HONDA CB450 Super Sport (1971-1972) Specs, Performance & Photos

The Honda CB450 was a standard motorcycle part of the CB series in Honda's range, manufactured from 1965 to 1974 as the first big motorcycle produced by Honda and powered by a 444cc DOHC straight-twin engine.

Over the years, the bike received several changes, such as the 1968 model that featured a redesigned fuel tank, rubber-gaitered front fork instead of the sliding metal shrouds previously used, a five-speed manual transmission, and twin speedometer and rev-counter instruments mounted above the headlight.

In 1972, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer launched the Honda CB450 Super Sport, which came with standard features, such as wire-spoked wheels, a one-piece dual seat, a round headlight with a chromed ring, a wide handlebar, an analog instrument cluster, a chromed dual exhaust system with mufflers mounted on each side, and a blacked-out steel frame.

The bike was built around a tubular steel semi-duplex cradle frame with a single front down-tube, which housed a two-way damping adjustable fork on the front and two preload adjustable shock absorbers on the rear for optimum suspension performance.

As for the power figures, the 1972 Honda CB450 Super Sport had at its core a 444cc four-stroke parallel-twin air-cooled engine that delivered an output power of 45 hp with a peak at 9,000 rpm and 38 Nm (28 lb-ft) of torque available at 7,000 rpm.

As for braking power, the bike packed a single disc squeezed by a hydraulic caliper on the front wheel and a drum braking unit on the rear wheel that provided optimum stopping power.