Honda CR 750

If I had to make a list of the most iconic racing motorcycles of all time, the Honda CR 750 would be in my top ten. Not only for its achievements, but also for its aesthetics: to my eyes, it’s one of the most beautiful bikes to ever roll down a pit lane. This particular bike might only be a replica, but it’s the closest thing to owning one of the original four Honda factory racers. It was built in Minnesota by Mark McGrew and M3 Racing in 1996, and over the next eight years racked up an impressive classic racing pedigree.

That included winning the AHRMA F750 Championship—with a perfect score of 12-out-of-12 race wins—and setting several lap records for its category at Daytona. (Which is delightfully appropriate, given that Honda built the CR 750 to race in the 1970 Daytona 200, and Dick Mann famously won the race.) The tech specs of the M3 machine are far too detailed to print here, but factory Racing Service Club parts are liberally sprinkled throughout, along with numerous magnesium and titanium components. (It helps that Mark McGrew was a parts manager for Honda in the 70s and 80s.)

M3 Racing built the engine from scratch and it reportedly delivers 93hp at 9,800 RPM. Today this bike is owned by motorsport enthusiast Eric Charles; it’s currently being fettled in the UAE by French racing mechanic Gilles Chauve for a maiden outing at the Dubai Autodrome. Fortunately for us, local petrolhead website Crank & Piston managed to get enough access to shoot a terrific photo essay. [Thanks to Phil McGovern.]

PS: If you like your two-wheelers unpowered as well as powered, take our sister site Cycle EXIF for a test ride.