Honda CB350Four
Soichiro Honda 's favorite; CB350Four
Rumor has it that it was the smallest of the inline fours, the CB350Four, that Soichiro Honda was most pleased with. The model fitted nicely into Honda 's line of 4-cylinder 4-strokes, and went on sale in 1972.
4-cylinder 4-strokes
When Honda launched the CB350Four in 1972, they were strongly inspired by the success of their other inline-fours. During the development phase of the model, two 4-cylinder models were considered, a 250 and a 350. However, the 250n was rejected as it was considered to be too weak in terms of both acceleration and top speed. The power output of the CB350Four was 34 hp at 10,000 rpm, which gave a top speed of approximately 158 km/h.
Challenged by fast 2-strokes
In this segment there were a number of fast 2-strokes, including Yamaha RD250 and Suzuki T-250. These were small and nimble machines that had good speed resources despite their modest displacement. Now it must be said that a 4-stroke with 4 cylinders was more sophisticated, but the need for speed resources was important in the competition against the other Japanese motorcycle manufacturers in particular.
4-4 exhaust system
The CB350Four was produced from 1972 -1974. The model was lavishly equipped with, among other things, a 4-4 exhaust system, lots of chrome and was available in three great colors in 1972 and 1973; Flake Matador Red, Candy Bacchus Green, Custom Silver Metallic. In 1974 it was also available in Glory Blue Black Metallic. The CB350Four has since been referred to as "the little and forgotten superbike", and appeared almost like a shrunken version of the CB750Four. However, the reception in the European and American motorcycle market was not quite what Honda had expected. Interest in the little four was lukewarm compared to the larger inline fours from Honda .
CB400 Super Sport
In retrospect, the CB350Four faced much of the same competition in the 350 class that was used to shelve a 4-cylinder 250. Yamaha , Kawasaki and Suzuki offered fast 2-strokes in the 350 class, and Honda's continued focus on smaller fours resulted in the CB400 Super Sport.
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