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Difference between revisions of "Honda CB750A"
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The '''Honda CB750A [[Hondamatic]]''' ''(lovingly called the "Dogamatic" by Honda service technicians)'' is a [[motorcycle]] that features a [[wet sump]], [[torque converter]], and [[parking brake]], and has no [[clutch]]. Made by [[Honda]] from | If the idea of a [[motorcycle]] with automatic transmission crops up from time to time, it was in the 1970s that it enjoyed its greatest vogue. At that time, [[Honda]] was well into a "safety" mode, and obviously saw this as one way towards achieving a sensible motorcycle. The world's biggest two-wheeler manufacturer tried to apply the same formula to its motorbikes. | ||
==Two Speeds Only== | |||
The '''Honda CB750A [[Hondamatic]]''' ''(lovingly called the "Dogamatic" by Honda service technicians)'' is a [[motorcycle]] that features a [[wet sump]], [[torque converter]], and [[parking brake]], and has no [[clutch]]. Made by [[Honda]] from 1975 to 1978, it was designed to appeal to beginners and people who otherwise wouldn't want a motorcycle. | |||
This 750 had nothing in common technically with the first Honda automatic, the M80 scooter of 1960, but followed the principles laid down by the Civic auto three years earlier. It wasn't an automatic gearhox but a torque-convener fluid coupling, which allowed just two speeds to be used -one for town or mountain use, the other for the highway (chosen by a selector lever; no clutch lever was needed). | |||
==Too Slow and Heavy== | |||
It wasn't a bad machine to ride. Unfortunately, it turned out too heavy, and its performance was no more than modest since the transmission docked the normally lively four-cylinder engine of nearly 20 horsepower. The 750 never found the appreciative clientèle Honda had believed would come forward , and production was halted in 1978: most of the CB750A automatics had been shipped to the United States. This washout didn't prevent Honda from trying again, this time with a [[Honda CB400A|400cc automatic]], whose sales were somewhat less disastrous. | |||