Not for US(A), bikes you can't buy: Yamaha

Yamaha has a much wider range of motorcycle for customers outside the US. In fact Yamaha America only seems to offer a couple of sportbikes, a couple of standards, some dual sports, and sh*t ton of cruisers. In Europe it seems, there are more options.


MT-01

We all saw it when it debuted a few years ago, but Yamaha decided that Americans would buy such a beast. They were probably right. Even thought the MT-01 tries to combine a giant v-twin with a sporty stylish chassis, I think it's too different for American consumers. While we seem to buy a lot of cruisers and sportbikes, I don't think we're ready for a combination.







MT-03

A smaller kinder gentler version of the -01 with half as many cylinders.









XT660 Tenere

The XT was available in the US a long time ago, elsewhere in the world it evolved into and adventure tourer not unlike Kawasaki's KLR650.








XT660X

Like the WR250X the big XT660 has a super moto cousin.









FZ1

In Europe the FZ1 doesn't have a faring, and in the states we don't get the "Fazer" nike name.









TDM900

Long ago the TDM model was sold in US showrooms. Like the Honda Transalp, however, Americans just didn't fall in love with the adventure dual sport niche. In Europe however the TDM has evolved nicely.







FZ6

In the US we get the FZ6, but not the naked, naked version.











XJR1300

This is Yamaha's version of the leftover dinosaur UJM bike, it seems ironic that some of the biggest badest street bike Japan makes aren't available in the US of A.






XJ6

This is another case of a long gone US model continuing on overseas. The XJ6 name was used on Yamaha's standards during the 1980's. Today it's still used on their tamed 600ccers.

Not for US(A), bikes you can't buy: Kawasaki

After bringing us the Versys, ER6-n, and the KLX250X Kawasaki doesn't have nearly as many overseas exclusives as Honda. There are a few however.

ZRX1200 DAEG

That's right, they're still selling them in Japan. The ZRX (or "Z rex") has become somewhat of a cult classic after being discontined in the states. In Japan, they got a slight update.

W650/W400

Another classic you could have bought. For a coulple of years Kawasaki offered us the W650, but it never sold very well. It must be a different story in Japan because it comes in 650 and 400 cc sizes.

250 TR

Japan loves retro, here's what appears to be a throw back to those super light bikes of the 1970's.

Z750

In the US we had a Z750, but it went away. In Europe it fared better and lived on as a mini Z1000.

Not for US(A)- Bikes you can't buy in America: Honda

There are a number of bikes you can't buy in America, or in other parts of the world. Some models are exclusive to one or more markets usually because of licensing and fees based on displacement (125's in the UK, 150's in India, or 400's in Japan). Other times a particular model might be available in one area of the globe and not the other because of the likes and dislikes of the buyers of that region. Here are the Hondas from around the world that you wont find in any US dealership

Honda CBR125R
-one of the best selling bikes in England because it's one of the few sporting bikes a beginner can buy








Honda XL125V Varadero









Honda XL1000V Varadero
-Varadero and Deauville have to be two of the stupidest names in motorcycle history






Honda XL700V Transalp
-Many US motorcyclists wish this bike was available here, but they had their chance; in the early nighties Honda tried the Transalp here and it didn't catch on







Honda NT700V Deauville (soon to be available in the US(for way too much $))


Honda CB1000R
-definitely one of the more desired bikes not on US soil








Honda CB600F/CB1300F









Honda CBF125/CB600F/CBF1000









Honda CB1300S









Honda Unicorn
-India has it's own line up of Honda motorcycles mostly under 150cc's











Honda CBR/CBF150









Honda VTR250
-Japan has some interesting models like this VTR







Honda CB223S










Honda CB400S

Historic Comparison: 750's of the 70's

It's always fun to find comparisons of the latest motorcycles in magazines and websites. Stats and specs can only give you part of the picture, to get a really good understanding you need to line the product up with its top competitors. Now comparisons with new bikes are all well and good, but what about bikes from the past? Some of us are too young to remember the glory days of Triumph Bonnevilles and Indian Chiefs, all we can do is wonder... Wouldn't it be great if you could collect some of history's most famous machines, all brand new all stock and all ready to be ridden? Well imagine if you will something along those lines and there you'd have a historic comparison.

For whatever reason 750's exploded onto the scene in the late sixties and early seventies. Other than Harleys there were very few new motorcycles that were bigger than 650cc's. The only one that I know of was 750cc; the Norton Atlas. By the end of the sixties motorcycles were ready to get bigger and better and 750 was the next logical step.

1968 Norton Commando

1969 Triumph Trident

1969 Honda CB750

1969 Moto Guzzi V7

1971 Ducati 750 GT

1972 Kawasaki Mach IV

1973 Suzuki GT750

1971 Harley XR750*

*The Harley XR wasn't really part of this it was a race bike that had to be under 750cc's, but you get the picture.

It seems like all the big names in the industry, from around the world decided that it was time for 3/4 of a litter. How great would it be to get mint condition examples of these models to see just how they stack up? You've got British bikes, Japanese bikes, and Italian bikes. There's four strokes and two strokes, V-twins, Parallel twins, triples, quads, even a liquid cooled bike. All of these bikes have their own personality it must have been one exciting time in motorcycle history.

Tourist Trophy 2 wish list

I'm a big fan of cars and motorcycles, I also love video games. Now, for automotive enthusiasts there's a wide variety of racing games to choose from, including my personal favorites, the Gran Turismo series and the Forza Motorsport series. Motorcycle enthusiasts, however, have a much more limited selection. There was one game however that was a pretty decent sim-style motorcycle game, Tourist Trophy for the Playstation 2. This game was the motorcycle version of Gran Turismo, probably because it was made by the developers of GT. It offered dozens of bikes, but like GT it was really heavy on the Japanese machines and really light on everything else. The game came out in 2006 or so and since then there's been no news of a sequel or any other game of this type from anyone. With a new Forza about to debut and GT5 around the corner (only 5 years after GT4!) I still dream of a truely great motorcycle video game. If such a game were to exist these are the bikes I'd like to see.

Aprilia
01 RSV Mille
03 RSV Mille Tuono
08 RSV 1000 R Factory
09 RS 125
09 SXV 4.5
09 Shiver 750
09 Tuono 1000 R Factory
09 RSV4 R
09 RSV4 R Factory

Benelli
76 750 Sei
06 Tornado Tre 1130
09 TNT Sport Evo

Biomota
09 DB6R
09 DB7
09 Tesi 3D

BMW
76 R90S
88 K1
96 R1100S
00 R1150RS
08 HP2 Sport
09 G650 Xmoto
09 F800S
09 K1300R
09 K1300S
10 S1000R

BSA
62 A10 Rocket Gold Star
66 A65 Rocket Spitfire

Buell
88 RR1200
99 X1 Lightning
03 XB9S
09 XB12R
09 1125CR
09 1125R
09 1125R R

Ducati
71 750GT
75 900SS
82 Pantah 600SL
88 851
92 900 Superlight
94 916
99 996 SPS
05 S2R1000
06 999R
06 749S
08 Sport 1000
08 Monster S4R S
09 Monster 695
09 Hypermotard 1100 S
09 Streetfighter
09 848
09 1198S
09 1098R
09 Desmosedici RR
#21 999R Ducati Xerox

Harley-Davidson
72 XR750TT
77 XLCR 1000
94 VR1000
07 VRSCR Street Rod
09 XR1200

Honda
65 CB450
69 CB750
78 CBX1000
79 CB900F
81 CB1100R
83 VF750R
87 VFR750R (RC30)
89 VFR400S
92 NS750
94 RVF750R (RC45)
96 CBR918RR
96 CBR1100XX
98 VTR1000F
01 CBR600F4i
04 CBR1000RR
05 CBR600RR
06 VTR1000 SP2 (RC51)
08 CB400?
09 CFR230 SM
09 CB600F Hornet
08 CB1000R
09 CBR125R
09 CB1300 Super Bol D'or
09 CBR600RR
09 CBR1000RR
#52 CBR1000RR Hannspree Ten Kate
#98 CBR1000RR Honda
#54 CBR600RR Hannspree Ten Kate
#17 CBR600RR Honda

Kasasaki
72 Mach IV H2
73 Z1
84 GPZ900R
85 GPZ400R
90 ZX-11
95 ZRX400?
96 ZX-7R
98 ZX-9R
00 ZX-6R
00 ZX-12R
03 ZX-6RR
04 ZX-10R
06 ZRX 1200
09 KLX250R
09 Ninja 250
09 ER-6n
09 Z750
09 Z1000
09 ZX-6R
09 ZX-10R
09 ZX-14
#10 ZX-10R PSG-1 Corse
#22 ZX-10R Tommy Hayden
#9 ZX-6R Gil Motor Sport
#? ZX-6R

KTM
09 690 SM
09 990 SMR
09 990 Super Duke R
09 RC8 1190 R

Laderva
74 750 SF
76 1000 SFC
00 750 SS
03 1000 SFC

Moto Guzzi
71 V7 Sport
76 Le Mans
92 Daytona 1000
94 1100 Sport
98 V11 Sport
08 MGS-01 Corsa
09 Griso 8V
09 1200 Sport

MV Agusta
75 750 Sport
77 Monza?
08 F4CC
08 Burtale 1078R
08 F4R 1078

Norton
64 Sports Special
67 Commando
90's F1 08 NVR588

Suzuki
71 GT750
80 GS1000
84 GSX1100
84 GSX-R400
85 RG500 Gamma
85 GSX-R750
86 GSX-R1100
92 GSX-R750
97 GSX-R600
98 GSX-R750
98 TL1000R
01 GSX-R1000
05 GSX1200SS
09 DR-Z400SM
09 SV650
09 SV650S
09 Bandit 1250S
09 GSX1400
09 B King
09 GSX-R600
09 GSX-R750
09 GSX-R1000
09 GSX-1300R
#3 GSX-R1000 Alstare Corona
#1 GSX-R1000 Yoshimura
#? GSX-R600 Yoshimura

Triumph
66 Bonneville T120
69 Trident T140
92 Daytona 1200
05 Daytona 650
06 Daytona 955i
09 Bonneville Thruxton
09 Street Triple
09 Daytona 675
09 Speed Triple

Yamaha
73 RD350
76 XS-11
?? XS900
82 RD350LC
84 RZ500
85 V Max
86 FJ1200
86 FZR400
87 FZR1000
93 YZF750R
94 YZF600R
98 YZF-R1
99 YZF-R7
03 YZF-R6
05 MT-01
09 YZF-125R
09 WR250X
09 Fazer FZ6
09 Fazer FZ1
09 FJR1300
09 YZF-R6
09 ZYF-R1
09 Vmax
#41 YZF-R1 Yamaha Italia
#32 YZF-R1 Yamaha
#99 YZF-R6 Yamaha
#14 YZF-R6 World SSP Racing

There are a number of other bike that I'd like to see in such a game these could be an expansion pack for example two strokes..

77 Yamaha TZ750
85 Honda NS400R
87 Yamaha TZR250
89 Kawasaki KR-1
89 Suzuki RGV250
94 Honda NSR250SP
94 Yamaha TZR250

Super motos...
Kawasaki KLX250SX
Yamaha WR250X
Suzuki DR-Z400SM
Honda CRF450R
Yamaha YZ450F
Husqvarna TC510
KTM 610 SMS

and some others...
Boss Hoss BHC-3 LS2
Cagiva Raptor
Confederate B120 Wraith
Dodge Tomahawk concept
Roehr Supercharged
Vincent Black Shadow

This list is slightly out of date because I've been sitting on it for a while
For refrence here's a list of Tourist Trophy 1's bikes http://www.gtplanet.net/guides/index.php/Tourist_Trophy_:_Bike_List

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