The Honda Superhawk was the first Japanese Sportbike

Comments · 875

• AU

  @Aubury · 3 years ago

  The UK motorcycle industry never knew what hit them. RIP

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• TU

  @Turbodog1000 · 4 years ago

  I just rode my 1964 Super Hawk CB77 yesterday, It starts right up and puts a smile on my face every time!

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• DR

  @drex23100 · 4 years ago

  My first bike was a 305 Superhawk. It would just hit 100 MPH. I rode with a guy who had a big Harley sportster. The Hawk kept up with it and was exponentially more reliable.

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• DA

  @davidwillis4100 · 3 years ago

  I owned two Superhawks, one in 1965 and another in 1968.  Great bikes that bring back memories.

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• OM

  @omgdwayne1565 · 4 years ago

  In 1971 when I was 16-years-old, for some reason my Dad came home pulling a trailer with a 305 Superhawk and a 160 Baby Hawk; both from 1966. He bought them both from a friend who had bought them new. They were both red. My brother was 13, and he quickly began using the 160 as his personal transportation. It was perfect for him. I liked it too. The police, however, had an unreasonbly hostile response to my brother&apos;s early transportation independence. <br>I have to say I loved these bikes. I was a little too heavy for the 160, but it was still an awesome little bike. The 305 was fantastic. As you pointed out, both bikes looked super good. The proportions were spot on. Loved the chrome tank sides. <br>Dad sold the 305 in the late-80s. Don&apos;t remember why. I ended up owning the 160 and also had a Suzuki T500 Titan and a 68 Triumph Bonneville 650. Loved all these bikes. I sold them when I moved across country in the 90s, thinking I would buy a new bike there. <br>I still remember those old Hondas though. I&apos;m too old to ride now, but I still think about finding a nice 305 to put in our sun room just to look at. My wife is unreasonably hostile to this brilliant idea.

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• JO

  @johnstone7697 · 4 years ago

  I had a black Superhawk. &apos;66 model year. Just loved the thing.

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• MI

  @michaelcoggins4351 · 4 years ago

  My first street bike was a 64 CB-77 305 Super hawk. Started my 57 year motorcycle journey

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• KI

  @kimhorton6109 · 3 years ago

  I was in the Marines in ‘71 at Iwakuni when the 750 Honda came out. &nbsp;One day we were swimming in a river and we could hear this F1 sounding engine coming up the valley. &nbsp;I had never heard a four cylinder bike before. &nbsp;My big bike had been a Norton Atlas on Guam. &nbsp;<br>We moved around to points where we could see the road and this thing rolls around a corner above us on the road. &nbsp;The rider was a guy who looked to be about 5’6”, mostly red Hawaiian shirt, no helmet, wrap around sun glasses and sandals. &nbsp; He was ripping down this valley leaning the bike way over and the engine was singing. &nbsp;Killer.

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• MO

  @montemasterson9588 · 4 years ago (edited)

  In 1961 my uncle landed the first Honda dealership in Kentucky (Louisville). He made a small fortune with the Japanese brand within 9 years. The Hawk and Superhawk 305&apos;s are definitely the bikes that put Honda on the map, and put the British companies on the road to failure. My uncle had no trouble selling the Superhawks, it was keeping them in stock that was the problem. He was the premier motorcycle racer of his region in the 50&apos;s. He ran BSA&apos;s back then, but he immediately saw how Honda had made advances light years ahead of the western motorcycle manufacturers.<br>Thanks for the video bart, you are doing great man.

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• SE

  @seethingsclearlyawaken3424 · 1 year ago

  My first street-bike was a 1971 CB350. &nbsp;I remember I rode that bike halfway across the country. &nbsp;It never broke down, not even a flat tire. &nbsp;Great middle weight bike for its time. It was 305cc, just like the Super Hawk. &nbsp;I remember, my much older neighbor down the road from me, he was in his 30s, owned a Hardly Davisin. &nbsp;He would always say something negative about my CB350, until one day he ended up next to me at our &quot;one-traffic-light&quot; going out of town. &nbsp;He revved that V-Twin Hardly Davisin as if it would intimidate me&quot;. &nbsp;I yelled, &quot;When the light turns green, let&apos;s go!&quot; &nbsp;I slid way up close to the fuel tank, holding my tach at 6,000 rpm. &nbsp;I was focused! &nbsp;When that light turned green, I wacked the throttle wide open and just dumped the clutch. I spun the rear tire about 10 feet, up on a small wheelie. &nbsp;I stayed wide open until about 100 mph, but stayed ahead of that piece of junk my neighbor rode. &nbsp;I smoked him quite badly. &nbsp;I remember hearing that Hardly Davisin over-revving just as the light turned green. &nbsp;The clutch on that Hardly Davisin must have slipped a lot, because it sounded as if the bike was spinning, but it was no-where near me. &nbsp;I made sure that I rubbed it in the next time I saw my neighbor. &nbsp;He said something to the effect of, &quot;Next time, we will race from a roll.&quot; &nbsp;I just laughed and told him, &quot;Come on. &nbsp;Let&apos;s go.&quot;

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• PH

  @philtucker1224 · 4 years ago

  This interesting story was very nicely told. I was an apprentice back in the early seventies working on bike development including the new Honda fours. The general quality of the aluminium castings and machining tolerances were a world above the British bikes of the day. Thank you for sharing🙏

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• T3

  @T30-z5w · 3 years ago

  I bought a new CB400 (Hawk) in 1978 for $1,300. &nbsp;That was quite a lot back then, especially for a college kid. Those were the days of 19% interest on vehicle loans so I paid it off in a little more than one year. &nbsp;It was a very nice bike that I ended up having to rely upon for transportation after my car died. Rain, snow or sun that thing served me quite well for a few years. It’s a shame Honda doesn’t make small displacement multi cylinder bikes anymore for the US market.

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