Growing in the 60's in the North East of England and riding, or more often than not pushing, old British singles and twins, give me a modern retro any day. Reliability is priceless!
I had a new 1968 BSA 650 Hornet, a bike which I judge other bikes. I was a skinny 115 lbs college kid. Today I still ride, but old bikes do not interest me. If it isn't as good handling as my old Hornet 650. The Rocket3 750 and Honda 4 750 were just plain too heavy for me. My 765RS is god send. I enjoy faultless electronic fuel injection, and no timing adjustment for ignition. I do not mind the kick start. But I can no longer live without water cooling, six speed gear box, 4 valves DOHC engine, slipper assisted clutch. And man! the disc brakes. A Ninja 400 is the best value bike for my riding. The 750 Hornet is also a good alternative.
You missed the Moto Guzzi V7. Its been in almost continuous production since the 70’s in one form or another and is still air cooled - it’s an authentic “old school” bike rather than a modern copy. The Bonneville is a modern bike with retro features, the Moto Guzzi is a retro bike with modern features.
Remember there was even an earlier retro version of the V7 (sport) models. The 1000S from 1990 (which I still own 😀). It was not only an almost perfect copy of the 750S3 from 1976. It also used the same old technology, like simple slide carbs and contact breaker points. But it sold very poorly. Perhaps to far ahaed of its time.
@@Spartansrule118 The 1000S is bullet proof - but only if you're your own mechanic. Minor breakdowns may happen, but I could always solve them with onboard tools.
@@Spartansrule118 as reliable as anything else and the build quality is a lot better than RE’s. The engines are known to be very durable often doing very high mileages - I know someone who has 175k miles on his. They need maintained like everything else and you need to keep on top of cleaning etc. but we’ll looked after they will last.
@@Spartansrule118 absolutely yes, changed my bmw for a v9, it starts always, doesn’t overheat in traffic despite being an 850cc air cooled engine, easy to service on my own (it’s absolutely simple) and beautiful in every way. Only thing i have is that when serviced the bike likes a specific amount of oil, putting more in will cause it to leak from the transmission or air filter, and that low speeds feel kinda weird
I'm a victim of my own device. I can't go back because I never left. I bought my '67 Bonneville back in '78 for $400.00 had two smaller machines before that. Been riding for 48 years. You can't bend an oak. I really don't want a new bike, but, hey, that's just me.
I still have my '72 and '75 XS-650 's. The '75 was purchased 36 years ago for $50. I finally have over $1k invested because it just got its first over-bore.
The thing with motorcycles is that is not just about pure performance. Its about celebrating the mechanical form. Its about the glory of sound, chrome, and gears. Its about SEEING the internal workings of the machine before your eyes. Thats why I love retro bikes.
You got that mostly right. Except for the chrome part. New bikes are almost all flat black with no chrome. Even so called "retro" bikes are nearly 100% flat black. The bikes they are supposedly trying to emulate had bright shiny paint and tons of chrome and polished aluminum.
@@geraldscott4302You guys are right. This person only sees motorcycles through the performance/racing lens. You can't do that with these because it's not what they are built for. And the black out thing gets me too.... You're building a retro styled bike but no chrome?
I think Royal Enfield is killing it right now especially for the price. This is coming from somebody who is currently on a 2021 Kawasaki Z900 RS café. I think Royal is definitely crushing it. I do think the price is slightly higher than it needs to be but again, they’ve been doing this for years as far as making solid motorcycles and it’s just taking a lot of time to penetrate the US market
I AGREE with you - As a rider of some 42 years whom has owned many motorcycles the whole retro bike thing doesn't really do it for me either - Having owned several original Triumphs when l was a young bloke (including TR6 T120 and T150) l went out and bought a T100 last year and felt the same disappointment - Even though l couldn't fault the bike in any way and indeed acknowledge the bike is technically vastly superior to the old OHV Units - It just still doesn't quite capture the true essence or character of the original bikes - The Brain said yes but the Heart said no - Therefore l decided to sell it and was lucky enough to pick up and restore an old 1986 Harris T140 - Gotta admit l'm so glad l did too - The beast starts up first kick and when it roars into life never fails to put a HUGE smile on my face 😁
Rode a ‘72 Honda SL350 from San Antonio, Tx to L.A.,Ca in 1978 and as I was just a kid it was nothing but Fun. Riding and sleeping out, living off very small money was nothing out of the ordinary back then. Oh to be young again!
You realy missed out on the Yamaha XS 650. It was one of the very first retros, and still very sourght after. Often retrofitted with a 270 crank, and bored up to 930 cc.
I don't consider the XS650 to be a retro. At the time it was produced, most Japanese companies were still selling parallel twins. It was also being sold at the same time as the British twins.
Yes it was like the tractor you knew would alway start .. :) I lived with its younger sister the XS 750 triple for a few years before going over to an R80 BMW //
By retro you mean the first 4 stroke motorcycle sold by Yamaha, Phill Irving, an Australian engineer, who designed the Vincent v twin, was the first to propose the 270° crank
I rode an old Bonneville from California to South Carolina in 1980, other than the seat feeling smaller every 100 miles, I enjoyed my coast to coast run. You have a great channel, keep up the good work.
I remember picking up my pre-ordered 2001 Bonneville on the day I got laid off. I'm still riding it to this day. Literally this day. It's my daily and I used it to get to work today. Love that bike.
After losing my right arm in an rtc in the mid 90s I put a Yamaha XS650S alongside a lightweight Harley sidecar (remember the Aermacchi Sprint?) with a heel throttle on the right and a back brake on the left side. Thanks, John T. of Newton Abbot, Devon, England It went reasonably well, like 80mph downhill with a following wind, but the bores were worn and I never got around to fixing it. To get around the problem of white vans pushing me along in traffic (and they always came close enough to see the filling in my sandwiches) I bought a Beemer. A K100RS to give it its 4 valves/cylinder name, along with a custom frame with cup and ball fittings, and a brand-new, all-metal sidecar from a dealer in Russian motorycles. That was a tight setup and my own retro classic. 😄 Good for a ton "on the track" and elsewhere, she was my pride and joy!
I had a Zephyr 1100 and really liked the bikes style and performance. One of the only bikes that I regret selling. I actually sold it to the guy who owns a company called Powerhouse, who are based just outside Chesterfield. They specialises in replacement brake parts for classic and modern bikes. The owner keeps the bike as part of his modern classics collection.
I had a 550 for a few years, not the quickest or best handler but I fell in love with its looks. I've always thought this range started the classic scene, yeah?
A very enjoyable, well researched and presented video, as are all your vids. I'm surprised you never mention my beloved Honda CB1100RS, or even the basic CB1100 retros, a homage to the original CB750.
Being 70 I've owned many bikes in my life Two being Royal Enfield's One of the old 1956 vintage and a 2017 both demanding great maintenance but my " classic " W800 is proving to be a great machine pulling my sidecar effortlessly for the last 7,000 miles
Great video. But I cannot understand how you can make a 20-minute long video about modern classic motorcycles without mentioning one of the main brands in this regard: Moto Guzzi. The Moto Guzzi V7 line in particular has been important for the brand and, although admittedly not as instrumental as the Triumph Bonneville, is a prime example of a modern classic motorcycle and as such certainly deserves attention.
I think you should of mentioned the 90’s Kawasaki Zephyr. It was clearly a look back to the past. Probably one of the first brand to do so. It mimics the original Z1 even more so than the current RS900.
Another great video, little brother. My current main squeeze is a 73 CB350. I'll admit I was gonna jump on the cafe racer bandwagon but I found an all original bike with 3500 miles on it for 2500 bucks! I just had to run a can of sea foam through it and ride. Oh and put new tires on it. It has been an amazing reliable bike. People don't realize how cheap they can get the real deal. I also found an all original 80 model CB650 with 2500 miles for 1800 bucks. I totally agree with you. It is so much better to just get the real thing instead of financing a replica.
Kawasaki's Zephyr series were retro bikes, as were the Vulcan Drifters and the ZRX1100 and 1200. Not sure the Harley XLCR really fits into this category, as it wasn't evocative of any earlier bikes. And in the early 2000s, there was a huge cafe racer craze in Japan, which inspired the W650 and W400.
The 1978 Yamaha SR 400/500 is the original Retro and also the original Motard The later SR 400 is like the ABBA revival revival band, they look virtually identical to the original impersonators
Great video again. When you were talking about British Singles, you mentioned the BSA Goldstar and gave a picture of the BSA Rocket Goldstar, which is a twin! Either way great video as always!
Very interesting history. When you get down to it a lot of folks just are not interested in racing, especially on the street. They just want a practical, maintainable motorcycle that looks like a motorcycle instead of an escapee from a sci-fi or transformers movie. To my way of thinking the SR400, or even a similar with slightly less displacement, is about perfect for a street bike. Yamaha has since given up on that market but Royal Enfield seems to be making a very credible stab with the Classic 350. Pretty much a bullseye IMO. A little lighter weight might be good but I am picking at nits at that point.
13:24 I find it interesting that people always talk about the Z900 RS but never talk about the Z900 RS Café. They are very different animals even though they are the same. As stated below, I have the latter. I have the Z900 RS café. If I had to do it all over again, I would absolutely get the RS café version over the RS version!! You have to check both of them out side-by-side to see which one is right for you. For me, it’s the café version all day long!!
You nailed it. It's not all about performance. Motorcycling is about connecting with the machine and the road. The SV650 remains my number one. Classics are wonderful but who wants to deal with breakdowns?
I have a Bobber Black. It being thick and heavy is amazing. I ride it in a huge city, Buenos Aires, and it zooms from semaphore to semaphore. They're also the most beautiful bikes ever.
Nice vid, man. It gave me all the feels. When Triumph were making sport bikes, I wanted a Daytona. But I have to respect how they executed their change in direction. And I've always been a fan of Kawasaki. My first four bikes were theirs.
Retro craze has passed me by. I've just hung on to the real thing, a 78 Bonneville T140V. Recently added a 1980 GS550L. Original and simple works for me.
You made quite an in-depth video about Retro motorcycles, and yet you missed two of the most important (at least in my mind) unashamedly retro motorcycles from past decades. Well done for mentioning the GB 500, gorgeous thing (although you didn't mention the XBR 500 it was based on - clearly a bike with retro credentials). However back in the 90's there were the Kawasaki ZEPHYRS (550/70). These were bikes which obviously sold in quite large numbers as they were quite ubiquitous at one time. They clearly harked back to the old Kawasaki Z bikes -Z900 and ESPECIALLY the Z650. This was totally understood by everyone at the time. I believe it was THESE bikes that really made the point that there WAS a big market for retro bikes, in a time before the modern Bonneville. Triumph had only just "re-started" then and were focussed on the Trident, itself harkening back to the old bike. I like your videos, but I do think you present your own opinions as factual, when they really are just opinions, at times.
Yes!! Well done. When you ask the question, “But, what if I just want a real motorcycle?” These Triumph-inspired retro bikes answer that question. For electric retro, the Harley’s LiveWire brand is bringing out the Del Mar model this spring has some retro lines. Cool design. Innovation comes from the upstarts, though, so expect some of those upstart brands that you covered to catch on.
I ride a 2001 daelim daystar w/ carb and a manual gearbox. It's great fun and it's true about what is said about old machines - they have a character and attitude.
Odd that you didnt mention the kawasaki zephyrs or the zrx. Talk about retros, they were literally z’s and gpz’s styling nailed to a t but with 90’s-mid 2000’s mechanical advancemants. The zrx1200 had over 100 horsepower. As someone who has owned most models of the original models of z with my dad, this is the closest a retro bike has ever come to the source material. They were literally just faster versions.
On a slightly modified Thruxton R I averaged 151.3 mph at Bonneville in 2021 and 11.6 ET quarter mile so adding a cam can perk the Thruxton R up a bit more.
Great vid, although I would pull up that the Triumph Bonneville wasn't their first stab at a retro. The Bonney was preceded by the Thunderbird. A 900cc Triple that was launched in 1995 and lasted for 8 years. I've owned one for 10 years now, with a few discrete additions such as TOR exhaust pipes. The attention it gets is unreal. And as for the Honda GB500. Such a good looking bike imo.
I understand why people like modern retros. It's because they want a bike that looks like the old bikes do but they don't want the headaches. When you buy a bike from 1967 you better get ready to deal with a bunch of mechanical or electrical problems. I just don't have time for that.
Great video, man! I love all kinds of bikes. Although I own a W800, I am into many different styles. I been riding since I was a kid starting on dirt bikes and I love my Kawasaki. It's such a cool connection to the road with loads of character. Who gives a fk what trend or demographic owns a bike. The more riders, the better. Cheers 🥂
17:21 Removed guard, no gloves, cutted pipe not held in place... and they use it in their own ad?! I want my bike to be build by professionals, not some greasemonkey violating all safety standards.
glad to see the shoutout to the sr400 and sr500. one retro thing for their time which they maintained through to 2021 was only having kickstart and after the first year in '78, having spoked wheels. my understanding is that at the time those were considered more retro features than modern
SR500s in the US (78-81) didn't have spoked wheels. I sold my SR500 to get a Honda GB500 because I love how they looked and getting spoke rims on an SR500 wasn't easy. The SR500 was a way better bike and I ended up selling the GB500 and getting another SR500. I really want an SR400 or SR500 with wire rims, but first I need to fix up my Velocette. They made the Thruxton which the GB500 is a direct copy of and whoever owns the Velocette name sold the Thruxton name to Triumph. And the Triumph Thruxton doesn't look as nice at the Honda Thruxton which doesn't look as nice as the Velo Thruxton. Only the Honda and Triumph Thruxtons can easily be ridden on the street.
As always, so amazed at the very relevant sales footage you have found of every model you spoke about - makes for a very professional review. Keep it up!! Graeme NZ - NB riding a RE650 Interceptor after 33years family life!! Then as well, I bought an R1200RT... early on had a 24yo '49 500 Speed Twin, Yam TX500, then a Yam XS7502D Triple. Still loving everything about motorbikes!!
The Bullet is the real deal, continuous production for 90 years, it isnt retro, it is a dinosaur! They are epic, you arent buying just a bike, its a piece of living history!
Retro all you want but you won't get enthusiastic thumbs up from an occasional motorist (yesterday) like I got riding my R5B '71 Yamaha with virtually no plastic anywhere and the sound of a two stroke on the pipe.
I'm not sure if you got them in the US, but you missed out a couple of important models from the 90's. The Yamaha SRV250 (1992-1998) & the Suzuki TU250 (1994-2019). The Suzuki TU250 championed the look of 60's British singles for 25 years. The Yamaha SRV250 was more of a retro style bike with a V-Twin engine until they released the Renaissa that resembles the look of old Vincents.
I just bought a 2022 Bonneville T 100 and let me tell you it’s the most incredible thing to experience! Just firing it up puts you in a certain trance. The sky opens up and a beam of light shines on you from the heavens. Bonneville T 100 is the “ Rolex”of Classics Cheers USA
I rented a T 100 a couple years ago and I absolutely loved it. This is coming from someone who loves Japanese in-line four-cylinder street bikes. That being said, the T 100 put a smile on my face every single time I swung a leg over it!!!
Sometimes standard bikes is all we need. It's just that they were lost in America for little over a decade and market is filled with sports bike that's not very fitting for the street . While in Asia standard or classic looking bikes are what most people ride.
Off topic: you rolled a lot of scenes from the race in the movie "black rain", a true masterpiece. It's interesting how the script writer decided to symbolize the challenge between the USA and Japan, making a gsxr and a Harley race, and letting the Harley (Usa) win through a dirty trick. The Japanese bike was faster and better, but the creativity of the western man stands as a game changer. This is the real main issue of the whole movie. Of course, that's the usual america self-apology, but in the end the confrontation between the two cultures is all in all quite genuine.
Honda GB is back as a GB350 in japan and CB350 in India built to rival royal enfield's 350 bullet/classic/meteor and its a damn good motorcycle. Jawa and yezdi are back too in India- not sure how well known they are elsewhere
PS About the original Ducati 750SS: LOTS of guys wanted these, but they were a nightmare to maintain. They won a lot of races, but few street riders were interested in owning a motorcycle that had to be disassembled to perform a valve adjustment, which you were supposed to do every 3000 miles. Mind you, it took a REAL ironman to ride one of these 3000 miles on the street!
What you are saying is not quite true. They were fairly easy to maintain. I owned an 860 version of the 750. It did not need stripping down (apart from taking the seat and tank off) to adjust the (desmodromic) valves. I don't remember the service interval but it was much more than 3000 miles. Was I an IRONMAN ?, I don't know but I rode mine the length and breadth of Britain and many times around Europe. It did not fail me once. The only failing that mine had was that the chain was under spec'ed for the torque of the engine and needed constant attention ... often needing adjustment half way through a long days' ride.
@@zaphodbeeblebrox4574 I'm still riding an old 860Ducati today and I have a 1981 Bonnie too. I like the modern retro bikes but I've never tried one, perhaps I'm simply stuck in the past!
I love the GB500 it honestly is one of my favorite bikes, I may be slightly bias. But other than the one my dad bought I have only seen 1 and it was in a museum.
The Honda GB500 tribute to British cafe' bikes is no doubt the prettiest, the Kawasaki W650 just looks more like a Triumph than the modern ones and the Z900 the one I'd love in my garage.
When I was an Italian 16yo I was craving for the Aprilia 125 Europa (but ended up with the more reliable Honda NSR Raiden), then I liked the Ducati Sport Classic (the unfaired one), then the Truxton, and now I'm craving for the Kawa Z900RS... I can safely say I'm not just following a trend :D
Initially wanted a Bonneville from misremembering a Norton from the first movie that made me want a motorcycle. Then saw the speed twin and wanted to buy one new but they were sold out and found a used 2016 thruxton and love it
Great video but you missed with the BSA 650. Wonderful narrow bike great for in town splitting lanes while hiway capable too. Only bike like that that is watercooled and retro. Love the bike. Sure hoping it sells well!!
I'm not exactly a fan of retro motorcycles but I do like standards/nakeds bikes as I think they're excellent all rounders and nice to work on. My bike is a 2022 Moto Guzzi V7 850 Stone and although basic I don't consider it a retro.
Just came across this video, I just happen to have a Pristine condition Honda GB-400 TT Mark 2 that was a private import to Melbourne, Australia back late last century by its owner from New Zealand that I bought in 2002 and it’s been sitting idle in my garage for over 20 years with only 36,000 kilometres on it from new in around 1986, Australia did not get these and New Zealand was lucky enough to get a handful of them new as they were primarily a Japanese domestic model and were exactly the same as the GB 500 TT with a smaller bore and stroke, there were 3 versions and my mark 2 was the only one with the Honda factory fairing with the 500’s racing seat, they were a retro bike in the mid 80’s to represent the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy of the sixties and were arguably one of the prettiest bikes Honda made as a factory Cafe Racer, Honda named these the GB series which stood for “Great Britain” which was a salute to Britains Cafe Racers stemming from the Ace Cafe Era, these bikes were built before the Cafe Racer retro era took off, I have had people ask me “ Is that a new bike made to look old” in which I reply “yes and no”it is an old near 40 year old bike and was made to represent the sixties.
I don't especially like "retro" bikes because of them being retro. I actively dislike bikes that are made looking like a plastic insect from a scifi movie.
I miss my GB500. Honda couldn’t sell these when they were new. I remember seeing them still new in dealer showrooms 2-3 years after they were introduced. It was hard to sell a 500cc single for nearly the same price as the contemporary Hurricane 600.
I owned a Honda GB500. It was a good bike but was very hard to start especially in cold temperatures. A subsequent owner finally managed to get a carburettor fault fixed that caused the problems. I'd just assumed it was hard to start and got rid of it.
That's funny. I sold my old SR500 after getting tired of hearing it ping at 65 mph on the freeway. The new owner fitted a Mikuni carb, and improved the bike a ton.
Another way of looking at it is that many motorcyclists consider motorcycles that stick with the essentials to be truer than motorcycles that add a bunch of crap and pretend to be race bikes or spacecraft. My motorcycling heyday was the 60s and 70s. When bikes went off the deep end in subsequent decades, I lost interest. Now that bikes have regained some semblance of modesty and sanity, and have, in my opinion, become once again beautiful, I am becoming once again interested.
I get your point of owning the real old stuff instead of a modern homage, but being in a context where bikes are not weekend toys but the main mode of transport I'd pick a modern, warranted retro bike every single time, the last thing I need in my daily commute are carburetors or drum brakes in heavy brazilian traffic, hence why I got an Interceptor as my do it all bike, and also cause a T100 is double the price here.
Exactly. I will take a modern classic over an original classic for a number of reasons. New bikes have modern tech making them more reliable, faster, safer. Also I simply don't have the ability or knowledge to fix and fabricate everything that will be necessary on an old bike. Yet, the modern classic is the style of bike I am attracted to, being 60 years old and growing up with the classic look. And last but not least is the cost. A classic motorcycle will end up costing you considerably more, particularly if it is a desirable, collectable bike, and of course the cost of maintaining an antique.
At one time the Big 4 offered modern retro bikes in the late 90's to 2000's but only a few "matured" riders bought them, the Kawasaki ZRX-1100/1200 Daeg, ZR-750S, the Honda CB1000, CB1100, Yamaha XJR-1100/1200 and the Suzuki GS500 and GS 1200, comes to my mind, reading some reviews at Cycle World magazine. Today only the Honda CB1000 is still being sold as of now........
Honestly that Suzuki SW01 looks really sick to me. I'd have one provided it didn't have some insane displacement size or wasn't insanely expensive. I do also like scooters though and the supercub and it reminds me greatly of them.
Meguro - the famous Japanese motorcycle manufacturer - purchased the license rights of the BSA A7. BSA A7 was built to compete with Triumph Speed Twin (introduced in 1938 or so). (Fun fact, Val Page, the designer of the BSA A7 was a former “master” of Edward Turner, the designer of the Speed Twin). Meguro was purchased by Kawasaki, and the Meguro K (License version of the BSA A7) was re-branded as Kawasaki. The W650 and W800 bikes are a modern interpretations of the original Meguro/Kawasaki K series (not the W series as the name would suggest). So yes, Bonnies and W800s look similar but for a good reason. The ancestors (Speed Twin and BSA A7) were built to compete, and were designed by two engineers who worked together on the very first twin cylinder engine of Triumph.
I ride an Indian Chief Vintage. My kid asked "is that what motorcycles looked like when you were young?" I tried to explain to a 10 y/o that I had nostalgia for a time before I was even alive.
OK... I was a dealer for Honda and Suzuki in the 1980s, so I have some useful experience. The Suzuki SW was a modest seller in Japan, but it never came to the US or (to my knowledge) Europe. I saw one in Japan and, although the Suzuki guys LOVED it, not a single American dealer thought it could bs old in the states. Suzuki was smart enough to listen. Honda, not so much: the GB 500 was really pretty, which was good since all it did was sit on your showroom growing moss on the north side. Looked nice, didn't really handle all that well, was a LOT slower than a 500 Interceptor and vibrated more than buyers liked. Funny how things that are initially sales bombs wind up being "classics" in the future!
As a matter of interest a 1965 Bonnie weighed 165 kg while a 2010 comes in at 262 kg. British bikes of the 60's were always as light as possible! ADD LIGHTNESS were the watchwords back then!!!
@@notwocdivad Sorry, wasn't contesting anything you said. I was just stating a fact, since I had a 61. Could be dry verses wet weight also, but I believe there was a difference between 61 and 65 since the 61 had a separate transition from the engine, and I believe by 65 the transmission was integrated with the engine. So, 65 could very well have been lighter.
@@brucekamps6970 NO bother Bruce it never entered my mind, anyway if I remember correctly the 61 pre unit and they turned to unit by 65, that could be the difference right there? Ride Safe buddy.
At a swap meet a guy knowing I had PSA singles walked up to me and offered me a beautiful 250 BSA single for sale for$500 delivered. 6000 original miles matching numbers all original everything works. For a tenth of the price of a phony British motorcycle I got the real thing and I will never sell it.
18:13 you say that these electric retro bike companies aren’t really noteworthy, while playing footage of the RGNT, and it may be interesting to some people that RGNT just set a world record for the fastest electric vehicle on ice. I feel like RGNT is, while still relatively unknown, definitely one to watch (plus the best looking electric retro I’ve ever seen)
He forgot to mention the Thunderbird 900 cc bikes, the triumph put out. They really were like a modern version of the trident except they were in a mechanical pain in the ass. I’ve got a T160. It’s a nightmare but it’s beautiful. Also forgot the Ural.
Regarding the W650 and the later Bonneville, there is a story that goes further back to 1932 a few years before triumph made a parallel twin. It is a story that started in Germany with a Horex. The German motorcycle company Horex made a vertical twin back then called the S8. So when people talk about the advent of the vertical twin, it is worth noting it was not Triumph who invented it first but Horex. It is also worth noting that Triumph was started in Britain by two Germany immigrants. So Triumph is as British as a German Horex.
weird to mention the z900 but not the zrx1100. What im looking forward to is modern recreations of early attempts at cruisers by Japanese brands. Honda Sabres, Yamaha Viragos, and the like. That will be interesting.
I’d like some if the original old bikes too but in Alaska where I am, there just isn’t any supply of old used bikes. In the lower 48 though I’m guessing one can still find old bikes which is nice.
Actually, it was Japanese and German. Originally a Horex 500 twin in the '50's. Horex bought by Showa; Showa bought by Yamaha. My '75 XS-650 is the most dependable motorcycle that I have owned in 53 years of riding. I 'm gonna die owning that bike. That's when grandson number 1 gets a cool, old bike.
now 60 years old and from Austria, i do remember there was a opposite trend in the 80´s against that time super bikes e.g. Z1300 . I understand that wave started with the thumpers as Yamaha XT500 , a new version of BSA B50. And yes Yamaha XS650 . Kawasaki did some years later the zephyr series 550 750 110 a 1st incarnation of the classic Z series , with wire wheels and the 500 / 550 still using the old engine of the GPZ . There are bikes the production never really stopped some may call it evolution e.g. Guzzi V7, Honda Super CUB. I think the Enfield goes in that direction . Beside that there are some bike which where just produced forever as the CJ750 a copy of the BMW R71- production at China Nanchang aircraft factory ended in the early 90`s. BR
It's really kind of misleading to suggest that the design of the Kawasaki W650 has anything to do with British bikes, because it really doesn't, except insofar as prior to the W-series, Kawasaki had acquired a stake in Meguro, which had licensed the design of the BSA A7. The W650 was a modern version of the 1960s Kawasaki W1, W2, and W3, not any specific attempt to ape Triumph, and it's simply not accurate to state that Kawasaki "partnered with BSA" in any manner. By the time the W1 was released, in 1966, the Kawasaki and BSA motorcycles has significantly diverged. In the 1960s, motorcycles looked much the same all over the world, because the manufacturing technologies of the 1950s and 1960s did not really allow for much variation in what the finished product was eventually going to look like. Motorcycle design really didn't significantly change until the early-mid 1980s, with the development of perimeter and twin-spar aluminium frames and the application of the monoshock rear suspension developed in the 1970s for motocross to road motorcycles.
@Bart Once again you’ve omitted the Honda CD175 1969 "K3" model (product code 302) which although it was a continuation of the previous model by the same name, it introduced the vertical engine and all-tube frame and some smaller body work changes that continued until the end of production in 1979. The Honda CD175 of 1969 is the first retro bike. Why? Because it was already out of date by the time it was introduced. It was therefore INTENTIONALLY looking backwards, being available only in blue or red (mine was blue) with its oversized and flared painted front and rear mudguards, chrome tank panels, and rubber kneepads, at a time when every other bike was clearly going for the modern sporty clipped chrome mudguards and painted and stripped tanks. Yes it was my first real bike (after my Honda C50), and the only bike I bought new. During the year I owned that bike, I rode it everywhere - to race meetings, on holiday to Devon, and on long tours all over the UK. No, I didn’t start picking up hot girls until I got my first gorgeous candy orange Honda CB250G5, but that’s another story. So, I got retro out of my system in 1976 - before I was 18! Been there, done that… 47 years ago!! And this is why I find this current retro craze so amusing. Not only are mostly hipsters riding their EFI liquid cooled heavy fakes to pose at coffee shops, for the most part they are only doing it because it’s the current fashion. I, and everyone else who bought a Honda CD175 at any point during the 1970s did so because we were individuals, failing to set a trend, but not being fashion victims either. OK @Bart because you’ve omitted the Honda CD175 from yet another video on retro and classic bikes (your only excuse is that they weren’t imported into the USA🧐😎😜), now you have to dedicate a whole video to this, the most important retro classic of them all - the one that REALLY DID start it all. Ride safe Peace
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
Growing in the 60's in the North East of England and riding, or more often than not pushing, old British singles and twins, give me a modern retro any day. Reliability is priceless!
I had a new 1968 BSA 650 Hornet, a bike which I judge other bikes. I was a skinny 115 lbs college kid. Today I still ride, but old bikes do not interest me. If it isn't as good handling as my old Hornet 650. The Rocket3 750 and Honda 4 750 were just plain too heavy for me. My 765RS is god send. I enjoy faultless electronic fuel injection, and no timing adjustment for ignition. I do not mind the kick start. But I can no longer live without water cooling, six speed gear box, 4 valves DOHC engine, slipper assisted clutch. And man! the disc brakes. A Ninja 400 is the best value bike for my riding. The 750 Hornet is also a good alternative.
You missed the Moto Guzzi V7. Its been in almost continuous production since the 70’s in one form or another and is still air cooled - it’s an authentic “old school” bike rather than a modern copy. The Bonneville is a modern bike with retro features, the Moto Guzzi is a retro bike with modern features.
Remember there was even an earlier retro version of the V7 (sport) models. The 1000S from 1990 (which I still own 😀). It was not only an almost perfect copy of the 750S3 from 1976. It also used the same old technology, like simple slide carbs and contact breaker points. But it sold very poorly. Perhaps to far ahaed of its time.
are those things reliable?
@@Spartansrule118 The 1000S is bullet proof - but only if you're your own mechanic. Minor breakdowns may happen, but I could always solve them with onboard tools.
@@Spartansrule118 as reliable as anything else and the build quality is a lot better than RE’s. The engines are known to be very durable often doing very high mileages - I know someone who has 175k miles on his. They need maintained like everything else and you need to keep on top of cleaning etc. but we’ll looked after they will last.
@@Spartansrule118 absolutely yes, changed my bmw for a v9, it starts always, doesn’t overheat in traffic despite being an 850cc air cooled engine, easy to service on my own (it’s absolutely simple) and beautiful in every way. Only thing i have is that when serviced the bike likes a specific amount of oil, putting more in will cause it to leak from the transmission or air filter, and that low speeds feel kinda weird
I'm a victim of my own device. I can't go back because I never left. I bought my '67 Bonneville back in '78 for $400.00 had two smaller machines before that. Been riding for 48 years. You can't bend an oak. I really don't want a new bike, but, hey, that's just me.
I still have my '72 and '75 XS-650 's. The '75 was purchased 36 years ago for $50. I finally have over $1k invested because it just got its first over-bore.
Wow my bonneville cost me £13,000
The thing with motorcycles is that is not just about pure performance. Its about celebrating the mechanical form. Its about the glory of sound, chrome, and gears. Its about SEEING the internal workings of the machine before your eyes. Thats why I love retro bikes.
You got that mostly right. Except for the chrome part. New bikes are almost all flat black with no chrome. Even so called "retro" bikes are nearly 100% flat black. The bikes they are supposedly trying to emulate had bright shiny paint and tons of chrome and polished aluminum.
@@geraldscott4302You guys are right. This person only sees motorcycles through the performance/racing lens. You can't do that with these because it's not what they are built for. And the black out thing gets me too.... You're building a retro styled bike but no chrome?
Modern classics are just awesome. I love my street twin but I also want to get a Royal Enfield lol
I think Royal Enfield is killing it right now especially for the price. This is coming from somebody who is currently on a 2021 Kawasaki Z900 RS café. I think Royal is definitely crushing it. I do think the price is slightly higher than it needs to be but again, they’ve been doing this for years as far as making solid motorcycles and it’s just taking a lot of time to penetrate the US market
@@postersm7141 That is true. That is why im still rocking my Continental GT650, its a ton of fun.
I AGREE with you - As a rider of some 42 years whom has owned many motorcycles the whole retro bike thing doesn't really do it for me either - Having owned several original Triumphs when l was a young bloke (including TR6 T120 and T150) l went out and bought a T100 last year and felt the same disappointment - Even though l couldn't fault the bike in any way and indeed acknowledge the bike is technically vastly superior to the old OHV Units - It just still doesn't quite capture the true essence or character of the original bikes - The Brain said yes but the Heart said no - Therefore l decided to sell it and was lucky enough to pick up and restore an old 1986 Harris T140 - Gotta admit l'm so glad l did too - The beast starts up first kick and when it roars into life never fails to put a HUGE smile on my face 😁
Rode a ‘72 Honda SL350 from San Antonio, Tx to L.A.,Ca in 1978 and as I was just a kid it was nothing but Fun. Riding and sleeping out, living off very small money was nothing out of the ordinary back then. Oh to be young again!
You realy missed out on the Yamaha XS 650. It was one of the very first retros, and still very sourght after. Often retrofitted with a 270 crank, and bored up to 930 cc.
Got mine XS 650 now for 42 years, enjoyed every minute!
I don't consider the XS650 to be a retro. At the time it was produced, most Japanese companies were still selling parallel twins. It was also being sold at the same time as the British twins.
Had one in 1973 for $600.
It was a 1971 model.
Great bike.
Yes it was like the tractor you knew would alway start .. :) I lived with its younger sister the XS 750 triple for a few years before going over to an R80 BMW //
By retro you mean the first 4 stroke motorcycle sold by Yamaha, Phill Irving, an Australian engineer, who designed the Vincent v twin, was the first to propose the 270° crank
I rode an old Bonneville from California to South Carolina in 1980, other than the seat feeling smaller every 100 miles, I enjoyed my coast to coast run. You have a great channel, keep up the good work.
I remember picking up my pre-ordered 2001 Bonneville on the day I got laid off. I'm still riding it to this day. Literally this day. It's my daily and I used it to get to work today. Love that bike.
After losing my right arm in an rtc in the mid 90s I put a Yamaha XS650S alongside a lightweight Harley sidecar (remember the Aermacchi Sprint?) with a heel throttle on the right and a back brake on the left side. Thanks, John T. of Newton Abbot, Devon, England
It went reasonably well, like 80mph downhill with a following wind, but the bores were worn and I never got around to fixing it. To get around the problem of white vans pushing me along in traffic (and they always came close enough to see the filling in my sandwiches) I bought a Beemer. A K100RS to give it its 4 valves/cylinder name, along with a custom frame with cup and ball fittings, and a brand-new, all-metal sidecar from a dealer in Russian motorycles. That was a tight setup and my own retro classic. 😄 Good for a ton "on the track" and elsewhere, she was my pride and joy!
And don't forget the Kawasaki Zephyrs of the 90s. The 550, 750, 1100. Great bikes with a nice 70s vibe.
I had a Zephyr 1100 and really liked the bikes style and performance. One of the only bikes that I regret selling. I actually sold it to the guy who owns a company called Powerhouse, who are based just outside Chesterfield. They specialises in replacement brake parts for classic and modern bikes. The owner keeps the bike as part of his modern classics collection.
I bought a Zephyr 750 that was sitting on the dealer floor forever. He let it go for just under $7,000 because nobody wanted them,
I had a 550 for a few years, not the quickest or best handler but I fell in love with its looks. I've always thought this range started the classic scene, yeah?
So many great machines, Laverda had a long line of classics, SF750, 3CL 1000, JOTA, MIRAGE and more
0:23 that's my bike right there
A very enjoyable, well researched and presented video, as are all your vids. I'm surprised you never mention my beloved Honda CB1100RS, or even the basic CB1100 retros, a homage to the original CB750.
While I do like actual retros more than modern retros, I would much rather ride a modern retro. ABS, EFI and big disk brakes are a wonderful thing.
Being 70 I've owned many bikes in my life Two being Royal Enfield's One of the old 1956 vintage and a 2017 both demanding great maintenance but my " classic " W800 is proving to be a great machine pulling my sidecar effortlessly for the last 7,000 miles
Great video. But I cannot understand how you can make a 20-minute long video about modern classic motorcycles without mentioning one of the main brands in this regard: Moto Guzzi. The Moto Guzzi V7 line in particular has been important for the brand and, although admittedly not as instrumental as the Triumph Bonneville, is a prime example of a modern classic motorcycle and as such certainly deserves attention.
I think you should of mentioned the 90’s Kawasaki Zephyr. It was clearly a look back to the past. Probably one of the first brand to do so. It mimics the original Z1 even more so than the current RS900.
Another great video, little brother. My current main squeeze is a 73 CB350. I'll admit I was gonna jump on the cafe racer bandwagon but I found an all original bike with 3500 miles on it for 2500 bucks! I just had to run a can of sea foam through it and ride. Oh and put new tires on it. It has been an amazing reliable bike. People don't realize how cheap they can get the real deal. I also found an all original 80 model CB650 with 2500 miles for 1800 bucks. I totally agree with you. It is so much better to just get the real thing instead of financing a replica.
Kawasaki's Zephyr series were retro bikes, as were the Vulcan Drifters and the ZRX1100 and 1200. Not sure the Harley XLCR really fits into this category, as it wasn't evocative of any earlier bikes. And in the early 2000s, there was a huge cafe racer craze in Japan, which inspired the W650 and W400.
The 1978 Yamaha SR 400/500 is the original Retro and also the original Motard
The later SR 400 is like the ABBA revival revival band, they look virtually identical to the original impersonators
I bought a 2002 Kawasaki ZRX1200R
Just because I loved the looks of the 1982 GPZs.
Honda GB500 is such a beautiful bike. I love it!
What I got out of this was that the Z900RS was so obvious and so good, it barely needed mentioning.
Great video again. When you were talking about British Singles, you mentioned the BSA Goldstar and gave a picture of the BSA Rocket Goldstar, which is a twin! Either way great video as always!
Very interesting history.
When you get down to it a lot of folks just are not interested in racing, especially on the street. They just want a practical, maintainable motorcycle that looks like a motorcycle instead of an escapee from a sci-fi or transformers movie.
To my way of thinking the SR400, or even a similar with slightly less displacement, is about perfect for a street bike. Yamaha has since given up on that market but Royal Enfield seems to be making a very credible stab with the Classic 350. Pretty much a bullseye IMO. A little lighter weight might be good but I am picking at nits at that point.
13:24 I find it interesting that people always talk about the Z900 RS but never talk about the Z900 RS Café. They are very different animals even though they are the same. As stated below, I have the latter. I have the Z900 RS café. If I had to do it all over again, I would absolutely get the RS café version over the RS version!! You have to check both of them out side-by-side to see which one is right for you. For me, it’s the café version all day long!!
You nailed it. It's not all about performance. Motorcycling is about connecting with the machine and the road. The SV650 remains my number one. Classics are wonderful but who wants to deal with breakdowns?
Honda’s GB 400 & 500 were two of the best looking bikes of all time.
Amazing insight, knowledge and depth as always. Every time I watch this channel I learn, and renew my love of motorcycles.
I have a Bobber Black. It being thick and heavy is amazing. I ride it in a huge city, Buenos Aires, and it zooms from semaphore to semaphore.
They're also the most beautiful bikes ever.
Nice vid, man. It gave me all the feels.
When Triumph were making sport bikes, I wanted a Daytona. But I have to respect how they executed their change in direction.
And I've always been a fan of Kawasaki. My first four bikes were theirs.
Retro craze has passed me by. I've just hung on to the real thing, a 78 Bonneville T140V. Recently added a 1980 GS550L. Original and simple works for me.
You made quite an in-depth video about Retro motorcycles, and yet you missed two of the most important (at least in my mind) unashamedly retro motorcycles from past decades. Well done for mentioning the GB 500, gorgeous thing (although you didn't mention the XBR 500 it was based on - clearly a bike with retro credentials). However back in the 90's there were the Kawasaki ZEPHYRS (550/70). These were bikes which obviously sold in quite large numbers as they were quite ubiquitous at one time. They clearly harked back to the old Kawasaki Z bikes -Z900 and ESPECIALLY the Z650. This was totally understood by everyone at the time. I believe it was THESE bikes that really made the point that there WAS a big market for retro bikes, in a time before the modern Bonneville. Triumph had only just "re-started" then and were focussed on the Trident, itself harkening back to the old bike. I like your videos, but I do think you present your own opinions as factual, when they really are just opinions, at times.
You completely missed the Zephyr range from Kawasaki in the early 90's
Long before the W
Yes!! Well done. When you ask the question, “But, what if I just want a real motorcycle?” These Triumph-inspired retro bikes answer that question.
For electric retro, the Harley’s LiveWire brand is bringing out the Del Mar model this spring has some retro lines. Cool design. Innovation comes from the upstarts, though, so expect some of those upstart brands that you covered to catch on.
I ride a 2001 daelim daystar w/ carb and a manual gearbox. It's great fun and it's true about what is said about old machines - they have a character and attitude.
Odd that you didnt mention the kawasaki zephyrs or the zrx. Talk about retros, they were literally z’s and gpz’s styling nailed to a t but with 90’s-mid 2000’s mechanical advancemants. The zrx1200 had over 100 horsepower. As someone who has owned most models of the original models of z with my dad, this is the closest a retro bike has ever come to the source material. They were literally just faster versions.
I picked up my 2023 thruxton RS yesterday and I’m in love with it
On a slightly modified Thruxton R I averaged 151.3 mph at Bonneville in 2021 and 11.6 ET quarter mile so adding a cam can perk the Thruxton R up a bit more.
Great vid, although I would pull up that the Triumph Bonneville wasn't their first stab at a retro. The Bonney was preceded by the Thunderbird. A 900cc Triple that was launched in 1995 and lasted for 8 years. I've owned one for 10 years now, with a few discrete additions such as TOR exhaust pipes. The attention it gets is unreal.
And as for the Honda GB500. Such a good looking bike imo.
I've had my 99 T-Bird for 22 years. Turns heads and people constantly come over to talk and gawk. A real head turner.
I understand why people like modern retros. It's because they want a bike that looks like the old bikes do but they don't want the headaches. When you buy a bike from 1967 you better get ready to deal with a bunch of mechanical or electrical problems. I just don't have time for that.
The movie is Black Rain, for anyone who’s wondering.
Great video, man! I love all kinds of bikes. Although I own a W800, I am into many different styles. I been riding since I was a kid starting on dirt bikes and I love my Kawasaki. It's such a cool connection to the road with loads of character. Who gives a fk what trend or demographic owns a bike. The more riders, the better. Cheers 🥂
17:21 Removed guard, no gloves, cutted pipe not held in place... and they use it in their own ad?! I want my bike to be build by professionals, not some greasemonkey violating all safety standards.
glad to see the shoutout to the sr400 and sr500. one retro thing for their time which they maintained through to 2021 was only having kickstart and after the first year in '78, having spoked wheels. my understanding is that at the time those were considered more retro features than modern
SR500s in the US (78-81) didn't have spoked wheels. I sold my SR500 to get a Honda GB500 because I love how they looked and getting spoke rims on an SR500 wasn't easy. The SR500 was a way better bike and I ended up selling the GB500 and getting another SR500. I really want an SR400 or SR500 with wire rims, but first I need to fix up my Velocette. They made the Thruxton which the GB500 is a direct copy of and whoever owns the Velocette name sold the Thruxton name to Triumph. And the Triumph Thruxton doesn't look as nice at the Honda Thruxton which doesn't look as nice as the Velo Thruxton. Only the Honda and Triumph Thruxtons can easily be ridden on the street.
@@gornzilla Thruxton is a race circuit in England. I don't think Velocette ever owned it.
@@chrishill7583 I know that it's a race circuit in England, but you can't use the name of another product. E.g., There can't be a Honda Mustang.
As always, so amazed at the very relevant sales footage you have found of every model you spoke about - makes for a very professional review. Keep it up!! Graeme NZ
- NB riding a RE650 Interceptor after 33years family life!! Then as well, I bought an R1200RT... early on had a 24yo '49 500 Speed Twin, Yam TX500, then a Yam XS7502D Triple. Still loving everything about motorbikes!!
This was a great review of bikes. I like the 90's suzuki sw-01 and the bathtub fairing. I can see the 50s influence.
The Bullet is the real deal, continuous production for 90 years, it isnt retro, it is a dinosaur!
They are epic, you arent buying just a bike, its a piece of living history!
Retro all you want but you won't get enthusiastic thumbs up from an occasional motorist (yesterday) like I got riding my R5B '71 Yamaha with virtually no plastic anywhere and the sound of a two stroke on the pipe.
I'm not sure if you got them in the US, but you missed out a couple of important models from the 90's. The Yamaha SRV250 (1992-1998) & the Suzuki TU250 (1994-2019). The Suzuki TU250 championed the look of 60's British singles for 25 years. The Yamaha SRV250 was more of a retro style bike with a V-Twin engine until they released the Renaissa that resembles the look of old Vincents.
Right on Bart ! The only thing I can say is that you probably have enough content for 3 different videos.
I just bought a 2022 Bonneville T 100 and let me tell you it’s the most incredible thing to experience! Just firing it up puts you in a certain trance. The sky opens up and a beam of light shines on you from the heavens. Bonneville T 100 is the “ Rolex”of Classics
Cheers
USA
Can't argue with your sentiment but my Guzzi does the same for me !.
I rented a T 100 a couple years ago and I absolutely loved it. This is coming from someone who loves Japanese in-line four-cylinder street bikes. That being said, the T 100 put a smile on my face every single time I swung a leg over it!!!
dude the zrx was such an amazing retro bike. started in 99, its the og
Sometimes standard bikes is all we need. It's just that they were lost in America for little over a decade and market is filled with sports bike that's not very fitting for the street . While in Asia standard or classic looking bikes are what most people ride.
Surprised you left out Norton, the twins, not the V’four
Off topic: you rolled a lot of scenes from the race in the movie "black rain", a true masterpiece. It's interesting how the script writer decided to symbolize the challenge between the USA and Japan, making a gsxr and a Harley race, and letting the Harley (Usa) win through a dirty trick. The Japanese bike was faster and better, but the creativity of the western man stands as a game changer. This is the real main issue of the whole movie. Of course, that's the usual america self-apology, but in the end the confrontation between the two cultures is all in all quite genuine.
Honda GB is back as a GB350 in japan and CB350 in India built to rival royal enfield's 350 bullet/classic/meteor and its a damn good motorcycle. Jawa and yezdi are back too in India- not sure how well known they are elsewhere
The Harley XLCR was a early attempt at redesigning the Sportster frame,which was used on late 1970's Sportster models.
PS About the original Ducati 750SS: LOTS of guys wanted these, but they were a nightmare to maintain. They won a lot of races, but few street riders were interested in owning a motorcycle that had to be disassembled to perform a valve adjustment, which you were supposed to do every 3000 miles. Mind you, it took a REAL ironman to ride one of these 3000 miles on the street!
What you are saying is not quite true. They were fairly easy to maintain. I owned an 860 version of the 750. It did not need stripping down (apart from taking the seat and tank off) to adjust the (desmodromic) valves. I don't remember the service interval but it was much more than 3000 miles. Was I an IRONMAN ?, I don't know but I rode mine the length and breadth of Britain and many times around Europe. It did not fail me once. The only failing that mine had was that the chain was under spec'ed for the torque of the engine and needed constant attention ... often needing adjustment half way through a long days' ride.
@@zaphodbeeblebrox4574 I'm still riding an old 860Ducati today and I have a 1981 Bonnie too. I like the modern retro bikes but I've never tried one, perhaps I'm simply stuck in the past!
I think the reason people like modern classics is because they're usually naked. We like to see things naked.
You need a bike that has easy accessibility for the odd time you need to do repairs.
I love the GB500 it honestly is one of my favorite bikes, I may be slightly bias. But other than the one my dad bought I have only seen 1 and it was in a museum.
The Honda GB500 tribute to British cafe' bikes is no doubt the prettiest, the Kawasaki W650 just looks more like a Triumph than the modern ones and the Z900 the one I'd love in my garage.
When I was an Italian 16yo I was craving for the Aprilia 125 Europa (but ended up with the more reliable Honda NSR Raiden), then I liked the Ducati Sport Classic (the unfaired one), then the Truxton, and now I'm craving for the Kawa Z900RS... I can safely say I'm not just following a trend :D
Initially wanted a Bonneville from misremembering a Norton from the first movie that made me want a motorcycle. Then saw the speed twin and wanted to buy one new but they were sold out and found a used 2016 thruxton and love it
I'm waiting for the scooter renaissance!
Great video but you missed with the BSA 650. Wonderful narrow bike great for in town splitting lanes while hiway capable too. Only bike like that that is watercooled and retro. Love the bike. Sure hoping it sells well!!
This is fantastic content!!! Please keep the retro-content coming, thank you...
I'm not exactly a fan of retro motorcycles but I do like standards/nakeds bikes as I think they're excellent all rounders and nice to work on. My bike is a 2022 Moto Guzzi V7 850 Stone and although basic I don't consider it a retro.
Just came across this video, I just happen to have a Pristine condition Honda GB-400 TT Mark 2 that was a private import to Melbourne, Australia back late last century by its owner from New Zealand that I bought in 2002 and it’s been sitting idle in my garage for over 20 years with only 36,000 kilometres on it from new in around 1986, Australia did not get these and New Zealand was lucky enough to get a handful of them new as they were primarily a Japanese domestic model and were exactly the same as the GB 500 TT with a smaller bore and stroke, there were 3 versions and my mark 2 was the only one with the Honda factory fairing with the 500’s racing seat, they were a retro bike in the mid 80’s to represent the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy of the sixties and were arguably one of the prettiest bikes Honda made as a factory Cafe Racer, Honda named these the GB series which stood for “Great Britain” which was a salute to Britains Cafe Racers stemming from the Ace Cafe Era, these bikes were built before the Cafe Racer retro era took off, I have had people ask me “ Is that a new bike made to look old” in which I reply “yes and no”it is an old near 40 year old bike and was made to represent the sixties.
I don't especially like "retro" bikes because of them being retro. I actively dislike bikes that are made looking like a plastic insect from a scifi movie.
I miss my GB500. Honda couldn’t sell these when they were new. I remember seeing them still new in dealer showrooms 2-3 years after they were introduced. It was hard to sell a 500cc single for nearly the same price as the contemporary Hurricane 600.
Hello Steve, how are you doing😊
As always from bart, a thoughtful video that I can't fault.
The Honda GB500 name im Germany was XBR 500 . This was my first motorbike at 1988. Nice Vide amd beautiful biks
I owned a Honda GB500. It was a good bike but was very hard to start especially in cold temperatures. A subsequent owner finally managed to get a carburettor fault fixed that caused the problems. I'd just assumed it was hard to start and got rid of it.
That's funny. I sold my old SR500 after getting tired of hearing it ping at 65 mph on the freeway. The new owner fitted a Mikuni carb, and improved the bike a ton.
Another way of looking at it is that many motorcyclists consider motorcycles that stick with the essentials to be truer than motorcycles that add a bunch of crap and pretend to be race bikes or spacecraft. My motorcycling heyday was the 60s and 70s. When bikes went off the deep end in subsequent decades, I lost interest. Now that bikes have regained some semblance of modesty and sanity, and have, in my opinion, become once again beautiful, I am becoming once again interested.
People were still riding 60's and 70's bikes in the 80's and 90's, in droves. I had my 74 norton commando 750 in the early 90's.
BMW's opposed twin is a classic engine concept from the primordial era, that is updated and still in production
I get your point of owning the real old stuff instead of a modern homage, but being in a context where bikes are not weekend toys but the main mode of transport I'd pick a modern, warranted retro bike every single time, the last thing I need in my daily commute are carburetors or drum brakes in heavy brazilian traffic, hence why I got an Interceptor as my do it all bike, and also cause a T100 is double the price here.
Exactly. I will take a modern classic over an original classic for a number of reasons. New bikes have modern tech making them more reliable, faster, safer. Also I simply don't have the ability or knowledge to fix and fabricate everything that will be necessary on an old bike. Yet, the modern classic is the style of bike I am attracted to, being 60 years old and growing up with the classic look. And last but not least is the cost. A classic motorcycle will end up costing you considerably more, particularly if it is a desirable, collectable bike, and of course the cost of maintaining an antique.
At one time the Big 4 offered modern retro bikes in the late 90's to 2000's but only a few "matured" riders bought them, the Kawasaki ZRX-1100/1200 Daeg, ZR-750S, the Honda CB1000, CB1100, Yamaha XJR-1100/1200 and the Suzuki GS500 and GS 1200, comes to my mind, reading some reviews at Cycle World magazine. Today only the Honda CB1000 is still being sold as of now........
Honestly that Suzuki SW01 looks really sick to me. I'd have one provided it didn't have some insane displacement size or wasn't insanely expensive. I do also like scooters though and the supercub and it reminds me greatly of them.
You forget about the Triumph Thunderbird 900! Arguably the first modern classic and one done right.
You are right.
Meguro - the famous Japanese motorcycle manufacturer - purchased the license rights of the BSA A7. BSA A7 was built to compete with Triumph Speed Twin (introduced in 1938 or so). (Fun fact, Val Page, the designer of the BSA A7 was a former “master” of Edward Turner, the designer of the Speed Twin). Meguro was purchased by Kawasaki, and the Meguro K (License version of the BSA A7) was re-branded as Kawasaki. The W650 and W800 bikes are a modern interpretations of the original Meguro/Kawasaki K series (not the W series as the name would suggest). So yes, Bonnies and W800s look similar but for a good reason. The ancestors (Speed Twin and BSA A7) were built to compete, and were designed by two engineers who worked together on the very first twin cylinder engine of Triumph.
I ride an Indian Chief Vintage. My kid asked "is that what motorcycles looked like when you were young?" I tried to explain to a 10 y/o that I had nostalgia for a time before I was even alive.
OK... I was a dealer for Honda and Suzuki in the 1980s, so I have some useful experience. The Suzuki SW was a modest seller in Japan, but it never came to the US or (to my knowledge) Europe. I saw one in Japan and, although the Suzuki guys LOVED it, not a single American dealer thought it could bs old in the states. Suzuki was smart enough to listen. Honda, not so much: the GB 500 was really pretty, which was good since all it did was sit on your showroom growing moss on the north side. Looked nice, didn't really handle all that well, was a LOT slower than a 500 Interceptor and vibrated more than buyers liked. Funny how things that are initially sales bombs wind up being "classics" in the future!
Why is the new Bonneville 50 kg heavier than the 73' I had?
As a matter of interest a 1965 Bonnie weighed 165 kg while a 2010 comes in at 262 kg. British bikes of the 60's were always as light as possible! ADD LIGHTNESS were the watchwords back then!!!
!961 Bonnie weighed 393 lbs.
@@brucekamps6970 Well 165kg is 363lbs is that close enough? Maybe the 65 model was lighter than the 61??
@@notwocdivad Sorry, wasn't contesting anything you said. I was just stating a fact, since I had a 61. Could be dry verses wet weight also, but I believe there was a difference between 61 and 65 since the 61 had a separate transition from the engine, and I believe by 65 the transmission was integrated with the engine. So, 65 could very well have been lighter.
@@brucekamps6970 NO bother Bruce it never entered my mind, anyway if I remember correctly the 61 pre unit and they turned to unit by 65, that could be the difference right there? Ride Safe buddy.
At a swap meet a guy knowing I had PSA singles walked up to me and offered me a beautiful 250 BSA single for sale for$500 delivered. 6000 original miles matching numbers all original everything works. For a tenth of the price of a phony British motorcycle I got the real thing and I will never sell it.
18:13 you say that these electric retro bike companies aren’t really noteworthy, while playing footage of the RGNT, and it may be interesting to some people that RGNT just set a world record for the fastest electric vehicle on ice. I feel like RGNT is, while still relatively unknown, definitely one to watch (plus the best looking electric retro I’ve ever seen)
The Honda XBR 500 came out in UK around 1986. This pre dated the GB500 by a long way. In fact I don't remember the GB... only the XBR
He forgot to mention the Thunderbird 900 cc bikes, the triumph put out. They really were like a modern version of the trident except they were in a mechanical pain in the ass. I’ve got a T160. It’s a nightmare but it’s beautiful. Also forgot the Ural.
Regarding the W650 and the later Bonneville, there is a story that goes further back to 1932 a few years before triumph made a parallel twin. It is a story that started in Germany with a Horex. The German motorcycle company Horex made a vertical twin back then called the S8. So when people talk about the advent of the vertical twin, it is worth noting it was not Triumph who invented it first but Horex. It is also worth noting that Triumph was started in Britain by two Germany immigrants. So Triumph is as British as a German Horex.
weird to mention the z900 but not the zrx1100.
What im looking forward to is modern recreations of early attempts at cruisers by Japanese brands. Honda Sabres, Yamaha Viragos, and the like. That will be interesting.
I’d like some if the original old bikes too but in Alaska where I am, there just isn’t any supply of old used bikes. In the lower 48 though I’m guessing one can still find old bikes which is nice.
Great Vlog, but I think you should have included the Yamaha 650 twin that pre dates the W650 & was really the first Japanese/ British bike.
Actually, it was Japanese and German. Originally a Horex 500 twin in the '50's. Horex bought by Showa; Showa bought by Yamaha. My '75 XS-650 is the most dependable motorcycle that I have owned in 53 years of riding. I 'm gonna die owning that bike. That's when grandson number 1 gets a cool, old bike.
Hello, how are you doing😊
now 60 years old and from Austria, i do remember there was a opposite trend in the 80´s against that time super bikes e.g. Z1300 . I understand that wave started with the thumpers as Yamaha XT500 , a new version of BSA B50. And yes Yamaha XS650 . Kawasaki did some years later the zephyr series 550 750 110 a 1st incarnation of the classic Z series , with wire wheels and the 500 / 550 still using the old engine of the GPZ . There are bikes the production never really stopped some may call it evolution e.g. Guzzi V7, Honda Super CUB.
I think the Enfield goes in that direction .
Beside that there are some bike which where just produced forever as the CJ750 a copy of the BMW R71- production at China Nanchang aircraft factory ended in the early 90`s.
BR
It's really kind of misleading to suggest that the design of the Kawasaki W650 has anything to do with British bikes, because it really doesn't, except insofar as prior to the W-series, Kawasaki had acquired a stake in Meguro, which had licensed the design of the BSA A7. The W650 was a modern version of the 1960s Kawasaki W1, W2, and W3, not any specific attempt to ape Triumph, and it's simply not accurate to state that Kawasaki "partnered with BSA" in any manner. By the time the W1 was released, in 1966, the Kawasaki and BSA motorcycles has significantly diverged.
In the 1960s, motorcycles looked much the same all over the world, because the manufacturing technologies of the 1950s and 1960s did not really allow for much variation in what the finished product was eventually going to look like. Motorcycle design really didn't significantly change until the early-mid 1980s, with the development of perimeter and twin-spar aluminium frames and the application of the monoshock rear suspension developed in the 1970s for motocross to road motorcycles.
Think you missed the BMW R18, its one heel off a retro machine with that jitters from the engine...
@Bart Once again you’ve omitted the Honda CD175 1969 "K3" model (product code 302) which although it was a continuation of the previous model by the same name, it introduced the vertical engine and all-tube frame and some smaller body work changes that continued until the end of production in 1979.
The Honda CD175 of 1969 is the first retro bike. Why? Because it was already out of date by the time it was introduced. It was therefore INTENTIONALLY looking backwards, being available only in blue or red (mine was blue) with its oversized and flared painted front and rear mudguards, chrome tank panels, and rubber kneepads, at a time when every other bike was clearly going for the modern sporty clipped chrome mudguards and painted and stripped tanks.
Yes it was my first real bike (after my Honda C50), and the only bike I bought new. During the year I owned that bike, I rode it everywhere - to race meetings, on holiday to Devon, and on long tours all over the UK.
No, I didn’t start picking up hot girls until I got my first gorgeous candy orange Honda CB250G5, but that’s another story.
So, I got retro out of my system in 1976 - before I was 18! Been there, done that… 47 years ago!! And this is why I find this current retro craze so amusing. Not only are mostly hipsters riding their EFI liquid cooled heavy fakes to pose at coffee shops, for the most part they are only doing it because it’s the current fashion. I, and everyone else who bought a Honda CD175 at any point during the 1970s did so because we were individuals, failing to set a trend, but not being fashion victims either.
OK @Bart because you’ve omitted the Honda CD175 from yet another video on retro and classic bikes (your only excuse is that they weren’t imported into the USA🧐😎😜), now you have to dedicate a whole video to this, the most important retro classic of them all - the one that REALLY DID start it all.
Ride safe
Peace