Fastest Bike in 1980
- Thread starter brad
- Start date
Rode one that my friend owned and it rocked! I was riding a 1980 Honda CB900 custom. For those of you who have not seen one, they were an inline 4 cyl. with shaft drive, air suspension and a 5 speed gearbox with a high and low range. It would give just about any bike all it wanted from a standing start in low range, but it was all in at just over 110 mph.
(tedbiele @ Sep. 17 2006,12:13)I turned ten the day after you were born.... young man.(heavybusa @ Sep. 13 2006,00:54) hmmm, lets see.
Where was I in 1980.....
Oh yeah BEING BORN!!! 04/17/80!!
old timers!!
uh,,,, i was 8
In 1980 I did a number of bike deals. I started off with a stock 78 GS 1000N which I sold to buy a 79 CBX. That had clip-ons and poor handling but paint and sound to die for. I traded that for a modified 78 GS 1000 (big bore with 29 mikunis)- I had a pin in my leg which caused me to miss a 1-2 shift and thus twisted the crank. So I did a massive rebuild on the GS.
New crank, aligned and TIG welded pins, Yoshimura 1100 kit, new head and valves, 33 mm mukuni, Yosh StageII cams, GS1100 swing arm and ignition, dual disc front end from a GS 1000S, seat, tank and tail from a GS 1000E (black) anodized blue wire wheels 130 rear (which was huge then) 110 front. Fox shocks (deflected disc design) Kerker KR pipe with the no baffle baffle, fork brace and a GS 850 front fender and GS550 sidecover badges (just to really make people puke).
That was about the fastest bike in town (No BS) in its day. I handled any and all comers including V-Max, GS 1100, GS 1150 all kawis including a for-real Lawson bike and a FI clone. I can remember people being amazed by the bike pulling wheelies and putting down stripes at the same time. One guy on a V-Max could not believe it when I run up beside him at high speed, looked over at him and waved goodbye. My buddy who was chasing said he was pulled over on the side of the road looking at the bike with a seriously pised-off look when he passed.
It ate chains like they were free and I usually ran two or three rear tires every summer -and that is in Edmonton, Alberta where you could only ride fom May - Sept (thanks to global warming the season's a bit longer now).
I still dream about that bike, although I would imagine riding it today it would feel like a turd.
New crank, aligned and TIG welded pins, Yoshimura 1100 kit, new head and valves, 33 mm mukuni, Yosh StageII cams, GS1100 swing arm and ignition, dual disc front end from a GS 1000S, seat, tank and tail from a GS 1000E (black) anodized blue wire wheels 130 rear (which was huge then) 110 front. Fox shocks (deflected disc design) Kerker KR pipe with the no baffle baffle, fork brace and a GS 850 front fender and GS550 sidecover badges (just to really make people puke).
That was about the fastest bike in town (No BS) in its day. I handled any and all comers including V-Max, GS 1100, GS 1150 all kawis including a for-real Lawson bike and a FI clone. I can remember people being amazed by the bike pulling wheelies and putting down stripes at the same time. One guy on a V-Max could not believe it when I run up beside him at high speed, looked over at him and waved goodbye. My buddy who was chasing said he was pulled over on the side of the road looking at the bike with a seriously pised-off look when he passed.
It ate chains like they were free and I usually ran two or three rear tires every summer -and that is in Edmonton, Alberta where you could only ride fom May - Sept (thanks to global warming the season's a bit longer now).
I still dream about that bike, although I would imagine riding it today it would feel like a turd.
I also owned a Kawi KZ1000 (1977), oh, with a Vetter fairing! (I can hear the younger crowd now... what the he## is a Vetter fairing?!)
I remember Kawasaki claimed the KZ1000 had a mighty 83hp with a top end of 135mph. On occasion I'd squeeze 130 and change, out of it. 130 felt seriously fast on that beast!
28 years later I'm riding an '05 Busa - what a [great] difference!
Just think what the next 10 or 20 years will bring!
I remember Kawasaki claimed the KZ1000 had a mighty 83hp with a top end of 135mph. On occasion I'd squeeze 130 and change, out of it. 130 felt seriously fast on that beast!
28 years later I'm riding an '05 Busa - what a [great] difference!
Just think what the next 10 or 20 years will bring!
bigoltool
Registered
In 1980 I was riding my brothers old Honda CJ360 with Windjammer! Then in 1982 I traded my cherry old VW Squareback for my 78 GS750E. Rode that thing all over the place until I bought my GS1150ES in 1985. Sold the 1150 last fall after buying my Busa. Wish I still had both of those GS's!
Gee whiz......you make 1980 sound like a long time ago!!
Similar threads
