There is an almost infinite number of incredible combinations of beauty, design, and freedom to be found between two tires, but certain machines will stand as favourites forever.
They are both complex and simple, mechanical expressions of form embracing function that have an attitude all of their own. Whether it’s the chrome finish glistening in the sunshine, the out-of-this-world engineering, or the fact that they can gain on just about anything else, motorcycles have long been a lot more than just a way to get from A to B.
They attract, and keep, attention. Riding one of these machines down the street will see babies pointing and smiling, dogs jumping for joy, and angry teens finding a cause and a new way to rebel against it!
The Harley-Davidson XR750
This motorbike started as a parts-bin special hurriedly put together when the American Motorcyclist Association changed its rules for riding on dirt tracks. But it became one of the best examples of how true the notion that the sum of something is greater than its parts is.
After dominating the industry for many years, the Harley-Davidson Racing department had to rapidly rethink their ideas going into 1970. And they did just that, in less than a year, creating one of the finest racing bikes the AMA had ever seen in the process.
We’re eternally grateful that homologation directives stipulated that the XR750 be made available to Joe and Jane Public. And when Evel Knieval chose it, it entered the history books.
The Honda Super Cub
Maybe you’ve had some fun and struck it rich enjoying the gaming fun for all online? Then we couldn’t recommend the Honda Super Cub more highly!
Your money will go far with this single-cylinder engine and it’s available almost everywhere in the world. The Super Cub has been compared to Ford’s Model-T and Volkswagen’s Beetle for the huge influence it’s had on motorised transport.
The Kawasaki Z1
Kawasaki’s Z1 was a larger, faster response to the Honda CB750, and the latter company almost scrapped their 750cc attempt to declare war as a result!
When this baby hit showroom floors in 1973 it was the most powerful four-cylinder engine Japan had ever produced. It went on to win Machine of the Year for four successive years from The Motorcycle news and racked up many wins at the track.
The Triumph Bonneville
Icons will never die, and this bike proves that.
Production of Triumph’s motorbikes have stopped three times and the Bonneville’s still with us. Now that’s stamina right there! Whether it is a Devon Bonnie, a Norton Villiers Triton, or a new Hinckley model, this is possibly the coolest bike in existence. It was personally recommended by legends like James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Steve McQueen, but they were only escalating the status this machine earned on the racetrack.
The Triumph Bonneville’s twin-engine has gone from 650cc to 865cc and carburettors have long since given way to fuel injection, but its silhouette remains emblazoned on bikers’ hearts forever.
To read more on topics like this, check out the Travel category
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