ICONIC / GOOD TIMES BIKES FROM THE 80's-90's

[codyh]

Our house was often the meeting spot for rides when I was growing up, and I think I learned to read by looking at the bike mags in the mid-late 80's, so bikes from that time are still some of my favorites. My dad rode one of these at the time.


But my personal favorite, and I think the most iconic bike of the 80's was the gsx-r.


I like the sporty bikes the best, but one of the great things about the 80's is that the manufactures made tons of different bikes and they all had their own look. To me, every modern sportbike looks like a 916 spinoff and the majority of other streetbikes look like a Harley. The 80's also had lots of odd displacement bikes, cylinder arrangements, turbo bikes, and two strokes. Here is another of my 80's favorites:

[mudgepondexpress]

My FJ1100 is in the work parking lot right now. I still love the old beast. I also like the first slab sided GSXR series in Red/Black.

The Hawk is really cool, would love one for the wife.

Don't overlook the RZ350's or for a cruiser the V65 magna (I hated them but they were quick).

SR500's have a rabid following as do the XT/TT series (seen some neet Supermotos made out of them).

[625SXC]

1986... Man I wish I had that bike back... And the hair




And here is my Wifes bike 1981 175Enduro 100% unmolested original!

[EetsOK]

1980 Jota.

[Nick in PRC.]

Originally Posted by goodcat8

These R100 can be made into some rad customs....

Definitely got that "eye of the beholder" thing going on.

[goodcat8]

Giving a ring about this tomorrow....

91' Zephyr 750

[ADK]

How about the big techno-tourers of the mid 80s?
Honda 1500 Goldwing
Suzuki Cavalcade
Yamaha Venture

[goodcat8]

Originally Posted by ADK

How about the big techno-tourers of the mid 80s?
Honda 1500 Goldwing
Suzuki Cavalcade
Yamaha Venture

I can't see street tracking one of them. But anythings possible I suppose.

[MODNROD]

Originally Posted by goodcat8

Giving a ring about this tomorrow....

91' Zephyr 750

I wouldn't be too hasty to buy one of those mate. I had a 1981 Z750E for 10 years, it had 50K km on it, and after a quick and nasty re-ring and valve grind with a bit of porting, ran for the next 100K+ km without missing a beat, no splutters, no cough-and-die's, no thud-clunk-oops, nothing. Couldn't break the thing!

Boring as batshit.

[goodcat8]

Originally Posted by MODNROD

I wouldn't be too hasty to buy one of those mate. I had a 1981 Z750E for 10 years, it had 50K km on it, and after a quick and nasty re-ring and valve grind with a bit of porting, ran for the next 100K+ km without missing a beat, no splutters, no cough-and-die's, no thud-clunk-oops, nothing. Couldn't break the thing!

Boring as batshit.

That's good to know. The seller hasn't returned my voicemails, so we'll call it fate.
Really digging the Kawi Z1. Still pretty pricey. There's a group in Japan called "Sanctuary Motorcycles" (google 'em) that do some really cool stuff with the Z1 platform.

[Swillmongrel]

As a former of owner of a two KZ1000s, a GPZ550, GPZ1100, and a GS1100E in the '80s and early '90s, I'd say this about sums it up. "War of the Superbikes" by The Meatmen:

Wanna bark a saga of the night the bikes went wild.
Four husky gladiators suited up for a war self-styled.
The Interceptor, Ninja and 1100 primed to score
But me and my Suzuki knew we had so much more.

They thought it would be just another clandestine late night road rally.
But it was the WAR OF THE SUPERBIKES
Red hot pipes and rumbling high tech power plants inch up to the starting line,
but when the dust cleared up on Devil's Backbone,
One man/one bike/one dream would scream across the finish line.


I layed it down into turn one, cranked it down full bore.
With my air-cooled transverse in-line Four Stroke Four.
I knew the 1100 was the man to burn.
I ruled the straightaways, he had me in the turns.


As they blasted out of the high bank
The Ninja smoked a clutch
"Only two to beat," he thought
As he laid it down to those greasy 'S' turns
In the distance those oversized Japanese leg burners sounded like some sort of mutated gigantic insects.
Three men on monster machines SHOT OUT OF GOD'S SLINGSHOT!!!


The interceptor faded as we hit the hill W.F.O.
All I had to do was hold on, seven miles to go.
But there were red lights flashing, the cops were gaining fast.
In our high-powered way awsome road-smoking 12 mile dash.


The FJ 1100 made his move on the inside
As the speedometer bounced over the 100 mile-per-hour mark
But he got a little too deep in the curve,
and didn't see the pothole.
All he saw was a burning, hurtling ball of death
as he blasted off into cool night air.
Just him and his GS 1150.

It's the WAR OF THE SUPERBIKES(3X).

[goodcat8]

Sanctuary's bikes

[MODNROD]

Mmmmmm, tasty! Still looks true to original form, but dripping with "real" bits, very nice.

I'll have the white one at the bottom, with the wheels off the middle one, and the can off the top one please.

[JimmyTheHog]

I had one of these back in 79 (almost 80's). Loved this bike - did great burnouts

[concours]