Features

Kawasaki GT550 Some otherwise great motorcycles of the seventies and eighties were doomed to obscurity simply because they were unable to make a splash when they first appeared. So it was with Kawasaki’s GT550. It was launched in 1983 as a more sober alternative to the intoxicatingly swift GPz550 sportster. It provided the then novel…

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Suzuki GT550J For all the innovations that have come and gone in motorcycle design over the years, only two manufacturers have ever mass produced a two-stroke triple and gone on to turn it into a sales success. Those two companies were, of course, Kawasaki and Suzuki, both of which saw the potential in such a…

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Suzuki GT750M The Seventies were arguably the most prolific period of motorcycle development in the 20th century. It was when the Japanese manufacturers consolidated on their racing success, expanded the superbike sector and made it their own; when the British factories finally collapsed and Italian designers showed that they would be a force to be…

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Yamaha 650 XS1 Despite the ravages of time the engine proved fairly straightforward to dismantle and I can now turn my attention to examining the internals to see what parts need attention before the rebuild. For step-by-step images of the overhaul, see the image gallery The second part of the rebuild is subscriber only. Please…

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Japanese 750 four cylinder motorcycles tested There once was a time when 750s were regarded as the pinnacle of motorcycle power and prestige. Ownership of a CB750, one of the Trident or Rocket triples, or – in hushed tones this – a Kawasaki Mach IV, implied the ultimate in cool. With three or four cylinders…

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Moto Morini 500 In the UK in the early 70s Italian bikes were by and large, expensive, highly strung, poor quality, unreliable, quirky, and generally not viable due to poor spares supplies. On the plus side – they were exclusive, looked like a million dollars and had a certain je ne sais quoi not found…

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Classic Motorcyle Mechanics needs your help – and you could win a cash prize reward Here at Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, we want to constantly improve and we would really appreciate knowing what you think of our monthly fix of classic machines in order to help us make your magazine even better and give you what…

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Suzuki GSXR750 The GSXR750 was a revolutionary motorcycle with an entirely new air/oil-cooled motor developing 100bhp out of the crate and a lightweight alloy double-cradle perimeter frame. Weighing less than 180kg dry, the bike was a homologation special, the optional factory tuning kit upping power output to 130bhp. The Gixxer was unveiled to the public…

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Kawasaki A7SS The street scrambler concept can effectively be seen as a methodology to sell a bike to a sub-set of customers who fancied something a little different from the conventional street machine. Using as many overt references as possible to dirt and desert sled successes, the British factories positively poured bikes, with varying degrees…

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Kawasaki GPZ1100 Few highlights in a career of performance testing motorcycles stand out as vividly as when we were forced by the limitations of space on MIRA’s timing straight to take Kawasaki’s GPZ1100 – completely redesigned and tuned to be the world’s fastest roadster – to the Midland facility’s mile-long straights. On that last day…

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