Poll

Which 4 bikes were alternative to the CB750, aceesibly priced, '70 to '79, fastest on street & turned more heads? THIS POLL IS CLOSED           PLEASE VOTE HERE: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=144002.0

Honda CB750 K
Laverda 1000 (jota and std)
Laverda 750 SF (and SFC)
Kawasaki 900 Z1
Kawasaki Z900
Kawasaki Z1000
Kawasaki 350 H1
Kawasaki 500 H2
Suzuki 1000 GS
Ducati 900SS
Benelli 750 sei
Benelli 900 Sei
MV Agusta 750S America (accessibly priced?)
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Wobbly

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #50 on: December 30, 2014, 01:52:55 AM »
The Suzuki GS 1000 was a great bike, so was the GS 550 and GS750. But there was nothing revolutionary about them. Revolutionary in design was the Suzuki Katana which followed later.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2014, 02:05:10 AM by Wobbly »
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Wobbly

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #51 on: December 30, 2014, 02:03:53 AM »
@ascanio1

The Honda was truly revolutionary because it was the first four-cylinder in mass production and, if my memory serves me right, the first disc brake on a street bike. It has won the title "Bike of the Century" for good reasons. Kawasaki was just a little too late with their Z900 which is certainly the faster of the two--and I like its brake better as well. The appearance of the CB750 changed the motorcycle market for ever. Its reliability is unrivaled.
However, my personal preference would be your number one on the list: The Laverda 1000. It's an awesome bike. And it would always do 210km/h. In the States, it is rather exotic. But in Europe, especially in Germany and the U.K., the Laverda 3c  is undisputed as one of the best Italian bikes. Its nickname back in the 70s was "Porsche Killer."  I see more 1000 3C or Jota Laverdas in Germany and the U.K. than in Italy.  :)
« Last Edit: December 30, 2014, 02:07:11 AM by Wobbly »
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Offline ascanio1

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #52 on: December 30, 2014, 03:11:56 AM »
Quote from: Retro Rocket on December 30, 2014, 01:42:38 AM
Anything from 1970 to 1979 is "in the 70's" surely...?  The GS1000 first appeared in 1977 and was a revolution in motorcycles at the time,  I'd say thats in the 70's and iconic... ;D   the "iconic" 750/4 was a first built in 1969 and that year was the fastest K model 750 so it seems you have a dilemma because the 60's weren't the 70's , 77,78,79 were though...... :o

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Offline ascanio1

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #53 on: December 30, 2014, 03:14:40 AM »
Quote from: Wobbly on December 30, 2014, 02:03:53 AM
The Honda was truly revolutionary because it was the first four-cylinder in mass production and, if my memory serves me right, the first disc brake on a street bike. It has won the title "Bike of the Century" for good reasons. Kawasaki was just a little too late with their Z900 which is certainly the faster of the two--and I like its brake better as well. The appearance of the CB750 changed the motorcycle market for ever. Its reliability is unrivaled.
However, my personal preference would be your number one on the list: The Laverda 1000. It's an awesome bike. And it would always do 210km/h. In the States, it is rather exotic. But in Europe, especially in Germany and the U.K., the Laverda 3c  is undisputed as one of the best Italian bikes. Its nickname back in the 70s was "Porsche Killer."  I see more 1000 3C or Jota Laverdas in Germany and the U.K. than in Italy.  :)
I agree on "all counts" with you!
... shhhhh... maybe I found a Jota in Nottingham (UK)...  ;)
Keep fingers crossed
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Wobbly

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #54 on: December 30, 2014, 04:19:29 AM »
There are several right now on German EBay, all located in the Netherlands, all overpriced. However, looking at those prices, you get the idea that I am not alone with my opinion.  :D

http://www.ebay.de/sch/Auto-Motorrad-Fahrzeuge-/9800/i.html?_from=R40&_sop=3&_sac=1&_nkw=laverda+1000&LH_PrefLoc=2





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Offline 754

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #55 on: December 30, 2014, 09:38:44 AM »
An R90S and a Laverdas Jota still turn heads today.
 I would not say that about the first Suzuki fours.
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Offline simon#42

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #56 on: December 30, 2014, 10:30:57 AM »
get a jota , make sure its an early one and make sure its orange , this is not only a beautiful bike its well put together and fast .
i raced one in the 70's and there was nothing to touch it until the gs1000 came along in 78 , after that the jota was faster but the gs stopped and steered better
so it was pretty close
i have no idea why you keep mentioning the beneli sei , it was a useless pile of junk , if you must have a 6 get a cbx
the bmw r90s is another great bike with the advantage of being very practical
ducati 900 look great , sound great and handle great but back then they where very badly put together , i have rebuilt a few engines and you cannot believe how
many shims are in one !
wouldn't touch an xs11 if it was free .
get a gs1000s they are a great bike . night and day better than a k3 .
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Offline Retro Rocket

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #57 on: December 30, 2014, 12:56:00 PM »
Quote from: Wobbly on December 30, 2014, 01:52:55 AM
The Suzuki GS 1000 was a great bike, so was the GS 550 and GS750. But there was nothing revolutionary about them.

I disagree Wobbly, the revolution was in their handling, they out handled everything at the time, that is what i was referring to as "revolutionary", the first big, fast, good handling Japanese bike and it stopped... 8) ;)
« Last Edit: December 30, 2014, 12:58:01 PM by Retro Rocket »
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Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #58 on: December 30, 2014, 01:32:22 PM »
I have always loved the original Katana. A local dealer has one on display in his showroom museum. I stop by now and then just to admire it. They are very rare these days.
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Offline Retro Rocket

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #59 on: December 30, 2014, 01:44:26 PM »
Quote from: Bankerdanny on December 30, 2014, 01:32:22 PM
I have always loved the original Katana. A local dealer has one on display in his showroom museum. I stop by now and then just to admire it. They are very rare these days.

I rode a mates bike, a stock 1100 Katana about 400 miles in the 1980's, my wrists nearly retired for good after that ride, worst stock riding position I've ever experienced, lots of guys changed out the stock handle bars here and I found out why the hard way... :o
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Offline 750cafe

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #60 on: December 30, 2014, 02:19:04 PM »
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Offline simon#42

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #61 on: December 30, 2014, 02:26:27 PM »
Quote from: 750cafe on December 30, 2014, 02:19:04 PM
Laverda made a V-6? Back in '78!???

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LAVERDA-V6-1978-Motorcycle-BIG-card-PHOTO-MOTO-RACING-Classic-70s-vintage-bike-/370298215918?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56377e5dee&vxp=mtr

Who knew. :o

everyone !    there was only a couple of them made i think , they raced one at le mans but it broke down early on . laverda had a great endurance racing pedigree with the 750 .

thats a bike that hasn't been mentioned  laverda 750 sfc  or how about an mv america ?

Eric
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Offline Retro Rocket

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #62 on: December 30, 2014, 02:30:41 PM »
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Offline SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #63 on: December 30, 2014, 03:12:29 PM »
Quote from: Retro Rocket on December 27, 2014, 09:50:05 PM
Quote from: nvr2old on December 27, 2014, 05:36:13 PM
Suzuki GS...? naaaaa... never made the cut! It certainly sold a bit, but it was not as iconic as the K.

Maybe not as iconic as a K, but it did set a high standard in performance.  After 40 years of owning nothing but Hondas, I'm really impressed with, and love riding this GS1000S.  Easy to work on, and just a bullet-proof engine that really hauls ass.


Yep!!
Lets be clear, nothing Japanese is as iconic as the 750/4, being the first of the modern mass produced four cylinder road bikes, it has its place in history, but o do many other bikes of the 1970's. Alternatively, as the thread title suggests, The GS was a far better bike in the fact that it was probably the best handling big four of the 1970's and killed everything on the track in its class, the GS series bikes led to the iconic XR69 race bikes which was the forerunner to the GSXR's 0f the early 1980's another iconic series of bikes. I would say it fits this category perfectly....
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"There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc cafe racer is one of them — but I want one anyway, and on some days I actually believe I need one.... Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba." Hunter S. Thompson, Song of the Sausage Creature, Cycle World, March 1995.  (http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html and https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1995/3/1/song-of-the-sausage-creature)

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2005 RVT1000RR RC51-SP2 "El Diablo" - Sold
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Offline SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #64 on: December 30, 2014, 03:19:51 PM »
Quote from: Retro Rocket on December 30, 2014, 01:44:26 PM
Quote from: Bankerdanny on December 30, 2014, 01:32:22 PM
I have always loved the original Katana. A local dealer has one on display in his showroom museum. I stop by now and then just to admire it. They are very rare these days.

I rode a mates bike, a stock 1100 Katana about 400 miles in the 1980's, my wrists nearly retired for good after that ride, worst stock riding position I've ever experienced, lots of guys changed out the stock handle bars here and I found out why the hard way... :o

The Katana is one of those bikes that was kind of Ugly then and is now Ugly cool.  It was not particularly fast but it was bold from a design perspective. One of the fugliest seats, too.  In comparison, the 77-78 GS bikes dominated racing probably because they handled so much better than the competition, had a bulletproof torque-rich engine and a rider like Wes Cooley. 
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1975 CB550K1 "Blue" Stockish Restomod (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=135005.0)
1975 CB550F1 frame/CB650 engine hybrid "The Hot Mess" (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,150220.0.html)
2008 Triumph Thruxton (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,190956.0.html)
2014 MV Agusta Brutale Dragster 800
2015 Yamaha FZ-09 (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,186861.0.html)

"There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc cafe racer is one of them — but I want one anyway, and on some days I actually believe I need one.... Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba." Hunter S. Thompson, Song of the Sausage Creature, Cycle World, March 1995.  (http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html and https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1995/3/1/song-of-the-sausage-creature)

Sold/Emeritus
1973 CB750K2 "Bionic Mongrel" (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132734.0) - Sold
1977 CB750K7 "Nine Lives" Restomod (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=50490.0) - Sold
2005 RVT1000RR RC51-SP2 "El Diablo" - Sold
2016+ Triumph Thruxton 1200 R (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,170198.0.html) - Sold

Offline Retro Rocket

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #65 on: December 30, 2014, 03:57:34 PM »
Quote from: CB750 Cafe Racer Fan on December 30, 2014, 03:19:51 PM
Quote from: Retro Rocket on December 30, 2014, 01:44:26 PM
Quote from: Bankerdanny on December 30, 2014, 01:32:22 PM
I have always loved the original Katana. A local dealer has one on display in his showroom museum. I stop by now and then just to admire it. They are very rare these days.

I rode a mates bike, a stock 1100 Katana about 400 miles in the 1980's, my wrists nearly retired for good after that ride, worst stock riding position I've ever experienced, lots of guys changed out the stock handle bars here and I found out why the hard way... :o

The Katana is one of those bikes that was kind of Ugly then and is now Ugly cool.  It was not particularly fast but it was bold from a design perspective. One of the fugliest seats, too.  In comparison, the 77-78 GS bikes dominated racing probably because they handled so much better than the competition, had a bulletproof torque-rich engine and a rider like Wes Cooley and Pops Yoshimura developing the bikes.

Fixed that for you... ;D
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Offline ascanio1

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #66 on: December 30, 2014, 09:54:43 PM »
@ Wobbly...
AAAARRRRGGGHHHH !!!! stop! You're hurting me with all those tantalizing pictures...  ;D I've got to keep my calm about this one or I'll be left without cash to care for the bikes after I buy it! But... OMG... I want it, I want it, I want it (with a capricious kid's voice)...  :P
I know that this is a SOHC forum and that's a DOHC bike... but, really? Can anyone resist?

@ 754,
Quote from: 754 on December 30, 2014, 09:38:44 AM
An R90S and a Laverdas Jota still turn heads today. I would not say that about the first Suzuki fours.
That's my point... yeah, you put in words what I meant when I said that the 4 Suzuki's could not make the list.

@ Retro Rocket,
You are technically and logically right & I am technically and logically wrong.
Period.
But while bikes are certainly technical objects they are not necessarily logic.
I think that that's what wobbly means.
They were a league above as far as handling is concerned but did they turn any heads then? And today? I tend to agree with Wobbly, on this one: revolutionary but not iconic.

@ Simon 42,
Quote from: simon#42 on December 30, 2014, 10:30:57 AM
get a jota , make sure its an early one and make sure its orange , this is not only a beautiful bike its well put together and fast.
- Why orange and not green? or Yellow? They were also very much loved colours, then, no?
- What are the differences between an early Jota and a later one?
In fact...
- What are the main differences between the UK importer Jota and the mainland std model, apart for the fairing?
Quote from: simon#42 on December 30, 2014, 10:30:57 AM
i raced one in the 70's
You lucky .... !! I so envy you!
Quote from: simon#42 on December 30, 2014, 10:30:57 AM
i have no idea why you keep mentioning the beneli sei , it was a useless pile of junk
Because of the reason why I looked at a CB750K: it was the first mass produced and commercially available 4 cylinder and it turned heads. Junk (true) or not junk makes little difference to the desirability as a collector's bike in a garage. Ferrari 308GTB/S fiberglass were a pile of junk but they are the most desirable of all the 308...
Quote from: simon#42 on December 30, 2014, 10:30:57 AM
ducati 900 look great , sound great and handle great ...
Since you have direct experience... tell us, do you think that the 900SS held it's own on a street against a CB750 K or a Z1 or a Laverda 1000 in the days?
Quote from: simon#42 on December 30, 2014, 02:26:27 PM
... a bike that hasn't been mentioned laverda 750 sfc or how about an mv america?
I did! I mentioned the Laverda 750SFC twin! I added that it should be in that list if it were a longer list: but I prefer a laverda 1000 3cyl over an 750 SFC even if the lattter is rarer and has a greater racing pedigree. The 1000 was faster and turned more heads (then and now). As for the MV 750S America... well, one got auctioned at 35,000 and was not in perfect conditions. Yes, you are right the
MV 750S America should make the list - if I had the money to buy it and if I could find one...
« Last Edit: December 30, 2014, 11:58:39 PM by ascanio1 »
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Offline ascanio1

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #67 on: December 30, 2014, 10:17:40 PM »
@ Bankerdanny,
Quote from: Bankerdanny on December 30, 2014, 01:32:22 PM
I have always loved the original Katana. A local dealer has one on display in his showroom museum. I stop by now and then just to admire it. They are very rare these days.
Now, that's an iconic Suzuki! I agree! I love that bike. Here in Tokyo you find as many as you like at very cheap prices... if you like one have a look on goobike, yahoo auctions and carsensor.
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Offline ascanio1

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #68 on: December 30, 2014, 10:22:45 PM »
Quote from: 750cafe on December 30, 2014, 02:19:04 PM
Laverda made a V-6? Back in '78!???
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LAVERDA-V6-1978-Motorcycle-BIG-card-PHOTO-MOTO-RACING-Classic-70s-vintage-bike-/370298215918?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56377e5dee&vxp=mtr Who knew. :o Eric
It was a great experiment and the engine was completely developed internally by Laverda engineers. By all accounts the engine itself was very good but the bike was heavy. I have a poster, somewhere, at home in Italy amongst my kid times stuff (I kept everything!). I remember that my dad was waiting for the bike to come out on the market but it never did... he owned a std 3 cyl 1000 and he rode it with my little brother sitting on the tank and me holding onto his back on the back seat... no helmets either...
 :o :o :o :o :o
It was dark blue and made an awesome noise.
 
« Last Edit: December 30, 2014, 11:48:09 PM by ascanio1 »
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Offline 754

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #69 on: December 30, 2014, 11:05:40 PM »
If the the GS is in cuz it handles,  then the Z1 is out cuz it didn't..
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Offline 750cafe

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #70 on: December 30, 2014, 11:51:05 PM »
They handle even better with new after market suspension and they go even faster with a slight camshaft improvement too.  ;)



Eric
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Offline Retro Rocket

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #71 on: December 31, 2014, 12:00:34 AM »
Quote from: 754 on December 30, 2014, 11:05:40 PM
If the the GS is in cuz it handles,  then the Z1 is out cuz it didn't..

Its in because it changed the way the Japanese designed their frames, HP was growing and the 70's was littered with poor handling bikes,  Suzuki changed that and the GS series was the beneficiary... The Z1 has its own reasons for being there... ;)
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Offline 750cafe

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #72 on: December 31, 2014, 12:18:11 AM »
And the 1000G makes you forget it even has a shaft drive! No torque jacking.



Eric
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Is there anything more fun than riding? They are between your legs and are quiet when you turn them off.

Wobbly

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #73 on: December 31, 2014, 02:17:17 AM »
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Wobbly

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Re: 1970's alternative iconic bikes ??
« Reply #74 on: December 31, 2014, 02:19:49 AM »
Quote from: 750cafe on December 30, 2014, 11:51:05 PM
They handle even better with new after market suspension and they go even faster with a slight camshaft improvement too.  ;)



Eric

That isn't the GS we were talking about here. This one has four valves per cylinder and absolutely no collector value--similar to the DOHC CB 750.
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