Bike of the Century
- Thread starter OB_ROR
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OB_Dirty Pete
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JAN...HERE'S MY BROTHER-IN-LAW
Hallo Jan my naam is Menno ik ben de schoon broer van Dirty Pete
Gelukige Kerstdagen en Pretige Newjaar.
Ik zit aan Peters computer op de kerst avond
aan jou te schriven my nederlands is niet zo
good meer.
Maar ik vind de Hayabusa een geweldige motor,
fiets.
En het is leuk van jou gehoord te hebben.
Hallo Jan my naam is Menno ik ben de schoon broer van Dirty Pete
Gelukige Kerstdagen en Pretige Newjaar.
Ik zit aan Peters computer op de kerst avond
aan jou te schriven my nederlands is niet zo
good meer.
Maar ik vind de Hayabusa een geweldige motor,
fiets.
En het is leuk van jou gehoord te hebben.
OB_crazy bill
Registered
yea...what he said.....
HEE GREAT DIRTY PETE,AND THANKS VERY MUCHS MENNO!
I can see that you dutch is a bit weaker but I like it ,and I understand it very well ,I think my writing is in englisch from the same level haha ,now try that with technical stuff in dutch ,I am just making fun.
AND MENNO "PRETTIGE FEESTDAGEN EN EEN GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR "TO YOU
Maybe you all could writ in dutch for a month or so hehehe!!
see ya jan
I can see that you dutch is a bit weaker but I like it ,and I understand it very well ,I think my writing is in englisch from the same level haha ,now try that with technical stuff in dutch ,I am just making fun.
AND MENNO "PRETTIGE FEESTDAGEN EN EEN GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR "TO YOU
Maybe you all could writ in dutch for a month or so hehehe!!
see ya jan
OB_VegasDude
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The vote should go the fastest production bike in the 20th century...............THe busa of course!!
OB_Dirty Pete
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Jan, Menno enjoyed writing to you. He knows his Dutch is very rusty. He came to Canada alone when he was 20 (that's 25 years ago) and doesn't get much opportunity to use his native tongue.
OB_SOKOL49
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VegasDude,
You need to wait another year to get to the 21st century, so ZX12R still has a shot to be the fastest bike of the 20th century. Just in case some of you did not figure it out: the year 2000 is the last year of the 20th century and the last year of the millennium, (there was no year "0" in the beginning).
You need to wait another year to get to the 21st century, so ZX12R still has a shot to be the fastest bike of the 20th century. Just in case some of you did not figure it out: the year 2000 is the last year of the 20th century and the last year of the millennium, (there was no year "0" in the beginning).
OB_Juanski
Registered
Kaff,choke...I can't believe the Kawasaki H1
would even be considered by anyone as a candidate for bike of the century, unless it was crappiest bike of the century. They really didn't make that much power,just seemed like it because it came on suddenly. They handled like crap and were dangerous to ride, and they felt positively prehistoric to work on. Nostalgia is clouding the some memory banks I think...in the past we had a few in the shop, serviced them, and rode them around and sure they were a blast from the past, but they were really junk too!!
would even be considered by anyone as a candidate for bike of the century, unless it was crappiest bike of the century. They really didn't make that much power,just seemed like it because it came on suddenly. They handled like crap and were dangerous to ride, and they felt positively prehistoric to work on. Nostalgia is clouding the some memory banks I think...in the past we had a few in the shop, serviced them, and rode them around and sure they were a blast from the past, but they were really junk too!!
OB_ducmanic
Registered
Here's a little known fact-
The 69 Bridgestone 350 rotary valve two stroke twin was as fast as the H1, and Norton Commando, and handled reasonably well. They all ran 12.3ish at the time. The H1 made 70 hp- a lot for a 500 at the time. It was crap,
but it was all we had. BigEd mentioned owning an A7Kaw, and so did two of my friends, pumper carbs, homemade chambers and all. Now that was a light switch bike. Looking back trough rose colored glasses, they were all just trainers for bussa'. It helped the natural selection processes by killing of legions off unworthy squids, as did the H2 750. The only time I ever came close to dropping my 1969 H1 was when the handle bars broke in half doing a third gear wheelie over a dip in the road-
Big fun-
"Ride like you mean it"
ducmanic
[This message has been edited by ducmanic (edited 28 December 1999).]
The 69 Bridgestone 350 rotary valve two stroke twin was as fast as the H1, and Norton Commando, and handled reasonably well. They all ran 12.3ish at the time. The H1 made 70 hp- a lot for a 500 at the time. It was crap,
but it was all we had. BigEd mentioned owning an A7Kaw, and so did two of my friends, pumper carbs, homemade chambers and all. Now that was a light switch bike. Looking back trough rose colored glasses, they were all just trainers for bussa'. It helped the natural selection processes by killing of legions off unworthy squids, as did the H2 750. The only time I ever came close to dropping my 1969 H1 was when the handle bars broke in half doing a third gear wheelie over a dip in the road-
Big fun-
"Ride like you mean it"
ducmanic
[This message has been edited by ducmanic (edited 28 December 1999).]
OB_KawAbuser
Registered
#1 Vincent Black Shadow - the bike we measure up to still today. Way ahead of its time and performance numbers which are still very respectable.
70's
Honda CB750, the bike which started the show.
BMW R100S, original superbike
Kawasaki Z1, the bike which scared us the most after the flexi-flyer 750 H2.
Munch Mammoth, at least the name fit.
80's
Suzuki Katana 1000, year late and 250cc to big.
Kawasaki Lawson Replica 1000, the end of the KZ's
Honda Intercepter 750, slowly fades away as the RC45
Suzuki 1985 GSXR 750/1100 the new big kid on the block
90's
Honda CBR900, back to the original GSXR concept, strange tire sizes
Kawasaki ZX11, big dog for a long time
Norton Nemessis, woulda, shoulda, couldn't
Suzuki GSXR750, finally finds a fitness trainer and gets in shape
Suzuki Hayabusa, lot like a Vincent Black Shadow - something for which to the future against. History repeats itself.
*********************************************
Juanski, you are a fine carpenter as you drove that nail home.LOL
[This message has been edited by KawAbuser (edited 28 December 1999).]
70's
Honda CB750, the bike which started the show.
BMW R100S, original superbike
Kawasaki Z1, the bike which scared us the most after the flexi-flyer 750 H2.
Munch Mammoth, at least the name fit.
80's
Suzuki Katana 1000, year late and 250cc to big.
Kawasaki Lawson Replica 1000, the end of the KZ's
Honda Intercepter 750, slowly fades away as the RC45
Suzuki 1985 GSXR 750/1100 the new big kid on the block
90's
Honda CBR900, back to the original GSXR concept, strange tire sizes
Kawasaki ZX11, big dog for a long time
Norton Nemessis, woulda, shoulda, couldn't
Suzuki GSXR750, finally finds a fitness trainer and gets in shape
Suzuki Hayabusa, lot like a Vincent Black Shadow - something for which to the future against. History repeats itself.
*********************************************
Juanski, you are a fine carpenter as you drove that nail home.LOL
[This message has been edited by KawAbuser (edited 28 December 1999).]
OB_Squid Vicious
Registered
I elect the "Big Wheel" trike I owned at age 3-4 for bike of the century. It is ultimately responsible for every motorcycle I've ever puchased. Conditioning at such a young age can have an overwhelming effect(like the presence of asbestos in my grade school)on one's adult life. At age 4 I routinely thrashed the front wheel on my big wheel. This resulted in many routine trips to Toys R' Us for replacement. I considered a Supercharger at age 5 but felt I was just too young to ride a supercharged Big Wheel. I instead opted for busting open my piggy bank and flying to Nevada for a trip to the Mustang Ranch. I figured I'd seen enough of my sister's Barbie dolls naked. It was now time to see the real thing. As a result, 25 years later I am routinely doubling/tripiling the posted speed limits on my Busa & ZX-11. Unfortunately, the scorching case of genital herpes I contracted at age 5 is something I deal with routinely also. The Hayabusa is my adult "Big Wheel" and Bike of the Century. I wouldn't have it any other way. Time to go huff some paint and ride. Peace to all.
OB_suiciderider
Registered
Let us all give thanks to our big wheels. May they rest in peace. At least my old ones as I gave them so much abuse they never lasted more than two months.
OB_Juanski
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Thank ye Kawabuser, it seems some of us get a little misty-eyed remembering all the bikes we had in the past. I would love to have my Indian pie wagon, or my Harley 45 army bike, or even the James 250 scrambler back, but never would I consider any of my 28 bikes as candidates for the bike of the century...they were all pretty bad by todays standards. But damn were they fun at the time..even the ones I had to push down a hill to get started!!
G
Guest
Well said Squid. One of my earliest recollections is of my 4th birthday when Pop laid down a whopping $19 for my first Big Wheel. After a few replaced front wheels and finally my fat sister sitting on it and breaking the frame I moved onto "The Green Machine"! It had the two lever-style controls for some awesome skids!
OB_Dirty Pete
Registered
I just posted this idea on the Bike of the Century over at the ZX12 site and I thought it might be worth considering here:
My vote goes to the 1964 Honda 90 Sport.
Hold the tomatos...
Before that bike and the ad slogan that went with it "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" only outlaws or cranks rode bikes. You literally couldn't hold down a respectable job if you rode anything bigger than a Lambretta scooter. Post war bike sales were barely enough to keep a few major brands afloat when every other sector of the economy was booming. It was an anemic industry that
had served up little or no new technology for
decades.
Then came the Honda 90 Sport and its brilliant ad campaign. Suddenly it was OK for Dad the community conscious suburban insurance salesman to let his son ride a motorcycle! Soon they were all over the road.
Regular people got into riding without fear of ruining their reputation or being run off the road by an paranoid dentist.
Within a year the riders who started out on the little Hondas wanted bigger Hondas and faster Hondas. Then Kaw, Zook and Yam saw there was a market happening and dove in. The race was on. Within 7 years we had the Z1, the Duc 750 Desmo and 20 other challenging rides.
And look where we are now!
I'm arguing that if it hadn't been for that puny Honda 90 Sport, the bike market would not have gained the broad acceptance the industry needed, and motorcycles would still be in the Stone Age.
We wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Some other bike would have come along to break down the barriers?
Maybe.
My vote goes to the 1964 Honda 90 Sport.
Hold the tomatos...
Before that bike and the ad slogan that went with it "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" only outlaws or cranks rode bikes. You literally couldn't hold down a respectable job if you rode anything bigger than a Lambretta scooter. Post war bike sales were barely enough to keep a few major brands afloat when every other sector of the economy was booming. It was an anemic industry that
had served up little or no new technology for
decades.
Then came the Honda 90 Sport and its brilliant ad campaign. Suddenly it was OK for Dad the community conscious suburban insurance salesman to let his son ride a motorcycle! Soon they were all over the road.
Regular people got into riding without fear of ruining their reputation or being run off the road by an paranoid dentist.
Within a year the riders who started out on the little Hondas wanted bigger Hondas and faster Hondas. Then Kaw, Zook and Yam saw there was a market happening and dove in. The race was on. Within 7 years we had the Z1, the Duc 750 Desmo and 20 other challenging rides.
And look where we are now!
I'm arguing that if it hadn't been for that puny Honda 90 Sport, the bike market would not have gained the broad acceptance the industry needed, and motorcycles would still be in the Stone Age.
We wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Some other bike would have come along to break down the barriers?
Maybe.
OB_RobBase
Registered
My vote for bike of the century would be the first thing I rode with 2 wheels-my lime green Schwinn Sting-ray with 5speed stickshift, banana seat, sissy bar and chopper forks.
OB_Juanski
Registered
Dirty Pete made a good point about how Honda turned the course of motorcycle history with their introduction of the friendly biker image..but the first bikes they introduced in
North America were actually the Honda 50, later upgraded to a Honda 65 when they realized how power hungry the round-eyes were! But regardless of which model it was back then, and how much fun they were to ride,(and they were a blast!), we are talking about a marketing stroke of genius in this case, not about a piece of machinery that would qualify as Bike of The Century. Let's not get too sentimental here...hehehe.
North America were actually the Honda 50, later upgraded to a Honda 65 when they realized how power hungry the round-eyes were! But regardless of which model it was back then, and how much fun they were to ride,(and they were a blast!), we are talking about a marketing stroke of genius in this case, not about a piece of machinery that would qualify as Bike of The Century. Let's not get too sentimental here...hehehe.
OB_Dirty Pete
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Juanski yes the 50 and 65 started it. I chose the 90 Sport because it was Honda's first real motorcycle.
When Time chooses their Person of Century they write down the voting parameters first. We never did that. Every response on this thread, including my own earlier one, chose bikes for their technical contribution or for the position they held vs the rest of the bike world in terms of performance.
The 90 Sport is my pick if The Bike of the Century means the bike that had the greatest impact on the motorcycle world.
If you look at mag lists for Car of the Century, you'll always see cages like the Model T and the VW Bug on them. Rarely will you see the fastest or best handling car of the century nominated by automotive journalists.
Then again...it could be my fever talking.
When Time chooses their Person of Century they write down the voting parameters first. We never did that. Every response on this thread, including my own earlier one, chose bikes for their technical contribution or for the position they held vs the rest of the bike world in terms of performance.
The 90 Sport is my pick if The Bike of the Century means the bike that had the greatest impact on the motorcycle world.
If you look at mag lists for Car of the Century, you'll always see cages like the Model T and the VW Bug on them. Rarely will you see the fastest or best handling car of the century nominated by automotive journalists.
Then again...it could be my fever talking.
OB_Cisco San Jose
Registered
I'd say Honda did make a big difference in the motorcycle industry in the USA,the bike a remember very well is the 1968 305 Honda Scrambler which back then was concidered the superbike at that time.We had a friend that took that bike from Hilo High School to the Top of the Highest Road on Manua Kea mountian and made it in 45 minutes and that was back in 1968,the guy was a short Japanese classmate by the name of Mouse and I think his unofficial record still stands till this day for the guys that went to Hilo High School.It was always who had the hottest or fast car at that time when I was in High School but everybody always talked about Mouse taking his 305 Scrambler up that mountian.Our cars back in High School where 327ci Chevy 55,56,60's,427ci big block cars and Ford Corbra Mustangs,all our cars where fast and Hot,couldn't handle for Crap on the turns but.Most guys would hop up the old 64 Chevy Nova but when it came to bikes the Honda 305 was King.The 305 I remember had big Nobby tires in the rear and small nobs up front.
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