During the 1960s many Japanese companies were experimenting with four stroke engines. Originally many of them were trying to get these engines into small cars, but because of the large motorcycle market in Asia, the natural evolution of this was to put the engine onto a motorcycle. As Japanese manufacturers began introducing motorcycles into the United States, they quickly realized that it would be too difficult to try to build a bike to directly compete with the established companies (particularly Harley Davidson). Instead, they decided to focus more on the sporting side of the industry.
While both Kawasaki and Suzuki were manufacturing and exporting motorcycles to the United States throughout the 1960s, it was the release of the Honda CB750 in 1969 that truly revolutionized the market. Before the introduction of this bike, most of the Japanese motorcycles on the market were 250ccs. While they did appeal to a certain demographic, Honda owner Soichiro Honda looked over the American market and noticed how much larger most of the bikes were. He understood that if they were to produce a larger racing bike, it would be very well received by motorcycle enthusiasts in the United States.
However, the one thing that gave this bike an edge was the fact that it was a four cylinder motorcycle that was available from a mainstream motorcycle manufacturer. Because of this and the vibration free ride, the Honda CB750 has been ranked among the ten greatest motorcycles of all time by The Discovery Channel. Once Honda was able to get a foothold in the American motorcycle racing market, it paved the way for a lot of other Japanese companies to follow in their footsteps, and as a result, a number of European motorcycle manufacturers were forced to close.
