1969 Honda CB750 sells for $148,100.00

Reader Contribution by Richard Backus
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Sold for $148,100, one of four pre-production 1969 Honda CB750s.

Somebody just paid $148,100 for a 1969 Honda CB750. Honda CB750 fanatics know that the first 7,414 1969 CB750s featured sand-cast cases. The Holy Grail of Hondas, the sand-cast CB750s have for years commanded a premium over the later die-cast CB750s. But $148,100? The incredible price starts coming into focus when you learn that Honda built four pre-production CB750s in 1968, shipping them over to the U.S. to show to dealers and help promote the new model. The CB750 that just sold on eBay was one of those four bikes.

The bike was sold by Vic World, known by some as “Mr. CB750” and the acknowledged expert on sand-cast and early production Hondas. Early auction watchers questioned the bike’s provenance, but as they learned of Vic’s intense knowledge and involvement in the brand from auction watchers like former Motorcyclist editor-in-chief Mitch Boehm, those concerns vanished as vintage motorcycle collectors watched in amazement as the bike went from its opening bid of $1,969 (nice touch) to finally sell at a staggering $148,100 seven days and 102 bids later. At that price it’s entirely possible there’s institutional money behind the purchase, either from Honda itself or an organization like the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. That said, sand-cast CB750 prices have been on the rise, and Vic World claims he sold an early (below frame no. 20) sand-cast to a private collector for $75,000 a few years ago.

Whatever the case, there doesn’t appear to be much question but that the bike in question is one of the four pre-production CB750s shipped to the U.S. in 1968. Of the four, one (Candy Red) went to the crusher in Iowa years ago, another (Candy Gold) went to Europe where it was disassembled and sits, and a third (Candy Green) disappeared, leaving this (Candy Blue/Green) as the only known complete and running survivor. Significant differences from production models abound and include things such as:

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