1979 Honda CB750F Super Sport "Montjuïc Special"by Luis Etchenique

 

I'm not often impressed by motorcycle builds, but this Honda CB750F Supert Sport built by my friend Luis Etchenique is just a work of art in my eyes. Luis Etchenique built this bike as a tribute to the Honda RCB machines that won the 24 Hours of Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain, back in 1976.

 

Stan Woods in Montjuic 1976

The 1976 edition of the 24 Hours of Montjuïc, won by Stan Woods and Charlie Williams on a Honda 941, was the 22nd edition of this race, organized by the Barcelona Motorists Association at the Circuit de Montjuïc on the weekend of July 3 and 4. It was the second round of the European Endurance Championship (called the FIM Cup until 1975) that year.

That year's extremely hot Barcelona summer forced the Honda Britain ( Stan Woods/Charlie Williams ), and Honda France ( Jean Claude Chemarin/Christian Leon ) teams to remove the machines' cowlings as to allow for a much needed improved cooling. You could see all the hardware, the mechanisms, the internal components. I recall being at the pits ... in awe of such raw performance and engineering.

I was at the time a teenager, and I promised myself that one day I would build a bike that would convey a similar feeling; a bike where you could see its engine, the carbs, the exhaust -- its guts and its soul.

For this project I used a 1979 CB750 Super Sport I found ( in need of many of its original parts ), which otherwise would've probably ended up in someone's junkyard.