imtbike
Prospect
Joined: 15 Feb 2008
Posts: 10
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 Posted: 2/26/2008, 4:26 am Post subject: Sport Bikes?? |
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Some of the early sport bike examples included the Honda CB750K and Kawasaki Z1.
Up until the late 1960s, motorcycles came in three basic formats:
Working bikes: Generally below 250 cc (15.3 cu in) and low powered for the average working gentleman to get to work.
General bikes: Generally below 500 cc (30.5 cu in) / 650 cc (39.7 cu in) for use as a working bike, but with a higher power output so it could also be used for fun on the weekends.
Touring bikes: Anything above working/general bike sizes and built mainly for touring.
The first company to crack this mold was arguably Vincent Motorcycles. Designed as a gentleman's touring bike, their model's turn of speed was astounding for days when motorways and freeways didn't exist. However, its handling was basic, and its shortcomings became clear when faced by a motorway - girder forks.
Then in the 1960s, two bikes were developed which could be both daily commuter as well as weekend racer. These were the first sport bikes. The first was the BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident, which was closely followed by the Honda CB750K.
It was the 1971 Kawasaki Z1, however, with its 900 cc (54.9 cu in) DOHC engine which finally ushered in the era of the modern sport bike. The Z1 was so successful in sales that by the end of that decade the Japanese manufacturers were all building competing machines that were copying the Z1 formula and its DOHC inline-4 engine configuration. The resulting "bike war" among the Japanese manufacturers and required investment in modern engine manufacturing contributed to the demise of the flagging British motorcycle industry.
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