This is a rare, original Honda CB750 SS “Seeley Special” that combined the engine and gearbox from the Honda CB750 with a far superior frame developed by Colin Seeley and his team.
The Honda CB750 with its advanced transverse inline-four, was arguably the most advanced affordable motorcycle in the world when it was released in 1969. It’s the motorcycle that the term “superbike” was originally coined for but the handling wasn’t quite up to the standard of the European motorcycles of the day.
Fast Facts – The Honda CB750 SS Seeley Special
- The Honda CB750 SS “Seeley Special” combines Honda’s iconic CB750 inline-four cylinder engine with Colin Seeley’s handcrafted Reynolds steel frame, significantly improving handling and reducing weight. Only around 302 frames were ever produced, making these bikes rare, high-performance collectibles.
- Colin Seeley, a prominent motorcycle racer and engineer active from the 1960s through the 1990s, was renowned for creating world class aftermarket frames. His lightweight, rigid designs were widely praised, notably by champion Barry Sheene, who described a Seeley motorcycle he raced as the best-handling bike he’d ridden.
- The Seeley Honda featured distinctive custom bodywork, dual headlights inspired by endurance racers, a lighter, reinforced swingarm, improved dual shock absorbers, and upgraded brakes.
- The 1980 Seeley Honda CB750 SS featured in this article includes iconic white and blue bodywork, twin headlights, triple disc brakes, alloy wheels, and a single-seat racing cowl. Recently overhauled at a cost exceeding £4,200, it’s currently offered by Car & Classic in Hampshire, UK.
Colin Seeley
It’s believed that just 302 Seeley Honda frames were built, all were made by hand from Reynolds steel tubing specifically to accept the Honda CB750 inline four. These frames were both lighter and stiffer than the original Honda frames, and when combined with improved suspension and brakes they made the CB750 nigh on unstoppable.
This 1980 example has a white and blue full fairing with the classic twin headlights. There is seating for one with a rear cowl, a windscreen, bar end mirrors, front and rear alloy wheels, and triple disc brakes – with two up front and one in the back.
Seeley was one of the most famous aftermarket motorcycle frame manufacturers of the 1960s and 1970s, even well into the 1980s and 1990s. The 1960s and 1970s were a time when aftermarket motorcycle frame manufacturers were booming, particularly in Britain and Italy, with names like Rickman, Seeley, Bimota, Magni, and countless others.
Colin Seeley had started out as an apprentice mechanic at the age of just 14, he then founded his own business at the age of 18 and he became an official motorcycle dealer by 20. Seeley’s father had long been involved in the world of motorcycles, and he owned a Vincent Rapide when Colin was young, helping to influence the direction of his life from an early age.
Colin would become a successful motorcycle racer, competing in circuit racing, off road scrambles events, and motorcycle sidecar racing, but it would be that latter form of motorsport where he would really make his mark, winning a slew of races and competing at the Isle of Man TT and the Manx TT.
Given his almost 20 years of motorcycle racing experience by the late 1960s, Seeley had an innate understanding of every aspect of motorcycle engineering, much like his arch rivals – the Rickman brothers.
Seeley would develop aftermarket tubular steel frames for a multitude of motorcycles of the time, all offered lower weight and higher strength than their mass-produced counterparts, and it soon became clear that in order to race and win in Britain you were going to need a Seeley frame.
The Seeley-Honda Specials
Colin would build motorcycles for a remarkable array of the period’s best racers including Barry Sheene, who famously called his Seeley motorcycle the best handling bike he had ever ridden.
The 1960s and 1970s were a time when aftermarket motorcycle frame manufacturers were booming, particularly in Britain and Italy, with names like Rickman, Seeley, Bimota, Magni, and countless others.
The two best-known Seeley motorcycles that were available to buy for non-racing civilians for road use were the Honda CB750 Phil Read Factory Replica and the Honda CB750 SS “Seeley Special.”
The Honda CB750 SS Seeley Special was built around a Seeley-designed frame made from Reynolds steel tubing which was 9 lbs lighter than the stock frame and notably stiffer. The bike would then be fitted with custom Seeley bodywork with those distinctive dual headlights inspired by endurance racing machines.
These motorcycles were also given a new swing arm with improved dual shock absorbers, and they could be fitted with the standard CB750 forks and disc brakes, or with aftermarket units. The Seeley versions of the CB750 were among the best superbikes in the world at the time, offering power and reliability with excellent handling, but they didn’t come cheap.
The Honda CB750 SS Seeley Special Shown Here
The motorcycle you see here is one of the 302 examples of the Honda CB750 SS Seeley Special that were made. That said, the final number may vary somewhat as 302 frame kits were manufactured and no one knows if all were turned into bikes, or if some remain unbuilt in various sheds and garages waiting to be rediscovered.
Finding original Seeleys in good condition like this is a rare thing nowadays, and it seems likely this one will be snapped up by an enthusiast in short order.
This 1980 example has a white and blue full fairing with the classic twin headlights. There is seating for one with a rear cowl, a windscreen, bar end mirrors, front and rear alloy wheels, and triple disc brakes – with two up front and one in the back.
This Seeley-Honda is now being offered for sale by Car & Classic out of Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The bike comes with £4,219 in mechanical overhaul receipts from February and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more or place a bid.
Images courtesy of Car & Classic
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