“As a fast, good-handling Japanese bike the only competitor that comes near it is the Suzuki GS1000. The potent four-cylinder DOHC 16-valve motor delivers 95bhp in a thoroughly civilized manner… The chassis is the best Honda have ever produced.” – Bike magazine.
Having blazed the multi-cylinder trail in 1968 with the trendsetting CB750, Honda found itself upstaged by Kawasaki’s Z1, which was not only larger at 903cc but boasted two overhead camshafts to the Honda’s one. Honda’s riposte, the CB900F, did not arrive until 1979, by which time Kawasaki had moved on to the Z1000. However, the CB900’s twin-cam cylinder head boasted 16 valves, compared to the competition’s eight, enabling it to produce 95bhp against 93 Kawasaki horsepower and deliver an almost identical straight-line performance combined with superior handling. ‘The Honda 900FZ is just about the most purposeful machine to emerge from the Honda factory,’ concluded Bike‘s tester, who reckoned the CB900 was the closest any manufacturer had got to producing the ‘Perfect Motorcycle’.
British brothers Don and Derek Rickman were motocross champions and great innovators in the world of motorcycling. Their excellent-handling Metisse scrambler frames, designed to fit a multitude of powerplants, would outshine factory efforts in the 1960s. Crafted from Reynolds 531 tubing, the frames were artfully welded and strikingly nickel-plated; weight was saved by using the frame as the principal oil reservoir, offering the added benefit of all that exposed surface area to keep the lubricant cool. An up-and-coming desert racer by the name of Steve McQueen was a fan: “A revolutionary piece of equipment that does away with the oil tank,” he said of his Triumph 650 Rickman. “The rig is the best handling bike I’ve ever owned.”
Looking to expand their business, it was natural that the brothers would turn their attention to road racing frames for street or track use. The CR, or Club Racer, frame followed the same mantra of the hugely successful scrambler frames, the beautifully presented nickel-plated frames were stiff and light. By the mid-1970s, Rickman’s chassis kits were considered to be the hot set-up for both road and track when fitted with either Honda or Kawasaki engines.
Beloved among ardent enthusiast groups and collectors, Rickman motorcycles deservingly hold the origination of the kit-bike and specialist frame builder business now occupied by such bespoke icons as Egli, Spondon, Seeley, Georges Martin and Harris Performance.
Click here for the full Predator story.
The 1980 Rickman Honda CB900 is the perfect marriage of superbike power at the heart of a specialist frame. The Predator model is a rarity now with its striking one-piece bodywork in red with white stripe reminiscent of Starsky & Hutch’s Gran Torino. The sure-footed Predator rides on Marzocchi suspension, AP Lockhead disc brakes front and rear, Astralite wheels and Delkevic exhaust for a wonderfully period, purposeful race-tourer. Recently serviced, the bike rides perfectly, starting easily with great power.
Frame no. 7158P
Engine no. SC01E-2004996
Location: Ventura, California
SOLD
