This Honda Motorcycle Was One Of The First With An Automatic Transmission

While motorcycles with automatic transmissions are more common these days, things weren't always that way. One of the first motorcycles with an automatic transmission, Honda's CB750A, debuted in Canada in 1975, and a year later it launched in the United States. The 750A was built with new riders in mind as an automatic transmission is easier for newcomers than a manual. Honda's automatic motorcycles were easily identifiable by the Hondamatic badge included on the bikes, referring to Honda's patented automatic transmission.

It wasn't a fully automatic transmission like you think of today, as the bike kept some manual functionality. The rider still had to shift between high, low, and neutral, and dropping the kickstand would automatically put the bike into neutral. The idea behind it was to stop the bike from moving with the kickstand still down, so it was another boon to new riders.

Although it's easy to see the appeal of going automatic, it came at the cost of performance. Generally speaking, automatic transmissions on the Hondamatic motorcycles had lower top speeds than their manual counterparts. Part of this came down to the increased weight of the transmission, and it eventually contributed to the downfall of the bike line. The 750A shared the same 736cc engine as the traditional CB750.

Low sales coupled with the lower performance specs led to the cancellation of the CB750A in 1978. It was also a very heavy bike for its time, coming in with a dry weight of 540 lbs. Once you add all the necessary fluids to get it running, it gets even heavier. Considering it was meant to be a learner bike, the weight when compared to motorcycles for new riders of today, was excessive. The CB750A couldn't quite reach a top speed of 100 mph, so it was clear it was never going to be one of the fastest Honda motorcycles ever built. 

With the short production window, it's difficult to track down an original Hondamatic motorcycle today, but models are out there if you look hard enough. Although the CB750A bike was short-lived, Honda kept the Hondamatic name alive with other motorcycles. The CM400A and CM450A continued production into the 1980s, with the former model coming from a series that became famous in the movies after appearing in the 1984 film "Purple Rain" starring Prince.