Harley-Davidson Motorcycle History

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company of Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Buell Motorcycle Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight motorcycles and offers a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel, and general merchandise. Buell Motorcycle Company produces a line of sport motorcycles.

• 1870 Birth of William A. Davidson, Milwaukee, WI.
• 1876 Birth of Walter Davidson, Milwaukee, WI.
• 1880 Birth of William S. Harley, Milwaukee, WI. As he was born just after Christmas, his parents gave him the middle name “Sylvester.”
• 1881 Birth of Arthur Davidson, Milwaukee, WI.
• 1901 William S. Harley, aged 21, completes a blueprint for an engine designed to fit into a bicycle.
• 1903 Harley and Arthur Davidson build the first production Harley-Davidson in 1903. It features a 3-1/8-inch bore and a 3-1/2-inch stroke yielding 7.07 cubic inches (116cc). They make a more powerful motor with the assistance of Ole Evinrude – better known as the inventor of the outboard motor. It is designed for use on the wooden velodromes where popular bicycle races are held.

  Harley and Davidson work in a 10 x 15-foot shed on Chestnut Street (later renamed Juneau Avenue) which is still the address of Harley-Davidson’s head office.
  
• 1904 The first Harley-Davidson dealer, C.H. Lang of Chicago, opens for business.
• 1906 A new 28 by 80-foot factory is built on Chestnut Street. The company has grown to have six employees. It produces its first catalog, and coins the nickname “Silent Gray Fellows.” It’s a reference to the fact that the bikes were painted dove gray, and that they were quietly reliable. (Evidently, the company’s founders were unaware that loud pipes save lives.)
• 1907 William A. Davidson joins the firm. Harley-Davidson Motor Company is incorporated, with stock shared by the Harley and the three Davidson brothers.
• 1908 Walter Davidson scores a perfect 1,000 points at the 7th Annual Federation of American Motorcyclists Endurance and Reliability Contest. Three days after the contest, Walter sets the FAM economy record at 188.234 miles per gallon.

  Perhaps impressed with that reliability, Detroit becomes the first city to buy a H-D motorcycle for police use.
  
• 1909 “The Motor Company” makes its first V-Twin. It has a displacement of 49.5 cubic inches and produces seven horsepower.
• 1910 The ‘Bar & Shield’ logo is used for the first time in 1910 and was trademarked one year later.
• 1911 The ‘F-head’ single-cylinder engine is introduced and will remain in use until 1929. (This is not a reference to “Hey, f-head!” it’s a reference to the shape of the valve ports.) It is an inlet-over-exhaust design, with an overhead intake valve (in the head like a modern motor) but a “side” exhaust valve which is in the cylinder.
• 1912 Harley-Davidson begins exporting motorcycles to Japan. Construction begins on a six-storey headquarters. The Parts and Accessories Dept. is formed. The company has more than 200 dealers across America.
• 1913 The Racing Department is formed, under the control of Bill Harley.
• 1914 Sidecars are made available. Some models are briefly available with a two-speed transmission in the rear hub. Also, belts go out of fashion – for the moment. Harley-Davidson is one of the last motorcycle manufacturers to switch from leather drive belts to chains. The leather belts slipped, stretched and rotted, so chains are a big improvement.
• 1915 H-D motorcycles become available with three-speed sliding-gear transmissions with final and primary drive on the same side.
• 1916 The Enthusiast magazine is published for the first time.
• 1917 About a third of the company’s production is purchased by the Army. To train Army mechanics, the company starts the Quartermasters School. After the war, it will be retained as the Service School, providing factory-trained mechanics for dealers.
• 1918 Almost half of all H-D motorcycles produced are sold for use by the U.S. military in World War I. After Armistice is signed, Corporal Roy Holtz becomes the first American soldier to enter Germany. He does so on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
• 1919 The 37-cubic-inch Sport model is introduced. It’s a horizontally-opposed, fore-and-aft V-Twin.
• 1920 Now the largest motorcycle manufacturer, H-D boasts over 2,000 dealers in 67 countries.
  The factory racing team, already known as “The Wrecking Crew” because it’s become so dominant in American racing, has a small pig as a mascot. The bikes are nicknamed “hogs” as a result.
  
• 1925 The company adopts teardrop-shaped gas tanks (previously they were flat-topped) that give its machines a very distinct look. Joe Petrali becomes one of the first salaried “factory racers.”
• 1926 Single-cylinder motorcycles are sold first time since 1918. Models A, AA, B and BA are available in side-valve and overhead-valve engine configurations.
• 1928 The first two-cam engine is made available on the JD series motorcycles. The bike can reach a top speed between 85 and 100 mph. Luckily, this year all H-D models are also available with a brake on the front wheel. Surprisingly few Harley-Davidson riders use them, even to this day.
• 1929 The D model is introduced with a rugged, 45-cubic-inch flathead V-Twin engine. The “Flathead” motor will be sold in various guises for over 40 years.

  The stock-market crash heralds the Great Depression. In 1929, the company sells 21,000 motorcycles. It’s the strongest of the dozens – if not hundreds – of motorcycle brands that were launched in the first three decades of the century; only a handful will survive into the fourth.
  
• 1932 The three-wheeled Servi-car begins its 41-year run. (Sure they were used to deliver great corned-beef sandwiches, but they were also used by the guys who wrote 410,000,000 parking tickets, too.)

  In racing, Joe Petrali begins a string of five consecutive national championships in dirt track, as well as four consecutive hill-climb titles. (In those years, the championship was decided in a single race.)
  
• 1933 The company sells only 4,000 motorcycles this year. To reduce costs for competitors, the AMA creates a new racing class, Class C, based on production equipment and allowing for limited modifications. Although the original, prototype-based Class A persists, the AMA emphasizes the new class. Purists resent the change.
• 1935 Alfred Child, the company’s agent in Asia, realizes that currency exchange rates are killing sales in Japan. He convinces the company to license production of its motorcycles in Japan. The Sankyo Seiyakyo Corporation purchases tooling and begins producing Harley “clones”. They are sold under the name Rikuo, which means “King of the Road.”
• 1936 Introduction of the EL, an overhead valve, 61-cubic-inch-powered bike, which earns the nickname of ‘Knucklehead’ because of the shape of its rocker-boxes. The company also introduces an 80-cubic-inch side-valve engine.
• 1937 Petrali sets a land-speed record of over 136 mph with a streamlined Knucklehead. The first WL models are produced.

  William A. Davidson dies, two days after signing an agreement that makes the company a union shop.
  
• 1938 Ben Campanale wins the Daytona 200 on a 45 cubic-inch WLDR. The race was run on the 3.2-mile beach course.

  The Jackpine Gypsies hold the first Black Hills rally in Sturgis.
  
• 1941 United States enters World War II. The production of civilian motorcycles is almost entirely stopped.
• 1942 When U.S. soldiers capture their first “Wehrmacht”-issue motorcycles in North Africa, they find that the BMWs and Zundapps are better suited to tough military duty. Harley-Davidson and Indian each develop about 1,000 machines for evaluation, with shaft drives and Flat-Twin motors copied from the Germans. They are never widely issued, though the machines cost Uncle Sam a whopping $35,000 each.

  Walter Davidson dies.
  
• 1943 William S. Harley dies.
• 1945 The war finally ends. Between 1941-45 the company produced almost 90,000 WLA models for military use.
• 1946 The 45 cubic-inch, flathead, WR production racer is made. It conforms to stricter Class C AMA rules, which are intended to reduce costs for competitors. It’s a flathead, because in Class C, flatheads are allowed to displace 750cc, while OHV motors are limited to 500cc.
• 1948 The company’s 61 and 74 c.i. OHV engines are updated with aluminum heads and hydraulic valve lifters. Also new are the one-piece rocker covers, which resemble cake pans, earning the motor the nickname ‘Panhead.’

  As part of Germany’s war reparations, the Allies loot German patents. The fine, small two-stroke motors built by DKW (seen in that
  company’s popular RT125) are copied by BSA (the Bantam) and Harley-Davidson, which produces the model S that will come to be known as the Hummer.
• 1949 Hydraulic front forks make their first appearance on the new Hydra-Glide models.
• 1950 Arthur Davidson dies.
• 1952 Returning servicemen seem to favor the lighter British Twins they saw “over there.” In response, Harley-Davidson creates the 45 c.i. side-valve K model. It’s a unit-construction motor – the crankcases and gearbox are one set of castings.
• 1953 Indian goes into its long, painful death throes. H-D, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year will be only real motorcycle manufacturer in the U.S. for the rest of the century.

  The aging WR and WRTT production racers are no match for the British 500s now invading the dirt tracks (and few road courses) of America. The H-D racing department counters with a new racer, the KR. Like the WR, it is a 750cc flat-head.
  
• 1955 The new KR begins a run of seven consecutive Daytona 200 victories, which will include the last race run on the old beach course and first one run at the new Daytona International Speedway.
• 1957 The Sportster is introduced. It is basically a larger-displacement version of the K motor, fitted with an OHV head. At 55 c.i., it offers performance to rival anything coming out of England (at least, anything coming out of England without a “Vincent” tank badge.) has a 55 cubic-inch overhead-valve engine.
• 1958 Hydraulic rear suspensions appear on the Duo-Glide.
• 1960 Harley-Davidson acknowledges the market potential of smaller machines. The company makes its first and only scooter, the Topper. It also purchases a half-interest in the Italian company Aermacchi, which produces fast and stylish single-cylinder machines of up to 350cc.

  Brad Andres wins the last Daytona 200 run on the sand. 2nd through 13th (no, not 3rd, 13th) places all go to riders on KRs.
  
• 1961 The first Aermacchi design to reach America is the Harley-Davidson Sprint. Short-track racers are quick to realize that its good power and low center of gravity make it a winner.
• 1962 Harley-Davidson acquires the Tomahawk boat company and starts to learn about the uses of fiberglass.
• 1964 The humble Servi-Car is the first of the company’s machines to be fitted with an electric starter.
• 1965 The Duo-Glide and is fitted with an electric starter, and thus becomes the Electra-Glide.
• 1966 Riders clamoring for more power cause the company to update the old Panhead motor. The new engine has rocker boxes that resemble coal shovels. Hence, the new mill gets the nickname “Shovelhead.” This basic motor will remain in production for 20 years.
• 1968 After years of increasingly vociferous lobbying, the import manufacturers convince the AMA rules committee that the 250cc displacement advantage given to flathead motors is unfair. The AMA declares that, in the future, bikes with overhead valves (all the British and Japanese models) can also displace up to 750cc. Harley-Davidson lobbies to delay the implementation of the new rule for one more season.
• 1969 Although Harley-Davidson stock is publicly traded, it is still a relatively closely held corporation. The shareholders – perhaps sensing that the “Japanese invasion” is about to open a new front in the heavyweight category, with the Honda CB750 Four – sell the company to the American Machine and Foundry Company. AMF has hitherto been known to the American consumer as a maker of bowling balls, but it is in fact a large, diversified manufacturer.

  AMF could have risen to the challenge presented by the sophisticated and comparatively affordable Honda. Instead, AMF’s managers roll a real gutter-ball. Harley-Davidson quality plummets. Before long, dealers are forced to rebuild motors under warranty and magazines are brutally critical of test bikes. Used Harleys are described as “pre-AMF” in classified ads.
  
• 1970 The racing department creates a new production racer, the XR-750. The motor is basically a destroked Sportster unit. It gets off to an inauspicious start; none of the factory entries reach the finish in the Daytona 200. The first Harley across the line is an ancient KRTT, ridden by Walt Fulton III.
• 1971 By mating the spare front end of the XL series with the frame and motor of the FL series, the company creates the first cruiser – the FX 1200 Super Glide.
• 1973 A new assembly plant is opened in York, PA.
• 1977 Although most Harley fans would rather forget the years in which the company was owned by AMF, there is one AMF-era bike that’s highly sought-after by collectors: the 1977 XLCR. That “CR” stands for Café Racer and the bike was only the second major project for Willie G. Davidson (the grandson of one of the founders.) While the model is prized now, it was rejected by Harley customers in 1977. Only 3,100 were sold and the model was dropped a year later – although dealers still had unsold XLCRs cluttering their showroom floors well into the ’80s.

  The FXS Low Rider is also introduced this year.
  
• 1979 The FXEF “Fat Bob” is introduced. It’s called fat because of its dual gas tanks, and bob on account of its bobbed fenders.
• 1980 The FLT is introduced. It has rubber-isolated drivetrain and an engine and five-speed transmission which are hard bolted together.

  Belts come back into fashion: a Kevlar belt replaces the chain as the final drive on some models.

  The FXB Sturgis, featuring an 80 cubic-inch engine, and FXWB Wide Glide are introduced.
  
• 1981 After years of AMF mismanagement, Harley-Davidson has lost almost all customer loyalty and profits are in freefall. When a group of company executives led by Vaughn Beals offers to buy the division for $75 million, AMF quickly agrees.

  Beals leads an amazing corporate turnaround. He funds new product development and implements world-class quality control. It’s impossible to know what would have happened to the H-D brand if Beals had not risen up to save it, but it’s certain that no one else could have done a better job at rehabilitating it.
  
• 1982 The FXR/FXRS Super Glide II are introduced, featuring a rubber-isolated, five-speed powertrain.

  The company adopts a just-in-time inventory system on the manufacturing side, which helps to lower cost and improve quality.
  
• 1983 The Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) is formed.

  The company petitions the International Trade Commission (a branch of the U.S. federal government) to impose a tariff on Japanese motorcycles of over 700cc. As a result, many Japanese motorcycles that are sold as 750cc models in the rest of the world are sleeved-down to 700cc for the U.S. market.
  
• 1984 The 1340cc V2 Evolution engine appears on five models. Although it’s been in development since the AMF era, the motor proves the newly independent company has turned the corner in terms of build quality. It is far more reliable and oil-tight.

  The Softail, which features concealed rear suspension and evokes the rigid-framed hogs of 30 or 40 years ago, meets with commercial success.
  
• 1986 Harley-Davidson diversifies with the acquisition of the Holiday Rambler motorhome company.
• 1987 The company makes its Initial Public Offering. Stock is traded on the NYSE, with the ticker symbol of HOG. The company petitions the ITC to relax the tariff on imported motorcycles, a year before it was scheduled to lapse. The move serves notice that Harley-Davidson is capable of competing on a level playing field, despite the fact that the Japanese companies now all make V-Twin cruisers that compete directly with the American offerings.
• 1988 Exploiting customers’ love of traditional styling, the Springer front end returns on the FXSTS Springer Softail.
• 1990 Introduction of the FLSTF Fat Boy.
• 1991 Introduction of the first motorcycle in the Dyna line, the FXDB Dyna Glide Sturgis.
• 1992 Harley-Davidson is the first company to equip all its models (except for a handful of racing motorcycles) with drive belts. Modern drive belts provide a smoother ride than chains, last longer, and free riders from the drudgery of chain lubrication and adjustment.
• 1993 H-D buys a minority interest in the Buell Motorcycle Company.
• 1994 The company enters the AMA Superbike Championship, fielding the water-cooled, DOHC VR1000. AMA rules specified that the company had to also build and sell 2,000 machines for road use, a process is called “homologation.” So, you may wonder, why have you never seen a road-going VR1000 if 2000 were sold? Because the model was homologated in Poland. By selling it there, Harley avoided U.S. liability and Poland’s lax laws allowed the barely-modified race bike to be legally licensed.

  Despite being ably ridden by Miguel Duhamel, Pascal Picotte, Chris Carr and Scott Russell, the VR1000 will never win an AMA race.
  
• 1995 Harley-Davidsons are equipped with fuel injection for the first time.
• 1996 Sales of parts and accessories are an increasingly important part of the business – a fact reflected in the new, 250,000 sq. ft. facility the company opens in Franklin, WI.
• 1997 A new 217,000 sq.-ft. design center opens in Milwaukee. FL engine production moves to a newly purchased plant in Menomonee Falls. A new 330,000 sq. ft. plant in Kansas City takes over the production of Sportsters.
• 1998 The company opens its first foreign factory in Manaus, Brazil.

  The remaining shares of Buell are also acquired.
  
• 1999 The Touring and Dyna lines receive the new Twin Cam 88.
• 2000 Despite spending tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in the mid-’90s – and having initial success in its efforts to trademark the “potato-potato” sound of Harley motors – the company drops its U.S. Patent Office application. Harley-Davidson’s vice president of marketing, Joanne Bischmann, tells reporters, “I’ve personally spoken with Harley-Davidson owners from around the world and they’ve told me repeatedly that there is nothing like the sound of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. If our customers know the sound cannot be imitated, that’s good enough for me and for Harley-Davidson.”
• 2001 The VRSCA V-Rod is introduced. The motor – which was designed with input from Porsche – is fuel injected, has overhead cams, and liquid cooling.
• 2003 It is estimated that 250,000 people come to Milwaukee to celebrate The Motor Company’s 100th anniversary.
• 2006 Fittingly, the ’06 model-year Dyna motorcycles come with six-speed transmissions.

  The company announces a major new museum, scheduled to open in Milwaukee in 2008.
  
• 2007 Harley upgrades its Big Twin motor, stroking it out to 96 cubic inches and earning the moniker “Twin Cam 96.” The six-speed transmission from the Dyna line is added across the board.
• 2008 The Motor Company opens its impressive new museum in time for Harley’s 105th anniversary.

Kawasaki Motorcycle History

Kawasaki emerged out of the ashes of the second World War to become one of the big players from Japan. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Kawasaki built a reputation for some of the most powerful engines on two wheels, spawning legendary sportbikes like the Ninja series and a line of championship-winning off-road bikes.

• 1896 The company is founded by Shozo Kawasaki. His firm will come to be known as Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Over time, the company’s principal areas of activity will be shipbuilding, railroad rolling stock, and electrical generating plants. Motorcycles will become a small part of this diversified industrial conglomerate.
• 1960 Kawasaki signs agreement to take over Meguro motorcycles, a major player in the nascent Japanese motorcycle manufacturing business. Meguro is one of the only Japanese companies making a 500cc bike. In England and the UK, Meguro’s 500 – which bears a strong resemblance to the BSA A7 – is derided as a cheap copy. But in fact, it is a pretty high-quality bike.
• 1961 Kawasaki produces its first complete motorcycle – the B8 125cc two-stroke.
• 1962 A series of the two-stroke models from 50-250cc is released. The 250cc disc-valve ‘Samurai’ attracts notice in the U.S.
• 1966 The 650W1 is released and is the biggest bike made in Japan at the time. It’s inspired by the BSA A10. Over the next few years it will get twin carbs, and high pipes for a ‘scrambler’ version.
• 1969 Dave Simmonds gives Kawasaki its first World Championship, in the 125cc class

  The striking Kawasaki H1 (aka Mach III) a 500cc three-cylinder two-stroke is released. Although its handling leaves something to be desired, the motor is very powerful for the day. It’s one of the quickest production bikes in the quarter-mile. The Mach III establishes Kawasaki’s reputation in the U.S. (In particular, it establishes a reputation for powerful and somewhat antisocial motorcycles!) A wonderful H1R production racer is also released – a 500cc racing bike.

  Over the next few years, larger and smaller versions of the H1, including the S1 (250cc) S2 (350cc) and H2 (750cc) will be released. They’re successful in the marketplace, and the H2R 750cc production racer is also successful on the race track, but Kawasaki knows that the days of the two-stroke streetbike are coming to an end.

  The company plans to release a four-stroke, but is shocked by the arrival of the Honda 750-Four. Kawasaki goes back to the drawing board.
  
• 1973 The first new four-stroke since the W1 is released. It’s worth the wait. The 900cc Z1 goes one up on the Honda 750 with more power and double overhead cams. Over the next few years, its capacity will increase slightly and it will be rebadged the Z-1000.
• 1978 Kork Ballington wins the 250cc and 350cc World Championships with fore-and-aft parallel-Twin racers (Rotax also built racing motors in this configuration. Ballington will repeat the feat in ’79. In 1980 he will finish second in the premier 500cc class. Anton Mang takes over racing duties in the 250 and 350 classes, and he will win four more titles over the next three years. This is the most successful period for Kawasaki in the World Championship.

  Kawasaki’s big-bore KZ1300 is released. Honda and Benelli have already released six-cylinder bikes by this time, but Kawasaki’s specification includes water cooling and shaft drive. To underline the efficiency of the cooling system, its launch is held in Death Valley. Despite its substantial weight, journalists are impressed.

  Over the next few years, the KZ1300 will get digital fuel injection and a full-dress touring version will be sold as the ‘Voyager.’ This model is marketed as “a car without doors”!
  
• 1981 Eddie Lawson wins the AMA Superbike championship for Kawasaki after an epic battle with Honda’s Freddie Spencer. He will repeat as champion the following year.

  Kawasaki releases the GPz550. It’s air-cooled and has only two valves per cylinder, but its performance threatens the 750cc machines of rival manufacturers. This is the bike that launches the 600 class.
  
• 1983 The liquid-cooled four-valve GPz900R ‘Ninja’ is shown to the motorcycle press for the first time at Laguna Seca. They’re stunned.
• 1985 James “Bubba” Stewart, Jr. is born. Kawasaki supplies his family with Team Green diapers.
• 1989 The first ‘ZXR’-designated bikes reach the market. They are 750cc and 400cc race replicas.
• 1990 The ZX-11 is launched and features a 1052cc engine. It is the first production motorcycle with ram-air induction and the fastest production bike on the market.
• 1991 The ZXR750R begins a four year run as the top bike in the FIM Endurance World Championship.
• 1993 Scott Russell wins the World Superbike Championship, much to Carl Fogarty’s dismay.
• 2000 The ZX-12R is released – the new flagship of the ZX series.
• 2002 Bubba Stewart wins AMA 125 MX championship.
• 2003 Stewart is AMA 125 West SX champ. “What the heck is he doing on the jumps?” people wonder. It’s the “Bubba Scrub.”

  In a daring move that acknowledges that only a small percentage of supersports motorcycles are ever actually raced, Kawasaki ups the capacity of the ZX-6R to 636cc. Ordinary riders welcome a noticeable increase in mid-range power, and the bike is the king of the ‘real world’ middleweights.
  
• 2004 Stewart wins the AMA 125 East SX title, and the 125cc outdoor championship. There are only one or two riders on 250s who lap any faster than he does on the little bikes.

  Just when we thought motorcycles couldn’t get any crazier, the ZX-10R is released. OMG, the power!
  
• 2007 Although his transition to the big bikes hasn’t been as smooth as many expected it to be, Stewart wins the 2007 AMA SX championship.

Suzuki Motorcycle History

Suzuki is another member of the “Big Four” from Japan. It began manufacturing motorcycles in 1952 and has become well known around the world. Its off-road bikes and roadracers have won world titles, and its street machines range from the cruiser Boulevard series to the legendary GSX-R series of sportbikes. It, along with Honda, is unique in that the company also builds automobiles.

• 1909 Michio Suzuki founds the Suzuki Loom Company in Hamamatsu, Japan. He builds industrial looms for the thriving Japanese silk industry.
• 1937 To diversify activities, the company experiments with several interesting small car prototypes, but none go into production because the Japanese government declares civilian automobiles “non-essential commodities” at the onset of WWII.
• 1951 After the war, Suzuki (like Honda and others) begins making clip-on motors for bicycles.
• 1953 The Diamond Free is introduced and features double-sprocket wheel mechanism and two-speed transmission.
• 1955 The Colleda COX debuts, a 125cc bike equipped with a steel frame. It features a 4-stroke OHV single-cylinder engine with three-speed transmission.
• 1961 East German star Ernst Degner defects to the west while racing for MZ in the Swedish Grand Prix. He takes MZ’s most valuable secret – knowledge of Walter Kaaden’s expansion chamber designs – to Suzuki.
• 1962 Using MZ’s technology, Suzuki wins the newly created 50cc class in the World Championship. The company will win the class every year until ’67, and win the 125cc class twice in that period, too.
• 1963 U.S. Suzuki Motor Corp. opens in Los Angeles.
• 1965 The T20 is released (aka Super 6, X-6, Hustler). This two-stroke, street-going Twin is one of the fastest bikes in its class. The ‘6’ in its name(s) refers to its six-speed gearbox.
• 1968 The T500 ‘Titan’ is an air-cooled parallel-Twin two-stroke.
• 1970 Joel Robert wins the 250cc World Motocross Championship for Suzuki. This is the first year of a three-year streak.
• 1971 The GT750 2-stroke surprises people with its three-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. In North America, it’s nicknamed the Water Buffalo; in the UK they call them Kettles. Although the bike is quite advanced in many ways and inspires a line of smaller air-cooled triples (GT380 and GT550), it’s clear that pollution control legislation will limit the use of two-strokes as street motorcycles. Even while the GT750 was in development, Suzuki had signed a licensing deal with NSU to develop a motorcycle with a Wankel (rotary) engine.

  The TM400A motocrosser goes into production, a 396cc bike designed for 500cc motocross races. Roger Decoster wins the 500cc World Championship on the factory version of this bike and will dominate the class, winning five times from 1971-’76.
  
• 1972 The Hustler 400, a street version of the TM400, is released. This bike features a double-cradle frame and 2-stroke single-cylinder 396cc engine.
• 1974 The RE5 is the first Japanese motorcycle with a rotary engine. It cost a fortune to develop and, while not bad, it’s a commercial disaster. After two years, the company abandons the project, and there are rumors the tooling was dumped into the sea so that Suzuki managers would never have to see it again.
• 1975 The RM125, with an air-cooled 2-stroke single-cylinder 123cc engine, is a production motocrosser
• 1976 With the GS750, Suzuki finally builds a 4-stroke, four-cylinder road bike.
• 1978 The GS1000E becomes the flagship model of the GS series – it’s Suzuki’s first literbike.
• 1979 Wes Cooley wins the AMA Superbike Championship on the new GS. He’ll repeat the feat in ’80 before submitting to Eddie Lawson.
• 1980 The GSX750E adopts Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber (TSCC) structure and a DOHC engine upgraded to four valves. Also, a new Anti Nose Dive Fork (ANDF) system is adopted for the front suspension.

  Somewhere in Japan, Suzuki appoints a Vice President of Acronyms for Suzuki’s Success (V-PASS).
  
• 1981 German designer Hans A. Muth, styles the GSX1100S Katana. It boasts an output of 111 hp at 8,500 rpm.

  Marco Lucchinelli wins the 500cc World Championship for Suzuki.
  
• 1982 Franco Uncini wins the 500cc World Championship.
• 1983 The RG250 is Suzuki’s first ever race replica. This bike features the AL-BOX, square aluminum frame, 16-inch tire and Anti Nose Dive Forks (ANDF) at the front.
• 1985 The RG500 “Gamma” features the same square-Four cylinder layout as the as the factory Grand Prix bikes. Other racy features are the square-tube aluminum frame and the removable cassette-type transmission.
• 1986 Although the rest of the world got the GSX-R750 a year earlier, the most important new motorcycle in a decade finally arrives in the U.S. in 1986. Kevin Cameron, reviewing the machine in Cycle World, rhetorically asks, “Where will we go from here?”

  The new GSX-R1100 covers ¼ mile in 10.3 seconds and boasts a top speed of over 160 mph. That’s where we go from here.
  
• 1989 Jamie James wins the AMA Superbike Championship of the GSX-R750.
• 1990 The 779cc DR-BIG has the largest single-cylinder engine in living memory.
• 1991 The GSX-R750 switches from oil-cooling to water-cooling and gains weight.
• 1993 Kevin Schwantz wins the 500cc World Championship. “I’d rather not win it this way,” he says, referring to the career-ending injury of his arch-rival Wayne Rainey.
• 1995 The much-loved 16-valve, 1156cc air/oil-cooled Bandit 1200 appears on the scene.
• 1996 Suzuki calls the new GSX-R750 the ‘turning-point model’ thanks to its twin-spar frame instead of the older double-cradle frame. The engine is also redesigned and featured 3-piece crankcases, chrome-plated cylinders and a side-mount cam chain as well as Suzuki Ram Air Direct (SRAD) system.
• 1997 The TL1000S is the first Suzuki sportbike with a V-Twin engine. It will be followed a year later by a racier R version, with a dodgy rotary vane damping system in the rear shock. Suzuki equipped the TL1000R with a steering damper, but it was still prone to headshake and customers approached it with caution, if at all.
• 1999 Mat Mladin wins the AMA Superbike Championship, beginning a run of unprecedented dominance. Mladin will win five more times, and Suzuki will win 8 of the next 9 titles.

  With sport bikes getting more and more sharp edged, the company is one of the first to recognize what might be called the ‘semi-sport’ market, as opposed to the supersport market. The SV650 features an aluminum-alloy truss frame and a liquid-cooled 90° V-Twin DOHC 4-valve engine.

  Suzuki calls the Hayabusa the ultimate aerodynamic sportbike. It’s powered by a 1298cc liquid-cooled DOHC in-line 4-cylinder engine that becomes the darling of land-speed racers. The name means “peregrine falcon” in Japanese.
  
• 2001 Based on the compact GSX-R750, the GSX-R1000 is powered by a liquid-cooled DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder 988cc engine, which features narrow-angle valves and downdraft individual throttle-body fuel injection.
• 2005 Suzuki’s original 4-stroke motocrosser, the RM-Z450, is equipped with a 4-stroke 449cc engine, which features the Suzuki Advanced Sump System (SASS).

  Troy Corser gives Suzuki its first and only (so far) World Superbike Championship.
  
• 2006 The M109R, Suzuki’s flagship V-Twin cruiser, is powered by a 1783cc V-Twin engine with 112mm bore and 90.5mm stroke. It has the largest reciprocating pistons in any production passenger car or motorcycle.
• 2008 The B-King is launched, powered by the 1340cc Hayabusa engine, the B-King is Suzuki’s flagship big ‘Naked’ bike. Suzuki says it has the top-ranked power output in the naked category.

Yamaha Motorcycle History

The Japanese company was well known for its musical instruments, but in 1955 it began producing motorcycles. It began with simple and inexpensive machines but has grown to its position as a powersports powerhouse, offering some of the best sportbikes, cruisers and off-road bikes on the market. It ranks second only to Honda as the leader among Japanese manufacturers.

• 1851 Torakusu Yamaha is born. He will train as a watchmaker and make his first reed organ in his mid-thirties.
• 1890 He incorporates Nippon Gakki Company Limited, for the purpose of making pianos and organs. The company’s origins as a musical instrument maker are still reflected in its logo, which depicts three interlocking tuning forks. It becomes the world’s largest musical instrument maker.
• 1916 The founder passes away.
• 1955 In the years after WWII, the company’s president Genichi Kawakami realizes that if Japan is to rebuild, the country needs affordable transportation (more than pianos!) The first Yamaha motorized product is the YA-1 Motorcycle. It’s a 125cc, 2-stroke, single-cylinder streetbike patterned after the DKW RT125 (as were both the BSA Bantam and the Harley-Davidson Hummer.) The YA-1, aka “Red Dragonfly,” is so successful that Yamaha incorporates a subsidiary, Yamaha Motor Corp.
• 1957 The 250cc twin-cylinder YD-1 is an improved version of another German bike, the Adler.
• 1958 The first Yamaha motorcycles are sold in the USA by Cooper Motors, an independent distributor. The models are the YD-1 (250cc, 2-stroke, twin-cylinder streetbike) and MF-1 (50cc, 2-stroke, single-cylinder step-through streetbike).
• 1959 The YDS-1 mounts a tuned-up version of the YD-1 motor in a double-cradle frame (the earlier version was built on a pressed-steel spine). The YDS-1 establishes the pattern for the next 20 years of sporty Yamaha two-stroke Twins.
• 1960 Yamaha International Corporation began selling motorcycles in the USA.
• 1964 Phil Read gives Yamaha its first-ever World Championship, in the 250cc class.
• 1966 The YDS-3 is the first Yamaha streetbike to really capture the American imagination.
• 1967 The Yamaha TD1C 250cc production racer is released. Though the factory racers have been effective for years, this is the beginning of a brilliant run of proddie racers. More than any other manufacturer, it is Yamaha that forces out four-strokes engines from Grand Prix racing.
• 1968 The DT-1 Enduro is introduced. It’s perhaps the world's first dual-purpose motorcycle.
• 1970 Yamaha’s first 4-stroke motorcycle model, the XS-1 (650cc vertical Twin) is introduced.
• 1973 Kenny Roberts wins the AMA Grand National Championship, racing a Shell Thuett-tuned 650 Twin on the dirt tracks and a 350cc two-stroke Twin (later TZ700 and 750 Fours) on road courses. He’ll repeat the win the next year, despite the 650 being outgunned by the Harley-Davidsons on the dirt tracks.

  The fine RD350 middleweight sports bike is released. Its air-cooled 350cc parallel-Twin two-stroke motor is fitted with reed induction and produces an impressive 35 horsepower at the rear wheel.
  
• 1975 Yamaha pioneers the very first single-shock production motocross bikes.

  Giacomo Agostini gives Yamaha its first 500cc World Championship.

  In a desperate effort to keep the #1 plate, Yamaha encourages Roberts to try a TZ750-powered flat tracker. He rides it to an epic win in the Indy Mile, but says, “They don’t pay me enough to ride that thing!”
• 1976 The legendary XT500 is born. This thumping trailbike is the last nail in the coffin of the old British mystique. “The Japanese can even build a better 500 Single!” In its fourth year of production, an XT500 will win the first running of the Paris-Dakar.
• 1977 Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, was founded in order to better appeal to the American market and establish a separate identity (from music & electronics) for Yamaha motorized products.
• 1978 The four-cylinder shaft-driven XS1100 is introduced.

  Kenny Roberts becomes the first American to win the 500cc World Championship. He’ll win again in ’79 and ’80, proving that the first one was not a fluke.

  The XS650 Special was introduced. This was the first production cruiser built by a Japanese manufacturer.
  
• 1979 YICS (Yamaha Induction Control System), a fuel-saving engine system, was developed for 4-stroke engines.
• 1981 Yamaha’s first air-cooled V-Twin cruiser, the Virago 750, is introduced.
• 1984 The RZ350 (sold elsewhere as the RD350LC, for “liquid cooled”) finally reaches the U.S. market. It was popular elsewhere from 1980 until the early ’90s but is only sold in the U.S. for two years. It’s fitted with an exhaust “power valve” that dramatically improves mid-range performance.

  The hairy-chested RZV500 is introduced. With its water-cooled V-4 two-stroke engine, it’s a Grand Prix replica for the street, but it’s heavy and no match for Suzuki’s RG500 Gamma.

  The first production 5-valve-per-cylinder engine is introduced on the FZ750.

  Eddie Lawson wins the 500cc World Championship. He’ll do it again (on Yamahas) in ’86 and ’88.
  
• 1985 The V-Max 1200 muscle-bike hits the streets. Its 145 claimed horsepower sets a new motorcycle standard.
• 1987 Yamaha introduces EXUP, a new exhaust system for 4-stroke engines that includes a power valve to control back-pressure for optimizing the width of an engine's powerband.
• 1989 The FZR750R homologation special briefly challenges the GSX-R750 for sportbike supremacy.
• 1990 Wayne Rainey wins the 500cc World Championship. He’ll do it again in ’91 and ’92, and is leading the 1993 championship when he suffers a paralyzing injury in mid-season.
• 1991 Thomas Stevens becomes the only person ever to win the AMA Superbike Championship on a Yamaha.

  The FJ1200A sets the sports-touring standard and includes ABS.
  
• 1993 The striking GTS1000 features electronic fuel injection and hub-center steering designed by James Parker. Consumers failed to bite on the innovation and balked at the relatively high price.
• 1996 Yamaha introduces its first Star model with the 1300cc V-4 Royal Star.
• 1998 The YZ400F four-stroke motocross bike is introduced. This is the first mass produced 4-stroke motocrosser. Doug Henry won the AMA outdoor motocross championship with it while it was still a prototype in development. As soon as the public gets its hands on the production model, the two-stroke 250s are doomed.

  The YZF-R1 sport bike is introduced to wild acclaim.
  
• 1999 The YZF-R6 is introduced.
• 2002 The R1 gets fuel injection, a first for a Yamaha sportbike.
• 2004 Valentino Rossi wins the MotoGP World Championship. He’ll repeat the feat the next year.
• 2006 The R6 gets YCC-T (Yamaha Chip-Controlled Throttle), a partial fly-by-wire system that is an industry first.
• 2007 The R1 gets YCC-I (Yamaha Chip-Controlled Intake), a system that varies the length of the inlet tract depending on throttle position and engine speed. The bike also gets a slipper clutch. Nori Haga uses the race version to finish second in the World Superbike Championship, just two points behind James Toseland. Haga and teammate Troy Corser combine to win the Manufacturer’s Championship for Yamaha.
• 2009 After an incredible run of more than 20 years, the Vmax is finally put out to pasture in favor of a new version powered by a monstrous 1700cc V-4 engine pumping out a claimed 200 horsepower.

Honda Motorcycle History

Honda was founded in the late 1940s as Japan struggled to rebuild following the second World War. Company founder Soichiro Honda first began manufacturing piston rings before turning his attention to inexpensive motorcycles. Mr. Honda always had a passion for engineering, and this became evident by the wild sales success of his motorcycles in the 1960s and by competing head-to-head against the world’s best on racetracks. Today, Honda is a juggernaut, offering class-leading machines in most every category.

• 1906 Soichiro Honda is born in Hamamatsu, Japan. His father owns a blacksmith shop that also repairs bicycles. As a young man, Honda is an apprentice in an automotive garage in Tokyo.
• 1928 Honda returns to Hamamatsu to open his own auto repair shop. Enamored with speed, he builds his own race car.
• 1936 Honda is injured in an auto racing accident.
• 1937 He forms a company to manufacture piston rings. After a shaky start (owing mostly to his complete lack of formal training in metallurgy) his company becomes successful. He is a key supplier to Toyota, which starts manufacturing cars at about the same time.
• 1946 Soichiro Honda sells his piston-ring business. Japan is struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy, after having been bombed flat at the end of WWII. Honda realizes the need for affordable transportation and begins grafting war-surplus two-stroke motors onto bicycles. (The motors had originally been intended for use on portable generators for military radios.)
• 1948 Honda Motor Co. Ltd is incorporated. Soichiro Honda focuses on the engineering side of the business, while financial operations are controlled by Takeo Fujisawa.
• 1949 The company produces its first real motorcycle, powered by a 98cc a two-stroke motor. When an employee sees the first one assembled and it is ridden outside the factory, he says, “It’s like a dream.” The name “Dream” was adopted for the bike, officially known as Model D.
• 1951 Mr. Honda is infuriated by the noise, smell and fumes from the two-stroke motorbikes (including his own) that crowd Japanese city streets. In response, the company creates its first four-stroke motorcycle, the Dream E (146cc).
• 1952 Despite the fact that he despises such “primitive” powerplants, Honda flirts with his original notion of auxiliary motors for bicycles. The Cub F (two-stroke, 50cc) clip-on motor is sold through thousands of independent bicycle shops across Japan. It is only manufactured for two years, but it introduces the “Cub” trademark, which will be popular for decades in various guises.
• 1953 The Benly J (4-stroke, 90cc) is released. At least some of these were sold with “Benly” tank-badges, and carried the Honda name on engine cases only. The Benly series also lasted a long time, and ushered in an era of improved performance. They were immediately popular with Japan’s amateur racers.
• 1954 Soichiro Honda shares his own dream, of success in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. He writes, “My childhood dream was to be a champion of motor racing with a machine built by myself. However, before becoming world champion, it is strongly required to establish a stable corporate structure, provided with precise production facilities and superior product design. From this point of view we have been concentrating on providing high quality products to meet Japanese domestic consumer demand and we have not had enough time to pour our efforts in motor cycle racing until now… I here avow my intention that I will participate in the TT race and I proclaim with my fellow employees that I will pour all my energy and creative powers into winning.”

  Mr. Honda attended the Isle of Man races as an observer that year, paying particular attention to the German-made NSU motorcycles that dominated the 125 and 250 classes. Although it is widely believed Honda “copied” these machines, it is not true; the NSU racers were singles with bevel-drive cams–nothing like the early Honda racers.
  
• 1957 The leading Italian manufacturers, including MV Agusta, Gilera, and Mondial announce that they will withdraw from World Championship racing, citing increasing costs. MV Agusta will renege on this agreement and continue racing. Honda buys one of the last Mondial race bikes. The Japanese company doesn’t copy the Italian bike, but it does use it as a source of inspiration and an example of the standard they need to reach.
• 1958 The Super Cub (aka C100, aka CA100, aka simply “the Honda 50”) hits the market. It features a pressed-steel frame, leading-link fork, step-through design and a 50cc four-stroke motor. It is destined to be sold under various names, and will later grow to 70cc, and finally 90cc. It will become the most popular motorcycle–indeed, the most popular motor vehicle of any kind.
• 1959 Honda enters the famed Isle of Man TT races for the first time. The company fields five machines in the 125cc “Ultra-lightweight” class. The bikes are 125cc twins, of the type raced the previous year in Japanese national competition. Naomi Tanaguchi achieves the team’s the best TT result, finishing sixth. Honda wins the manufacturer’s trophy in the class.

  Honda opens American Honda Motor Co. in Los Angeles.
  
• 1961 Honda dominates both the 125cc and 250cc classes at the TT. Mike Hailwood wins both races, with Hondas finishing 1st through 5th positions in each case. The Isle of Man Examiner newspaper says simply, “It was a devastating win for the Orient.”
• 1963 This year, Honda focuses on F-1 car racing, and the motorcycle racing program suffers. Sales of street bikes remain strong, however: the Super Cub is awarded the French Mode Cup; Honda opens its first overseas plant in Belgium; Grey Advertising unveils the famous “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” campaign. Early the following year, Honda buys commercial time in the Academy Awards for a “nicest people” television ad featuring the Super Cub.
• 1964 Two-stroke motors begin to dominate the smaller-displacement racing classes. In order to remain competitive in the 250cc classes, while still relying on four-stroke motors, Honda produces a six-cylinder 250, the 3RC164. This engineering marvel dazzles the racing world, but it is not enough to prevent Phil Read from winning the championship on his Yamaha ’stroker. In ’66 and ’67, however, Mike Hailwood will use the six to win the 250cc World Championship.
• 1968 19 years after the company’s first two-wheeler rolled out of the factory, Honda produces its 10 millionth motorcycle.
• 1969 Honda unveiled the CB750 at the Tokyo Motor Show in late ’68, but it didn’t hit the market until early ’69. It is impossible to overstate the impact this bike made, as the first modern mass-market four, and the first mass-market bike to come with a disc brake. Until well into 1970, CB750s were made with sand-cast, not die-cast engine cases. In truth, die-cast cases were lighter, stronger, and more oil tight. But it’s the sand-cast models that are prized by collectors.
• 1970 Honda entered four riders in the Daytona 200, but only one–Dick Mann–finished. The three DNFs were completely overshadowed by Mann’s victory. It was a huge win for Honda in America. That year, the 200 grid also included all-new triples from Triumph and BSA, and the first XR750 Harley-Davidsons. Although the factory bikes are often referred to as CR750 models, the CR750 was never sold as a complete motorcycle; it was only a kit of parts to be assembled on a CB750 donor bike. The factory racers were built by Honda’s Racing Services Center (the predecessor of today’s HRC) and officially designated “CB750 Racing Type.”
• 1972 Honda finally admits that in order to build a competitive 250cc motocrosser, the company has to make another two-stroke motor. CR250 “Elsinore” reaches the U.S. in early ’73. It is immediately the most effective production race bike in its class, and Gary Jones wins the AMA motocross championship on it in its first year.
• 1973 Soichiro Honda retires as the company President. He remains on the Board of Directors, which grant him the honorific title ‘Supreme Advisor’ in 1983.
• 1974 The first Gold Wing, the GL1000, is introduced at Cologne. It reaches the U.S. market in early ’75. The ’wing is the first Japanese production four-stroke to be water-cooled. It also features shaft drive and is one of the first production bikes to be fitted with a fuel pump. The pump is required because the “tank” in the normal position is actually an electronics bay and conceals the radiator overflow, while the real fuel tank is under the seat, to help keep the center of gravity low.
• 1978 In an effort to build a competitive four-stroke motorcycle for the 500GP World Championship, Honda produces the oval-piston NR500. It was effectively a “four-cylinder V-8, with 8 connecting rods and 32 valves. It is a technological tour-de-force, but manufacturing challenges prevent it from racing until late in the ’79 season. Honda persists with the machine through the ’81 season, but even Freddie Spencer can’t manage to win on it.
• 1981 Honda Gold Wing production moves from Japan to a new factory in Ohio.
• 1983 Freddie Spencer wins the 500cc World Championship. For the first time, Honda wins the “blue riband” championship. (The company first won the Manufacturer’s Championship in the 500cc class in 1966.)
• 1986 After a shaky start, the V-four “VF” series of road bikes is redeemed with the redesigned VFR750F “Interceptor”. Its gear-drive overhead cams once and for all banish cam drive and wear problems, and the model is generally acknowledged as being the “best all-’round road bike” for most of the next ten years.
• 1987 The CBR600F “Hurricane” is Honda’s first fully-faired, four-cylinder street bike.
• 1990 The VFR750R (aka RC30) finally arrives in the U.S., three years after it is first sold in Japan. It’s a true homologation special, and a genuine race bike for the street, selling for twice the price of a stock Interceptor.
• 1991 The company mourns the death of Soichiro Honda.
• 1992 200 units of the legendary NR (aka NR 750) are produced. This is a street-legal version of the ill-fated NR500 Grand Prix racer, which sells for a breathtaking $60,000. It’s loaded with ahead-of-its-time features including carbon-fiber bodywork, a digital dash, underseat exhaust, a single-sided swingarm, and fuel injection. In spite of lavish use of carbon and light alloy, it weighs nearly 500 pounds, and most of the people who have ridden it (still a small statistical sample!) are underwhelmed.
• 1993 The CBR900RR stuns the sportbike world. Designed by Tadao Baba, the “Fireblade” combines the power of an open-class motorcycle with the weight and handling of a 600.
• 1995 The radical EXP-2 (two-stroke 400cc) wins its class in the Granada-Dakar rally. The bike is the proof-of-concept for a cleaner burning and more powerful two-stroke engine concept that uses a pivoting “valve” to close the exhaust port.
• 2001 Valentino Rossi wins the last ever 500cc World Championship on the NSR500 two-stroke.
• 2002 All change. Or not. Rossi wins the first World Championship in the 990cc MotoGP era, on the five-cylinder four-stroke RC211V. Valentino Rossi wins the last ever 500cc World Championship on the NSR500 two-stroke.
• 2004 Honda prototypes a motorcycle powered by a fuel cell.
• 2006 The 50,000,000th Super Cub is sold.
• 2007 Honda is the first manufacturer to offer a motorcycle with air bag crash protection.

Precision » Motorcycles

1: The Wonderful World of Motorcycles
Motorbikes are considered heartthrobs in the automotive world. Bikes are conventional and normal bikes are used by ordinary, middleclass people who can not afford to buy themselves a car.

2: Some Great Tips To Help You Choose The Right Motorcycle
When you're getting ready to buy a new bike you have to think about what kind of riding you want to do, how much money you're willing to spend, and how dependable the motorcycle is that you're thinking of purchasing.

3: A Leather Motorcycle Jacket - A Necessity Above All
Ok, you can call be boring if you like but am I the only person that cannot understand why motorcyclists do not wear good protective gear when riding either on the road or off road? I'm not that old fashioned to realize that looking cool means a lot to people but I also thought that a leather motorcycle jacket was cool.

4: Why Is the Honda Silver Wing Scooter So Popular?
The Honda Silver Wing scooter is one of the more popular scooters on the market. With the Honda name, consumers are confident that they are purchasing a superior quality scooter when they invest in the Silver Wing.

5: Maintaining A Charge For An Electric Scooter
An electric scooter uses no gas, but will use an electric charge to move about the home or the store. The electric charge is held in a battery. The scooter is plugged in as needed, for a few hours, to recharge the battery.

6: How To Avoid Some Of The Biggest Mistakes When Looking For A Motorcycle Loan
When you're buying a motorcycle you need to know about bikes, but you also need to know about how to buy a bike, and that has nothing to do with engines and manufacturing. One important detail where a lot of people that purchase motorcycles go wrong is getting the right loan.

7: Scooters A Versatile And User Friendly Mobility Device
Scooters, the name itself brings to our mind a vehicle, which is usually a two- wheeler and helps us to be mobile.

8: A Look At Some Must Have Biker Gear If You Want To Ride A Motorcycle
Which would you rather have to do; hammer a few well earned dents out of your bike, or have the doctor hammer a few dents out of your skull? Besides, with all the technological advances in helmet engineering, you might actually look pretty cool with one on your noggin.

9: When Buying Motorcycle Boots Safety Takes First Place Over Fashion
Wearing proper protection, such as helmets to protect ourselves, is a must. However, traditional bikers believe that their big boots were a part of their safety gear.

10: Make A Statement With Custom Motorcycle Parts
You want it to turn heads on the street when it's parked outside, cause the guy in the 4 door sensible car to nearly have an accident on the freeway, and be a conversation starter at motorcycle gatherings.

Make A Statement With Custom Motorcycle Parts

Let's face it, a custom motorcycle isn't just for riding, it's the ultimate extension of your personality. You want it to turn heads on the street when it's parked outside, cause the guy in the 4 door sensible car to nearly have an accident on the freeway, and be a conversation starter at motorcycle gatherings.

Of course your frame, tank, and paint job play a big part in the overall design of your bike, but it's also the smaller elements that really add to the unique quality of your bike. In this article, we'll take a look at some small yet unusual motorcycle parts available today.

Maltese Cross Foot Pegs:
Sharp angled Maltese cross foot pegs aren't easy to overlook with their deep black center and chrome edge. The Maltese cross is a lot more than just a cool looking design. It's the symbol of a warrior and represents qualities such as loyalty, frankness, bravery, glory and honor.

Merlin Flame Stem Mirrors:
One of the easiest motorcycle parts to swap out on your bike to start defining your custom look are the mirrors. The Merlin Flame custom Harley mirrors really stand out among all of the other mirrors out there today. The slick jagged edges and chrome of these mirrors do a lot more than just reflect what's happening behind you-they make a statement about your individuality.

Flamed Shelled Headlight:
This isn't your average headlight. These custom shells open your options for designing a custom headlight for your bike. The interesting thing about these headlights isn't only the ability to customize, but the deep chrome setting and the intricate flame detail that sets it apart from most other motorcycles parts of its kind.

Studded Gas Cap Cover:
The three monstrous studs on this gas cap make it easier to grip when unscrewing the gas cap, but even more so, they look really cool. If studs aren't your thing, there are a lot of really unique gas cap designs on the market today to complement the style of your bike. When it comes to customizing your bike with motorcycle parts, don't overlook the chance to make a statement and add some artistic expression with a custom gas cap.

In short, never overlook an opportunity to add some style to your bike. There are so many unique motorcycle parts available for just about every part of your bike that whether you're a weekend rider or a serious fanatic, you can easily customize your bike to fit your style.

When Buying Motorcycle Boots Safety Takes First Place Over Fashion

Today bikers are trend setters. Gone are the days when their typical trademark was their big black boots, leather gloves and heavy chains and rings. But now they are very stylish and prefer to dress in sport wear. They love wearing trendy shoes, and designer sport t-shirts and jeans. They wear funky elbow and knee caps of different colors and styles to sport their look. But what we haven't been able to decipher, is whether their traditional look, with boots and gloves were a necessity or just a fashion statement.

Riding a bike is very risky as one is susceptible or prone to accidents very often. It is important to be very careful while riding. Wearing proper protection, such as helmets to protect ourselves, is a must. However, traditional bikers believe that their big boots were a part of their safety gear.

While riding most bikers get burnt and bruised a lot by the exhaust pipe, which results in, blisters and large scar marks. These severe marks and blisters take weeks to heal, sometimes leaving a permanent mark. Bikers are of the opinion that big boots cover and protect their legs from the exhaust pipe, which makes them less prone to injury and scars. They even used to make the passengers wear boots to cover their legs from the heat of the exhaust pipe.

Traditionally bikers wear helmets and boots as well as heavy clothing, like big jackets, gloves, heavy pants and so on, which would protect them, or rather reduce their injuries if they fall. Research has proved that leather can save a riders skin from the asphalt. Thus they prefer to wear leather gear while riding a bike, as it lessens the impact of the fall or burn.

Traditional bikers, swear by leather boots, jackets, pants, and gloves. They often ridicule the new fashion of wearing trendy sports gear, while riding. They believe in safety first and do not bother with specific looks or fashion while riding. They don't believe in fashionable sports gear, because according to them, a true biker would know the necessity and importance of safety, rather than giving importance to the look.

For traditional bikers, fashion means leather accessories, which gives them a mean, tough and nasty imagine, that they enjoy. They favor a rock star imagine, making them look like the typical biker image. Even in the blazing heat, during the months of summer, they sport their leather look, as it has become their style statement.

Traditional bikers not only believe in the necessity of boots, but also like to wear boots as a part of they fashion statement. They would never go without it. Apart from the look, new bikers are always advised to wear boots, to protect their legs from the scorching exhaust pipe. If they refuse, only one burn will teach them a lesson. A true biker loves his boots and would do anything to wear them all the time.