This is a 1964 Honda CL72 Scrambler with a history that’s a little more special than most, it was delivered new to Elvis Presley in Hollywood, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Exactly why this bike was given to Elvis isn’t mentioned in the listing, but 1964 was the same year that he appeared in the film Roustabout riding a Honda, albeit a Honda CB77 Super Hawk. It seems possible (though not verified) that the CL72 Scrambler was a gift for helping to promote the Japanese marque to a significant national audience.
Exactly why this bike was given to Elvis isn’t mentioned in the listing, but 1964 was the same year that he appeared in the film Roustabout riding a Honda, albeit a Honda CB77 Super Hawk. It seems possible that the CL72 Scrambler was a gift for helping to promote the Japanese marque to a significant national audience. Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
History Speedrun: The Honda CL72 Scrambler
The Honda CL72 Scrambler landed at US dealers in 1962 as the off-road version of the Honda CB72 Hawk. It was one of the earliest of the Japanese factory-built machines that let American riders take a fast, reliable four-stroke twin onto dirt roads without first modifying a street bike in the garage. The Brits had been building bikes like this for some time of course, but now the Japanese were hot on their heels. Production of the CL72 Scrambler ran through to 1965, when the larger-displacement CL77 replaced it.
Honda had entered the US market in the late 1950s, and by the early 1960s it was working hard to sell motorcycles to Americans who thought of bikes as either Harley-Davidsons or the British big twins of the era.
Grey Advertising’s “You Meet The Nicest People On A Honda” campaign followed in 1963 and completely reshaped the buyer demographic, but the CL72 was already on dealer floors by then, aimed at riders who wanted the high-pipe scrambler look for weekday commuting and weekend trails, without the weight of a full-sized 650 or 750.
Honda CL72 Scrambler: Specifications
The CL72 is powered by the 247cc air-cooled parallel twin from the CB72, with single overhead cam, twin 22mm Keihin carburetors, a 9.5:1 compression ratio, and 24 bhp at 9,000 rpm. Bore and stroke were square at 54mm by 54mm. Power was sent back through a wet multi-disc clutch and a 4-speed gearbox to a chain final drive.
The CL72 is powered by the 247cc air-cooled parallel twin from the CB72, with single overhead cam, twin 22mm Keihin carburetors, a 9.5:1 compression ratio, and 24 bhp at 9,000 rpm. Bore and stroke were square at 54mm by 54mm. Power was sent back through a wet multi-disc clutch and a 4-speed gearbox to a chain final drive.
The frame was where the CL72 really diverged from the road-going CB, instead of the CB72’s spine frame with the engine as a stressed member, the CL72 got a full-cradle tubular steel frame with a heavy front downtube, twin lower rails, and a bolted skid plate. The downtube occupied the space that would have held the electric starter on the Dream and Hawk, so the CL72 was kickstart-only.
It ran telescopic forks with a hydraulic steering damper, a twin-shock swingarm rear, drum brakes at both ends, 19-inch wheels, and both exhaust pipes ran high along the left side of the bike in true scrambler fashion.
Dry weight was 315 lbs, and Honda launched the CL72 at $690 USD, with period tests reporting 80 mph and a 17-second quarter mile. These were solid numbers by the standards of the time.
The CL72 Scrambler, The Baja, + Elvis
To prove the ability of the new machine, American Honda’s Jack McCormack and Walt Fulton organized a timed run down the Baja peninsula in Mexico. Bud Ekins declined due to his Triumph dealership ties but suggested his brother Dave Ekins, who partnered with Bill Robertson Jr. In March of 1962, the pair left Tijuana just after midnight on near-stock early-production CL72s.
Dave Ekins reached the La Paz telegraph office 39 hours and 56 minutes later, roughly 950 miles south. Robertson, running on one cylinder after burning a piston, arrived a little over two hours later. That run set the Baja elapsed-time benchmark that eventually led to the Mexican 1000 in 1967, later renamed the Baja 1000.
The 1964 Elvis Presley film Roustabout put a Honda twin on cinema screens, but the bike Elvis rode was the road-going CB77 Super Hawk rather than the CL72 Scrambler. Although Elvis was already strongly associated with Harley-Davidson by 1964, Paramount chose the Honda partly to distance him from the outlaw motorcycle image that was becoming increasingly associated with HD.
It was in this same year that a 1964 Honda CL72 Scrambler was shipped to Elvis Presley in care of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. This was common practice for manufacturers at the time, who would send motorcycles to the likes of Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Elvis in the hopes they would ride them and get snapped and end up in magazines providing the brand with an easy PR win.
It was in this same year that a 1964 Honda CL72 Scrambler was shipped to Elvis Presley in care of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. This was common practice for manufacturers at the time, who would send motorcycles to the likes of Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Elvis in the hopes they would ride them and get snapped and end up in magazines providing the brand with an easy PR win.
The Ex-Elvis Presley Honda CL72 Scrambler Shown Here
This 1964 Honda CL72 Scrambler was shipped new to Elvis Presley, care of Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, on September the 23rd, 1964. That original delivery invoice is included with the sale, and the current seller bought the bike in 2025.
This CL72 is finished in silver, it rides on 19-inch chrome-shouldered wire-spoke wheels, fitted with new rim strips, tubes, and Duro tires in 2026, with drum brakes at both ends and twin leading shoes up front. Suspension is a gaitered telescopic fork with a steering damper, plus dual preload-adjustable shocks on the swingarm.
A black vinyl two-up seat, both center and side stands, rubber knee grips, handlebar mirrors, and headlight and taillight units are all in place. The 247cc SOHC parallel-twin keeps its factory kick starter, twin Keihin carburetors, and chrome high-mount exhaust with heat shields.
Recent work reportedly includes a valve adjustment, carburetor cleaning, installation of a Pro-Trigger electronic ignition, and replacement of the battery, primary chain, fuel lines, petcock, and some cables. The 4-speed transmission is said to have been rebuilt in 2026, driving the rear wheel via chain.
The 1964 Elvis Presley film “Roustabout” put a Honda twin on cinema screens, but the bike Elvis rode was the road-going CB77 Super Hawk rather than the CL72 Scrambler. Although Elvis was already strongly associated with Harley-Davidson by 1964, Paramount chose the Honda partly to distance him from the outlaw motorcycle image that was becoming increasingly associated with HD. Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
The cross-braced chrome handlebar sits behind a replacement 100 mph Nippon Seiki speedometer in the headlight bucket. Its five-digit odometer reads 15 miles, roughly five of which have been added under current ownership, total mileage is unknown. The original non-operational speedometer is included with the sale. The California title is in the seller’s name and carries a Salvaged brand.
It’s now being offered for sale out of Buellton, California with a Honda invoice and a California title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more about it you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
