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THE HISTORY OF MOTORCYCLES PT . 11
By : Melanie Schwarte
The 1980 ’ s brought many changes to American pop culture . The birth of Pac-Man and Microsoft Windows paved the way for technology to supersede human interaction , and the assassination of John Lennon ushered in the downfall of music as we knew it . By the end of the decade we saw the Berlin Wall fall and inflation rise to record levels . What impact did this have on the motorcycle world ? Well let ’ s just say that Japan was doing far more than selling the first compact disc players the world had ever seen . Japanese bikes were quickly becoming hotter
Sturgis
Harley-Davidson 1340 Softail than an 80 ’ s teen girl wearing Love ’ s Baby Soft .
Though motorcycling had been popular for years , it became more accessible to some riders due in part to the many low-priced and easy to ride Japanese models on the market . To capitalize on the growing market the Japanese began to leave behind the designs that had originally helped them explode onto the motorcycle scene in America . Some developments that emerged earlier in motorcycle history quickly became standards in the 80 ’ s … water cooling , shaft drives as opposed to chains , and virtually any modification that could boost performance and speed . An interesting aspect of many 80 ’ s bikes was the plethora of modern high-technology additions including electronic instruments with basic computers and LCD displays , 6 speed transmissions , and triple disk brakes .
Some noteworthy Japanese bikes of the 80 ’ s include the Honda V45 and V65 Magna . Introduced in 1982 , it was one of the original 80 ’ s cruisers with a 750 . In 1983 the V65 was released as an 1100 . Many saw this as Honda challenging Harley-Davidson by indicating engine size in cubic inches ( Harley ’ s standard measurement ) versus cc ’ s . The Magna would evolve through the decade into the Super Magna , but would never gain as much respect on the American market as the Honda Shadow . American buyers preferred the more “ Harley-esque ” appearance and performance provided by the Shadow .
Prior to the split between performance bikes and cruisers became as prominent as we see today , Kawasaki decided to take the engine from their legendary “ Ninja ” and equip a low slung cruiser frame with it . What they produced was the Eliminator … a 900 cc ( later a 1000 cc ) water cooled inlinefour with a 6 speed transmission that produced over 100 HP in a sleeker and lighter model than Honda ’ s Magna .
Suzuki produced the Madura 700 and 1200 , and the models certainly combined power and style . Another example of an 80 ’ s v-4 cruiser , but was quickly abandoned by Suzuki after only two years of production … a fact
14 Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana / Mississippi | August 2018 | www . thunderroadslams . com