Verifying the year of my bikeVerifying the year of my bikeI recently acquired a CB77 Superhawk, with no title. I'm working on the paperwork to get a new one, and I want to make sure I put down the right year. My frame is : CB77-102535x, and my engine is CB77E-102534x (where "x" is the same number). Am I right in figuring this is a 1966 model? Was it usual to have the frame and engine not match?
Year of productionHi and welcome to the forum. Seven digit engine and frame numbers indicate a 1965 to 1967 year of production CB77E 1000001 - 1056494 and frame CB77 1000001 - 1056432 cover this period so you are probably correct in assuming 1966 for your 102**** numbers. There should also be a white tag on the wiring harness under the tank with the year of manufacture though this wasn't present on my UK 1964 CB72 or CB77. Frame and engine numbers don't usually match though should be close ( within 200 of each other ). There were a number of changes to parts such as forks and mudguards which help year identification. If you can post a picture of your bike then some of the more knowledgeable members may be able to help you confirm your bike's year. Good luck with getting a title, the process in the USA sounds even more difficult than dealing with the dreaded DVLA here in the UK.
Year of productionHi and welcome to the forum. Seven digit engine and frame numbers indicate a 1965 to 1967 year of production CB77E 1000001 - 1056494 and frame CB77 1000001 - 1056432 cover this period so you are probably correct in assuming 1966 for your 102**** numbers. There should also be a white tag on the wiring harness under the tank with the year of manufacture though this wasn't present on my UK 1964 CB72 or CB77. Frame and engine numbers don't usually match though should be close ( within 200 of each other ). There were a number of changes to parts such as forks and mudguards which help year identification. If you can post a picture of your bike then some of the more knowledgeable members may be able to help you confirm your bike's year. Good luck with getting a title, the process in the USA sounds even more difficult than dealing with the dreaded DVLA here in the UK.
Thank you for your reply! I really hope the process of getting a new title won't be too strenuous here in Michigan-they handed me a small form that basically wants to know how much the bike is worth, and where and from whom I got it. They state they will check the numbers to make sure it doesn't show up on any stolen bike reports, and that should be it. This machine was in the back of someone's garage for many years, and after he died recently, his family tried to find the title in the jumble of papers he left, but no luck so far. I wanted to make sure I had the proper year on the new title.
Here's the bike-it is in quite good original shape. It was sold to me cheap, with the warning that the engine was stuck. removing the side cover revealed that the kickstart mechanism was what was locking the engine-it turned freely after sorting that out. I've spent a lifetime working on British bikes, and this is the first Japanese bike I've ever owned-it called out to me to rescue it from being turned into a bobber or cafe racer, which is what some young guy in the family wanted to do,before he realized that it might be too much of a project for him. All the side covers and other parts were in a milk crate that came with the bike  Hi Jeeper44
Great looking project. Pull off the gas tank and look for a white tag on the wiring harness. This will have a date on it which will be the date of manufacture of the loom. If you are going to run the bike, it's a good idea to clean out the centrifugal oil filter, underneath the left cover. These often get neglected and get packed solid with sludge. Good luck with the title. G '60 C77 '60 C72 '62 C72 Dream '63 CL72
'61 CB72 '64 CB77 '65 CB160 '66 Matchless 350 '67 CL77 '67 S90 '77 CB400F I got the wiring harness out from the box of parts I took off the bike-it has a date of 1965 on the Sumitomo tag.
I've just been re-reading "Zen" lately (I read it back in the early '80s). I go out in my garage, look at that little bike, and wonder if I would ever think that was the ideal machine to ride halfway across the country, two up, with a load of baggage.
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