Touring bikes: the Harley-Davidsons story

American culture seems to lend itself well to touring motorcycles. Long open roads that are plenty wide and cheap gas make the perfect habitat for big dinosaur bikes. It's because of this Harley Davidson had an early start in touring motorcycles. Since World War II (maybe even prior to) Harleys could be had with windshield and saddle bags.

1946 Harley FL (Knucklehead 1000cc)













1952 Harley FL Hydra-Glide (Panhead 1000cc)













These early touring bikes were prefect for America's long straight roads. Harley's tourers took off with the FL model (which has evolved to Harely's current touring line-up) and introduction of their overhead valve engines (starting with the Knucklehead). In 1949 the FL replaced the front spring suspension with hydraulically dampened forks, creating the Hydra-Glide. Rear suspension was added in 1958 replacing the ridged frame and creating the Duo-Glide.

1959 Harley FLH Duo-Glide (Panhead 1000cc)













1970 Harley FLH Electra Glide (Shovelhead 1200cc)













1989 Harley FLHTC Electra Glide (Evolution 1340cc)













2009 Harley FLHTCU Ultra Classic Electra Glide (1584cc)











The 2009 models might look very similar to yesterday's models, but they are full of updates such as fuel injection, CD players, and ABS brakes. Today Harley's line-up of touring machines is made up of several models each with different features and equipment.

images from 20th century motorcycles

Motorsport of the Month: sidecar road racing

Sidecars offer a parallel world of motorcycle motorsports. Sidecars compete in road racing, circle track racing, even motocross type racing. The most common type of sidecar racing is road racing. These machines have evolved from traditional motorcycle/sidecar rigs to highly specialized vehicle resembling prototype sportscar racers. Initially sidecars were based on traditional racing bikes that had a custom aerodynamic car attached at the side. By the seventies sidecars had taken on an completely new design that put the rider behind the engine (rather than on top), the rear tires became automotivel like slicks, and wheels used hub center type steering.

Above: an example of a traditional layout. Below: an example of a modern layout


Sidecar racing was originally part of FIM's grand prix racing. The Sidecar Championship was one of the original classes in 1949 when grand prix racing began. Norton's Manx was a popular platform for sidecars, then BMW's R50/2 dominated the series for much of the fifties and sixties. Eventually sidecars became more specalized and custom built chassis using GP bike engines, such as Yamaha's TZ500, became the dominate force.


In 1981 to make sure that sidecars didn't evolve into prototype cars, rule were made declaring vehicles must be driven by one rear wheel, steered by one front wheel, be steered with use of handle bars, and have an active passenger. The passengers (refered to as "monkeys") are active by leaning into the turns, which looks spectacular. Around 1998 sidecar racing moved from 500cc two strokes (similar to the top teir GP bike at the time) to 1000cc four strokes (similar to World Super Bikes). In 2001 the series name was changed to Superside.


That's Formula One type side cars. Formula Two is another class that requires steel tube frames and motorcycle type forks. In addition Formula Two bikes are limited to 350cc two strokes or 600cc four strokes.

Here's some Formula Two at the Isle of Man TT


TT Side Car Racing - The best free videos are right here

Super singles then and now

While today's market is full of big powerful multi-cylinder monsters, there are a handful of light and playful singles hanging on. Most thumpers on the market today are dirtbikes, but there are a handful of traditional street bikes and street oriented dual sports. Perhaps the best selling street single on the market is BMW's F650. The F650 was built along side the Aprilia Pegaso and each shared the same Rotax built 650cc liquid cooled single.


Aprilia Pegaso 1990-1998
BMW F650 1994-present
BMW G650 2008-present
In 2008 BMW started to phase out the F650 with the new G650 series.

Buell Blast 2000-present
In the late nineties Harley was looking for an entry level bike for beginning riders. Trouble was Harley's smallest model was the 883 Sportster, not the best bike for novice riders. The blast was born using a 500cc air cooled single, perfect for training soon-to-be hog riders.

KTM Duke 1995-present
For years KTM has been carrying the torch for modern singles. The Duke line is more than a street going dirtbike, it is a purpose built street machine. Today the Duke features KTM's 690cc LC4.

Now there are several other big twins that are around today. This include the Kawasaki KLR650, Suzuki DR650, Yamaha XT660, Honda XR650, and the KTM LC4 Adventure. These bikes are more dirt oriented and they're covered in my adventure bike feature.

Oh, and there's one more big single Suzuki's Savage 650.

Super singles then and now

Long ago the majority of motorcycles on the road had one cylinder. Singles were power plant for most motorcycles, and if you wanted more power you got a bigger cylinder. The average commuter bike had 350cc's or less, for more speed you went with a 500cc, and if you really wanted a hot rod you'd get a great big twin. Even in America where V-twins were king, singles were the bread and butter, it's easy to forget that just about every American motorcycle company started out with one cylinder bikes. Here's a look at some of the memorable big thumpers throughout history.

Norton International 1932-1958Norton Manx 1946-1963

The Manx was one of Norton's most notorious models. This racy single captured numerous grand prix's and Isle of Man TT's. This bike also introduced the world to Norton's famous "featherbed" frame, a popular chassis for years to come.

Rudge Ulster 1935-

Velocette K 1925-1948
Velocette Venom 1955-1970
One of the last great English thumpers was also one of the fastest. Velocette was known for making some of the finest single cylinder bikes around and the Venom was the pinnicle of their work.

Gilera Saturno

BSA Gold Star 1938-1963
The Gold Star was one of the greatest singles of all time. BSA had always had a reputation for their one cylinder models but the Gold Star was arguably the best. These bike could be customized in any number of ways. They were used as scramblers, road racers, and street hot rods.

Moto Guzzi Falcone 1950-1967? 1971-1976

Yamaha SR500 1978-1999?
Yamaha introduced the SR500 back in 1978. Using the 500cc single from the XT500 dirtbike. The SR became all things to all people and was especially popular in global markets. The SR lasted for over two decades.

Yamaha SRX600 1985-1997
In an effort to create a next generation SR, Yamaha took the XT600 engine and put it into an updated street chassis. The SRX found a following, but it didn't catch on like the SR500.


Trivia: the biggest production single cylinder motorcycle (that I'm aware of) is the Suzuki DR800

The new blood in Super Bikes

Since the early seventies if you wanted a performance motorcycle in the United States you had your choice of four Japanese makes. If you had deep pockets and wanted to be different perhaps you could have some exotic Italian machinery in you garage. After decades of sport bike market being heavily dominated by the big four we are starting to see some new life. An explosion of new bikes has given this segment more diversity than ever. Motorcycle manufacturers have developed a hunger for the sport bike market. Could it be younger demographic, the need to diversify their offerings, or simply because they want to build the most impressive motorcycles imaginable? Whatever the reason I for one welcome this fresh blood into the world of sport bikes.

First we have the Aprilia RSV4. Aprilia is no stranger to the sport bike market. Their RSV1000 is a great bike, but has been around since 1998. 1998 is ancient history in the fast paced world of sports bikes. Thankfully Aprilia has just finished their new V4 powered RSV4. There hasn't been a V4 repli-racer since Honda's RC45 in the late nineties. It's too early to tell how will this bike will do on the track, and in showrooms, but so far it looks like Aprilia will have a bright future with their new RSV4.

When you think of BMW motorcycles you probably don't think about sport bikes. That's probably because they haven't really made any, ever. Until now that is. BMW has their sights set on a true WSB contender with the new S1000RR. And for the street riders will soon have the option for the S1000R, and all new sport bike from the Bravarian company. With an inline four the S1000R offers a tradition design (well not very traditional for BMW). It seems asthough BMW had to make this bike different in some way, and chose to give the bike asemetrical headlights.

KTM has been growing into road going markets nicely. Now the 1190 RC8 has been on the market for a year now, but KTM has upped the ante with the universal "R" model. The new RC8 R makes KTM's super bike even convincing.

New Standards part V

In the mid nineties there was a number of half-faired V-twin sport bikes that filled American showrooms. In the early years of World SuperBike racing Ducati forged a road racing empire with their famous 90 degree V twins. As Ducati's popularity grew the Japanese took notice. Not that any of the Japanese makers were have trouble selling their inline four sportbikes, they were very popular, but they may have wanted to hedge their bets with V-twins of their own.

Suzuki attacked the market with the TL1000S. In 1997 the liquid cooled 90 degree V-twin offered an alternative to their ever popular GSX-R750. The TL gained a following however due to a number of suspension problems the Suzuki found a reputation for being a deadly motorcycle and sales dropped. The TL also came in a repli-racer style with the TL1000R, which lasted one year after the TL1000S. The TL's V-twin lived on in Suzuki's SV1000, however this model never seemed to be very popular.

The same year Suzuki came out with the TL Honda introduced their own V-twin, the VTR1000F otherwise known in the US as the SuperHawk. Like the Ducati and Suzuki the VTR featured a 90 degree twin. A unique feature of the VTR was the split side mounted radiators. The VTR never seemed to catch on in the US. In 2000 Honda was the first and only Japanese competitor to seriously take on Ducati with their own WSB V-tiwn, the VTR1000R, which shared little with the VTR1000F.

While Honda and Suzuki had offered liquid cooled 90 degree V-twins, they never really lived up to Ducati's racey 916. Instead the TL and VTR found themselves competing with Ducati's less sport Super Sport model. The Super Sport model featured an air cooled 900cc twin that traces its roots the mid eighties. This bike was far from offering the Superbike performance of the 916, but price wise and style wise it competed with the TL and VTR nicely.

New standards part IV timelines

When trying to categorize these motorcycles it helps to sort out the various terminology associated with them, if only for my sake.

Standard motorcycles: Feature an upright, "sit up and beg" riding position. High mounted handle bars and foot pegs that are directly below the rider's butt create this position. Standards usually don't have much if any wind protection or luggage capacity. Example - Suzuki Bandit

Streetfighters: The term streetfighter came from the 1980's and 1990's shortly after the introduction to plastic wrapped repli-racer sportbike riders. A rider would crash, and rather than replacing the platic fairing, the owner would customize the bike giving it a tough new look. Example - Aprilia Tuono

Hooligan bikes: Hooligan bikes might as well be interchangeable with streetfighters. A hooligan bike is any motorcycle that can easily perform stunts such as wheelies and stoppies. Example - Triumph Speed Triple

Cafe racers: Back in the 1950's and 1960's pretty much every motorcycle would be considered a standard. In Britain it was popular for motorcyclists to modify their bikes (clip-on handlebars, high mounted footpegs, etc) and race their machines from one cafe to the next. Example - Triumph Thruxton

Naked bikes: A naked bike is any motorcycle without a wind protection of a fairing. Example - Ducati Monster

As you can see some bikes fit in one or more categories, they are not mutually exclusive and they do not necessarily mean the same thing. For example a streetfighter is always naked, but not all naked bikes are streetfighters. The lines and identification for all these bikes is often very blurry, so don't take anything to seriously.

First lets get the "old" standards out of the way.
Then there's the "new" standards that I've been going on about.
Finally the smaller versions of the new standards.