History's fastest motorcycles

1906 FN Four 40mph
1912 Scott Two Stroke 50mph
1913 Williams Flat twin 55mph
1914 Pope V-twin 70mph
1918 Excelsior V-twin 80mph
1925 Brough Superior SS100 100mph
1936 Crocker V-twin 110mph
1949 Vincent Black Shadow 125mph
1973 Kawasaki Z1 132mph
1973 Ducati 900SS 135mph
1976 Laderva Jota 140mph
1977 MV Agusta Monza 145mph
1984 Kawasaki GPZ900 155mph
1989 Bimota YB6 170mph
1990 Kawasaki ZX-11 175mph
1996 Honda CBR1100XX 180mph
1999 Suzuki Hyabusa 190mph
2006 MV Agusta F4 312


MV Agusta F4 1078RR 312 192mph
Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R 190mph+
Kawasaki ZX-14 186mph
Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R 186mph
Kawasaki ZX-12R 186mph
Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird 180mph

Touring Bikes: the good the bad and the BMW

The Harley FL line and Honda Gold Wing aren't the only touring motorcycle out there. There are still some odds and ends that make up the category. BMW has found a place for itself selling touring and sport touring motorcycles. The best example of a pure touring bike from BMW is the LT line, which is represented by the K1200LT today.

1987 BMW K100LT













1995 BMW K1100LT













1999 BMW K1200LT














Another company that has a long history of touring motorcycles is Moto Guzzi.

1970 Moto Guzzi California













2007 Moto Guzzi California













Moto Guzzi isn't the only company making retro V-twin touring bikes. Today there are several V-twin type touring bikes that have tried to cash in on Harley's success.

1999 Yamaha Royal Star Venture XVZ1300













2009 Kawasaki Voyager VN1700













2008 Victory Vision











2003 BMW R1200CL
(Not really a Harely wanna be, but it is BMW's attempt at a cruiser)









Ok, so there are many other touring type motorcycles out there. This list was set out to cover pure hard core full on dressers. Bikes that have integrated fairing/saddle bags, and are not just standard bikes with bags and a windshield. Later on I'll do a piece on sport touring bikes that should cover many touring bikes that haven't been covered here. But that still leaves one bike that I know of. It's the Honda PC800.

The Pacific Coast isn't quite sporty enought to be considered a "sport tourer". But at the same time I don't know of any other touring bike under 1000cc's.

Touring bikes: the Goldwing saga

Prior to the seventies there were no sport bikes, dirt bikes, or touring bikes. If you wanted a fast bike, an off road bike, or a long distance touring bike, you would modify any number of "standard" style bike that were available at the time. During the seventies aftermarket companies such as Vetter, began offering accessories such as saddle bags and windshields that could transform your basic CB750 into a road trip machine. The popularity of these accessories prompted Honda to develop their own factory tourer, the quintessential road warrior, the Gold Wing. But before the Gold Wing took flight there were a number of other machines that were favorites for long haul riders.

In 1976 the Gold Wing revolutionized touring just like the CB750 revolutionized street bikes seven years earlier. Originally Honda built the Gold Wing as a performance bike. The Gold Wing featured a water-cooled flat six when, very few motorcycles were water-cooled. While the Gold Wing didn't take off as a performance bike it became a hit with the long distance traveler set.

1976 Gold Wing GL1000














The second generation saw the addition of a integrated fairing and bags, creating the look that lives on to the Gold Wing of today.

1981 Honda Gold Wing GL1100













1985 Honda Gold Wing GL1200













By the third generation Honda's competitors had caught on and had introduced touring bikes of their own. In 1983 Kawasaki introduced the Voyager. The first generation Voyager was based on Kawasaki's KZ1300 straight six street bike. Kawasaki's had more success with the second generation the Voyager XII (12) because it was lighter and more maneuverable. The same year the Voyager arrived Yamaha introduced the Venture. A couple years later Yamaha would use the Venture's V4 engine in their VMax sport cruiser. Suzuki was the last to the party with the Cavalcade. Like the Yamaha, Suzuki used their V4 cruiser engine in the Cavelcade. This motorcycle was the most powerful of the four, but it was also the heaviest, and eventually it was the most short lived.

1983-88 Kawasaki Voyager 1300
1989-03 Kawasaki Voyager 1200






1983-93 Yamaha Venture 1400







1985-89 Suzuki Cavalcade 1400








The competition never could match the popularity of the Gold Wing. Over the years they each dropped out of the segment. The only real competition the Gold Wing faced were Harley Electra Glides and BMW LT's, but both of these bike were different enough to cater to a different type of rider. With the market nearly to itself the Gold Wing grew to be one of Honda's best selling and most profitable models.

1991 Honda Gold Wing GL1500













2006 Honda Gold Wing GL1800

Touring bikes: the Harley-Davidsons story

American culture seems to lend itself well to touring motorcycles. Long open roads that are plenty wide and cheap gas make the perfect habitat for big dinosaur bikes. It's because of this Harley Davidson had an early start in touring motorcycles. Since World War II (maybe even prior to) Harleys could be had with windshield and saddle bags.

1946 Harley FL (Knucklehead 1000cc)













1952 Harley FL Hydra-Glide (Panhead 1000cc)













These early touring bikes were prefect for America's long straight roads. Harley's tourers took off with the FL model (which has evolved to Harely's current touring line-up) and introduction of their overhead valve engines (starting with the Knucklehead). In 1949 the FL replaced the front spring suspension with hydraulically dampened forks, creating the Hydra-Glide. Rear suspension was added in 1958 replacing the ridged frame and creating the Duo-Glide.

1959 Harley FLH Duo-Glide (Panhead 1000cc)













1970 Harley FLH Electra Glide (Shovelhead 1200cc)













1989 Harley FLHTC Electra Glide (Evolution 1340cc)













2009 Harley FLHTCU Ultra Classic Electra Glide (1584cc)











The 2009 models might look very similar to yesterday's models, but they are full of updates such as fuel injection, CD players, and ABS brakes. Today Harley's line-up of touring machines is made up of several models each with different features and equipment.

images from 20th century motorcycles

Motorsport of the Month: sidecar road racing

Sidecars offer a parallel world of motorcycle motorsports. Sidecars compete in road racing, circle track racing, even motocross type racing. The most common type of sidecar racing is road racing. These machines have evolved from traditional motorcycle/sidecar rigs to highly specialized vehicle resembling prototype sportscar racers. Initially sidecars were based on traditional racing bikes that had a custom aerodynamic car attached at the side. By the seventies sidecars had taken on an completely new design that put the rider behind the engine (rather than on top), the rear tires became automotivel like slicks, and wheels used hub center type steering.

Above: an example of a traditional layout. Below: an example of a modern layout


Sidecar racing was originally part of FIM's grand prix racing. The Sidecar Championship was one of the original classes in 1949 when grand prix racing began. Norton's Manx was a popular platform for sidecars, then BMW's R50/2 dominated the series for much of the fifties and sixties. Eventually sidecars became more specalized and custom built chassis using GP bike engines, such as Yamaha's TZ500, became the dominate force.


In 1981 to make sure that sidecars didn't evolve into prototype cars, rule were made declaring vehicles must be driven by one rear wheel, steered by one front wheel, be steered with use of handle bars, and have an active passenger. The passengers (refered to as "monkeys") are active by leaning into the turns, which looks spectacular. Around 1998 sidecar racing moved from 500cc two strokes (similar to the top teir GP bike at the time) to 1000cc four strokes (similar to World Super Bikes). In 2001 the series name was changed to Superside.


That's Formula One type side cars. Formula Two is another class that requires steel tube frames and motorcycle type forks. In addition Formula Two bikes are limited to 350cc two strokes or 600cc four strokes.

Here's some Formula Two at the Isle of Man TT


TT Side Car Racing - The best free videos are right here

Super singles then and now

While today's market is full of big powerful multi-cylinder monsters, there are a handful of light and playful singles hanging on. Most thumpers on the market today are dirtbikes, but there are a handful of traditional street bikes and street oriented dual sports. Perhaps the best selling street single on the market is BMW's F650. The F650 was built along side the Aprilia Pegaso and each shared the same Rotax built 650cc liquid cooled single.


Aprilia Pegaso 1990-1998
BMW F650 1994-present
BMW G650 2008-present
In 2008 BMW started to phase out the F650 with the new G650 series.

Buell Blast 2000-present
In the late nineties Harley was looking for an entry level bike for beginning riders. Trouble was Harley's smallest model was the 883 Sportster, not the best bike for novice riders. The blast was born using a 500cc air cooled single, perfect for training soon-to-be hog riders.

KTM Duke 1995-present
For years KTM has been carrying the torch for modern singles. The Duke line is more than a street going dirtbike, it is a purpose built street machine. Today the Duke features KTM's 690cc LC4.

Now there are several other big twins that are around today. This include the Kawasaki KLR650, Suzuki DR650, Yamaha XT660, Honda XR650, and the KTM LC4 Adventure. These bikes are more dirt oriented and they're covered in my adventure bike feature.

Oh, and there's one more big single Suzuki's Savage 650.

Super singles then and now

Long ago the majority of motorcycles on the road had one cylinder. Singles were power plant for most motorcycles, and if you wanted more power you got a bigger cylinder. The average commuter bike had 350cc's or less, for more speed you went with a 500cc, and if you really wanted a hot rod you'd get a great big twin. Even in America where V-twins were king, singles were the bread and butter, it's easy to forget that just about every American motorcycle company started out with one cylinder bikes. Here's a look at some of the memorable big thumpers throughout history.

Norton International 1932-1958Norton Manx 1946-1963

The Manx was one of Norton's most notorious models. This racy single captured numerous grand prix's and Isle of Man TT's. This bike also introduced the world to Norton's famous "featherbed" frame, a popular chassis for years to come.

Rudge Ulster 1935-

Velocette K 1925-1948
Velocette Venom 1955-1970
One of the last great English thumpers was also one of the fastest. Velocette was known for making some of the finest single cylinder bikes around and the Venom was the pinnicle of their work.

Gilera Saturno

BSA Gold Star 1938-1963
The Gold Star was one of the greatest singles of all time. BSA had always had a reputation for their one cylinder models but the Gold Star was arguably the best. These bike could be customized in any number of ways. They were used as scramblers, road racers, and street hot rods.

Moto Guzzi Falcone 1950-1967? 1971-1976

Yamaha SR500 1978-1999?
Yamaha introduced the SR500 back in 1978. Using the 500cc single from the XT500 dirtbike. The SR became all things to all people and was especially popular in global markets. The SR lasted for over two decades.

Yamaha SRX600 1985-1997
In an effort to create a next generation SR, Yamaha took the XT600 engine and put it into an updated street chassis. The SRX found a following, but it didn't catch on like the SR500.


Trivia: the biggest production single cylinder motorcycle (that I'm aware of) is the Suzuki DR800

The new blood in Super Bikes

Since the early seventies if you wanted a performance motorcycle in the United States you had your choice of four Japanese makes. If you had deep pockets and wanted to be different perhaps you could have some exotic Italian machinery in you garage. After decades of sport bike market being heavily dominated by the big four we are starting to see some new life. An explosion of new bikes has given this segment more diversity than ever. Motorcycle manufacturers have developed a hunger for the sport bike market. Could it be younger demographic, the need to diversify their offerings, or simply because they want to build the most impressive motorcycles imaginable? Whatever the reason I for one welcome this fresh blood into the world of sport bikes.

First we have the Aprilia RSV4. Aprilia is no stranger to the sport bike market. Their RSV1000 is a great bike, but has been around since 1998. 1998 is ancient history in the fast paced world of sports bikes. Thankfully Aprilia has just finished their new V4 powered RSV4. There hasn't been a V4 repli-racer since Honda's RC45 in the late nineties. It's too early to tell how will this bike will do on the track, and in showrooms, but so far it looks like Aprilia will have a bright future with their new RSV4.

When you think of BMW motorcycles you probably don't think about sport bikes. That's probably because they haven't really made any, ever. Until now that is. BMW has their sights set on a true WSB contender with the new S1000RR. And for the street riders will soon have the option for the S1000R, and all new sport bike from the Bravarian company. With an inline four the S1000R offers a tradition design (well not very traditional for BMW). It seems asthough BMW had to make this bike different in some way, and chose to give the bike asemetrical headlights.

KTM has been growing into road going markets nicely. Now the 1190 RC8 has been on the market for a year now, but KTM has upped the ante with the universal "R" model. The new RC8 R makes KTM's super bike even convincing.