I've owned some small bikes along the way, and still have some today. I have two Superhawks (attach. #4, example of a Superhawk, not my personal bike in the pic, but the same model) awaiting attention, a name familiar to those of you at SS age, and they are not the V-twin 1000cc sporbikes. There was a time, this was the largest displacement motorcycle Honda built, until the arrival of the 'turtle-tank' CB450 parallel-twin with the torsion-bar springs for valve actuation (pic of the Japanese-market instrument nacelle, w/the distinctive 'paired' tachometer and speedometer needles, and the odometer/speedo in kilometers, and another pic of the Japan-market CB450 w/low bars and small signals, and devoid of side plate markings), in Japan these were used for police traffic enforcement. When the CB450 was released in England, in 1965 the racing authorities soon 'outlawed' the CB450, because it was so-far ahead technologically-speaking, of the U.K. marketplace domestic products of similar, or larger-displacement. In the 1960's, a 450/500 cc bike was pretty-close to being a 'big-bike,' maybe not as-big as the mighty Ironhead Sportster, a screaming 883cc V-twin that was to be feared in any two-wheeled showdown of the day. The Triumph Daytona 500 won the Daytona 200 race twice (1966, 1967), when the rules allowed 750cc side-valve engines and 500cc OHV engines, which favored bikes like the side-valve H-D KRTT, with its larger displacement, which actually beat the OHV-engine Triumphs, before the arrival of the mighty Honda SOHC 750-4, and before Triumph and BSA released bikes (Trident and Rocket III, respectively) that had essentially the same engine, with minor changes. Indeed, Triumph released probably the first 'chopper-styled' production motorcycle, the famous Hurricane. Craig Vetter, he of the fairings company, made the prototype, under contract with Triumph USA, which acted independently of Triumph (NVT Ltd, U.K.) to commission its construction. Once it was done, (interestingly, it used the BSA 750cc triple cyl engine, instead of the Triumph Trident engine; it just looked 'right' with its cylinders canted forward 15 degrees, instead of the Trident's straight-up, vertical orientation for the cylinders) Triumph USA sent it to the U.K., and it was approved for production. Unfortunately it was about 50% more-expensive than a Triumph twin of the same time, and they were marketed for a brief time. With its small gas tank, it was a 'TT' bike (tavern-to-tavern) and the riding position put the rider into the airflow, a tiring 'hang-on' position not conducive to extended stays in the saddle, which the small gas tank didn't allow, anyway.
Triumph TRX 75 Harricane (motorcyclespecs.co.za)
I had a Kawasaki CSR305, another parallel twin which like the 250cc/450cc Rebels, was sized for a younger, lighter-weight rider, and not-really any sort of enjoyment on an expressway, where they had no-business being.
One smaller bike I did enjoy, was a KZ440 which was a cut-above the standard small-displacement bike. It was belt drive, and disc brake, 6 speeds, transistorized ignition, mag wheels, it really was a premium bike. I bought it from the original owner, and it bore the selling dealership's decal (in MO) on the chrome rear fender, the front one was chrome too, definitely a premium bike. It still had the toolkit, also. It needed a new advance mechanism (mechanical advance, transistorized ignition, things were slowly-changing) and after the usual, dead bike servicing (new battery, rebuild/clean the disc front brake system the carburetors, gas filter, replace the pleated paper air filter, lube everything), it ran fine. It was a flip. I heard from my friend who sold it for me, that the new owner soon wrecked it on Miami Beach. The pic is not my bike, but it's the same model. I happen to like the gas tank lines, I've seen it used in custom bikes.
The last pic is of a rare early-1970's Honda factory paint job, this on a CL350 (also available for the CL450) and it was named the 'Flying Dragon.' They came in a variety of colors, and it was a seldom-seen treatment, available as a dealer-installed accessory. Sets came in four colors: gold/purple, silver/purple, green/purple and blue/dark blue. Here's some additional info on the Flying Dragon paint codes and numbers:
The part numbers follow Honda convention, with each set of digits having specific meaning. For example, the 1973 CL350 sets all utilize the same base part code, 06171-456-810. The first five digits represent the “function area” of the bike, in this case the fuel tank. The second three digits represent the model fitment, 1973 CL350 K5. The final three digits represent the Flying Dragon option. For a 1973 CL450, the second three digits are 347 (the official Honda model code for a 1973 CL450 K5), with the rest the same. Finally, each color combination has its own unique two-letter designation: SM (gold metal flake base), SN (silver metal flake base), SP (green base) and ST (blue base). Confirmed set part numbers are as follows:
1972-1973 CL350:
06171-456-810SM: Gold/purple
06171-456-810SN: Silver/purple
06171-456-810SP: Green/purple
06171-456-810ST: Blue/dark blue
1972-1973 CL450:
06171-347-810SM: Gold/purple
06171-347-810SN: Silver/purple
06171-347-810SP: Green/purple
06171-347-810ST: Blue/dark blue
The technique was probably very-similar to the hydro-dip of today, except the vintage parts are nearly 50 years-old, and we all know what usually happens to desirable vintage bike parts' values. "
Mr. Customer you have-to pay!"
The last pic is a pic of my '82 KZ440G1 Sport. Though the LTD's outsold the standard and the G1 Sport, the G1 Sport is a better highway bike. This is the bike, 'as-purchased/non-running.' It had compression, it would turn-over on the starter, and had oil in the sight-glass, no crash-damage evident, and 8K miles on the odometer. The headlight/taillight and turn signals worked, despite the 'lazy' right-rear turn signal laying-down on the job.