Motorcycle Investor mag
Subscribe to our free email news
Honda CB750-Four
prototype for auction
We believe this
example was ridden in Nevada by Soichiro Honda
January 19, 2026, by
Guy 'Guido' Allen
Pics: cb750prototype.com
& Mecum
What is thought to be the sole surviving Honda
CB750-Four prototype will be auctioned by Mecum in the
USA on January 31.
Update Feb 1 – the CB sold for
Au$450,400 (US$313,500, GB£229,000, €264,500)
The owner is Vic World, the long-term USA-based owner
of World Motorcycles
– a business which has for decades specialised in building
first-generation CB750-Four K0 sand-cast machines.
He has set up a
website dedicated to this late prototype, which
explains some of its background. There he clears up some
confusion between this prototype and the four
pre-production bikes sent to the USA for shows and
demonstrations. Of the latter, two are known to survive,
one was destroyed and the fate of the fourth is a mystery.
Those two survivors have changed hands over time, with
the most recent auction results being:
Au$221,000 (US$148,000, GB£111,000, €127,000) for the
blue-green unit in 2014;
and Au$325,000 (US$217,000, GB£162,000, €187,000) for the
gold example in 2018.
There are numerous differences between the prototype and
the pre-production models including:
The seat hinges at the rear;
Unique sidecover, badge and very different carburettors;
And the valve cover has 'Honda' cast into it rather than
'OHC750'.
The CB was the late development test mule used in the
USA. Here it's pictured in Nevada in October 1968.
Adding to its lustre is the indication that it was ridden
by company founder Soichiro Honda. From our CB750-Four
profile: there’s a cute story
published by Motorcyclist magazine,
when it judged the big CeeBee to be the bike of
the 20th century: “Mr Honda was famously short with
praise, yet even he couldn’t conceal his excitement after
riding the CB750 for the first time.
"One former Honda R&D employee remembered the scene:
It was during final testing in the US, Mr Honda happened
to be there. He said ‘let me ride that thing’ and just
jumped on and blasted off across the desert. He was gone
for nearly a half-hour. Everyone was quiet, and very
nervous.
"When he came back, he just said, ‘What a terrific,
terrific machine!’ then walked away, laughing. That was
the first time anyone there ever heard any words of praise
from him!”
The machine appeared in only one magazine story, for Cycle Guide in 1969 and it was used for early Honda promotional material.
Mike Hanlon over
at New Atlas suggests the CB750 may break
the US$1 million barrier, adding: "Mecum’s January Las
Vegas Motorcycle Auction is now so important that it sets
the agenda for global collectible motorcycle prices for
the remainder of the year. The very best collectible
motorcycles now routinely travel across oceans every year
to present at Mecum’s annual Mecca-auction and last
year saw someone pay $1.32 million for a Cyclone
V-twin, the one and only time that a motorcycle has sold
for more than US$1 million at public auction."
We can recommend
his story, which carries some useful analysis.
Earlier prototypes (there were at least a couple) ran a
drum front brake and their where-abouts is a mystery – if
they still exist. Honda's switch to a disc front brake
became a major selling point for the production version.
Where will the auction bidding end up? We have what is
thought to be the only surviving prototype of what is
arguably the most influential leisure road bike built
since World War II. You'd think Honda might be a bidder.
Watch this space...
Several early
CB750-Fours are being offered by Mecum
-------------------------------------------------
Produced by AllMoto abn 61 400 694 722
Privacy: we do not collect cookies or any other data.
Top banner pic by the talented Stuart Grant!
Archives
Contact