What does the "77" in CB77 specifically refer to?

[Spargett]

I was recently asked on my Flickr photostream. Couldn't really find an answer. Thought you fine folks might know the answer to that one.

[cfloren]

I won't pretend to know what CB stands for. There seems to be much debate over this but I'm sure someone at Honda still knows. My guess is that it is just a code and is not a true acronym.

And I'll hazard a guess on the 77: I think Honda's model nomenclature up through the late '60s was based on a semi-serial system. That is I think the model numbers were semi-chronological in order. But consider the fact that the CB92 was born in the '50s, and the CB77 first appeared in '61.

So to answer your question, I don't think the 77 really "means" anything, other than as an identifier for the model.

[rbaselt]

The 71 and 72 codes referred to 250cc engines, while the 75, 76 and 77 were 305s. --Randall