1974 Rickman Honda CR

If you know your bike history, you'll already be familiar with both Rickman and the nickel-plated, oil-in-frame kits they developed for Triumph Bonneville-engined scramblers. Dubbed 'Metisse' (French for half-caste, or mongrel), the Rickman-framed scramblers were light, strong and fast, received a glowing rap from none other than Steve McQueen, who campaigned one for many years.

After modifying and reframing everything from BSAs to Zundapps, the Rickman brothers, Don & Derek, turned there attention to road bikes in the mid-60s and their creations, along with those of Dave Degens, Paul Dunstall, Colin Seeley and the like, found favour amongst the growing Café Racer scene. Lightness, power and distinctive style were all hallmarks of the Café Racer machines, built around various combinations of British machinery.

The emergence of Japanese imports in the early 1970s saw those specialist frame makers turn their attention to Hondas, Kawasakis and the like, as the inline fours in these machines generally offered more power than the Brit parallel twins, but the factory frames were seen as the weak point, or at least one that could be improved. Rickman was no exception, and one of the finest examples of their Japanese-based café racers is presented in this month's feature. Rickman were offering frame kits for the CB750 Four within a year of its 1969 debut, followed by fibreglass fairings and ducktails, as well as alloy components like tanks, wheels and forks.

On average, the Rickman frame and bodykit added 50 percent over the base cost of the CB750, but that didn't stop them being popular with the café racer set. Dubbed the 'CR750', Rickman-framed CB750s were lighter and stiffer, which markedly improved handling, as well as increasing top speed, although not enough for some enthusiasts who chose to bore the engine out to as much as 899cc in some cases!

This example retains the stock engine, but is well kitted out in other Rickman componentry, boasting not only the famous nickel-plated oil-bearing frame, but also Rickman spoke wheels and front forks. The front and rear disc brakes may seem puny by today's standards, but were quite advanced for their time, as the Rickmans were real trailblazers in the adoption of hydraulic disc brakes. Like the rest of the componentry, the stoppers fitted here are in good nick. The long tail and orange livery on this example is common to Rickman Honda CRs of the period. Indicated mileage is a touch over 14,000 and the rego plate shows at least some of those miles were done in the USA.

Note the rider footpegs, which are moved back almost to the pillion position. Along with the high seat and low, clip-on handlebars, this makes for a very 'racy' riding position. Not particularly comfortable, mind you, but riding a bike like this isn't about comfort, it's about speed, handling, heritage and very cool looks.

Rickman Hondas don't come up for sale often, so if this good quality example catches your eye, check it out at Classic Style soon. Asking price is $14,950.