Steve McQueen

[Greybeard]

Overhead camshaft judging by the tacho cable coming away from the cylinder head.

[KiwiGF]

Overhead camshaft judging by the tacho cable coming away from the cylinder head.

My guess Honda CB72 or CB77, 250cc ish so not exactly a rocket ship. My brother had a CB72 in the seventies.

[orabanda]

Mr Cool!

[Colsbeeza]

I still have my 248cc CB72 although engine has been out for 20 years. Probably one of my favourite bikes and one that I will use when the BSA gets too difficult to handle or unless I get taller.
Definitely an OHC, 180 Deg crank with a delightful off-beat note. I am sure Steve McQueens is the 305cc CB77, as USA got mainly CB77s and Australia got mainly CB72's, all due to the different Registration Charges.

[Swarfcut]

 Honda certainly rocked the boat big time back then. With simple stuff like bright tail lights,  big and powerful brakes that worked and a smoothness mechanically that us Brits found unreal. My rich pal Steve had a CB72, and nothing could catch or keep up with it when ridden hard.

 However, in general the fine chrome plating soon tarnished, steel work rusted and a trip to the dealers took your breath (and money) away...No change there, then. They were a bit complicated for the average Joe, but found a following that endures to this day. Not many early examples survive.

 Swarfy.

[Rex]

I ran a Honda Black Bomber concurrently with a Triumph T100S.
Rose-tints of the time enthuse about how wonderful the Bomber was, but give me the Trumpet every time. At least it felt alive.
{Still is alive, apparently, while the super-whizz Honda has long gone to landfill.}

[Topdad]

I got my dream job due partially to a Black bomber  ,Alan Broderick ,my manager when I was a parttime bike salesman had one of the earliest imports as His ride to work .Liverpool city centre to Preston each day . For people who know switch island at the end of the M57 He was the guy who simply flew round the Island every night about 5-45pm . Any this particular night he was on the black bomber and ajust before Ormskirk on the A59 going up an hill He hit a trailer which was jutting out from the side of the road with any lights on it ,result was Brod in a tree damaged but very much alive and one destroyed Black bomber ,.I was asked in to Horsmans and they offered me a full time job until Brod returned to work. Then theyed teach me to drive and I'd move TO CARSALES . Ultimately being the best job ever.They kept there word I got a carlicence at 2 weeks pastmy 17th birthday,and then could use a car each night and if good weather Brod would allow me to borrow a decent bike. Happy days  all due vto a black bomber

[tinu]

If it's not true it's a nice story...
https://www.blacksmithgarage.com/1965-honda-superhawk-steve-mcqueen

[Black Sheep]

I got my last job due to riding a BSA. At the interview I was asked how I got there. On my motorcycle says I. What kind of motorcycle? A BSA I replied. I used to have a BSA said the interviewer and proceeded to reminisce about his C15 for the rest of the interview. Then gave me the job.

[Rex]

Was the job at a Honda dealership?

[Greybeard]

When Japanese motorbikes started to be seen in the UK we all got used to saying they were cheap copies of our 'real' motorcycles.
In about 1973 I got a job in a Honda, (and Puch) workshop. I would ride my A10 to work, leave it dripping oil onto the forecourt and start servicing one of the Honda's. It didn't take very long to recognise how effing brilliant the Honda's were.

The motorbike in the picture up there looks fantastic: Great brakes, no oil leaks, electric start, totally bomb proof engine and it owes nothing to a Brit bike.

[Topdad]

I agree GB ,although I still loved my A10  ,working in the busiest and ( from my point of view ,best dealer Victor Horsman  ) in Liverpool I had my eyes opened very early .We were BSA/tri main dealers ,plus AMC ,well until 66, Velo  and Yam. Would have been Honda but Bill Smith got there first .
Triumps still were sought after but BSA was going downhill and at the time "the power egg " just wasn't floating many boats ,plus reliability problems and quality.
Not so the yams from the cheap and cheerful 50 ( boy could they go and sieze ) the 125]s and the 250's all flew out the door .We even saw mechanics take em out of there crate,check levels a bit of petroil and away they;d go .
I also agree re the comments made about the Hondas cb72 brakes were a world away from what we were used to, infact on my first ride on one in the rain stopping at a set of lights I braked hard and locked the front wheel fortuately a good kick kept the bike up. So only moan would be the tires early ones should have been stamped "made by Kamikaze"  Still loved 'em .
Anyone remember a page in one of the bike mags ( poss classic bike ) called "the way we were " that was penned by my Boss in this dealership .he was a great friend and character  named Alan Broderick ,a really good guy saddly missed.

[Triton Thrasher]

However, in general the fine chrome plating soon tarnished, steel work rusted

The Meriden Co-op did manage to match that standard of finish.

[KiwiGF]

However, in general the fine chrome plating soon tarnished, steel work rusted

The Meriden Co-op did manage to match that standard of finish.

Yep, I am still not completely over my just over a year old 750 T140v Bonneville blowing a head gasket on the M1 near Watford nearly 50 years ago.

The root cause was they had used studding and nuts (all thread for the yanks) instead of proper head bolts. I guess it was a “use whatever fits” when parts ran short at Meridan, the studding wasn’t even the right thread spec and was just cross threaded into the barrel 🤬

The head gasket blew just after the gearbox self destructed, and fixed at considerable cost for an impoverished student, as Meridan “forgot” to install the mainshaft lock washer and two gears engaged at once 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

I sold the Bonnie and bought a honda 500-4.

[Greybeard]

I sold the Bonnie and bought a honda 500-4.

When I got fed up of spannering for a living I started looking for alternative work. In 1977 I got a 6 month job as a dispatch rider;  a Honda 500 Four was provided. That bike already had a huge mileage but it was lovely. I was riding 1000 miles a week. The only real problem with that bike was when riding in rain and overtaking a lorry, spray from the other vehicles would stop one or more spark plugs from working; I'd pull out to pass, get half way along the vehicle and the engine would start to badly misfire causing me to get undertaken by the lorry!