Back in 1969, Honda unleashed the CB750, and the motorcycle world would never be the same. This wasn’t just another bike – it was a revolution on two wheels. Before the CB750 rolled in, motorcycles were seen as finicky, underpowered machines, mostly for die-hard enthusiasts. Honda shattered that image and made motorcycles cool, powerful, and accessible to everyone.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a war that was brewing right here on our shores. It wasn't geopolitical, no. It was a war for horsepower and the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers of the day were duking it out for ultimate power supremacy.
It was the end of a decade and the end of an era for the biking world. It was time to say goodbye to the air-cooled, two-stroke engine due to restrictions and regulations being placed on all types of vehicles so they could be compliant with the new environmental restrictions coming down the pike. Yamaha blew out the conclusion of the 70s with a huge bang when they released the RD400F Daytona Special.
Today, when motorcycle enthusiasts think back to what bikes make the cut for being on the list of the best of the best, for Yamaha, the consensus gives that honor to the Daytona Special. Living up to its name, it still holds a special place in the history of motorcycles and in the hearts of riders around the world.
Honda and Yamaha often go head-to-head with motorcycle and even car designs, so it should come as no surprise that Honda designed the CBX line to outdo recent releases by Yamaha and other Japanese competitors.
In the 1970s, Honda had a relatively unexciting release of new motorcycles, leaving Yamaha to assume that Honda’s focus was now on cars and that there was room for a new king in the Japanese motorcycle world. The CBX line is how Honda answered Yamaha’s challenge.
To say that the Honda Hurricane CBR600F took the world by storm in 1987 would almost be an understatement. The Hurricane revolutionized the sports bike world forever, and it was not apologetic for the disturbance it caused.
The Hurricane performed like nothing before, setting new standards across the board. Winning all of the major AMA races it entered in its inaugural year, the CBR600F made the rest of the sports bike community stand up, take notice, and do their best not to be blown away.
