New standards part II

As more and more naked bikes hit the market in the mid-nighties a new sub-category emerged. A class of smaller cheaper naked bikes were introduced to capture entry-level and novice bikers. Much like the difference between 600cc supersports and their bigger liter bike brothers, these bikes borrowed the appearance of their big bore hooligan bikes with 600-650cc engines.

Suzuki got this segment started in 1999 with the SV650. The SV became a huge hit. For a number of years Suzuki offered the naked GS500 and Bandit 600, but those bikes were more of a traditional design. The SV combined the charisma of a 90 degree V-twin with an affordable price. Suzuki initially offered the SV in two flavors a completely naked model, and the SV650S which offers a half fairing, and more sporting seating position. Today the SV650S is a fully faired motorcycle. For 2008 Suzuki introduced another 650cc V-twin to there line up; the Gladius.

Suzuki Bandit 600

Suzuki SV650Suzuki SV650S

Suzuki Gladius

Honda had it's own 650cc V-twin; the Hawk GT. Debuting in 1988 the Hawk was ahead of it's time and never really caught on in the states. Ten years later, in Europe, Honda introduced the Hornet 600. The Hornet wasn't available in North America (as the Honda 599) until 2004. However the 599 didn't catch on as much as Honda hoped it would, and was dropped from the US line up in 2006.

Honda Hawk GTHonda Hornet 600 (599)Honda Hornet 600

In 2004 Yamaha released their FZ6, a smaller variation of their successful FZ1. The bike is sold in the US with a half fairing similar to the Suzuki SV650S. Elsewhere in the world the FZ6 is available as a "full" naked bike. The FZ6 has become one of the more popular bikes in this segment.

Yamaha FZ6 Fazer

Yamaha FZ6 Fazer

Kawasaki jumped in to the mid-sized game in 2006 with the ER-6. The ER was first introduced with a fairing in the United States, later the naked version sold in Europe became available, known as the ER-6n. Prior to the ER-6 Kawasaki offered the ZR750 in the United States, and in Europe today they offer a downsized version of the Z1000, known as the Z750.

Kawasaki ZR750Kawasaki Z750

Kawasaki ER-6n (Ninja 650R)

Ducati has had a mid-size bike since the introduction of the first Monster; the M600. The Monster went on to become one Ducati's most successful products of all time, and the smallest Monster was one of the best selling models. Over the years the baby Monster grew from 600 to 620, to 695, and finally with the next generation Monster the 696.

Ducati Monster 620

Triumph also had a a "mini-me" version of their bigger hooligan bike. Shortly after Triumph entered the 600cc supersport category the entered the mid-sized hooligan bike market with a naked version. The Speed Four attempted to offer the thrills of the Speed Triple with a smaller four cylinder power plant. In 2008 Triumph revisited this formula using the fresh triple from the 675 sport bike creating a nice little package called the Street Triple.

Triumph Speed FourTriumph Street Triple

Finally there's the South Korean upstart Hyosung. Hyosung has been trying to break into the US market with their 650R and S models. Esentially a copy of Suzuki's 650 V-twin design, the Hyosung tries to offer the performance of their Japanese rivals for less money.

One year of Motocyclopedia

Well it's been amost year since Motocyclopedia appeared on the Information Super Highway and it's been a fun trip so far. Ok, so I've slacked off the last few months, blame it on the winter months and me being lazy.  As the weather's getting warmer my mind floats back to bikes. So it's time to get back in the saddle and get back to what really matters, motorcycles.

New standards part I

Somewhere in the 1990's standard bikes made a comeback. A new breed grew out of the street-fighter phenomena of the 1980's. Manufactures began capitalizing on this new trend with stripped down sport bikes of their own. Ducati broke new ground with with the Monster in 1993. Essentially a bare bones Super Sport went on to become the company's most successful model. Triumph, hot off the heals of the Hinckley revival, introduced the Speed Triple in 1994.

Ducati Monster 1993-

Triumph Speed Triple 1994-

The Japanese manufactures eventually came around and offered their own versions. Honda used the CBR900RR engine to create the 919 (Hornet 900 in Europe). Yamaha debuted the FZ1 with a detuned R1 engine. Kawasaki and Suzuki came late to the party, perhaps because they already had naked standards (the ZRX and Bandit, receptively) however they were more traditional and steel framed.

Yamaha FZ1 2001-
Honda 919 2000-
Kawasaki Z1000 2003-
Suzuki SV1000 2003-07

Both Honda and Suzuki had early answers to Ducati in the 1990's with semi-naked V-twins. Honda had the Nighthawk VTF1000, and Suzuki had the TL1000S.

Motorsport of the Month: Bol d'Or

It's awefully hard to write about motorcycles in the winter months. Especially living on a mountain where I can snowboard for free. But I just can't let my site down, so here's a breif (and late) Motorsport of the Month for January.

The Bol d'Or is a very old and famous motorcycle endurance race held in France. The event first started in 1922, and the race has taken place in various places in France. Since 2000 Magny Cours has been home to the Bol d'Or. The race lasts 24 hours and teams consist of three riders whom switch off. SBK (Super Bike) bikes are the premier class that races.

Honda offers a Bol d'Or version of their CB1300.

The stars of BSA: A10

Golden Flash 1950-61

In 1950 BSA introduced the Golden Flash. The Golden Flash was an evolution of BSA's first parellel twin the A7 (500cc's). The a 650cc parallel twin would go on to define British motorcycles for the 1950's and 60's. Golden Flashes came from the factory with a distinctive gold paint job. 35hp 100mph

Road Rocket 1954-58

The Golden flash gave birth the the Super Flash and Road Rocket. The Road Rocket continued the evolution of the BSA twin. The 650 twins were targeted to US customers for their need of power and speed. 40hp 109mph

Super Rocket 1957-63

The Super Rocket was the next step after the Road Rocket.

Rocket Gold Star 1962-63

A Super Rocket engine in a Gold Star (single) frame.

The A10 was replaced by the unit constructed twins of the 1960's. The A65 star twin replaced was the next evolutionary step.

Kawasaki Concours

The Kawasaki Concours, or GTZ in Europe (ZG1000 and 1400).

In 1986 Kawasaki built a sport touring bike around the then-new Ninja 1000. The big liquid cooled dohc inline four made for a heavy sports bike, but was a perfect fit for a sport touring rig such as the Concour. The bike was so good that it went virtually unchagned for over two decades. Concours competed closesly with Honda's ST1100, which also went on to live an unnaturally long life.

After over 20 years of production, the first generation Concours was replaced by the second generation in 2007. The new Concours 14 uses the fresh 1400cc inline four from the ZX-14 hyperbike.

Tesi evolution

Here's a quick look at the evolution of Bimota's wild Tesi series. The Tesi was the first "production" bike to offer the revolutionary hub stering set-up, and one of the few sport bikes that do not employ tubular forks. Ducati V twins were used to power Bimota's Tesis.

1D 851

1D 9061D 906 SR
1D 906 ES
1D EF
2D
3D

Pictures from Motorcycle Specs