The Forgotten Four

40 years on from its debut, our old mukka Jon Bentman —returned to CMM — argues that the Honda CB900FZ deserves full icon status...

- Jon Bentman

Happy 40th anniversary Honda CB900F! Yep, this time 40 years ago, the CB900F was the new king. Not that then, as now, everyone was ready to admit that, but most definitely when the CB900F arrived in 1979 it raised the bar for superbike performance, significantly if not massively.

Whether there’s anything new to add to the story of the CB900F… well, there probably isn’t. But how we tell the story, how we place the participants, how we interpret the facts, the details – there, arguably, we have an opportunity to look at the story again. And we should, for it seems this amazing bike hasn’t entirely been accorded the respect it deserves, and it was a game changer.

So how did the CB900F change the superbike world in 1979? In two ways: Firstly, it was the first 16-valve four-cylinder production bike (although not the first four-valve per cylinder Honda, as the CBX1000 was that, all 20 valves of it, in 1978) – opening the door to a whole new level of engine performance. And secondly, it brought a new level of chassis integrity and handling. Nine kilos lighter than the nearest opposition (Suzuki GS1000) it took the GS’s revered stability and added superior agility.

Now it’s sometimes reported that the CB900F evolved from the works RCB endurance racers that dominated the Coupe d’Endurance series in the 1970s (probably on account that Honda claimed exactly that in their advertising). But that’s not exactly true, for the RCBs really were hand-built works racers that featured perimeter-type frames that wrapped around the engine, while the engines – in a constant state of development – featured gear-driven primary drive and gear-and-chain driven cams, and alternators positioned behind the engine block (as with the CBX1000).