Sports Cycle

Because Japanese motorcycles were so influential to motorcyclists who entered the sport in the 1960s and 1970s, the look of these bikes became imprinted in our psyches as the way a motorcycle should look.

These were pretty basic bikes : Back then, function dictated form. The gas tank sat above the engine to allow the gas to run down into the carburetors. The way the human body bends pretty much dictated the placement of the rest of the parts.



As motorcycles became more specialized in the 1980s, the look of motorcycles changed. Motorcyclists were so excited by new developments that we didn’t realize we were losing something in the process. Then one day in the late 1980s, we realized that the basic bike no longer existed. Motorcyclists began complaining about this situation, and soon the Japanese designed bikes that embodied the virtues of those older models.


Unfortunately, while the inclusion of the older styling features contributed to a retro look for these new machines, it also detracted from their overall versatility. Suzuki and Kawasaki were the first to come to the market with standard motorcycles. Kawasaki’s entrance into this new/old market segment was the Zephyr 550, a four-cylinder UJM-type bike introduced for the 1990 model year. The bike did not sell well in the United States. Very few of these machines found their way to the public highways, and they were soon dropped from Kawasaki’s lineup.

Suzuki’s entrant, the VX800 of the same year, did slightly better in the market. This was a full-sized, competent machine that fulfilled the promise of the versatile standard. In fact, it is a bike I highly recommend, whether to a beginner or a long-time motorcyclist. But it was never a sales dynamo and was imported to U.S. shores for only four years.

Neither Kawasaki nor Suzuki gave up on the concept of standard bikes after the lukewarm reception of their initial efforts. Kawasaki imported increasingly larger Zephyrs, but they came with increasingly larger price tags. None of the Zephyr series offered anything a rider couldn’t find in a used GPz 900 Ninja—and for a fraction of the Zephyr’s price.

Suzuki, in an attempt to recapture the sales success it had enjoyed with its big GS series of the 1970s and 1980s, brought out the GSX1100G, a big, 1980s-style standard with a modern, single-shock rear suspension. On paper, the Suzuki fulfilled every requirement those clamoring for standard bikes claimed to need from a bike.

But the GSX was even less successful than the VX. The reason probably involved the bike’s appearance. At the risk of offending loyal GSX riders, many people considered the bike to be goofy-looking. One magazine wag even suggested they take the coloring crayon away from the designer who conceived the machine. (For the record, I kind of like the bike’s look, if you get rid of the screwy high-rise handlebars and clean up the busy-looking front end.)




Honda was the first Japanese manufacturer to find relative success in the standard bike market, with its Nighthawk CB750. Here was a bike that offered the versatility UJMs were known for and looked good doing it. Perhaps the factor that contributed most to the bike’s success was its low price. In this case, you really did get your money’s worth. These were, and still are, great values for the money. My wife bought one of these bikes as her first full-sized motorcycle, and one of my greatest regrets is selling that bike.

While the Nighthawk was the first modern Japanese standard to hold its own in the marketplace, it never set any kind of sales records. It seemed the standard might once again disappear from the market, had a couple of manufacturers not rethought the concept.

First Yamaha introduced the Seca II 600. At first glance, this nimble, fun bike might not be considered a standard, since it included a small, framemounted fairing (a device that protects riders from the elements).

But riders didn’t care; the fairing just added to the bike’s practicality. It seemed that being naked (without fairing) was not a prerequisite for a standard. Suzuki also realized this and brought out its Bandit series. These bikes are comfortable motorcycles that incorporate the best technology available, a useful fairing, and a reasonable price.

The success of the Bandit spawned a resurgence in this type of motorcycle. Kawasaki was first to respond, introducing its ZRX1100, a bike that earned the nickname "Eddie Lawson Replica" because it used a paint scheme reminiscent of the bikes Eddie Lawson campaigned in AMA Superbike racing in the early 1980s. Suzuki fought back with a dramatically improved version of its Bandits, in both 600cc and 1200cc forms, and Yamaha entered the standard wars with its FZ1 (Fazer outside the United States). This bike uses the potent engine from Yamaha’s R1 open class sportbike, mounted in a steel frame with an upright riding position. Yamaha marketed this bike as "An R1 for the real world."

To drive home which bike Yamaha was targeting with the FZ1, it used Eddie Lawson himself in the television ads, because Lawson had achieved his greatest racing success at the international level aboard Yamaha motorcycles. Kawasaki didn’t take this lying down, and introduced a new bike for 2001, the ZRX1200, which was much better in every respect than the original ZRX1100. Finally Honda entered the market with a standard bike based on its CBR900RR (Fireblade outside the United States).

The fierce competition in this category indicates that there is a strong market for standard-style streetbikes. If you’re a fan of these types of bikes (which I am), this is a great time to be a motorcyclist.

Another category of specialized motorcycle to appear over the last several decades is the purpose-built touring bike, a bike equipped for longer rides on the road.

Harley started this trend by offering a fairing and luggage as optional equipment on its Electra Glide back in the 1960s, but other companies were slow to pick up on the trend.




In the late 1970s, BMW introduced its first factory dresser (the preferred name for a touring bike), the R100RT, a bike that met with market success. Honda had been producing a bike specifically for touring: the Gold Wing. In time, Honda began offering fairings and luggage as accessories, but these were still add-on parts, equipment for which the machines hadn’t been specifically designed.

" A touring bike is a bike equipped for longer rides with fairings and lockable saddle bags. While early bikers looked on motorcycles equipped for touring with scorn, calling them garbage wagons, over time they began to see their appeal. They began to refer to garbage wagons as baggers and finally dressers, the term many Harley riders use today. "

Other companies offered touring packages for their standard bikes, too, but there’s a problem with this approach: Accessories affect the handling of a machine, often adversely. Large fairings and luggage can really make a bike get squirrelly.

Yamaha decided to make its mark on the touringbike market and in 1983 introduced the Venture, Japan’s first bike designed from the ground up to have an integrated fairing and luggage. The approach of designing a machine from the ground up with this much bodywork produced a seamless motorcycle and sent Honda back to the drawing board.

Honda did not like being sent back to the drawing board, and when it returned, it did so with a vengeance. The 1984 Gold Wing 1200 set new standards in functionality and comfort. The Gold Wing 1500, a six-cylinder behemoth introduced for the 1988 model year, blew away even its predecessor. The Gold Wing proved to be such a perfect touring machine that the other Japanese manufacturers simply gave up trying to compete in that market segment.

The success of the Gold Wing meant the ultimate behemoth class of touring bikes saw relatively little change for over a decade, but eventually things began moving on the touring front again. All it took was a little competition, this time from BMW. In 1999 BMW introduced its K1200LT, and for the first time in more than ten years, Honda’s mighty six-cylinder Gold Wing began losing magazine comparison tests against its heavy-touring market competition. Honda responded by introducing the GL1800 Gold Wing, a bike that was much better in every way than its predecessor.

Sport Tourer - Yamaha FJR 1300

All segments of the touring market didn’t go into suspended animation while the Gold Wing waited patiently for a challenger to its throne. There were some exciting developments in other types of touring motorcycles, like the sport-touring segment of the market. Sport tourers combine the comfort and carrying capacity of a touring bike with the handling and excitement of a sportbike. You can think of these machines as sportbikes with larger fairings and hard, lockable luggage. This class existed for a long time without having a proper name; in fact, almost every BMW built in the last quarter of the century falls into this group.

" Sport tourers are motorcycles that combine the comfort and carrying capacity of a touring bike with the handling and power of a sportbike with larger fairings and hard, lockable luggage. "

Kawasaki produced the first purpose-built Japanese sport tourer with its Concours, introduced in 1986. Honda followed suit, bringing out its ST1100 in 1991. Over on the other side of the world, manufacturers like Aprilia, Ducati and Triumph also offer BMW competition in the sport-touring arena.

These bikes represent a compromise, giving up a bit of sporting capability to the smaller, more agile sportbikes while sacrificing some luggage-carrying capability when compared to the ultimate behemoths. It seems a compromise many riders are willing to make. If you like to crank up the throttle in corners and cover huge expanses of geography in a single sitting, but you don’t need to carry everything you own with you on a trip, these bikes may be a good compromise for you, too.

Lately, the touring cruiser, another subcategory of touring bike, has also been developed. The touring-cruiser bikes combine the looks of cruisers with the functionality of touring bikes. With their windshields and hard luggage, they are more comfortable and convenient than cruisers, yet they retain the American look that makes cruisers so popular. Yamaha’s Royal Star Venture and Honda’s Valkyrie Interstate are two of the latest and largest entries in this class. A bit down the food chain in overall bulk (but not overall capability) is Kawasaki’s Vulcan Norads. And of course, Harley has many entries in this category, since it invented the category.

The motorcycles manufactured for purely off-road use today tend toward the extreme end of the motorcycle spectrum. These are machines like the screaming race bikes leaping through the air in arenas around the country during Supercross races.

These bikes usually don’t make good beginner bikes. In fact, many of them are intended as strictly racing machines. Almost all of them have two-stroke engines, which means that you will have to mix oil into your gas before you fill your tank, which is a messy, time-consuming process. And inconvenient, should you find yourself miles from home without a can in which to mix fuel.

Dirt Bikes are machines intended for off-road use and aren’t legal to ride on public roads. Sometimes the term pure-dirt is used to distinguish a dirtbike from a dual-sport motorcycle. Dirtbike riders are sometimes referred to as dirt donks.

Adding to this inconvenience is the fact that puredirt bikes aren’t legal to ride on public roads.

Dirtbikes also feature an extremely abrupt power delivery. When the engine starts, it unleashes a whole bunch of horsepower in a most-surprising fashion. Riders inexperienced in handling these machines commonly suffer from broken bones in their hands. This is because the power catches the rider by surprise, causing the bike to flip over backward, crushing his or her hands with the handlebars. I’ve seen it happen more than once.

There are alternative bikes available for those who want to do serious off-road riding. The bikes I’m referring to are four-stroke trailbikes. Honda has long been a proponent of such motorcycles, and its XR series (not to be confused with the XR-L series—this gets confusing) offers terrific alternatives. Yamaha has also jumped on the four-stroke bandwagon with its Y2426F, Y2250F.

With four-stroke dirtbikes, you won’t have to premix fuel, plus you’ll find that they have smooth, easily-controllable power. Some even feature electric start! Unless your ultimate goal is to race, and you have some familiarity with off-road riding, these bikes may make a better choice for your first dirtbike.

Probably the biggest disadvantage of a pure-dirt motorcycle is that it’s not legal to drive on public roads (hence the term pure-dirt). This means you’ll have to transport the machine from your garage to the place you intend to ride - for example, in a pickup truck or a trailer. These bikes don’t meet the emissions or noise requirements for street legal vehicles, nor do they have the electrical equipment, like turn signals and horns, required in most states. In some states, it is possible to manipulate the legal system enough to license an off-road bike for use on public roads, but by doing so, you may be setting yourself up for future legal problems.

If, on the other hand, you are not the laid-back, easy-rider type, you might be interested in something with a little more sporting capability. Well, you are definitely in the right place at the right time; the range of sporting motorcycles available has never been better.

When British bikes began to appear in the United States in appreciable numbers following World War II, it became obvious that while Harleys may be faster in a straight line, the British models could run circles around a Harley when the road began to wind. This gave the British a reputation as producers of highly-sporting motorcycles. The British managed to maintain this reputation until the early 1970s, with bikes like Norton’s 850 Commando.



When the Japanese began producing large, four-cylinder motorcycles, these became the new leaders in straight-line performance. The term Universal Japanese Motorcycles (UJMs) was coined to describe them.

During the 1970s, the Japanese became so identified with fourcylinder, standard-style motorcycles that the term Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) was coined to describe them.

While they were wicked-fast, most UJMs of the 1970s did not handle all that well, mostly because of inferior suspension components and flimsy frames. They outhandled Harleys (which tended to be about as nimble as a freight train), but they could not keep up with a properly-functioning Norton Commando.

The real breakthrough in the development of sportbikes from Japan was Honda’s 750cc Interceptor, introduced for the 1983-model year. This bike, with its revolutionary V-four engine, was Japan’s first purpose built sporting motorcycle.

The Interceptor revolutionized sportbikes. It started off a technology war between the Japanese manufacturers that still continues to this day. Kawasaki brought out its original 900 Ninja, a bike in many ways as groundbreaking as the Interceptor. Yamaha introduced its five-valve FZ 750, a bike so influential that Ferrari adopted some of its technology for its cars. And Suzuki blew the world away by introducing its GSX-R series, bikes that really were racers with headlights.

The Italians are another prominent force in the sportbike scene. When they started building large-displacement sportbikes in the 1970s, bikes like Moto Guzzi’s V7 Sport and Ducati’s 750SS, the Italians raised the ceiling on riders’ expectations from their machines. While never exported in numbers large enough to become a real presence in the American market, these bikes influenced the direction sporting motorcycles would take.

Today’s sportbikes cover nearly the entire spectrum. Yamaha’s YZF 600, while being a more capable sporting motorcycle than the pure race bikes of just a few years ago, is so comfortable and versatile, it could almost be considered a sport-tourer. Suzuki’s latest generation of GSX-R has such high-performance limits that only a few experienced riders can ever approach them. The razor-sharp handling of Ducati’s 916 is just slightly removed from that of the bike Carl Fogarty won two World Superbike Championships on.

And the newest generation of sportbikes, like the Yamaha YZF R1, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, or BMW S1000RR, looks like it will raise current standards even higher.

Choppers, customs, cruisers - whichever term you use, you are referring to a distinctly American style of motorcycle. The American landscape, both social and geographical, shaped this style of motorcycle into its present form.

As the history of motorcycle, many of the restless soldiers returning from Europe and Asia after World War II chose to explore the United States on motorcycles, but the motorcycles available didn’t suit them all that well. Outlaw bikers called the big Harley-Davidson touring bikes of that time "garbage wagons", because they considered all the accessories and extras mounted on them garbage.

In fact, Bylaw Number 11 of the original Hell’s Angels charter states : An Angel cannot wear the colors (club insignia) while riding on a garbage wagon …. The first thing most outlaws did was chop off all superfluous parts, which to them was anything that didn’t help the bike go faster: fenders, lights, front brakes, whatever. Hence, the term chopper.



Choppers came to symbolize the outlaw motorcycle contingent, the infamous onepercenters. By the 1960s, these bikes had evolved into radical machines far removed from the intent of the original customized bikes, which was improved straight-line performance. Anyone seeking outright performance would ride a Japanese or British bike. Harley had long since given up the pretense of producing sporting motorcycles.

People rode Harleys to look cool, and nothing looked cooler than a Harley chopper. The extended forks and modified frames of these motorcycles made them nearly impossible to ride, but the owners didn’t seem to mind. Riding a motorcycle with unsafe handling characteristics seemed to be another way of letting society know the rider didn’t care if he or she lived or died.

Over the years, such machines gained in popularity - even as they declined in practicality - but manufacturers seemed not to notice. It wasn’t until the 1970s, after decades of watching American riders customize their bikes, that the manufacturers got into the act and began offering custom-styled bikes.

The birth of the factory custom can be in large part attributed to one man: Willie G. Davidson. Willie G., as he is known, worked in Harley’s styling department, but he was also an avid motorcyclist who knew what people were doing to their bikes. One popular customizing technique was to take the fork off of a Sportster and graft it onto a stripped-down big-twin frame, so Willie G. did just that at the factory. The result was the original Super Glide.

The Super Glide model, offered in 1971, was not a screaming success, due in part to a funky boat-like rear fender (known as the Night Train fender). The next year, Harley gave the bike a more conventional rear fender and sold thousands of Super Glides. Harley wasn’t the only company working on a custom-styled bike. The British manufacturer Norton also developed a cruiser in the early 1970s. Unfortunately, its cruiser, the ungainly High Rider, wasn’t well received. The bike only contributed to the company’s eventual demise.

Kawasaki was the first Japanese company to test the factory-chopper waters, introducing its KZ900LTD in 1976. The kawasaki cruiser motorcycles featured pull-back buckhorn handlebars, a teardrop-shaped gas tank, a seat with a pronounced step between the rider and passenger portion, and a liberal dousing of chrome plating. These bikes forced the rider into a backward-leaning riding position (raising unbridled hell with his or her lower back), but otherwise, they were still functional, useful machines. As the decade progressed, the Japanese stuck to this formula. This approach had a limited future; the real future of cruisers was being forged elsewhere, by Willie G.

Two of Willie G.’s creations in particular proved to be the models for today’s cruisers: the Low Rider, introduced in 1977, and the Wide Glide of 1980. Study these bikes, and you’ll see elements of every cruiser now produced. The bobbed fender of the Wide Glide can be found on cruisers from Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. The kickedout front end and sculpted fenders of the Low Rider hint at the shape of Yamaha’s Virago. These two bikes are arguably the most influential factory customs of all time.


What of the Japanese ? As the 1980s progressed, Japanese manufacturers got closer and closer to building motorcycles that looked like Harley-Davidsons. But they have taken cruiser styling in new directions, too. Honda now builds its Valkyrie, a massive, six-cylinder cruiser. Yamaha cruiser motorcycles Royal Star looks as much like a classic Indian motorcycle as it does a Harley-Davidson. And BMW’s cruiser, the R1200C, doesn’t resemble any other motorcycle on the planet.

This segment of the market is thriving, and for good reason: Cruisers are easy bikes to live with. Many of them are nearly maintenance-free. They look good, and when outfitted with a windshield, are comfortable out on the road. They may not handle as well as sportbikes, nor haul as much gear as touring bikes, but in many ways, they fulfill the role of a standard, all-around motorcycle. Many riders don’t ride a motorcycle to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. They just like to ride. If that describes you, you might be cruiser material.

Many riders want to travel off the beaten path, but at the same time they need a motorcycle they can legally drive on public roads to get to that nonbeaten path. Motorcycle manufacturers have long recognized this need; that’s why they make dual sport motorcycles. During the 1960s and 1970s, every maker, from Yamaha to Ducati, offered dual-purpose motorcycles - bikes that went by names like Enduro or Suzuki’s more imaginative Bearcat.

These bikes were primarily road bikes with some offroad capabilities thrown in. They were a blast to ride down logging roads, and they made great commuter bikes. As the baby boomers aged, they lost interest in these versatile and fun machines, and their popularity declined. But now the breed seems to be gaining in popularity once again. Each of the big four Japanese companies, as well as several European firms, manufactures some form of dual sport motorcycles, as they are now called.

- Honda makes the CRF250L ($4,499) & XR650L ($6,690), probably the most off-road-worthy and also the favourite of the dual sport coming out of Japan.

- Kawasaki builds its KLR650 ($6,499), an excellent light-weight street bike that will get you down some trails, provided the going doesn’t get too hairy.

- Splitting the difference is Suzuki’s DR650SE ($6,399), a better streetbike than the Honda and a better dirtbike than the Kawasaki.

- Yamaha’s U.S. entry into the dual-sport market is the WR250R ($6,690). The most expensive 250cc dual sport entries from the other Japanese manufacturers. But, It's also the best performer and best option for learner.

- KTM, an Austrian manufacturer, makes the 690 Enduro R ($10,299), a worthy (but pricey) entry into this category.

Any of these bikes makes an ideal first motorcycle. In addition to having varying degrees of dirt-worthiness, each makes a nimble, forgiving streetbike. They’re all fantastic city bikes. Their light weight and easy handling make them excellent bikes for a learner, but their all-around capability means a rider won’t outgrow them after learning to ride.

The only drawback these dual sport bikes have is that they’re tall machines. Part of the reason they work so well both on and off the road is because they have long-travel suspensions, which place the seat high off the pavement. While this lets riders see traffic, it also presents some challenges for those with shorter inseams.


In the last decade or so, another type of dual sport has appeared: the leviathans. These are large-displacement machines based on streetbikes. In a way, they’re throwbacks to earlier times, when a single machine was used for all purposes. BMW introduced the first of the leviathans in 1980, when it brought out the R80GS, an 800cc, twin-cylinder bike with high fenders and exhaust pipes. This versatile bike proved popular, especially in Europe, but it might have remained an anomaly, one of a kind, had it not been for one event - the Paris Dakar Rally.

The term leviathan originally referred to a Biblical sea monster, but has come to mean something of immense size and power, a good description of these big, multi-cylinder dual sport motorcycles, which can weigh almost twice as much as the largest single-cylinder dual sports.

The Paris Dakar Rally is an off-road race across thousands of miles of desert along the west coast of Africa, and it is here that the leviathans really shine. The event’s popularity generated the production of Dakar-style replicas from most of the major motorcycle manufacturers.

These were bikes like the original R80GS, basically streetbikes with a bit of off-road equipment, but with bodywork resembling the Dakar racers - bikes like the Ducati/Cagiva Elefant and Triumph Tiger. Honda made something called the Africa Twin, and Yamaha produced its own Dakar-style bike, the Super Tenere, but at the moment - these were never imported into the United States.

Most single-cylinder dual sports have modest off-road capabilities, but these leviathans are best suited to graded dirt roads; they are just too heavy for off-road work. You probably don’t want to take them up a mountain trail. But these big buggers make very good streetbikes, in part because of their long-travel suspensions, relatively light weight (at least when compared to, say, a Harley-Davidson), and nimble handling. You could do worse than to buy one.