When the Best Motorcycle in the World is a Failure

The Honda CB450 or Black Bomber as it was originally called was by far the most technologically advanced and sophisticated motorcycle in the world. And nobody bought it

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Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

[cycoklr]

My dad had a friend who was into Vespas but one day he showed up at our house riding a brand new CB450. He let me ride in the back and we went for a brisk spin in the neighborhood. I was around twelve years old and I got hooked into motorcycling. I'm 70 now, still riding, and that brief ride on the Black Bomber is still fresh in my memory.

[craigscrima]

The only motorcycle I missed after trading up. After 45 years I still miss my 1965 Black Bomber. Great video

[aeroearth]

What was weird about the Honda CB450 was that it was an unusual capacity. Too big for the 350 class and giving away 50cc in the 500 class. BSA/Triumph Management faced with the looming threat of Japanese made motorcycles and a history of abysmal small bike failures like the BSA Corgi, Beagle and Ariel 3 publicly stated that they would "worry about the Japanese when they made a real motorcycle".
When Honda came out with the CB750, NO ONE in the UK understood what they were looking at. The Triumph Trident/Rocket 3 design took over three years to bring into production. The Honda CB750 took just nine months. Billed by the UK motorcycle press as a piece of exotic oriental piece of machinery, they predicted sales of only 50 per year. But with its four cylinder overhead cam engine, four carburettors, electric start, disc front brake and metallic gold paint scheme it outsold the Triumph/BSA kickstart, drum braked, pushrod triples together in its first year. BSA/Triumph Management had made a catastrophic mistake.

[judsonspruce]

My first ride in '67 was a new 305 Scrambler. I rode it everywhere that winter in Wisconsin, ice coated tree branches but that didn't stop me.
For two summers before that in '65 and '66 bike rentals had lots of the Honda 50s scooter style to rent @ 50 cents per hour. I spent 100's of hours riding around Lake Geneva, WI. What a blast it was! So many fun bikes back then, Ossa twins, X-6 Hustler, BSA 450 "Thumper" single, the Kawasaki Mach III 2-cycle 60 HP was so fast but terrible handling in the curves. Now at age 74 I ride a Star cruiser 1100 and go SLOW. Hahaha 😊😂😅

[michelguevara]

weslake created a four valve head well before this, as a direct fitment triumph aftermarket part, he only sold these after going to all the british manufacturers and offering his innovation.
they all turned him down with excuses, "it's too complex for the home mechanic", "it would be too expensive to build", et c.
weslake made them in his garden shed.
years later he went to old man suzuki, explained the idea, and was just about to pull one of his heads out to show suzuki, when he said, "I like it, how much do you want?".
the GSX was the result.
british management was allways the hamstringing influence on brit iron, and why the industry disappeared.

[DonWhitehead-wj]

Loved this video. My first bike was a 1970 used 450. I rode that bike for over 250k miles. Rain, snow, to school, work etc. It was one of the best bikes ever made imho. The later 70 with front disc brakes and 5 speed much better. With open pipes and rejetted carbs could hold its own with sportsters and 750s until 70 mph until their torque ran out. Beat all the British bikes esp since I weighed in at 160lbs back then lol.
Went to a 750 but always missed that 450. Wife and I had our first date on that bike and the first time she rode on it. We went 500 miles all thru Poconos. She was stiff and missed 2 days of work that I learned years later. I knew she did not like it but never complained. That's why I married her, because of that ride on the 450. 48 years later, no regrets.
True story. Thanks for sharing and bringing back those great memories on my 450.

[kenyonbrooks]

Kept hoping to see some 1970 CB450s in the video. They looked way better than the black bomber and I bought one brand new in the spring of 1970 for $1, 105 right out of the crate. I had the red paint with gold striping. Outstanding motorcycle!

[VirgilBurnham]

I purchased a new cb 450 in 1966, never rode it on the streets. I was a dirt rider. I got rid of the gas tank, put higher mud fenders on it . Home made on the front. Put high scrambler pips on it, long travel front forks and rear shocks. Dirt handle bars, lowered the gearing front and rear. Changed the seat to a lighter fiberglass one. Got rid of the electric starter, and battery. Rewired it to run off the stater. Re jetted the carburetors along with an aftermarket carb kit. Added alloy wheels, knobby tires front and rear. No lights horn turn signals or licence plate holder. It still weighed in ar 287 lbs wet, but was significantly less than stock . I rode that black bomb until 1973 when I bought my first two stroke. I out ran all the big British twins. They would stay with me until it hit 5, 000 rpm then it was gone all the way up to 12, 000rpm if needed. I also extended the swing arm 3” in order to keep the front end on the ground better. Wish I had it back! I was in my 20’s back then, I’m 78 now and it seems like yesterday.

[williamwintemberg]

Back when I rode a CB750, my best friend rode a CB450. I quickly learned the 450 was no joke. We would frequently mess with each other, so I quickly learned to stay in the correct gear and RPM or he would shame the 750. Looking back, the 750 was better suited to the interstate highways but the 450 was superior everywhere else. Once again, another top shelf video!

[Phil_Scott]

I had 450 scrambler, , , with a real good looking candy red tank...no chrome side panel. I got a ticket for doing 90 mph one time, went to court...and ask how fast I was going and I told him that I was laying flat on the tank and could see the speed o meter and told him I was trying to get to go 100 mph but it only got to 98.

He told me... go sit over over there to the side.... when all the cases were heard he called me before the bench again and said.... you are the only person who never lied to me...I am dismissing your case... etc.

that was 1968... I was the first person to ride across the Oroville Calif dam at 100mph I had to squeeze around the end of barriers to do it.

a few years later and for the following 10 or 15 years I rode a triumph 500 twin, I fit 12 to 1 pistons many stories about that.

I did one road race at Ontario Motor Speedway on a 1, 000 cc kawasaki it would do 145 down the front straight there... too fast for my blood.

My favorite bike or all time was a 125cc Bultaco....you could lay that flat in a turn and almost drag the fuel tank on a cushiioned short track...my next favorite was a 500cc yamaha single... you could drag your the cuffs of your leathers on a back road going
around a turn....

at age 80 my favorite bike was an ebike on the street... it weighed less than 100 pounds and was a complete joy to ride....I am 83 now and have hung it up. the memories have been life changing.

You do not have to win all the time, just pushing your absolutely haul arse bike to the start line will do it for a person.... if I am not mistaken I think it stays with you into the hereafter.


Phil scott

[audryhaynes]

I was a motorcycle mechanic in the late 60s and early 70s at a Honda/Kawasaki/BSA dealership which serviced all the current Japanese and British brands. Though they were largely ignored by the motorcycle buying public, we still sold a fair number of Honda 450s. Even after the introduction of the Kawasaki triple (the infamous "Widomaker"), the Honda 4 cylinder 750, and the British triples, the 450 remained a solid favorite of the mechanics. This was a really exciting time to be a motorcycle mechanic, especially in a big shop that serviced almost everything (I even worked on BMWs and one Moto Guzzi). I had previously worked at a Harley dealership and so was intimately familiar with virtually every make and model of motorcycle from the 60s/70s era. I never owned a 450, but one of my best friends rode one, and I wrenched on many. Despite never owning one, the Honda 450 was (still is) one of my favorite bikes. Boy I miss those days. God that seems like a long time ago! I was young and full of piss and vinegar. I'm now 77, but I still vividly remember the smells and sounds of that shop.

[brucefriesen]

An anecdote, if I may. In 1971, my friend and I set out around the world on our motorcycles. My friend was riding a true Black Bomber. Mine was a CB450 K6. In a Madrid campground, we met a guy riding a Bonneville. We decided to make a day trip to Avila, the three of us. Half way there, stopping for a stretch break, the Bonneville rider said "I didn't know those things were so fast". John and I looked at each other with quizzical looks, both thinking but not saying out loud "I didn't know we were even trying ... " Honestly, following the Bonneville, I had thought we were choosing a pretty low key ride.

[charlesharper]

I was a mechanic for Honda for many years. The CB450 was a great motorcycle. Ran great, handles decent, and damn near trouble free.
Little screamers. Fun bikes to ride.

[decoration]

I rode a CB 450 from LA to Raliegh NC in 1973 crusing at 5-6, 000 RPM most of the way. No problems. Passed other makes at the side of the road more than once!

[lynncurtner]

I bought one of these in Germany in '68 when I was stationed there in the Air Force. I had previously owned a Triumph TR6 Trophy and a BMW R69US. The CB really blew me away. I bought another one when I returned stateside. So did my brother, and another friend of mine. I've had quite a few bikes since then but the CB was/is my favorite.

[colinmcnally]

I had a CB450 Black Bomber when I was 16. Im now 68. It was probably the best bike I ever had. It was awesome. Powerful fast, comfortable, great handling and very well made.

[Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

Well I am your man. The first Honda I owned was a new CB450 purchased in February 1969, the second was a 1970 CB750 I bought as soon as it finally became available in Oklahoma in July 1970. The 450 was a good-looking, high-revving failure at being an exciting motorcycle, while the new CB750 was a revelation, a motorcycle that launched a new era in motorcycling and showed the world what was possible. It would be hard for me to overstate how miserable the 450 was, or how great was the original CB750. Everything that disappointed me in the 450 was made to be magnificent in the 750.

The 5--speed CB450 was beautifully proportioned and well finished, but disappointing to ride. Quick off the mark, it ran out of steam at highway speed and handled miserably. Engine vibration was awful and ever present. I never tried for the ton because in the Oklahoma winds I could not count on keeping it in my lane at 90 mph. Cross winds blew it around like a leaf, and If I let go of the bars when turning off a highway exit it began to wobble almost immediately. Although the CV carbs worked fine, gas mileage was terrible for such a small engine. Brakes were only fair. The speedometer failed while in warranty, the camshafts galled and began to go flat, a common problem, and I had to pull them out and send them to California to be welded up and reground at my expense. I also pulled off the barrels and honed the cylinders to get the rings to finally break in and stop using oil. I put about 12k miles on the 450 before the 750s began to reach Oklahoma. When I found a gold 750 at a dealer I bought it on the spot, $1450 out the door.


The bike was so beautiful that people stopped and stared as I rode it home. Nothing before had ever looked or run or sounded like the CB750. Actually, the early 750s such as mine sounded exactly like a Jaguar XK120, a sound which the later CBs sadly lost in the model revision of fall, 1971. The seat was amazingly comfortable, the engine smooth as silk and strong as an ox, it went down roads straight or curving with no discernible input from me, it was imperturbable in windy conditions, and from first tank fill to the last it always got 56 miles to the gallon no matter how I rode it. The front disc brake squealed a bit but I did not mind, as nobody else had a disc brake on a motorcycle. The. soft, green glow from the instruments and the wonderful exhaust sound made night riding so special that I left Oklahoma City one evening and did not stop until I reached Pikes Peak before noon the next day. The slide carburetors did not work well above ten thousand feet, but I got to the top of the mountain despite the surging. They resumed normal operation when I got back down to a reasonable elevation. It was an amazing motorcycle.

[stephendecker]

I believe my 1968 CL450 K1 is one of the best looking bikes on the road! 55+ y/o pipes have a bit more snarl than when new, and the performance is certainly respectable. The bike really does grab more attention than anything else I’ve owned. Most importantly, it’s still a Honda, 2 kicks and she’s running, and just keeps on rolling. Thanks for another great video!

[gieb]

In 2013 I sold my orange 1974 cb450 and everyday since then, I Want It Back! I'm 74yo

[James-bpvc]

My father and I bought an almost new wrecked Honda CB 450 “black bomber”, we replaced the bent fork and other items that were damaged and had a basically new bike. There were some things like you mentioned that were a bit of a disappointment. My father took it out for a ride one summer day and was gone for quite a while, I was getting a little worried but finally he returned but something looked different as he came up the driveway, he had traded it in for a brand new 2nd generation all black CB 450. What a difference this bike made, better looking, handling, shifting (5 speed) we kept that one for a while but he pulled the same stunt again and came home with a brand new 1969 CB750 this time I could hear the difference, unmistakable sound of the inline 4 what a great bike. Nice video👍🏻