As far as dirtbike/motocross bikes, I'd say the 1970 Husqvarna 400cc. The bike Steve McQueen, Malcolm Smith, and many others rode. Steve McQueen's sold for $70,000 at auction a few years ago. The bike is incredibly iconic. I would also say 1966 and 1967 Triumph T120TT's are a hidden gem. 650cc twin motor, pure racing machine. Rare bike, Bonneville bike on steroids. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes, D&D in Pensacola but I'm getting mine from Florida Motorsports in Tally. There are miles of roads on the north end of Okaloosa, Walton and Bay Counties plus Barber Motorsports (moto heaven) is just a bit north in Birmingham, Al (new home of Confederate Motorcycles). http://www.barbermotorsports.com/index.php http://www.confederate.com/home.php
Awl Fock, Papa Don, Yes dear, You is my main man. Damn, I want an original T120TT so gawd damn bad. You do know, don't you, that lights are not required for a street legal bike. And this bike, great gawd awlmighty, is the real focking thang. Dale
Yeah, I forgot the name of the guy who owns D&D. I go way back in P-Cola, way back before your time. Off Navy Boulevard, there used to be a dealership called Sam's Motorcycles. Me and a buddy of mine used to be two worthless POS who Sam just couldn't get rid off. He kinda gave up after a while. One of these days, we need to get together. I still have very deep roots in that area. Dale
Dale: You just think you want one of those Triumphs. I currently own a 77 750 Bonnie. We've had to replace ALL the electrics, and most of the motor, etc.. You probably forgot Lucas' nickname: Master of Darkness, and Guaranteed to make you hitchhike. They were great looking bikes, but if you needed to get somewhere, god help you, cause the bike wasn't going to get it done. That's why the Japs took over the market place, you could rely upon their crap to get from A to B consistently. I keep saying what junk the Brit stuff was, but I've still got one. Go figure. Art
My father and I are in the process of restoring his '67 T120TT Special. His is aubregine and white though (substitute the gold on the bottom of the tank). The bike is absolutely incredible. It makes me want to get one. It should be done sometime in the spring. Speaking of Triumphs. My father had a '70 Triumph 750cc that he made into a flattracker with a Champion racing frame. As fast and fun as you think the T120TT is, this bike was even faster. Unfortunately we sold it YEARS ago for a measely $3000. As far as the Husqvarna. My father still has his as well. He's had it since it was new in '70. 'Course his isn't nearly as nice as the one pictured. My father rode it all the way up until 1999 when he bought a 2000 Yamaha YZ426F. He even has the Steve McQueen and Malcolm Smith classic black leathers with yellow stripe down the side of the legs. We even found his old Husqvarna sweatshirt. Total throwback to the '70s.
Art, I still have my 1970 Bonneville. Yes, the Brits were clueless about quality. They were also clueless in that they didn't realize that the 1970 model was one of the best looking motorcycles ever built. I say clueless because they screwed it up in 1971. Dale
I've owned several of those, including an Kawasaki H1 and Z1 and Honda S90. I would add to that list a Suzuki TM 250 and Honda 250 Elsinore as two of the first truly great Japanese motocross bikes.
Adding another motocross bike 1998 Yamaha YZ400F. The first 4-stroke motorcross bike that Doug Henry rode and won a National Motorcross Championship on. He was the only racer riding one, and now everyone rides the 4-stroke bikes instead of the 2-strokes. The YZ400F blended 2-stroke performance and nimbleness with 4-stroke torque. That bike TOTALLY flipped motocross upside down. Then the YZ250F came out, and soon every manufacturer duplicated them with their versions of 4-stroke performance bikes. Now Honda has the CRF150R.This is the first high-performance 4-stroke in it's 85cc class.
I started riding back in '69. I own 4 bikes now but the one bike that really changed the history of motorcycles in a big way was the Honda 750 with those four exhausts and wide engine. People went nuts over them and I haven't seen anything like it since. Now there are a lot of great bikes and they have affected the market but that Honda was the one. I no longer ride Hondas but the ones I had were reliable.
There is no doubt that the 1969 KO Honda is a milestone motorcycle. In fact, the only real competition for THE milestone motorcycle of all time is the Honda S 90. Dale
Would say the works Suzuki RH250 and 370 might be the first great Japanese mx bikes. Honda CR125M would be the first Japanese production bike that put the euros on the trailer (soon followed by YZ's, and RM's). Re: current stuff, could be noise/emissions regs. put the four-strokes in place. Displacement-wise, a like 2-stroke would show the four the way (hence, 250 four strokes running in the 125 cc, er "Lites" class).
D&D is selling Ducati, Royal Enfield and Triumphs now. http://www.danddcycles.com/ Send me a note when you're in town. Plus the Naval Aviation Museum is a must see and probably a lot bigger than the last time you were there. http://naval.aviation.museum/home.html
Next time your back there, take a look and see what they've done with Roy "Butch" Voris, my wife's uncle. I'm curious as to how big a display they've given him (founded their demo team). Art
Another vote for MV Agusta, But would have to say the F4 750 SPR takes the most desirable award....300 in the World and the factory kept 2 of those...I had #242 for 12 wonderful months, It may still come home to me yet ? http://www.mvagusta.it/_vti_g2_ver.aspx?IdVer=10&rpstry=27_ Argento
I haven't been in a couple of years. They used to have one of my dad's planes (he was an aviator) outside. BTW, Art they do have displays on two of your favorite people -- McCain and Bush Sr. Dale
I've been cherry picking a few iconic bikes myself. Currently: 1969 Honda 750 K0 Sandcast 1972 Kawasaki 750 H2 "Widowmaker" 1973 Norton 750 Commando Roadster 1980 Honda CBX (just because it's so over the top) 2004 Ducati 998R 2008 Ducati D16RR
GREAT THREAD, I'll add my bits later I agree with vmax, i agree with all the RC's mentioned thus far, and As much as I hate to admit it, the hayabusa.... Ok, back to work, i'll be back to comment in the future... I just need to do some more thinking
FYI, the Kawasaki H1 is a 500cc two stroke triple...the 750cc two stroke triple is the H2...I had a 1973 H2 and am currently looking for a nice one for a reasonable cost...but I may already be too late...check out www.bradsbikes.net
I will add a few to the list, I think others have mentioned some of them. Ducati 851. I put this ahead of the 916 simply because without it there would have not been a 916, or possibly even a Ducati by 1994. More than any other transportation company including Ferrari, Ducati relies on racing as a marketing tool. The 851 restored their place as a winning company in racing after they had lost their way for a decade prior. The 916 was the bike when Ducati went mainstream, but the 851/888 made that possible. 1993 Honda CBR900RR. When this bike came out it changed the way people thought about literbikes. In some cases it was nearly 100 pounds lighter than its Japanese competition. That year you either rode the RR or you wished you did. 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa. The Busa was so big and so fast (196 mph for '99 only), it redefined the segment of big streetbikes like the ZX-11 and CBR1100XX. Even after a decade the Hayabusa remains popular, a testament to its initial design. 2008 Suzuki B-King. A one-year wonder naked with a full-power Hayabusa engine and Transformer styling. It wasn't very popular when new, but 25 years from now will be sought-after by collectors. Go price an '82 Katana for an idea. 2010 BMW S1000RR. I personally think this is possibly the ugliest bike I have ever seen. But initial reports are that it is much faster (14 hp more than '09 GSXR1000!), plus adds a new level of electronic sophistication. Possibly a game changer that raises the bar for top inline sportbikes. I'm not convinced it will sell, but probably a great ride. 2010 Aprilia RSV4. The Aprilia Mille is a neat bike and very competent, but the V4 will be Aprilia's "916". It will become the face of Aprilia for the next decade. It is just so cool, the base model is the same price range as a Ducati 1198 or the new BMWs that will be in showrooms. Why you would choose either of those over the Ape is beyond me. It would not have looked out of place on the MotoGP grid during the 990 era.
