Honda CB750 Sandcast

WE CAUGHT UP WITH QUEENSLAND MEMBER CLAYTON DUNN TO FIND OUT A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HIS METICULOUSLY RESTORED SANDCAST CB750.

The original and ground-breaking Honda CB750, released in 1969, are referred to as Sandcast, because in the first year or production sandcasting was still being used to cast the crankcases. Honda quickly realised that the demand for their revolutionary new “big” motorcycle was so strong that sand-casting wouldn’t be viable, so die-casting became the method used for future models. Due to the huge historic significance of the CB750, these rare early sandcast models are now highly sought after and typically fetch a price premium over their metal-cast counterparts. This model in any condition is difficult to get your hands on, and Clayton received a big stroke of luck, combined with a lot of hard work, to get the bike where it is today.

The lucky part came when Clayton realised the frame and matching engine were both up for sale. “I knew the motor was for sale as it had been on a Facebook group for a while, but it’s not much use to anyone without the frame,” Clayton said. “I saw in a FB group that some guys that build old school choppers had found some real early Honda CB750 bikes, so I sent them a message and they had the bike that matched the motor for sale. “The rolling chassis was located in Virginia,

and the matching motor 300 miles away in a neighboring town in Kentucky. “I discreetly bought both off each owner the same day. Just 300 miles apart but on the other side of the world to me (and time zone). It took a great deal of logistics to bring it all together but was worth all the effort.” After shipping the bike back home in late 2017 Clayton got straight into rebuilding it, with the goal to have it ready for the 50th anniversary of the CB750 in Broadford in April 2019.

“These early models have so many different parts as they went into mass production they changed/ upgraded many parts. It took a lot of study and help from others to note the parts required and a huge challenge and costly process to find them.”

“A well known father and son (restorers) in the CB750 world from western Sydney went to work on the motor, while I tracked down some rare missing parts to get the bike period correct,” Clayton said. “We meticulously rebuilt the bike to a very high standard just in time to get it to Broadford, and it got its first test ride around the Broadford race track during the CB750 parade at the 50th anniversary.”

This bike wears the distinctive blue/green candy. Since the restoration it’s had just 125 miles or so put on it, and it’s presented now in an amazing original overall condition. Clayton says the bike is, not surprisingly, a lot of fun to ride. “It rides fantastic for an old girl, the engine is smooth but powerful. They say the early cams are better than the later ones.” “The early carbs are much harder to tune as they are 4 cables (1 to each carb). It takes some time to get them right, but when they finally synced up the bike was singing ... it’s a great old school riding experience.