Not everything was slow in the 80's...

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Now, I've not turned the throttle on any superbikes, or even any over 1,000 CC's, but I had the occasion today to take a spin on an '83 Honda Magna 750 after cleaning the carbs., and... holy cow. Speedo was broke but just in the three miles I rode it I had to have hit 90 twice... with so little effort on the bike's part it was intimidating. I know this bike's not truly fast in the big picture, but in my world of sub-750 parallel twins, V-twin Shadows, and 70's 750 4's, this thing felt pretty wicked.
 
Yeah, I was impressed with a short ride on a early 80's CB750 coming from a 200cc 2t dirtbike. 80-90hp in a bike with a 9000rpm redline give your arms a good yank in the lower gears atleast, and pulled pretty hard right off idle.
 
The V45 Magna was truly a decent rocket.
I rode one WOT back in 1983 when it had just 200 miles on it.

The VFR750 (V4 sportbike) was a machine I had always lusted after.

Now, ride a '84-'86 V65 Magna.
Guiness world record holder (for a while) for fastest production bike.
You'll think you were getting launched to space!!

In the late 80's (I think 1989)
I rode a Yamaha V-max to 10.63 in the 1/4 - that was U N B E L I E V A B L Y fast!!
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
I had a 1980 Honda 750 K. I never did find out the maximum speed for that bike, but it was fast.


Usually about 120-125 mph.

That seems fast until you've been 180+
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex


Now, ride a '84-'86 V65 Magna.
Guiness world record holder (for a while) for fastest production bike.
You'll think you were getting launched to space!!

In the late 80's (I think 1989)
I rode a Yamaha V-max to 10.63 in the 1/4 - that was U N B E L I E V A B L Y fast!!


The V65 came out in 83, I bought a brand new V65 (VF1100C) in 83, it was fast but like all over powered cruisers had poor handling qualities due to the long forks, narrow handlebars and torque lift on the rear from the drive shaft.
Otherwise it was a good bike if all you were looking for was straight line performance. I kept it 10 years and put over 200K on it then bought the CBR1000F (SC24) and never rode a cruiser style bike again.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
I had a 1980 Honda 750 K. I never did find out the maximum speed for that bike, but it was fast.


Usually about 120-125 mph.

That seems fast until you've been 180+


Not sure I'd last at that...
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Linctex


Now, ride a '84-'86 V65 Magna.
Guiness world record holder (for a while) for fastest production bike.
You'll think you were getting launched to space!!

In the late 80's (I think 1989)
I rode a Yamaha V-max to 10.63 in the 1/4 - that was U N B E L I E V A B L Y fast!!


The V65 came out in 83, I bought a brand new V65 (VF1100C) in 83, it was fast but like all over powered cruisers had poor handling qualities due to the long forks, narrow handlebars and torque lift on the rear from the drive shaft.
Otherwise it was a good bike if all you were looking for was straight line performance. I kept it 10 years and put over 200K on it then bought the CBR1000F (SC24) and never rode a cruiser style bike again.


I got a V65 Sabre in '85. Same drivetrain, but in a Standard style Motorcycle. A bit better handling than the Magna, but not dramatically so. Some great memories.

But today's open-class Sportbikes will leave those old 80's bikes for dead. It's a great time to be a performance Motorcycle enthusiast.
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE

But today's open-class Sportbikes will leave those old 80's bikes for dead.


1990 was the first time I drove a 14,000 rpm sportbike. A 1989 Kawasaki ZX7R.

The "hit" that occurs once the engine reaches 8,000 is an explosion of power and acceleration - You don't even see the speedo, you just get mesmerized by watching how FAST the engine goes from 8,000 to 14,000............ it happens "just like that" - - - as fast as it took to say "just like that".

All you can do is just keep shifting up... a gear every second - and HANG ON!
130 MPH in the 1/4 is nothing to sneeze at, and then you get to watch the speedo... 130, 140, 150, 160, 170..... it all happens so fast. 75 meters fly by every second - almost the length of a football field every SECOND. You soon find that 1/2 mile visibility in front just isn't enough ... you'll be there in what seems like just 5 seconds. And that was 27 years ago!

These new Hayabusa's and H2R's..... I couldn't imagine. I would still like to see 200 mph personally at some point in my life.
 
In 1980 I was riding this 6 cylinder Honda (1979 CBX). In 2012 I bought the ZX14R. And when I'm running around the pit areas and race tracks I take the Italian Vespa.

In comparison, nothing from the 1980's remotely comes close to what the mfgr's are offering today. There are many incredible machines and I hope to find a nice 2-stroke street bike to add to my collection.


 
Cool anecdotes, all. Those bikes that'll spin 14 grand... to me, living in the midwest and driving most of the time on 2 and 3-lane roads, it would just be a waste of money to own something so fast, as you can so rarely push its limits in an environment anywhere near safe for those speeds. Like a new Z28 Camaro - one of the coolest domestic cars of my time, but so hard for the average person to find a place to put it through its paces. Nevertheless, impressive machines.

My BIL and I, owners of a '72 CL175 and '81 CM400, drool over the CBX. Very nice machine.
 
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never thought the CB750K was fast; A dog actually with sloppy handling. Couldn't be more than 50 "real" Hp or so. Or maybe my roommates bike was dog - but it seemed to hit on all 4.
I had a GPZ 750 at the time.
 
1969: Had a buddy that bought a new 69.
That thing was fast, and a front disk brake , it could stop.
Gawd I must be getting old.
My 450 got left in the dust.
 
I was fortunate to grow up in the golden age of dirt bikes, the late 70's and 80's where every single year there were massive increases in hp, suspension, and everything else. I was a teenager, and I thought those were rockets. Then around mid 80's I had my first foray into street bikes, I rode my friends GS1100 Katana. I was forever changed............I vividly remember the mind blowing, arm wrenching, relentless acceleration. Gear after gear it just never stopped. I was like 18, mind blown.

Fast forward to mid-adulthood and various mid caliber bikes, all progressively better. But I wanted another taste of current technology hyper-speed. So I bought a brand new 1999 R1, truly a ground breaking bike. That thing would've left that Katana in the dust (if you could keep the front wheel down). Violent, gut wrenching acceleration, sweet handling manners to boot, and about the sexiest thing I'd seen on 2 wheels. I raced it for a few years even. But man................I'll never forget that mindf*** from that first ride on that 1100 Katana.

Good times.
 
This is a cool thread. I like the history of those 70/80/90's bikes and how far we have come. I had only one "Fast" bike in my time and that was a Honda VFR750. I think it was a 1991. Cool bike. I then went Harley and have been ever since and I can't say I'm fast anymore lol....but comfortable for sure.
 
I had a Yamaha RD500 in 86. Was plenty fast. Also had a 82 (I think) Ducati 900MHR, fast in a very different way. Some great bikes were made in the 80's.

Edit: Neither bike had a electric start.
 
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I bought a Kawasaki ZX-11 in 1990, which was the first production bike with a "ram air" intake system. Think the top end was around 175 mph and 1/4 mile in the mid 10 seconds. That bike was a big leap from any road bike I had before that.

The bottom of the side fairings were all scrapped up from really leaning in the tight corners.
 
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