Road Tests

Suzuki GT500 In the space of just 10 years, spanning the 60-70s, Suzuki’s T500 twin turned evolution on its head. What was launched as the hottest high-performance two-stroke twin on the block ended up as a mild-mannered tourer. The bike appeared at the beginning of one of the most dramatic periods of motorcycle development. The…

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Norton Classic and Suzuki RE5 On the face of it, rotary engines are an excellent idea for motorcycles. Relatively compact and light, it’s feasible that they could power small, agile, high performance bikes. And they could be competitive, too. Norton proved their potential with their John Player Special race bikes with astounding success at the…

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Suzuki GSX550 Poor old Suzuki. It’s not often that a bike that is technically advanced and a good performer gets sidelined very quickly, especially after it’s had a very positive reception from the press. However, it happened to the Suzuki GSX550. Back in the early 1980s, things were just starting to move in the sports…

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Suzuki Katana When the Suzuki Katana was first shown at the Cologne exhibition in 1980, it was generally dismissed as a styling exercise. Yes, it was stunning, but the Japanese would never produce a bike like that really. Would they? Yes, they would. A year later the Katana was on the roads. Well, two Katanas…

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Harley-Davidson X90 If you're a regular at the classic motorcycle shows, you may recall seeing a young lad charging around the edges of the field on a tiny Harley-Davidson X90 mini-bike. The bike belongs to Mick Hall and his son, Jack. Mick has a lifelong passion for bikes of all varieties, and young Jack's interest…

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Harley-Davidson XR1000 Special The Harley spat out one final sulky puff of smoke as I switched off the ignition and drew a deep breath. "You know, Dennis," I said reflectively. "That really is one truly great, great bloody awful motorcycle!" "A dinosaur with attitude," agreed Dennis. We grinned at each other. Allegedly, this is the…

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