World's 10 most iconic and significant bikes

[nudemetalz]

RG500 anyone? They appear to be very nice bikes.

I really do like the big 2 stroke sports bikes from the 1980's.

Yes they were better than the RZ500 but the Yamaha was awesome in it's day,..won the Oz 6 hour against bikes double it's size.
Ah I loved mine....

[gammaguy]

I concur. The GPZ900 was also the only bike that made the 16" front wheel feel nice too!

sorry dude,dont agree

I have been in the motorcycle industry for a long time,ridden lots of bikes,raced many too

My RG 400 is the best steering and one of the best handling bikes I have ever ridden.Period

Its all a case of setting them up right.I remember a while ago now Steve Dundon built a wicked little RG250 F2 bike.It had a 16" front wheel,and the handling was brilliant.

truth is too many people didnt fit the right tyres,or had no idea how to set them up properly,since most 16"fronts coincided with the Japanese wanting to have multi adjustable everything.

And of course,Moto GP seem to have gone back to (almost)16" fronts again.
Maybe they are onto something?

[Crasherfromwayback]

sorry dude,dont agree

I have been in the motorcycle industry for a long time,ridden lots of bikes,raced many too

My RG 400 is the best steering and one of the best handling bikes I have ever ridden.Period

Its all a case of setting them up right.I remember a while ago now Steve Dundon built a wicked little RG250 F2 bike.It had a 16" front wheel,and the handling was brilliant.

And of course,Moto GP seem to have gone back to (almost)16" fronts again.
Maybe they are onto something?

That's cool. I don't mind that you don't agree! Without wishing to sound rude though...if you think your RG400 is one of THE best hadling bikes 'period', you can't have ridden that many late model bikes. By today's standards, they're wobbly piles of poo. Don't get me wrong, I love old bikes, and have raced all sorts of things on and off road (doing some VMX at the mo), but modern bikes have come a loooooong way in the 25 years I've been in the industry mate. 19 of the last have been working for Steve Dundon funnily enough...

And the 16.5" tyres the Moto GP bikes are using, I bet have the same roolling dia as most modern low profile 17" fronts we use.

[Stylo]

DT360 couldn't hold a flame to the...... TS/ER185.
A bike that apart from cosmetics has not changed since 1971.....

Likewise the equivalent EL/XR bikes.

The DT has gone through more engine facelifts, frame facelifts, suspension facelifts......than Dolly Parton



(your 74' is bloody nice though )

Thanks but remember, there was only ever one DT360, that was the A model, it's predecesor was the range of RT-1 models and it's successor was the DT400B in 1975, an equally desirable bike , then the C , D and E models ( all Monoshock ) Be nice to have any one of them now ......

[gammaguy]

That's cool. I don't mind that you don't agree! Without wishing to sound rude though...if you think your RG400 is one of THE best hadling bikes 'period', you can't have ridden that many late model bikes. By today's standards, they're wobbly piles of poo. Don't get me wrong, I love old bikes, and have raced all sorts of things on and off road (doing some VMX at the mo), but modern bikes have come a loooooong way in the 25 years I've been in the industry mate. 19 of the last have been working for Steve Dundon funnily enough...

And the 16.5" tyres the Moto GP bikes are using, I bet have the same roolling dia as most modern low profile 17" fronts we use.

actually chap.i said best steering,and then ONE of the best handling.

And FYI i worked for a Suzuki Franchise Dealer until very recently,and the new GSXR s i rode were indeed wonderful.

Ill stick to my Gamma anyway thanks

[Crasherfromwayback]

Ill stick to my Gamma anyway thanks

And I'd love to own one too! And an RZ500...and an RD350LC...and...a TZ700!

[NZsarge]

The first Fireblade and R1 must rate a mention too, tis when the Japanese started to ramp up the light weight high horsepower machines of the modern era.

[gammaguy]

The first Fireblade and R1 must rate a mention too, tis when the Japanese started to ramp up the light weight high horsepower machines of the modern era.

to me there are three main eras of the modern motorcycle(post 1970)

The early era(seventies) was when power started to ramp up sharply,such as the Kawasaki Mach Three,honda CB 750 and Kawasaki Z1.later the CBX six,Suzuki GSX 1100 etc.The frames and suspension were often sadly left behind however

Then came the 80 s when the focus turned to the frames(RG 250 aluminium frame for example)and suspension(suzuki and Yamaha anti dive,Kawasaki and Yamaha with early Single shock rear suspension on road bikes)

Then came the mid to late 80 s when they started getting it all right and putting together machines that were a complete package,with good power,great brakes and good handling,with weight reduction becoming important.The early Suzuki GSXR 750 and RG 500 springs to mind here(not saying they got it perfect,but they recognised and worked on these areas specifically)

Since then it has basically been a progression of refinement of that era,a few speed bumps and leaps forward along the way,but we are truly all in the Golden Era right now

just my opinion

[skippa1]

The first R1's are hot and set the standard for what we see on the road today

[Stylo]

The first R1's are hot and set the standard for what we see on the road today

Ahem...The Hayabusa ?

197 at the crank, off the floor and torque to kill for , doe'snt sound like anyone on this thread has ever had the pleasure....

The smile machine, 150 in first and it get's better from there ....

[popelli]

Thinking about beautiful bikes, and it got me thinking to the road bikes that changed the world and inspired passion in generations of bikers. In no particular order;

1959 Triumph Bonneville - the first modern sportsbike. Good handling, plenty of power, great brakes and good looks (for 1959). 36 speedtwin would be a better choice as it influenced british bikes for over 30 years

1969 Honda CB750. The first superbike - I considered the Z900 as an alternative, but the CB pretty well started it all. slower than a sportster slower than a bonnieville, slower than a trident, slower than a lightning - this was not the worlds first superbike, nor was it teh fastest bike in 69 - it was a trendsetter but not a superbike

Vincent Black Shadow - 200 kmh in the 1940s! YES no argument

Ducati 916 - the first serious high performance Ducati and the bike that invented V twin superbikesYES no argument

Harley Davidson Panhead - the bike that created the whole chopper thing by giving returning soldiers a powerful, reliable bike that they could chop back and make their own. Every cruiser on the road is ultimately inspired by the Pan, or more accurately what owners did to them. No the knuckle head was the first massproduced OHV harley and that and sidevalves were what the returned servicemen were riding

1974 Honda Goldwing - the bike that invented big, luxury touring yes it did create a whole new market segment, more or less by accident, the first goldwing was naked rather than a full blown tourer

1973 Honda XL 250 Motorsport - a bike you could ride to work on Monday and rip up the paddocks on Sunday. no that was the 1968 Yamaha DT250

1973 Yamaha RD350 - fast as fuck with great handling and brakes, this bike annihilated everything and was the beginning of fast lightweight bikes questionable suzuki and kawasaki had great 2 stroke twins before the RD yamaha came out - the RD yamaha was better but it was not the first

1985 Suzuki GZXR750/1000. A race bike you could ride on the road. Ok

1991 Hinckley Triumphs (all of them). Triumph was dead and buried, yet one man managed to bring the brand back, and they were all good bikes. Dead brands have risen again all the time - Norton, Indian, Benelli etc, but none of them have gone on to become significant players in the market. Yes they brought a brand back to life but they were not significant bikes that were copied by others, they have not changed the face of motorcycling

1990 Kawasaki ZZR1100. The first of the mind numbingly fast sports tourers and the inspiration behind the Busa (which was an alternative).

and possibly the most significant bike which did change the face of motorcyling for ever the honda C50 stepthrough, it sold millions brought mass production and high quality to teh masses and eventually brought the japanese into a dominent position in the motorcycling world

[toycollector10]

1969 Honda CB750. The first superbike - I considered the Z900 as an alternative, but the CB pretty well started it all.

I lusted after both of these bikes when I was a lad. Now I have them both and thrash them on a regular basis. As to comparisons between them. Each have their strengths but the CB was the first in 1969.

[scumdog]

The mighty Z1RTC.Attachment 230695

If I had sold tickets to everybody who stopped to look at my XN85 this weekend (and their mates they dragged back to have a look)at the BRONZ rally I would have quite a pile of money right now.

To me it's an iconic turbo bike - the best developed and sorted of the turbo bikes.

Buth those sort of bikes are a niche thing I guess.

[Brian d marge]

If I had sold tickets to everybody who stopped to look at my XN85 this weekend (and their mates they dragged back to have a look)at the BRONZ rally I would have quite a pile of money right now.

To me it's an iconic turbo bike - the best developed and sorted of the turbo bikes.

Buth those sort of bikes are a niche thing I guess.

I alway regarded the police with , judgment and to be the creme del a creme of society


I am young and have guilded view of society , please let me dream a little while longer ,,,,

Stephen

[Crasherfromwayback]

I lusted after both of these bikes when I was a lad. Now I have them both and thrash them on a regular basis. As to comparisons between them. Each have their strengths but the CB was the first in 1969.

VERY nice mate. I'm jealous!!!

If I had sold tickets to everybody who stopped to look at my XN85 this weekend (and their mates they dragged back to have a look)at the BRONZ rally I would have quite a pile of money right now.
.

The XN85 was (is) cool for sure. Not too many floating around now either!