The first true sportbikes-year make and model

[nursebusa]

lol back in the day i had a CBR1100f i love that bike

 

[MR Felt]

Yamaha Kenny Roberts Replica - Yakaz Motorcycles

One of the Kenny Roberts Replicas

 

[niso]

owned a GPZ 750 factory turbo think it was mid 80's and at the time all the "sport bike" I needed.

 

[Mr Droo]

Wow, I'm in great company! I had an '85 Tax Tariff 700 Interceptor with the Super Trapps... I rode the be-jeezus out of it, until the ex-wife wanted a new car and I gave it to a dealership as the down payment. I miss the bike: the ex-wife, not so much.

 

[chrisjp]

honda nighthawk 700s. i still wish i could find and there are some...floating around...but honestly the cbr's i think started the full sport bike craze

 

[newman]

I remember seeing a suzuki rotory for sale at my local dealers in the 70s.
Just looked up a pic of them, funny at the time I remember them looking strange, now they look just like any other bike.

 

[Tony Nitrous]

Most of the bikes in this thread were a slow progress of what we already had.

To me Landmark Sportsbikes were things like the Gpz900R, 85 GSXR750,
and the 1st CBR900 Fireblade. They were BIG step's in their day.

 

[Gitonit!]

owned a GPZ 750 factory turbo think it was mid 80's and at the time all the "sport bike" I needed.

A friend had one of those 750 turbos, man did that thing pull hard once spooled up...thought it was going to `come out from under me`. I felt a little bad because when he let me ride it, I brought it back with a broken clutch cable...he wasn`t upset just said no problem, it sometimes happens when being run hard.
The first bikes I most remember looking like the ones today are the mid 80`s Ninja and Hurricane...man I wanted one bad, my `84 (?) GS650E ran good though.

 

[Gixx1300R]

The first true sportbike was the Vincent Black Shadow. It was a hand-built motorcycle produced by Vincent HRD from 1948. "The Vincent" was the world's most exclusive and technologically advanced motorcycle. The 45 hp 998cc V-Twin was an air cooled configuration that had a top speed of 110 mph. It was on the 13th of September 1948 that a man by the name of Rollie Free smashed the world motorcycle speed record previously held by Harley Davison by riding a Vincent HRD 998 Black Lightning at 150.313 m.p.h. on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. A speed that was astonishing when you think that the average bike of the time had a top end of about 90mph.

 

[quantumracer]

I beat the hell out of that 500 . sold it with 50k on the motor and probly only 5 oil changes .

Tough engines for sure....10K oil changes! They were awesome...it's like they enjoyed being beat on. awesome bikes!

 

[quantumracer]

Wow, I'm in great company! I had an '85 Tax Tariff 700 Interceptor with the Super Trapps... I rode the be-jeezus out of it, until the ex-wife wanted a new car and I gave it to a dealership as the down payment. I miss the bike: the ex-wife, not so much.

My ex told me I would get a new wife before I got a new bike. Turns out she was right!

Practice is important; practice wives are a PITA