Description
Fick-Honda 1963 CB 72 500 cc OHC twin Classic racer frame # 3024500 engine # C77E-100543
The engine of this intriguing classic racer started life as a 250 cc Honda CB 72.
In the early 80s it was converted to a potent 500 cc racer by the famous Dutch bitza wizard Cees Fick.
Fick astounded the Dutch motorcycle scene in the 1960s and 70s with a number of fabulous projects, all completely figured out and built by himself.
For the first one, Cees Fick used an Ariel 1000 Square Four powerplant and installed it in a Norton frame, a combination that is commonly called Noriel.
The second one was more exotic as the engine came from a car: a 1000cc 3 cylinders originally made by Lloyd, and the third one was also an interesting and original blend using a Harley Davidson WLA 45 with transplanted Matchless cylinder heads.
Then came the opportunity to buy three Vincent engines and a box of parts that had belonged to the somewhat eccentric Dutch Poet Jan Hanlo, who had died in a crash in 1969.
Hanlo was a big Vincent fan, owning a Black Lightning and a Rapide on which he had his fatal accident.
Fick transformed the bikes and bits in a series of 4 beautiful café racers that sported a number of technical improvements.
For this CB 72 racer project Fick brought the cubic capacity of the twin to 500 cc by changing the bore x stroke dimensions to 70 x 64.8 mm.
He used the crankshaft and conrods of a CB 500 and made the exhaust channel bigger.
The pistons came from a VF 750 R and the carburettor is a Keihin CR31mm.
The bike has a four speed close ratio gearbox and the engine delivers ca 45 HP @9500 RPM.
Fick succeeded in making the engine very reliable and his son George won the Dutch Classics Championship on it in 1985 and 1986.
George Fick was also a well-known competitor in the British Classic Racing scene and he was very successful on this CB 72 in the second half of the eighties.
This excellently engineered machine comes in first-class shape and is ready to be raced.