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Interesting motorcycles, not XS650
- Thread starter Kevin Werner
- Start date
Thank you for posting the vid, Ads!
The narrator is dead right when he points out these widow-makers of the past did not have rider aids - modern bikes with several times the power, on paper, have electronics which let the rider flatter him or herself into thinking they can handle monster power. These are the bikes that give the lie to that. Untamed power in dodgy frames with inadequate brakes lacking both feel & stopping power.
Maico 700 2-stroke - 80 hp in a bike weighing 100kg? Ooh-err.
The narrator is dead right when he points out these widow-makers of the past did not have rider aids - modern bikes with several times the power, on paper, have electronics which let the rider flatter him or herself into thinking they can handle monster power. These are the bikes that give the lie to that. Untamed power in dodgy frames with inadequate brakes lacking both feel & stopping power.
Maico 700 2-stroke - 80 hp in a bike weighing 100kg? Ooh-err.
Enter that under “what I like about the XS650.” I rode a Sportster and an FZ09 back to back on an exceptionally twisted road. The Sportster had mid controls and I rode it very hard. On the FZ09, I tried not to kill myself. “It’s more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow.”
Imagine an RD350 with ABS, Traction Control, Slide Control, Wheelie Control... all the bells and whistles.
You'd now have a bike that didn't scare the hell outta you every time you cranked the throttle open.
...then what's the point?
From an ad by Blue Moon bicycle shop in IL.
I‘ve never had the opportunity to ride one myself, but I’ve read articles on the Suzuki Hyabusa ( and other super bikes ) saying that even though they have awesome performance potential, they can also be so well behaved and easy to ride, that you can use them to commute to work.
I doubt you would’ve said that about a Kawasaki H2 750. Those old high performance two strokes with throttles like toggle switches, they were either on or off. They always want to be accelerating.
Try cruising with one and they just surge and buck. And like Raymond said, the flexi frames and weak brakes. Not much fun.
That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t still like to own one! Nothing like a two stroke when it soars up into its power band!
Kinda' like comparing Lewis Hamilton to Jim Clark or Jackie Stewart.
I'll keep my eye out fer yaThat doesn’t mean I wouldn’t still like to own one! Nothing like a two stroke when it soars up into its power band!
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-kawasaki-h2-750-3/
And from the Buell company as distinct from Eric Buell
https://www.bikeexif.com/buell-supertouring-1190
https://www.bikeexif.com/buell-supertouring-1190
Leading off with a pic of the Suzuki TM400 Cyclone....how did I know that bike would be listed??!!
A very well deserved reputation right there!
That could so easily have gone hideously wrong.
Ariel Arrow - along with LE Velocette, surely another one that fell out of the ugli tree?
'Nother Ariel, the Leader. Caption just about says it all . . .
Perhaps the Ariel was trans, very confused.
How about a bike with a pull starter?
A guy I know has an Ariel and he does ride it sometime.
1977 I was set to buy a used enduro. The dealership had a Rokon and a CanAm 175 TnT. I opted for the CanAm.
