KB - The greatest-ever motorcycles

[gav]

mmm 11 yrs of advancement you do the math? and as for quoting about honda selling their GP bikes mmm they do that every year sell the current model right from the small up to the top line. the Britten sold for $140k and the Honda 500gp bike was roughly $200k AUS the same year

WTF? Seen any RCV's for sale? Any NSR500V4's for sale? dont think so, Tim.

[Kickaha]

mmm 11 yrs of advancement you do the math? and as for quoting about honda selling their GP bikes mmm they do that every year sell the current model right from the small up to the top line. the Britten sold for $140k and the Honda 500gp bike was roughly $200k AUS the same year

They sell customer GP125-250 bikes which aren't even close to the same spec as the ones they race in the world champs and the only 500 they used to sell was the 500GP V twin

[HenryDorsetCase]

WTF? Seen any RCV's for sale? Any NSR500V4's for sale? dont think so, Tim.

that is true. what you can buy from Honda (RS125, RS250 etc, and when you could buy RS500's were never as quick as the factory stuff) in one of my books theres a breakdown of how it worked, from memory though the RS bikes were about a year behind the factory, which makes sense.

I do seem to have had my RC211 on backorder for some time now. Better hurry up Casbolts.

[gav]

Anyway, now that I've settled that, greatest ever motorcycles... lets see, in no particular order, Kawi Z1, Norton Manx, GPZ900, VF750 Interceptor (first modern superbike) Duc 916, RD350

[T.W.R]

you want to list some of them here though?
I dont think we would have seen a road going Britten, John wasnt interested in production, he only ever wanted to build his quota of 10 and that was it. Thats why he was trying to sell his design to Harley Davidson, Benelli and Indian, all who were interested but nothing ever came of it. John had other ideas to move onto. Yes, a single cylinder MX bike was mentioned at one time, Would have needed more that a twin though!!

well i can't be bothered tracking down all the race wins of the britten if you so knowingly already know, but theres BOT 96,97,98 would have been 95 as well but the battery fucked out. then theres most of what was going in NZ at the same time, plus 2 consecutive wins in Aussie. plus the attachment (circa 94).

and Quote from an interview " the Britten isn't built for commercial gain, rather a love of motorcycling ....... hench the idea to build 10 replicas of the original and support those owners in event seems to be a practical idea. Bimota looked at the design, we were approached by part of Harley Davidson's system ...... its hard getting existing companies interested in intellectual property because its percieved as a slap in the face for their own R&D and design teams. I'm interested in doing a single cylinder bike & manufacturing it from here, a sound of singles bike potentially a road bike & maybe even a MX version."

as for selling GP bikes absolutely no company sells their current top line race bikes, but you can get close plus after a time the ex factory race bikes can be brought.

and Gav don't quote a name when you have no idea what is or isn't

[T.W.R]

Anyway, now that I've settled that, greatest ever motorcycles... , VF750 Interceptor (first modern superbike)

mmm VF interceptor, interceptor was the american market branding & it was a 700 because of their import tarriffs. the VF750F released along side the VF 750 sabre both identical motors & hondas biggest lemon! ( camshaft failures/factory recalls/ double punched stamp on cylinder casings for factory mods) it was the VFR750 ( gear driven cams) that set the standard of the honda V4 on track then came the RC30 initial race failures almost everywhere ( funny how a motor will shit it's self with no oil getting to heads ).

first modern superbike? Honda's first show of that was the CB1100RB (an endurance racer with lights)

[Skyryder]

Surprised that we haven't mentioned Douglas yet... That Classics list didn't have any Douglas in it at all.... weird....

Yep strange that. Some of the invovations these guys bought into the motorcycling world................here's a rundown.

http://www.realclassic.co.uk/doug04022400.html

My favourite. http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20...agonfly-57.htm


More pics

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20...as%20Index.htm


But for sheer beauty it's got to be this

http://www.mvagustausa.com/web-mvagusta/F4-1000S.html.

Now why haven't I mentioned Guzzi's. Love my bike....love's a many splendid thing.

Skyryder

[gav]

mmm VF interceptor, interceptor was the american market branding & it was a 700 because of their import tarriffs. the VF750F released along side the VF 750 sabre both identical motors & hondas biggest lemon! ( camshaft failures/factory recalls/ double punched stamp on cylinder casings for factory mods) it was the VFR750 ( gear driven cams) that set the standard of the honda V4 on track then came the RC30 initial race failures almost everywhere ( funny how a motor will shit it's self with no oil getting to heads ).

first modern superbike? Honda's first show of that was the CB1100RB (an endurance racer with lights)

Well, the first VF750FD was dubbed the Interceptor, did the European models have Interceptor on the side panels? Damned if i can remember and I owned one for a while as well! The 700 Interceptors came later. The motor was in a higher state of tune than the Sabre's. And the CB1100RB wasnt a "superbike" but was a super bike.
It was the VF750F that brought alloy frames and water cooled four cylinder 750's and race bike styling to the market place and eligible for "superbike" racing, hence the term.

"In 1983 the VF750 Interceptor arrived, ready to win with newly developed Honda Grand Prix technology, such as a track-inspired fairing, 16-inch front wheel, rectangular-section perimeter frame, single-shock rear suspension and anti-dive front suspension.

As the first liquid-cooled engine in any sportbike, the Interceptor's 90-degree V-four spun out an amazing 86 horsepower, making the bike quicker in the quarter mile and faster on top than its peers. In a top-gear roll-on, the Interceptor flat crushed them, and, in so doing, exploded the notion that high-performance sportbikes had to have narrow powerbands crowded close to the redline. Those triple-disc brakes were regarded as the best brakes on any mass-produced street bike. When the pavement turned twisty, nothing else measured up. And if you felt like crossing a time zone or two, the Interceptor was versatile, smooth and comfortable enough for the job."

[gav]

well i can't be bothered tracking down all the race wins of the britten if you so knowingly already know, but theres BOT 96,97,98 would have been 95 as well but the battery fucked out. then theres most of what was going in NZ at the same time, plus 2 consecutive wins in Aussie. plus the attachment (circa 94).
But in the BOT victories he beat no other factory teams, hence hardly a world beater. Again in Aus it raced in a Bears only class, never raced against any of the superbike teams etc. Here in NZ, the Britten raced against modified street bikes.

and Quote from an interview " the Britten isn't built for commercial gain, rather a love of motorcycling ....... hench the idea to build 10 replicas of the original and support those owners in event seems to be a practical idea. Bimota looked at the design, we were approached by part of Harley Davidson's system ...... its hard getting existing companies interested in intellectual property because its percieved as a slap in the face for their own R&D and design teams. I'm interested in doing a single cylinder bike & manufacturing it from here, a sound of singles bike potentially a road bike & maybe even a MX version."

Ah yes, I thought he was referring to building a single cylinder road bike, not putting the vee twin in road bike form?

as for selling GP bikes absolutely no company sells their current top line race bikes, but you can get close plus after a time the ex factory race bikes can be brought.
and as for quoting about honda selling their GP bikes mmm they do that every year sell the current model right from the small up to the top line. the Britten sold for $140k and the Honda 500gp bike was roughly $200k AUS the same year

This is what you wrote! Seems you're contradicting yourself now!


and Gav don't quote a name when you have no idea what is or isn't

Sorry for the name quote, youre obviously not a fan of "Home Improvements" and Tim the Tool Man???

[Bonez]

Well, the first VF750FD was dubbed the Interceptor, did the European models have Interceptor on the side panels? Damned if i can remember and I owned one for a while as well! The 700 Interceptors came later.

Because of US import levies at the time of higher capacity Japanese m/c's over 700cc's. This help HD along a bit in sales funny old thing. Intercepter motor had the same engine problems as the the Sabre and Magna- http://home.earthlink.net/~wrenchtwister/V4hist.html Took Honda untill 1986 to sort things out in the V4 department.

[inlinefour]

I agree with the Honda cub being the most important bike as on TV (apparently, I did not see it). But exactly how many of those things did Sochiro sell???
I've got some literature on bikes and the CB750 was allways considered an important step for Japanese motorcycling.
For me, personally. The RD250LC, later replaced by the RZ350LC (& a TZR in between) was the most fun I had on a motorcycle as a teenager. However I learnt later in my early twenties that I could have even more fun on a RG400 & 500.
Also for another mention for me is the Honda XR series. I started off with a XL, but the XR was the most fun I could have off road. I've had DT, DR, TT, XT, but none of them came close to the level of enjoyment I had.
Speaking of levels of enjoyment. The most enjoyment I have ever had on a bike, full stop. Is what I am riding now, the 2005 CBR600RR. Almost better than sex, almost...

[gav]

Yeah, but what year was that, some of the cruisers were 700c like the Honda Magna and Yamahasa as well. The VFR700 Intereceptors that came out here were about a 1986/87 model. The first VF750FD were 1983 and were a full 750cc even in the States. http://www.home.aone.net.au/csd/VFR/VFR%20History.html

[Bonez]

Yeah, but what year was that, some of the cruisers were 700c like the Honda Magna and Yamahasa as well. The VFR700 Intereceptors that came out here were about a 1986/87 model. The first VF750FD were 1983 and were a full 750cc even in the States. http://www.home.aone.net.au/csd/VFR/VFR%20History.html

I stand corrected. Thanks for the link.

[TwoSeven]

My list of bikes.

1. cub - because they sell bucketloads which means lots of people like them. Ask anyone with a scooter - especially italians.

2. cb750/4 (however, I would put the Z1 there as well)

3. CBR600 - for the same reason as the cub, sold bucketloads and its the bike that in 91 re-introduced the 600 class that now gives us SS racing.

4. CBR900 - It gave us the mental machine class, killed off the 750 class and now we have the R1, Gsxr1000, and 1000RR.

5. GSXR1100 - Ask anyone thats made specials and drag bikes

6. Triumph 750 bonnie - icon of its time (much more than the norton)

7. BSA (many). The M20/M21 for WWII (and the AA), the Bantam D7 (B175)for the post office, the Bantam D1 for messing up DKW (eat your heart out harley).

9. Ducati 916 - they finally created a bike with style

10. Honda R166 (Mike Hailwood) and RC149 - real racing (But also requires the augusta be here as well).

11. BMWs and Goldwings - no reason, just that someone always mentions the bmw along the lines somewhere, which is usually followed not long after by the mention of the wing.

13. Harley. Except for the people that ride them, just about the whole world hates them. They are the ant-motorcycle builder to the rest of the world. Event tractor builders fear them.

14. Cossack. There engineering heads were probably trained by harley - but you couldnt have a sidecar without it being attached to a cossack.


The V1000 I consider to be a cultural icon, rather than anything else.

[T.W.R]

Well, the first VF750FD was dubbed the Interceptor, did the European models have Interceptor on the side panels? Damned if i can remember and I owned one for a while as well! The 700 Interceptors came later.

check the brochure from 82