Allen Millyard, who got quite good at grafting multiple engines together. His V8 1600cc Kawasaki was an amazing feat but it sounds like his V12 2300cc Kawasaki may have taken the cake!

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: Milkman
Didn't Honda also make an inline 6 Cyl ?


My friend bought a new CBX 6 cyl way back in the 80s when they were made. I had a 1982 GS1100E that was waaaay faster than that CBX. We swapped rides for a few minutes and he seemed to like my Suzi better than his CBX.

The CBX was a really nice bike though, just not real fast.

 

[Steve S]

I love the first generation Honda 750s looks. I remember what a stir they caused.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

I owned both a 73 500-4 and a 75 750-4. The 750 had the alloy wheels. Much easier to keep balanced....

 

[AntiMatic]

I had an 82 CB750K that I bought new in 86 (yep). Bought it for 1/2 list price for $1498. Great bike that I sold for $2000 in 1995 with 2k miles. Used the cash as a down payment on my 1993 Civic that has just rolled over 402k miles...

 

[Silk]

I had a CB750....the classic red tank and gold stripe.The only 4 cyl bike I've ever owned,and will most likely will never have another.A 4 cyl just doesn't seem like a motorcycle to me,I like twins and singles....although triples are pretty good.It also handled terrible,and handling comes a long way before power to me.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Milkman
Didn't Honda also make an inline 6 Cyl ?


Kawasaki did the Z1300 water cooled shaft drive 6 as well. (There was an early GPz900 frame Z1300 engined pushrod suspensioned custome trike cruising Oz in the late 80s.

Workmate is a nutz fan of the Honda 6, and track days one of his, and another local bloke uses his as a semi daily driver.

One of their club mates has gone beserk with overbores, ceramic and dry lube coated pistons etc. with apparently great results.

 

[Milkman]

Am I nuts, or did I see a Honda 4 cyl with "350" markings on it in traffic today ?

A 350 4 cyl ?

Bike looked vintage.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: Milkman
Am I nuts, or did I see a Honda 4 cyl with "350" markings on it in traffic today ?

A 350 4 cyl ?

Bike looked vintage.


Those two options aren't mutually exclusive.

There was a CB350F which was a 4 cylinder. A neat little machine but it didn't make sense for many people. Mr Google should have info on the CB350F

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: scurvy
UJMs of the late 70s/early 80s vintage aren't hard to come by. I just sold my 1982 Suzuki GS550 to a buddy for $300 as it needed a new tank petcock and I was in the middle of moving. Still needs a little TLC, but mechanically it was in good shape.

Back in high school some friends and I found one of these dumped in the woods. We managed to haul it out, but it was beyond any repair short of a full restoration with a lot of new parts. It was really rough, which is too bad, because it might have been a lot of fun.