@@FunAllDayLong4353 Oh yes absolutely. The book “Whatever happened to the British motorcycle industry” tells a sad tale of bad management and downright stupid decisions combined with loads of arrogance.
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 But the key point to make is that The "British" motorcycle industry was ENGLISH, situated in ENGLAND. So was the heart of the World's investment industry, situated in London, ENGLAND. Post WWII they took a decision to invest in Japan and Germany - NOT England.
With the exception of their two strokes, Japanese and German triples were disappointing in one form or another. Only Brits and Italians seemed to get the three cylinder four stroke concept right. Yet, at no time were MV Agustas. and Benellis mentioned in your comparison. 🤨
Note the Honda-sourced speedo and a redline that does not equate…the Jota redline was actually a lot higher - around 8500rpm. How it is #3 behind that truly mechanically and aesthetically awful Yamaha is beyond me.
I owned a 78 Gold coloured Jota ,the only year they made it in that colour. I remember stopping in an underpass were it was safe ,taking my helmet off and revving it up just for the pure joy of the sound. A truly organic motorcycle.
The Laverda is desirable and the Triumph was a 90s movie star ("Blood Moon"), but the K75 (another movie star - "Fourth Protocol") is very much my favourite from this list. One of the very best bikes of the 80s. Advanced, stylish and tasteful.
I've had 3 K75s, I've had my current one, a very low miles K75S for 6 years and love it. For me, if it was 75 lbs lighter it would be a perfect bike. A few simple tweaks make it pretty quick and satisfying to ride.
A friend of mine picked up a late-series orange Jota when we were in high school and then held onto it for another umpteen years. Amazing, beautiful, terrifying bike! No balance shafts anywhere near the thing!
No matter how nostalgic users of these bikes think they should be, there is no reason why there should be three cylinder engines. Neither should there be five cylinder engines.
@@rogerkay8603 There are really great three cylinder bikes. Especially that wild two stroke 750 Suzuki. My point is that anything you can do with three, is usually better and easier with a two or four cylinder. There are no practical reason for three cylinders to exist.
Thirty years ago I used to share my daily homeward journey, down the A5 from Silverstone to Luton, with a guy on a Laverda Jota. We never got to speak, but he always allowed me to make the journey with him, me in my Toyota MR2. He would ride in my company for a mile or so, crack open the throttle and leave me standing, then wait for me to catch up again. The sound of that Jota still remains with me ; truly wonderful, like a classic V-12 F1 Ferrari coming 'on cam.'
I can't help but to wonder the same . I don't know near as much about nomenclature or history as this man does although I thought I was going to see kawasaki featured here . I'm thinking the kawasaki was dubbed the " water buffalo " because it was also liquid cooled ? I can't remember ???
My brother had a Yamaha XS750, very good bike never any problem. He had the model with the 24L tank so excellent range. The bike was killed of and almost my brother with a drunken woman running a red light and going in to his left side.
Two strokes in part 2 I mentioned the R3 instead as it’s essentially the same machine of course and I wanted to include the Trident 900 in particular because it was a sales success in contrast unfortunately to the T160 which is shown in the R3 part
Triples! I had a K75RS triple that was truly wonderful; a bit “old school in weird new clothes” perhaps. But that was much of its charm. It actually felt a lineage back to /2’s in some ways. Much nicer and much more fun, imo, than the original 1 liter, 4 cylinder flying K bricks. More reliable mechanically and well behaved in corners also. The forks were a bit too spindly though, it must be admitted. An aftermarket brace helped. Otherwise it was a 100 kmile mid sized bike. The triple format was the key to its goodness.
The general feeling is that the K75 is the better bike an excellent example of less is more BMW had a bit of a thing for soft front forks, I’ve heard similar comments about the R100
Yep In terms of behaviour, not cylinder numbers, I did hope the listener would have the intelligence to understand the point . It seems I was wrong 🙄🙄 I do love a nice dumb comment gives us all a good laugh
Mmmm, nice vid, but for my list I would have included at least 1 of the two stroke triples and added the Yammie MT09 as well, and dropped the XS 750 and K75 to make space for them. That’s the fun thing with lists like this, no two people will agree!
The Jota is the only bike that freightened me. Big ,top heavy, ground out on bends and brutally quick. I didn't feel the k75 was good for hustling through the twisties but it went O.K.
I had that first Trident the blue one from 1999 to 2021 and it never let me down ever, it was a brilliant bike. As the guy said top heavy but once you got used to it no problem. The engine was a peach and surprised many a sportsbike rider from the lights. Ran out of puff compared to the sports bikes at about 90 but it got there pretty quick. I saw 140 on the speedo on the autobahn. I sold it for a song to a mate so i could grab a bargain on the last of the speed triple 1050 rs black n yellow. my missus just wouldn't go for me having 2 bikes so the trident had to go. at least it went to a good home at my mate's. genuinely great bike though and even though my speed triple is way better it kinda lacks a bit of character.
In the early eighties at the age of 20 I bought a 4 year old xs750. This bikes almost were worth almost nothing at that time in the Netherlands. It costed 1000 guldens in nowadays money 500 euros. It had a fairing and a krauser case set. I'll stripped the thing and mounted low handlebars , a 3 in 1 exhaust and did some paintwork with a brush. The thing wasn't fast but what a beautiful noise it made. Later I owned more newer bikes but the Yamaha triple gave me the best memories.
They were heavily discounted brand new in the UK around that time, which must have depressed used prices. A friend of mine had one (black and silver) and I thought it was OK. I liked the shaft drive although it would 'sit up' a bit when accelerating.
I had a Hinckley Trident 900 for a while. It was a really nice bike to ride. It wasn't particularly light but the engine was an absolute peach, it was very comfortable and it did well on commuting and touring.
"It wasn't particularly light"? I had a mk1 speed triple, same bike really, and I didn't rate it at all. The same power as a cbr600f but weighs as much as a fj1200, all the weight is at the top making it about as nimble as a grain barge, and that bloody sprag clutch? You would have to assume that whoever designed that bike usually designs HGVs.
@@sambrooks7862 a shit load more torque than a CBR I owned a a CBR for several years and on paper it had more hp than my 1100 Guzzi but in reality unless you working that notchy gearbox had it’s absolutely not the same thing There’s a massive difference between on paper and on road Life isn’t too trumps
@@sambrooks7862 While it may have had the same bhp as a cbr600 it had a lot more torque lower down in the range which made it more usable. It was also 50Kg lighter than an FJ12 but you're right, that weight was held quite high whereas the FJ's was practically subterranean. It was never going to be a sports bike but I think it did well at what it set out to do. I never had sprag clutch issues with the Trident or the 900 Tiger I replaced it with (yes, the Tiger was big and stupid but it made me laugh and was soooo comfy). A few minor electrical issues but nothing show-stopping and I used those bikes a lot.
@@1anwrang13r yeah it was uber reliable and the sprag didn't actually fail, I decided to change it while I had the motor out during the renovation. I had a FJ and I thought they both weighed about 240kg? The FJ was far superior in every way, I bought the triple as a project having never ridden one, honestly? If I had it don't think I would have bought it. BTW, I now own a 96 thunderace, what a bike!
Sounds wrong about the revs. I fitted a final drive from a K100 which calms the bike down nicely. EV14 injectors restore any loss of acceleration and top gear becomes overdrive.
Neither my commando or T150V leaked a drop. But having changed oil in roadster i put slightly too much in tank and it threw it straight into new airfilter i had just received,COD,from Pride & Clark!
I had both the Jota- absolutely wonderful, tho slightly dodgy electrics and the yam xs 750- light, easy to ride, but guzzled oil and ultimately munched its' pistons and con rods...
Yamaha did seem to have quite variable built quality backing the 70s some found the XS solid some terrible with a great number somewhere in between I like the style and design of the Yam but the Jota is on another level entirely
Cool posting. Memories! So how I find myself being 72. During that time I have owned over 200 different bikes. A sickness? Probably, but a fun one. I believe I have at one time or other owned one of every model year BSA and Triumph triple including 2 different Hurricanes. Some were great, others not so much. But my all time favorite bike was a 1974 Laverda 3C that had been fettled by Lance Weil aka Rickey Racer. Cams, head work etc. At the time I also rode a GPZ turbo which was a bit fast and more civilized. The Laverda was way more fun but like an idiot I sold it. It's the only bike I regret getting rid of. Gotta love them triples.
I've owned 34 motorcycles ranging from (IMO) crap to great. My XS750 was crap. Heavy, underpowered, unreliable, very shoddy finish. And a very plain Jane looker.
Can’t agree about the looks Early machines had build quality issues no doubt Well done for being able to keep count of the number Of bikes you’ve owned. I lost count years ago. Currently have four but there’s 9 in the house and I use em all Maybe I’ll count ‘em up at some point Naaaa CBA
kawasaki designed the triumph engine, the spine frame was also used by kawasaki on their GPZ900R. I was only interested because a pal of mine bought the very first trident 900 off the line. I wasn't pleased. I had tried to sell my design to john bloor, he just took my ideas and flipped me off. I would never buy one because of this, despite the trident being the production version of my original design. I also introduced the concept of modular design in the motorcycle world, as evidenced in triumph's first series, suspension changes, different camming, same frame, same engine, a tourer, a roadster and a trailie. whish I'd known more about copyright, it makes patents look like a scam to take your money.
Kwawsaki did not design the Triumph engine Although they did visit the factory in Japan so there is some influence but that’s about it Anything else is pure pub myth If you look at a frame it closely resembles the old T140 OIF chasis which isn’t surprising as some of the Truimph designers had previously worked at Meridan So did Kawasaki copy the Triumph spine frame from 1971 ? Is a more appropriate question incidentally the Laverda Jota frame is also very similar so member Kawasaki copied that ??
beware XS750s, they had a factory recall for self dismantling gearboxes and any engine number not over stamped, indicating this mod, should be avoided. they also had a big problem with overheating on the centre pot, causing head warpage and in extreme cases, blowing up the centre pot. I know all of this because I bought one, and blew up the centre pot. I only bought it because I had wanted a motorbike since I was 6 years old and saw one in hapstead in london when it was brand new, and thought to myself, "I'm going to buy that when I grow up." turns out the one I bought was exactly the same bike I had seen, reg STD700S! to cure the overheating, you will need to upjet the centre pot to make it run cooler, then, as long as you gearbox has the mod stamp, it's a stable and torquey plot that's fairly frugal to run. the seat is enormous and can easily carry a family of five, the shaft drive makes knackered swingarm bearings a discovery in 'maleable steering', in left handers you can tighten your line by easing off the throttleand the whell banks more than you do lol
True Covered a lot of these in another video Overheating was improved with a switch to Electronic ignition Was a common problem with all triples in the 70s Trident Suzuki GT Kawasaki etc
That was very interesting! I must admit that I was unaware of the Moto Guzzi triple. I have either owned or ridden all the bikes reviewed here, the Trident T160 rather than the Rocket three, but they are very similar. The Jota was a real brute, but very charismatic, the XS 750 was the victim of lack of development, sadly a feature of too many Japanese bikes of the time. The K75RS was a lovely refined machine, but is was big and heavy, it was very comfortable and had long legs.
Went for R3 over the t160 so I could sneak the Hinckley bike in One company one bike were possible I think May struggle to stick to that with the strokers however
Great video, you don't see many K75c now days I bought one of a mate 15 years ago , he'd owned a K1000 but then got a k75c he said the k75c was smoother and better ride , I've been riding my K75c for 15 years with no problems , their easy to work on doing my own services & cheap to do in comparison with more modern bikes , their a bit of a marmite bike you either like or loath them , but on a practical note you get over 50 m p g they go forever cheap insurance and if you've owned one they grow on you , they can gallop along as well .😊
One little mentioned factoid about the Laverda : its alternator did not charge the battery below 3,500 rpm. Not a problem on the highway but could be really annoying around town. A friend owned one...a first model Jota hotted up a bit.
The poor old K75, to quote an Australian Motorcycling mag of that era, was akin to releasing a Mullet into a school of Barracuda ( the big 4 Japanese 750 sportsbikes of the day ). Its way more appreciated now for its attributes and mile eating capability, than it was then. I bought my K75S new in '93 and still have it to this day. Beautiful bike.
Well despite the nonsense of journalists who were becoming increasingly sport bike obsessed the little K75 sold rather well I have a healthy disrespect for Journalists of all kinds
Nice video I had an XS 750 with a Piper 3 into 1 pipe. Great sound . Good workhorse it happily took me and my wife back and forth from Torquay to South wales . Most interesting 3 cylinder’s have to be the Kawasaki 2 strokes . I have 250 & 400 great fun . Bloody dangerous 😂
About the XS-750 f from 1979 I had one for many years. . Yes if you were not causcious on a 1- 2 shift, it would fail in the first year. . But for all the rest, In Canada,s model, at least, among it's piers. it was the fastest on acceleration, torque, comfort , a real sofa of a seat, and it had the higher top speed of all the 750 air cooled of the year ☺Oh yes; the SOUND 🤩. . the most pleasing sound of the industry. . And a true fun to experiment the tunel's resonnance frequency 🤣
@@bikerdood1100 Among the other air cooled 750, I was fastest not by much but none of my friends could keep up with me. . sometimes barely a walking pace speed advantage but I was the king , , then the 4 valves per cylinders arrived and I was done. . .😏
The Laverda is just gorgeous. While the Trident line was significant in the resurrection of Triumph, the T595 Daytona and T509 Speed Triple are a bit more fabulous; granted I'm biased as I have a '97 T595. Clean sheet design, nothing in common with earlier models, motor developed in conjunction with Wilcox Engines (I sourced my exhaust from them, wish I'd popped for the full engine kit that bumped it up to 142hp at the crank, no longer available at the time I inquired about it.) Totally intoxicating sound and feel. Good to see the Yamaha, a friend had one.
Cool. No argument there, style preferences are largely personal opinion. I happen to think my Daytona is one of the more beautiful designs for a road bike, not in the same league as a Ducati 916 or MV Agusta F4 though. I saw an MV Agusta F4 Senna on the sales floor of a local dealer a few years ago, that is one beautiful bike. First time I saw a 916 I thought, that's not a motorcycle so much as a piece of sculpture you can ride.
3 cylinder engines sound so good. Gary Johnson's MV Augusta at the Isle of Man is surely one of the all time great exhaust notes. If you're lucky enough to have been to a current MotoGP event, the Triumph engined Moto2 bikes are far and away the best sounding bikes in the paddock. The V5 Honda's and in particular, the Kenny Roberts V5 sounded better but they were sadly replaced with the current crop of aurally inferior 4's.
The sound of the MV Augusta on Francorchamp was unbelievable, especially on Masta. But than the Yamaha XS1100 with Pat Evans on the Nurburgring was great as well.
I owned a Polaris Red K75S for 10 years and commuted on it for 5 of those to Manchester city centre and back, about 35 miles. Through rain, wind and snow. Never let me down, was extremely easy to work on, especially for plug changes or valve checks. Had a fair turn of speed when the occasion demanded. It was also easy to get off the line for a relatively heavy bike, possibly the dry clutch - I remember racing a Bandit 600 away from the lights once - he was two-up and you could hear his drive chain slip in a vain attempt to keep up with me. The only real issue I had with it was the screen I had fitted funnelled the wind against my helmet, which made 80mph motorway riding, 2-up extremely tiring on the neck. It might have been an aftermarket tinted item that was slightly cut-down. The sound at low speed with the early electro-mechanical fuel injection and 3 cylinder exhaust note made it sound almost like a turbine, especially if you were on a narrow road between buildings. Occasionally a pedestrian would look at it and wonder what kind of engine it might have when I was sitting in traffic.
@@bikerdood1100 Too true. It was probably a motorcycle of its time, serving its purpose extremely well. It was also quite rare having never sold in huge numbers and not really appealing to the average motorcyclist back then, most of whom were getting into crotch rockets or cruisers. Mine got snapped up when I came to sell it about 2008 and the purchaser got a full restoration done on it, by ex-Speedway World Champ Peter Collins.
Always wanted a Jota, couldn't afford one back in the day & definately can't afford one now! A Jota is a Spanish dance in triple time. Very ingenious name by Laverda.
What a load of crap. An article about 3 cylinder bikes with no mention of the iconic H1 or GT750 or any of the 3cylinder 2 strokes from Suzuki, Kawasaki or Honda. The man knows nothing.
He knows that the Laverda triples are more than twice the bike that the H1 ever was. Having owned both I can tell you that the H1 I had was a pig to ride. The Laverda, the horsepower of a 4 cylinder and the torque of a twin. Plus handling to boot.
A video on the subject of British v twins of the 1930s would be of great interest to me. The best known engine being the JAP but Matchless, BSA and others (?) produced examples too.
Rode a laverda jota before I bought my ducati 900 ss from a kam motorcycles NorthShields the laverda was all hyped up back then but I thought it handled poorly and as for speed no way would I have liked to have taken it over 100
We’ll definitely more powerful than the Duke, with a top speed of 137 in the mid 70s it was a fair bit quicker than the Duke, the Duke was certainly more nimble. Mr Laverda was well over 6ft so the bike is designed to fit him. So for those under the 6ft mark the can be a handful But slow Naaaa
Well I’ve been riding since 1964 my Italian scenario came in 1976 I was hyped by the so called Jota but after riding it down the A 19 I certainly made a decision that the Ducati 900 was better in every way. The 900 felt and handled far better than the lumpy clunky Jota and yes I had the experience to make that decision. I nearly bought the MV Augusta that kam motorcycles had in their shop, but it seemed a very complex bike for servicing etc. So that’s my take on all the hype around the Laverda as well as my Ducati I also had a little Moto Morini 350 v twin now that was a good little Italian bike.
@@john-wq8kf well it’s designed by a very tall guy for other very tall guys For them it’s fine And could be intimidating. But still extraordinary fast by 70s standards
The Kawasaki triple from 70s was IMHO the best and most beautiful motorcycle ever made. These were bikes that attracted a crowd, not just the odd bike enthusiast. I did love and admire most bikes but the Kawasaki stood out, l even loved the name Kawasaki so much l wrote it on my army surplus school bag 😊
A race car preparation place I used to work for, circa 1971, used to regularly repair the fairing of a Kawasaki 500 H1 factory production racer belonging to a guy who normally raced Manx Nortons. Virtually every week he used to bring the fairing to us in tatters and we'd repair it with glass mat and resin. After around a month of this I got talking to him. "How does it handle ?" I innocently asked. "How does it handle !!!!" he replied, " I might be able to f*cking tell you, if I ever complete a test lap on the f*cking thing at Brands........!!!!"
As soon as I saw this I guessed the bikes you would show. But no Kawasaki or Suzuki triples, no Hinkley Triumph Rocket 3 and the spoof was the BMW K75! I had completely forgotten about those. Well done.
My best mate bought à Laverda jota back in the day,Nothing but trouble in regarding reliability (Italian) But the carburetor gave the most grief, From sticking flot slider to niddle size, And many flat spots in engine performance, I think my mate said they should change the name from Laverda jota to Laverda joker,!! 😅
Well laverda didn’t make the own carbs of course Hade the same type on a Guzzi which were fine The idea that all Italian bikes are unreliable was put around by those who couldn’t afford them a brought an alleged reliable Honda ( cam chain ) Which of course didn’t look or sound nearly as good Italian poor reliability is as big a myth as German reliability
The exhaust growl from the classic (69-75) Triumph Trident/ BSA Rocket 3 is awesome. Pity we didn't hear them in full roar. Time has been kind to the initially derided styling.
I have never owned a 3 cylinder machine. Singles, twins, and fours. I did have a poster of an XS750 on my bedroom wall as a teenager. I was looking at a BSA Rocket 3 a couple of years ago. I was waiting for the owner to kick start it, but I was disappointed as it had been converted to electric start😮
well.. that was a bit one eyed mainstream.. not a 2-stroke triple & their unique wonderful sounds anywhere.. Triumphs monster longitudinally mounted Rocket3 or mention of another 2ltr plus monster the glorious sounding Feuling W3.. Aprilias first attempts 900 triples in the motogp 800 class rule
Well it’s for road bikes and I’m doing two strokes next because they need their own video Obviously 🙄 You can’t go out and buy a MOTOGP bike so again should have their own video, I only include 5 bikes at a time to limit run time so only so many per video
In the early 70's I was on my way to Turin and stopped near the town of Breganza for a rest. An almighty whoosh and two Laverdas 750's whipped by. Two minutes later you could hear it coming. The Jota. It was a blur and that glorious engine was wonderful to hear. Factory test pilots. I believe they made a special uprated version just for the UK market. I road tested an SC, which was beautifully built, handled like a dream and went like the clappers. Breganza was their home town and it was sad when the factory closed, killed by people like me who went for the CB750, warts and all. The BMW K750, (aka `the Smoker). You could spot them miles away. When on the side stand, the crankcase oil would leak past the rings, with the concomitant smoke from the pipes. I looked at one, but the price put me off. Still does. The Trident was a lovely bike. My Dutch pals loved them. I wouldn't go near the things. I was fed up fixing British oil leakers
Smoking was worse on early models of left standing for a while It’s very sad when any bike plant closes but Laverda is particularly tragic. I was out on my Guzzi when one came past Awe inspiring sound
Thank you for the Laverda triple love 180 or 120 crank been memorizing me from the age of 17. The rocket's exhaust weird pipes must have paved the way for the re5's wack jobs.🤭
1970’s Honda disc brakes worked well in the wet if you had them drilled. Remember sending mine off to Leeds for drilling and never had a problem in the wet again.
Many years ago I was a member of a Motorcycle sidecar club that also had solos, I was probably 17 at the time, I went away on a weekend rally with the club and a lot of other clubs in the federation of Motorcycle Side car clubs, at this point I had never been in a side car, so my friend who was at the time the Foreign contact for the federation arranged for someone to take me out in a side car, well I was shown to a Watsonion paired up with a Rocket 3, so my ears were not far of that glorious 3 cylinder, and boy did it sound loverly, especially when it was pulling hard when accelerating to keep with the group.
the common 4 cylinder (4T) engine has one ignition every 180 degrees of the crankshaft, up to here so far so good, the only way to overlap the power strokes to make an engine more powerful, efficient and smooth running is to add more cylinders, here typically the option is to go for an even number of them in order to spread the sits on a crankshaft such as 6 or 8, and arrange them in "V" configuration to shorten the crankshaft, camshaft, manifolds, block, etc. ... some manufacturers go for a "cheap way to achieve this" with 5 cylinder engines making their own-and-everyone-else's life complicated with 720 degrees/5 cylinder = 1 ignition every 144 degree turn of crankshaft and all the weird design features to save 1 cylinder per engine (like a cheap 6 cylinder engine somehow achieving the overlapping of the power strokes). I can understand big engines are a bit of a pain to fit in a motorcycle frame and due to the limited weight of them (motorcycles compared to cars) smaller 4T engines with no overlapping of the power strokes as an "affordable sacrifice" (4 or less cylinders), ...now; what I fail to understand is that having V4 engines (with a block as long as a 3 cylinder) someone still goes through the trouble to design one when with a two-cylinder engine would suffice without looking like "a cheap and complicated 4 in line" (or half a V6 if you ask me) if you just don't want to fit a four cylinder engine, I honestly fail to find anything practical about it, I was always told that the best rule in engineering is to "keep it simple".
Of more pressing importance to a motorcycle builder today would be cost effectiveness The classical 4 firing order is as much about simplicity as anything else after all if you waste a spark then you only require two sets of points in the old days. 6s are all well and good but very expensive Ditto V4s There’s a good reason parallel twins are on the rise
@@bikerdood1100 quote "There’s a good reason parallel twins are on the rise". totally get the feeling on that sentence, as I would choose so myself if there is no chance for a 4 cylinder (I ain't much of a racer myself, and I have to admit I prefer twin cylinder engines). you crack me up talking about motorcycle builders now a days after seen the classics in the video, manufacturers and customers naturally look at the relation between quality-price each one from a different side of the equation, shame that "having the money to pay for it" does not imply "knowing what I'm about to buy", if so being a manufacturer would be way more difficult. cool motorcycles in the video nevertheless I have to admit.
@@investigatechannel I do prefer a twin myself if I’m honest I do own both modern and older bikes and am interested in bikes of all periods Had a lot of fours over the years and do find them a bit So so I think compared to the industry of the 90s for example there simply isn’t that much money in the industry and this is showing in the move always from 4s and in the poorer overall build quality now evident in the industry
@@bikerdood1100 for "things of life" I do not have a motorcycle right now (maybe soon) but I had a few over the years, my first bike as a young fella back in my country was a Ducati road 250cc '75 (I bought this one in a box taken apart and I put it all back together myself with the little notion I had), then I moved to UK and got myself a VT700 (some grey American import), then I had a VF 500, a VF750 and finally a VF1000, while I was studying engineering at south London and I'm a great fan of classic British bikes, they are the only ones that make me turn my head and not look in the direction I'm going, but life pushed me to end up working on cars and industrial machinery/tools, and on 2020 I moved back to Spain (did my own version of brexit) I have watched some of your videos and seen you are British and also seen some of your bikes, my upmost respect mate, I miss all that.
I had a midnight special 850 it was a nice cruise bike wasn't a rocket but worked for me and dog . It was comfortable to ride and had an interesting roar.
I had a Yamaha 750 3. It was the biggest bike I ever had. The "torque jacking" effect of the shaft drive was pretty annoying, but it was a beast, no doubt about it. I have always wanted a Suzuki water buffalo 730 3, but it hasn't happened.
@@bikerdood1100 I've had both chain drive and shaft drive bikes, and both the Yamaha 750, and to a lesser extent the Honda 500 V-Twin, had the jacking effect. I haven't ridden anything like a GoldWing or anything more modern to compare them to.
My ride is a 2014 Triumph Street Triple 675R...sweet motor, sounds fantastic when given a 'bit o' wellie' handles beautifully.... Back in 77/8 l used used ride a leMans when a friend of mine rode a Jota, what an Italian Stallion that was, still is..
Knew a guy back in the late 70's had a Jota, LeMans and 900SS - always said the LeMans was the best of the bunch and the best around corners. Sadly was killed on his Jota by a 'I didn't see you'............... Had a K75S, over 100,000 miles in 8 years with minimal maintenance...... wasn't a bad touring bike........ took me all over Europe and to work/college and back most days..
I rode a Laverda Jota back in about 1980 or '81. Took it up to 120 and it started a slow fish tail weave so I shut it down. Doesn't like a light rider. Rode a Ducati 900ss ('76 model) a short time later and it was as solid as a park bench at 130. An old friend - now sadly no longer with us due to cancer - said the correct pronunciation of Jota was Yot-a - with the Yot as in Dot. He was a motorcycle dealer back in the late '70's and early '80's so I assume he was correct.
I had an XS850 years ago, full fairing and 3 into 1 pipes. Was a brilliant touring bike and I put 130ks on it in 6 yrs, unfortunately I sold it to a mate in Adelaide and hvent
You didn't include the GT750 GT550 and the GT380 but l do remember all these motorcycles and K series BMWs because with the 750 and 1000 for all there range it was the same bike just with the fairings and paniers bolted on very smart of BMW
