Milestone Motorcycles

Surprisingly, I agree with you on almost every single one of your picks. My ideal big 'milestone' bikes are all in there, the CB450, H1, Z1, Bonnie, and so on. Some of them I don't know anything about, so I can't comment on them. One addition I would make would be the Honda RC30.

 

Dale,

You know you are in my element here.

You have to add a BSA 441 Victor

A Triumph twin (Oops, I missed seeing that you included one, the best one)

The (I believe) 1969 Suzuki TM 400 Orange tank. It was a monster to ride but the torque could restart the earth to rotating if it came to a stop. John Desoto rode one for the factory------almost wiped him out.

A Penton enduro with the Sachs engine.

CZ 250 from 1975 (Falta Edition) . Not the orange/yellow tank, the aluminum tank with white fenders and red frame.

Maico from the same time period.

Try to find a Montessa 250 MX. Beautiful bike from that period that never developed much of a following.

250 or 400 Husqvarna MX bike from the early 70's like (sp?) Heiki Mikkola rode.

In 1971 0r 72 Kawasaki came with the KX250 that I rode for them. It was their first real excursion into serious MX and was a tractor of an engine. Suspension lacked a little since it was a laydown forward mounted rear shock and not the monoshock like the Yamaha YZ250. BTW, you need to add the silver tank YZ 250 also. It started the monoshock revolution in the MX world.

1972 DKW with Earles cantilever front suspension.

1954 Triumph 350 TWN. Cool upswept exhaust twin

1974 Ossa 250 trials bike--the head of the class at the time

Hodaka Bullfrog trials bike

I can go on if you like but I think that if you spend the time looking for any of these it will keep you tied up for some time. I would love to have my old KX 250 back. I am sorry I turned it back into Kawa after I quit racing.

 

How about a Britten?

(True, one would not be cheap, but I don't recall hearing that as a criteria).

 

I have two more recent bikes to suggest:

1992 Honda CBR 900RR Fireblade

1998 Yamaha YZF-R1

Both bikes were sportbike milestones when they were presented.

 

I think that this will be another for Ducati. Of course, it comes in red too
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You are missing 3 important bikes which are modern day classics....(which I have in my collection)

Honda RC 30

Honda RC 45

Honda RC 51



All championship winners, and on the cutting edge of technology and performnace for their time!

 

MV Agusta F4 750 Serie Oro. 'nuff said.

 

Some bikes that were milestones:

Yammy FJ1100/FJ1200
V-Max
Suzuki Katana
Harley K-model - Sportster
Vincent Black Shadow
Buell RR1000
Britten
Norton Rotary F1
TZ750
Moto Guzzi V8
Honda 250 I6
Ducati 900SS
BMW R69S
Suzuki Hayabusa


(in addition to lots of the bikes you've already listed)

 

Here's my friends ultra rare- MV F4 ORO, only 200 ever made !
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I agree with most of these bikes. Some I don't even know what they are.

I'm suprised no one mentioned the 1934 Indian scout.

How about:

Norton Commando
BSA Rocket 3

How about the Yamaha 1100 GTS with that funky front end?

I totally agree with:

ZX900 Ninja
GSX-R 750
Ducati 900SS / 916
Goldwing
Harley Dyna series
BMW R69S or R75
Moto Guzzi V8

 

MV Agusta ORO did change the world, it was the re-incarnation of a famous marque, and a cutting edge motorcycle built from solid magnesium and carbon fibre. Although the performance was not top, the design and "aura" of the bike made it unbelievably special to this day.

It is also one of the few motorcycles to be featured in the New York City Guggenheim museum of art !

As for the HRC Hondas, all 3 are collectible. The RC30 being the first motorbike with a single-sided swimgarm, winning many SBK championships. Honda RC45, continuing this and the RC51 being the first 2 cylinder Honda for racing.

The first two are quite rare, a good RC30 can fetch 18-25k $, and an RC45 40-50k $. The MV ORO is about 70-80k $.

 

Nope. One is a Honda, the other is a Yamaha.
When the V-max came out it was THE muscle bike to have. It had more HP than anything on the market. It started the muscle cruiser market. Interceptor was a sport bike, V-Max was a sport/muscle cruiser.


Suzuki Katana - broke the mold of sportbike design. There was NOTHING like it at at the time. They made the same design for 20 years in one guise or another.
http://www.katanacentral.co.uk/history/katanatimeline.asp

Yammy FJ1100/1200 - The Velvet Hammer. I've got a 1986 1200 in my garage right now. The original Hayabusa. Long, low, powerfull, smooth, sport touring bike. Could stomp most sportbikes avail at the time, and be derned comfortable doing it. Didnt handle ALL that well, but good enough (again, better than some of the front line superbikes). Was THE big weapon to have when it came out (again, think Hayabusa).

Buell RR1000 - original Buell. One of, if not THE most aerodynamically slippery motorcycles ever made. Buell's first public offering. Only 50 made. Changed some thinking as to what could be done with a Harley engine. One of the bikes has since been clocked at over 200mph at Bonneville. Gave Buell a foothold in the market. Bikes produced out of a garage, by hand, on very limited budget by very dedicated folks.
http://www.teamelves.com/bike/history.html

 

Ok I'll take the bait. I'm going to try keep it to milestone bikes.

1. Early harley v-twin. ( as early as can be afforded)
2. SS100 ( Lawrance of Arabia baby)
3. Harley knucklehead. (overhead valve and durable set the theme for
the next 60 years.)
4. Vincent Black Shadow ( the first superbike)
4. Norton Manx (how many world champs started on this)
5. Triumph Bonnivelle (Started the brit cafe racer scene)
6. Honda 750 ( the bike that Launched the Japanese/ killed the BRITS)
7. Mv/ Magne (just sooo beautiful)
8. Ducati 900SS ( THE Italian cafe racer)
9. honda CBX ( techinical tour-de-force, what a sound)
10. GSXR Limited (Full street racer. dry clutch close ratio ect)
11. RC 30 ( one of the best street bikes ever produced)
12. Ducati851/888 (Started the Ducati Dominance)
13. Ducati 916 ( do I have to say)
14. Bimota- almost any model- ( because the parts and build quality make
even a Ducati look like it was made by monkeys)


There are more, but I figure it's a good start.

Darrell.

 

Dale,
For me, I would think that the first UJM and the first Japanese sport bike is actually one in the same. The 69' Honda CB 750. A true milestone bike. The definitive UJM I believe, is the KZ900. This bike rewrote the record books in the 70's. The 83 inteceptor is once again another step in the evolution of the sport bike. But if I were to pick a bike from that era (early 80's) it might be the Katana 1000. This bike has almost a cult following now.
I'm sorry but I don't know the first year of the dyna.
As far as the BMW's are concerned, that company has always played on the very conservative side of the fence concerning engineering. They make good products, but I would be hard pressed to find a bike that stands out as an engineering milestone for the industry.



Darrell.

 

Agree with most of the pics...

Must have a Z-1 in there, and the 98 Dyna is a no-brainer. The Norton rotary IMO is a milestone bike. I also think the CB750 and the Honda Dream were milestone bikes. The VMax probably was too. In 1985, it was out of this world and remains virtually unchanged for 22 years - amazing.

For more recent bikes, *definitely* the 92 CBR900. They call it the fireblade in Europe, we just call it the 900RR. The 1998 R1 is a no-brainer. It was the first shot in the current war of bikes that brought us everything we have now. Sportbikes were progressing slowly until Yamaha started that little war.

I would go out on a limb and also add a Suzuki Hayabusa. In 1999 when it came out, it was out of this world. ~200mph, 1/4 in the 9's, all from a bike that was heavy and fat when everyone else was going towards smaller and lighter.

I would also add a HD V-Rod. Totally new era for the motor company and a vast departure from what they did previously. It was a have-to-have when it came out, sold for sometimes double sticker. The Honda VTX and Yamaha Warrior were the first real power cruiser V-twins, but the VTX was more a power cruiser IMO.

 

Brough 100. Pic Below. And what about that Indian 4- wasn't it a Henderson? (The Barber Museum in Birmingham, Ala. gets the highest recommendation:- you'll see virtually every bike mentioned here, and more, along with amazing restoration shops and a world class track, that if planned right, can be available for your use). enjoy~
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Herr Prof., You need to add one of these to your list, 1 of 50 SPO1 '02 Agusta. Gorgeous bike, sounds like a Ferrari too. Regards, Vern
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Great bikes. Here're a few that dawned on me ...

Vincent Black Shadow

Munch Mammoth 4

Ducati 888 Raymond Roche

Kawasaki 750 H2

Kawasaki Z1

Kawasaki Z1R TC

Hodaka 100 Super Rat

Bultaco 125 Sherpa S

Bultaco 250 Pursang (Box Fender)

Monark 125

'74 CR125M Elsinore

'74 Kawasaki KX125 (rotary valve)

Montesa 250 VR (Vehkonen Replica)

Husky 400 Cross

Maico 501

 

You HAVE to put MV Agusta on the list. This isn't a rarity comment, this is a comment about the sexiest, hottest production cycle ever made (with *possibly* the Ducati 916 sharing the honor...funny they have the same designer in Massimo Tamburini too). I am a bit partial to my F4 1000 Corse (#1 of 300) but I would say that the MV Agusta 750 earns a spot on the list. It was the featured cycle at The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit in Las Vegas for years (the first bike you saw when you walked in). It would simply be wrong to exclude the Ferrari of motorcycles.
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I wouldnt put the current MV's on the list of milestones. They ARE dead sexy, and very competent bikes.. .but have had no real effect on the motorcycling world as a whole.

other bikes mentioned changed the way people view bikes.


first year japanese sport bike? thats a hard one. One is tempted to say the Interceptor because it LOOKS the most like modern sportbikes. But you have to look back and see how the bikes were marketed/used when they came out. at that point I would say the CB750K0 or the Z1 would fall into the first japanese sportbike role.

the typical UJM? Perhaps a modern bike? ZRX1200? I like the arguement of the CB750 or Z1 as the UJM. thats what everyone pictures when you say UJM.... un-faired, upright seating position, bench seat, high bars, twin rear shocks.

 

Hi Dale -

Super Rat ! ! We used to have several of them many years ago when racing motocross. I used to ride a 100 cc very heavily ported Hodaka while John rode the Super Rats. Sill have an old Yamaha 100 cc bike that has seen many enduros including a couple 24 hour ones; yellow tank Penton 250; first of the steel tank Penton 125's; plus a stable of our son's trials bikes -those are definitely different to ride - coolest is the Sherpa T. One of the oldies that was so neat ultimately was stolen from our son's apartment in Colorado Springs - it was a mini Indian - we got it for him when he was 4 years old - came with training wheels - I could actually ride it. True classic !

This thread is definitely a trip back in time to 1970 and subsequent years for me. Every weekend was spent either at a motocross, cross country or enduro if not riding/camping at the Flying P in Weatherford, TX.

Carol

Guess it's time to go watch "On Any Sunday" again . . .with Malcolm Smith, Steve McQueen . . .

 

Suzuki Hayabusa. It brought main stream publicity and excitement to the superbike/superspeed era, when all the manufacturers were trying to create the ultimate speed machine. Famous for its looks and performance, the GSXR 1300 garnered worldwide attention for its efforts.

The Hayabusa being a big, long, land rocket limited to 193 mph ! Probably the pinnacle in the "extreme machine" category.