Gary Fisher racing the Krause Honda CR750 in the 1972 Daytona 200. I believe the motor in this Honda was built by “Pops” Yoshimura and his son Fujio. The 1972 race was where factory Suzuki and Kawasaki showed up with ultra-fast, tire shredding 750cc two-strokes. The speedy new Suzukis of Art Baumann and Jody Nicholas along with the Kawasaki of Yvon DuHamel led in the early going before all experienced problems. Fisher then took over the lead on his Honda about midway before a split oil tank soon put him out. Don Emde went on to win that year’s race on the somewhat less powerful, but better handling and more reliable Yamaha TR3 (350cc). This Honda of Fisher’s proved to be one of the key predecessors of Superbikes. The early ‘70s was a unique era of AMA road racing where four-stroke street-based bikes went up against two-stroke built specifically for racing.

Gary Fisher racing the Krause Honda CR750, with motor built by Yoshimura, in the 1972 Daytona 200. Fisher briefly led the 200 that year, just as he’d done the year before. Mechanicals took him out both times. (Courtesy DIS)