CB750 Not for you? How about something a little different?

Honda

CB400F

The CB400 Four is an excellent motorcycle. In its time it was a groundbreaker and for a while you couldn’t move for them on the street. Developed from the CB350 Four that never made it into British showrooms, the sohc four had a decent spec. Honda increased the bore of the 350 to take the engine out to 408cc, modified the cylinder head to raise the compression ratio and there was a sixth gear, too.

It ditched the K-series look to make things feel far more European, with lower handlebars and slicker styling. One of the key features was the striking four-into-one exhaust system, that swooped elegantly around the front-mounted oil filter. And it had another benefit, as when it was launched in 1975 nobody else was making a mass market sporty middleweight four-stroke. It was in a class of one. Fortunately, it was very good indeed. It couldn’t compete on acceleration with Yamaha’s

RD400 or Kawasaki’s 400 triple, but it was easier to live with. Honda had hit that sweet spot, creating a machine you could commute on, tour on... and thrash unmercifully at the weekends.

It was smooth, civilised and a good deal more economical than