Honda C72/77 series

The C72/77 marked a sea change for Honda; the new for 1960 machines ran a wet sump engine as opposed to the outgoing C70/71 bikes that had run the more European-like dry sump with an external oil tank. Also key to the bikes’ success was the relocation of the clutch which was now sited on the gearbox main shaft as opposed to the end of the crankshaft. With the move to dry sump the crank cases were extended as an aid to both enhanced lubrication and cooling. These changes would effectively amount to the basic blueprint for Honda twins henceforth. The bike’s styling tended to polarise option yet period road testers referred to it as ‘ultra-modern’. Set against virtually every contemporary bike, and certainly almost every single 250 of the period, the bike simply shouted sophistication at previously unheard of levels. Despite only running 6V electrics everything, including the starter, worked reliably and even in the worst British winters. Even though the handling was on the bouncy side of comfortable there was no denying the bike was a class act. With a top speed in excess of 70mph (82mph for the C72), an unburstable engine with the ability to retain all of its oil and decent quality finish the C72 paved the way for the next Honda onslaught. If the major European manufacturers felt ill at ease about these upstarts then the soon-to-be-launched CB72/77 would knock them completely off their complacent feet!