Favorite Motorcycle

Those and the 175s were both great motorcycles. Not great dedicated dirt bikes but you didn't need a truck. You could ride to the trails and back home again.

We were, or at least I was pretty happy to just have a set of wheels.

 

Me too..175…putting a 21” front wheel on it made it a much better ride,in a lotta ways..

But this,the one pic’d,was far and away the best fun one can have with clothes on..what a blast. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I have owned several bikes in my life, but this will always be one of my favorites. Not mine in the photo. Mine was totaled when someone made an illegal U-Turn in front of me in 1989.

1983 Suzuki GS 1100E

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Landmark motorcycle. GS1100 was king of the hill for quite a while.
Once they got rid of the roller bearing crank it was a killer engine.

 

What was wrong with the roller crank?

 

Roller bearings were great back when we had lousy plain bearings and worse oil. Its been found in test after test that in the modern era
they provide no less friction under load. What they do provide is a much weaker structure. Roller cranks are by necessity made up of small parts bolted/pressed/welded together to allow the bearings to be installed. They always disintegrate in high stress applications. They have so much less rigidity in flexion and torsion its just a preordained outcome. The Suzuki cranks in stock engines did pretty good but when modified or raced they had the predictable fate of a very high failure rate. It was not successful in racing until they went to a one piece forging. Even today you can find performance/racing motorcycle parts manufacturers offering one piece forged cranks for them.

Mercedes Benz used them in their famous and successful W196 and W196S race cars of the mid 50s, Those were made by a famous company named Hirth who also made roller cranks for Porsche. To survive they had to limit the engine RPM limiting its horsepower and the cages for the rollers were forever breaking. Cranks required their own log book, constant inspection and very frequent rebuilds by Hirth. They are often displayed whenever the museum shows up with a car at an event right next to its Hirth log book. Beautiful piece but not great engineering. Those engines had desmodromic valves and I thing that reduction in friction led them down a rabbit hole of friction reduction being a key to success. Well they were successful but maybe not for those reasons They threw huge money at the project and had the best talent driving them.

 

Really interesting. Thank you for the response.

 

Wasn't that also the issue with the higher horsepower Porsche 4 cylinder motors from the late 50s-early 60s?

 

Possibly. Porsche used a lot of Hirth roller cranks. Porsche was also famous for weak rods in the 4 cylinder engines. Back before it was easy to get custom rods made I knew a lot of Porsche race engine builders once the rods were installed were welding them together. Now we just get Carillo to make us some. Most of the Ferrari engine builders just throw the rods in the scrap metal and install Carillos.

 

Did the '82's and '83's have the roller crank you refer to, or were they the killer engines?

 

I think they changed in 83. The 1000 had less problems but the 1100 was bigger and had a 4v head. In stock form it was not an issue but it was so fast they very quickly starting getting modified and were popular drag racers. Thats when they found out they had reached the limits of the design. Suzuki was really big in 2 strokes. Because of the lubrication rollers are just SOP. Well they just kept doing it, until they coludn't. The big Japanese bike companies were in a real horsepower war. Those cranks days were limited.

 

I owned an 82 CBX for 25 years from new..same as pictured.
Was not best evasive maneuver bike, but the sheer thrill of 6 cylinders 24 valves a 6 into 2 exhaust , 6 carbs and a sleek fairing as well as a sound that raised the hair on my spine!!...was too much to contain the excitement..
I loved every minute of riding..was a formula one of bikes!

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They had a sound all their own.

 

I have a friend who loves those CBXs and has several of them. I think they are cool, not sure I would ever want to own one.

I still think my favorite is my Triumph Sprint ST.

 

I had that exact bike, as a cruiser its fine, but felt as described, ie handled like a bike with a hinge in the middle.
Way cool look though, which is what graviated me towards it in the first place.
Got a Honda Vfr 750 as a replacement which worked way better for the type of speed and canyon riding we were doing then. But even that bike felt like a compromise, not really that comfy, and then a little too soft compared to others when really pressings on. These days wish I still had that VFR.

 

Nice...I remember buying my bike in 82, there was a dealer on west 57th st and 11th ave..NYC...At the time it was such a special bike, heavy only because the center of gravity was high, but the amazement factor was also high!..I remember The first service or so that the valves needed to be adjusted, via these tiny little alloy cap spacers that went in between the rocker arm and the valve stem..so crazy..but it quieted the valves instantly. That Engine is a Work of ART.. Bravo Honda!

 

I remember being a child maybe when the first cbx came out no fairing. Was out with my father, I remember the exact place in front of local dive bar, and there was this bike, six gleaming chrome pipes, I was mesmerized.
Fast forwards to 1992, I'm driving down the road past a used bile shop in town, and there is the exact same cbx as yours in the window, mint. i did a uturn across two lanes and a double yellow, pulled in and bought the bike. In south africa it was R18000 then prob 4k dollars maybe less., and the bike was mint maybe 5000KMS.

Something about realizing your dreams or not. Loved the CBX for a bit untill started doing canyon runs, then it was just too big old heavy and slow. id stopped riding maybe 3 years before I got the CBX, and that bike got me into it again. Would prob work great cruising about in Fl now.

Countach was dream that disappointed once I got one. Kinda like that really hot women you pined after who once you got her in bed had a crap pu...

the BBi didn't disappoint, but nowadays 30 years after I got mine (when it was still a really fast car) its really an antique.

Modern stuff is just so all of a piece and great performing, but modern cars with rare exceptions lack the art, drama, and sound, much lost.
But in bikes you can still get all those classic looks and vibes, many motor layout choices but with brakes handling reliability etc truly the new golden era, except no air coolled 6, but you can get a triumph Rocket.

The years go fast.

 

I think the old MV Agusta 750 Sports from the early to mid 1970s are just art. They ride really well and they have an incredible race heritage.
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My favorite bike? I may be building it now… or it might be the build after this one…

As of this instant, though, I would have to say my last build.



Kevin

 

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99 Monster 900, similar to pictured.
I also installed 'open', ie wire mesh covered cam belt covers...fun to watch the belts.
Great in the suburbs, but the move back to NYC proved challenging. Guy ran a motorcycle only garage on the ground floor of his building, literally across the street, but paying to park a depreciating asset wasn't fun, and street parking was an invitation to theft or disaster.
Sold it to a guy in PA. Helped him load it in his truck. When he asked if it was strapped down tightly enough, my response was "It ain't my bike..."
Still miss it. Last carbed Monster.

 

Sorry to hear but I get it.

 

What does the last build look like?

 

My 2002 748…
Final year and the only year with the smooth fairings shared with the 998.
Desmodromic valve train is cool, dry clutch, fun bike.
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