Definitely Japanese, most probably four cylinders and at least 500cc. That left a long list of potential machinery, the Kawasaki GT550 the leading contender.
After looking at several ex-despatch hacks I began to give up on that idea, when what should pop up in the local rag than a Honda CB750 Seven-Fifty. The owner sounded both honest and mature over the phone, the bike promising - 19000 miles with a full service history and mostly summer touring use. The guy even agreed to ride over to my house to show me what was what. Without much effort I convinced myself that the bike was what I wanted and for a very reasonable sum I became its second owner.
Honda make ferocious fours but this wasn't one of them. Even compared with its predecessor and inspiration, the CBX750, the CB750 was about as mild and friendly as you could make an air-cooled, DOHC four cylinder motorcycle. I don't think you'd find another machine of this size and weight that's so natural and easy to ride. The previous owner had upgraded the suspension, fitted Avon tyres and flatter bars, an effort that probably improved the bike somewhat over standard.
But the engine was as the factory intended and dead easy to ride, whether on the mildest of throttle openings or giving it some gas, though there wasn't much point extending the motor far beyond 9000 revs as by then the power had dissipated. Even the gear change, a notoriously weak area in other Hondas, was as smooth and slick as most Suzukis - the previous owner had gone on at length about how much time and effort he'd put into running the bike in, an exercise that paid off both in the gearchange and the way the mill ran generally.
Handling was what you would expect of this kind of UJM. Felt a bit top heavy at first but stability was good and not an excessive amount of effort was needed on the bars. After a week, the feeling of having too much mass mounted too high faded away and the whole machine became second nature. Handling was generally neutral, gradual backing off of the throttle or braking in bends failed to throw the chassis off line.
Indeed, after about three weeks the usual inconsiderate cager tried to knock me off by charging out of aside street - with amazingly fast reactions on my part, I managed to wrench the Honda around his back bumper without the bike showing any signs of stress. I felt both elated and frightened at the same time, the poor old heart hammering away. The front brake didn't have the kind of mad stopping power that would, alternatively, get me out of desperate trouble.
The miles fair flew by. About 55mpg, tyres lasted around 6000 miles, the O-ring chain was amazingly resilient and the engine needed nothing more than oil/ filter changes. Long tours - the most I did in a day, 920 miles! - revealed that the seat needed a bit more padding and that a bad patch of secondary vibes at 80mph made 90mph a more pleasant cruising speed, officer! I didn't do much above the ton, fearing for my licence in our quaint police state. There was loads more power on tap for those who don't give a damn, though the discomfort of a naked bike began to rudely intrude as the ton was approached. All pretty much what I'd expected.
After about seven months I began to run out of luck. Several near misses, when cars came out of nowhere and tried to kill me, followed my a major accident. I began to wonder if I was losing my mind! A busy London junction, the lights changed to green, charged forwards only to find some criminally insane nutters dancing through the junction in a big Ford, which caught my front wheel. Sending bike and rider flying in different directions. My world went horizontal and then painful as I had a fighting match with a bored postbox!
When I came back to consciousness, I found that half the car drivers in London were playing tunes on their horns, whilst the front half of the CB was no longer attached to the rest of the bike. I eventually found it embedded in the underside of a black cab, whose driver was suitably enraged. Of the original Ford there was neither sight nor sound, and no-one believed my tale. Some ped stepped forward, claiming I tried to wheelie the venerable Honda!
The result of all that madness was a ticket for dangerous riding, a written off Honda that the insurance company is reluctant to pay up on... oh, forgot to mention that some kind soul slammed on his brakes to avoid mowing me down, causing several expensive cars to pile into each other. The total damage coming to more than my house is worth.
The insurance company did let me have what was left of the Honda, the mangled steering head and broken engine cases making for some desperate pleading with the usual round of motley breakers, but I will have it ready for the road soon. Meanwhile, been frightening myself silly on a C90 but haven't caused another major accident yet, though I suspect it's only a matter of time.
KL