When rumours reached Honda that BSA/Triumph were
developing a 750cc triple, it galvanised the Japanese
giant into creating the world beating CB750 Four. The
British triples may have reached the market first, but
the launch just a few months later of Honda's
four-cylinder 'Dream Four' (with electric-start, disc
brakes and Candy-painted bodywork) caused a sensation in
1968. A new word now joined the lexicon: Superbikes. The
opening salvoes in a horsepower war had begun!
Superbikes and the '70s captures the spirit of those
heady days. It tells the story of a Britain emerging
from the dull, grey years of post-war austerity into the
colourful, gritty and psychedelic reality of the '70s.
Despite a backcloth of dubious fashion, rampant
inflation, oil embargoes and wild-cat strikes these
lightening-fast, chromium-plated polychromatic
motorcycles suddenly became affordable in an age of full
employment. For motorcyclists the '70s meant reliable,
beautifully-designed machines delivering
record-shattering performance! Superbikes and the '70s
brings this all home. However, it isn't just about the
bikes. It's about their times, too as reflected in its
popular culture, politics, and the people key to the
story of superbikes - the engineers and designers, the
larger than life racers, like Dick Mann, Gary Nixon,
Barry Sheene and Paul Smart, the dealers and salesmen,
and the industry's titans - Edward Turner and Soichiro
Honda. It gets behind-the-scenes to give the full story
of bikes like the Triumph and BSA triples (including the
Vetter-designed Hurricane), the Honda CB750, the awesome
Gold Wing and the outrageous six-cylinder Honda CBX1000
and Kawasaki Z1300 megabikes. There is also the
seriously mad Kawasaki Mach III and Mach IV two-stroke
triples, Ducati's remarkable Daytona-winning 750 twin,
Laverda's hairy-chested Jota - and, of course,
Milwaukee's XLCH Sportster, the seed of the Harley
come-back. Written by Dave Sheehan, Superbikes and the
'70s is well illustrated and packed with anecdotes and a
wealth of thoroughly-researched detail. The author
presents the story from the perspective of those
involved at the time, the outcomes of whose decisions
were by no means certain, with the result that the
narrative reads like a thriller. A recurring thread
throughout the book is Cycle magazine's seminal
'Superbike 7' comparison tests in 1970 and 1973 which
demonstrated that superbikes were changing - riders no
longer had to sacrifice civility, comfort and
reliability in the pursuit of handling, speed and
acceleration. Superbikes and the '70s is their
story.
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