by Paul Bissex

The 700cc displacement of this bike was a product of Harley-Davidson's success... at lobbying for protectionist trade legislation. The American manufacturer convinced the U.S. government to place a heavy tariff on all imported motorcycles over 700cc displacement, squarely targeted at the booming 750cc segment. Most of the Japanese bikes made in response to the tariff were simply sleeved-down versions of 750cc bikes. Not so the CB700SC.

The bike was all-new and featured many touches that were later dropped from the Nighthawk line, including shaft drive, self-adjusting hydraulic valves, dual disk brakes in front, a six-speed transmission with digital gear indicator, and adjustable handlebars. The motor was high-revving and relatively powerful, though the 1984 models did sometimes leak a bit of oil at high revs, onto the exhaust and rear tire. If you own a 1984, keep an eye out for that.

The 16" front wheel and lazy rake (30 degrees) combined with the not-so-stiff forks made low-speed handling a little disconcerting. On the road at speed, it handled quite well.

The CB700SC had classic '80s street rod looks, especially the 1986 red/white/blue scheme. The wildly popular Kawasaki ZRX1100 (and descendants) of recent years draws on this same aesthetic heritage.

This was my first fast bike. I bought one in 1999 for $400, put a $400 engine in it, rode it 17,000 miles. My only significant modification was adding superbike bars, for a bit more forward lean than the stock bars allowed. My starter went bad one summer; a tiny photo of me push-starting the bike while wearing my Aerostich suit was featured on the cover of the 2003 RiderWearhouse catalog. Pretty cool compensation!