The simple explanation of sand casting is where a mold is made out of a mixture of sand, and clay. The sand is pressed around, and into, the master, forming a mold, The master is then removed (the sand mold is made in two, separable, halves. Then the halves are put together, and molten metal is poured into it, to form, and cool. After the metal cools, the sand is removed, destroying the mold, and the finished shape is pulled out. This gives a rough surface on the molded metal parts, due to the grainy surface texture of the sand mold.
Die-cast is a method where a (typically) metal mold is used to cast parts, but the metal mold is not destroyed in the process, it is re-usable. The die-cast molds have smooth surfaces, which yields smooth surfaces on the cast parts.
Honda used sand-casting for the first year, only, back in 1969. Mr. Honda wanted to get the bike into production as soon as possible, and making metal molds takes quite a bit of time. He wanted to beat his competition (mostly British, and German) to market with a super-bike: inline four cylinder, 750 cc displacement (very large for the time); front disk brake; and other features. None were new ideas, but until then, no one had put them all together on a single bike. The other thing about the Honda 750, was that it worked, without leaking oil profusely. One commentator, a British fellow, stated that the bike worked so smoothly, and well, that it was quite boring, really -- you didn't have to work on it on the roadside, as you drove, because it didn't break down like all of the other makers' bikes! It was quite a splash on the motorcycle scene, back in 1969. Cheers!
1979 CB750K (sold, 2012, but not forgotten)
1983 Kawasaki 440 LTD Belt Drive (sold, 2011)
1993 Kawasaki Voyager XII
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