They first crawled out of the primordial ooze in 1969 in the form of the Honda CB750. They had big air cooled inline fours, electric starts, disc brakes, and they were called the UJM's, or universal Japanese motorcycle. Called universal because these Hondas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, and Yamahas all look and performed more or less the same. UJM's enjoyed huge success in the 1970's but as the 80's and 90's rolled in the UJM began to be displaced by sports bike and cruisers. That's where these machines come in.
I call them street beasts because they're all pretty beefy for standard bikes. But they are modern versions of their UJM ancestors, similar to new and old Ford Mustangs, or VW Beatles. Beasts are perticularly popular in Japan where for many years motorcycles displacing over 750cc were prohibited. Sometime in the 80's or 90's the ban was lifted and the power hungry Japanese market gobbled up what they've been missing out on all those years. Today "naked" bikes have gained some popularity, however, bikes like Honda's 919, or Yamaha's FZ1 are (in my eyes) not UJMs.
Honda tried a couple of UJM's in the 90's before they came up with the retro CB1300. The X11 isn't quite a UJM with its alluminum frame but I included it anyway.
Honda CB1000F
Honda CB1100SF (X11)
Honda CB1300
Kawasaki offered both the Zephyr 1100 and ZRX in the states. Sadly it no longer makes anything in the category today.
Kawasaki ZR1100 (Zephyr)
Kawasaki ZRX1100 and ZRX1200
Suzuki revisted the GSX series with the GSX1100G in the 1990's. Suzuki has had the Bandit series for quite some time now. Today it is the only one of these bikes available in the US. Overseas the GSX 1400 is available as well.
Kawasaki ZRX1100 and ZRX1200
Suzuki revisted the GSX series with the GSX1100G in the 1990's. Suzuki has had the Bandit series for quite some time now. Today it is the only one of these bikes available in the US. Overseas the GSX 1400 is available as well.Suzuki GSX1100G
Suzuki GSF1200
Suzuki GSX1400
Yamaha's sole beast is the XJR. A name which connects with one of Yamaha's UJM series the XJ. XJR's were never sold in the US.
Suzuki GSF1200
Suzuki GSX1400
Yamaha's sole beast is the XJR. A name which connects with one of Yamaha's UJM series the XJ. XJR's were never sold in the US.Yamaha XJR1200
Yamaha XJR1300
Finally there are some bikes that aren't quite like the rest, but they're close. The Yamaha V max is a good example, but it has a V4 and is more of a cruiser. Suzuki's B King fit in with the big bore standards but it's more of a naked street bike rather than UJM.
Yamaha XJR1300
Finally there are some bikes that aren't quite like the rest, but they're close. The Yamaha V max is a good example, but it has a V4 and is more of a cruiser. Suzuki's B King fit in with the big bore standards but it's more of a naked street bike rather than UJM.
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