1977 Benelli 750 Sei

Just look at those pipes. Yes, ‘Sei’ means six in Italian, and this is the legendary Benelli superbike from the 1970s. The 750 Sei was the first production motorcycle with a 6-cylinder engine, and instantly trumped the burgeoning Japanese triples and fours. Its predecessor, a 500cc four, was a close copy of the Honda CB500 and Benelli simply added two more cylinders to create the Sei. Later came the even faster 900 Sei, which unfortunately reverted to a more conventional 6-into-2 exhaust system. Benelli (est. 1911) is now part of the Qianjiang group, a Chinese company that produces 1.2m scooters and motorcycles a year. [Hat tip to Jan. Photos from Alain Avon’s wonderful Flickr set.]