Now, while the CA and the CB might be separated by only a couple of years, it feels like a generation gap. You sit perfectly on the CB, and where the CA feels like a step-thru with a tank, the CB comes across as a scaled down version of its big bro, the CB750. Quite clearly, the approach here was to make a smaller big bike, and in America, it really was the lowest common denominator for a motorcycle.
The 350, was actually a 325cc 36 bhp motor that was enough to entertain or even put in a 15-second quarter mile. Not mind-blowing, but substantial enough. But with power coming in at 10,500 rpm you need to really give it some stick, and with internal balancers about a decade away, it’s amazing how Honda managed to keep the vibes down. In fact, if there was something that had always plagued the Black Bomber series, it was these vibes. So having burnt their fingers already, Honda was not going to mess this one up. Careful balancing of the crank and rubber mounts between the cylinder head and the frame took care of that problem.
Honda claimed a 7.8 second interval to the 100 kph barrier, but as Rider puts it, the intent of the CB was to get the America of long hair and the Mustang, out of the car and on a motorcycle. Needless to say, the DNA remained unchanged, something that comes to the fore once you ride the CB.
While the 350 does feel a bit heavy for its size, once on the move, you hardly ever realise the weight. The four-stroke twin feels perfect to potter around town and although the power comes in pretty late, it’s not nervous while cruising along at 4000 rpm. Give it some stick though, and you will see yourself on the fun side of 100 kph pretty quickly. When the CB came out, road testers criticised the bike on the cornering clearance front, then again it wasn’t built to endear itself to this quality of riders.
To be honest, neither of these bikes were path-breaking, and in Honda’s illustrious motorcycle history, they would just about deserve a footnote. The CA77 may have had all the charm of a Splendor in the sixties, but it was responsible for getting people to motorcycles. On the other hand, the 350 proved to be so popular that Honda sold more of these bikes than Triumph did in their entire history. Basically, the 350 took off where the CA left. But more than anything else, these bikes are a testimony to Soichiro Honda’s unparalleled achievement of bringing motorcycles to the masses. They shattered the myth that motorcycles were only for tough guys and rebels. And even though they may seem boring and faceless today, they had reached out and made Honda and motorcycling in general, appealing to everyone.
On the road that has culminated in the motorcycles of today, the CA is a milestone, whereas the 350 is a signboard. Oh, and on the breakfast table, I skipped the maintenance bit.
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