1963 Honda CB77 Superhawk, restored and ready to race, fast & exquisite

Nicely restored, nd meticulously maintained
1963 Honda CB77 Superhawk
Engine #: CB77E 212347
Frame #: CB77 22276
Soichiro Honda will go down in history as the man who truly changed the face of motorcycling forever. Honda founded his enterprise in 1947, sing war-surplus Tohatsu generator motors clipped to bicycles. After his supply of engines dried up, e designed his own 50cc two-stroke clip-on motor, he first Honda Cub. Sales boomed, ut Honda wanted more, nd in 1954 he made the unheard-of plan of visiting Europe and learning as much as he could, irectly from the best motorcycle factories in the world. He met with Triumph’s Edward Turner, ho was impressed by Honda, ut could not see beyond his own legendary ego that the man before him would, ithin 15 years, ome to ruin his home industry!
Honda visited the Isle of Man to see the TT races, nd spoke with helpful emissaries at the NSU, orex, nd DAF factories. Realizing that fine production tolerances could only be achieved using European and American tooling, onda was granted enormous government grants and bank loans to create two state-of-the-art factories, t Hamamatsu and Saitama. He had deeply studied the world’s best lightweight racing motorcycles – the all-conquering NSU Rennfox and Rennmax, nd taken them as his template for a new series of production motorcycles. The result was the C70 Dream model of 1956, hose engine profile would be instantly familiar to any motorcyclist awake in the 1960s; it had a single overhead-cam parallel twin-cylinder motor with all-aluminum construction, ine pitch finning, nd a slight forward cant to the cylinders. The frame was light and strong, ade from welded steel pressings. Honda had taken the Rennmax and brought it to the street; no other manufacturer in 1956 could boast of such a sophisticated and affordable package, nd within a year it boasted an electric starter as well.
In 1959 the next iteration of the Dream line arrived, his time a super-sports machine, he CB72 Hawk. Gone was the gawky Teutonic styling of the Dream, eplaced by clean lines which promised great speed – and the bike didn’t disappoint. With a 10,000rpm rev limit and top speed around 90mph, he Hawk was an instant hit. In 1961 an added 45cc was found, nd a true Middleweight arrived, he 305cc CB77 Superhawk. With 28.5hp and 95mph top speed, lus utter reliability and sound handling, onda had arrived, nd the world took notice.
The factory offered a comprehensive list of racing items to bring the Superhawk onto the track, ncluding a bump-stop seat, pecial carb bellmouths, pecial rearsets, egaphone exhaust, tc. This 1966 CB77 has the ‘race kit’ installed, nd was fully restored several years ago, ith minimal mileage since. As the ‘race kit’ is now unavailable from Honda, his machine represents a rare opportunity to own a historic machine with the every one of the desirable ‘goodies’ from the 1963 Honda Racing catalogue, ncluding the megaphone exhaust, olo seat, luminium rear fender and number plates, lip-on handlebars, nd high compression pistons and high lift cam
The bike is offered in excellent condition throughout, oth mechanically and cosmetically. The engine is strong and taut and has great power. It shifts perfectly through an excellent clutch. Brakes, uspension and all cycle parts are in excellent working order including the GT750 front brake.
The blue frame is just about perfect and the finish on the rest of the bike is as exquisite. The bike was restored some years ago, ut it has held up well – testament to the meticulous care taken in maintenance and storage since.
With recent race history, ome minimal re-commissioning will be needed and the bike will be ready to race. Offered on a Bill of Sale.

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