The Strange History of Modern Classic Motorcycles

Today we're going back and looking at the most important retro and modern classic motorcycles of the past 40 years, and how this movement came to be.

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-Disclaimer-
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

[mariog]

You missed the Moto Guzzi V7. Its been in almost continuous production since the 70’s in one form or another and is still air cooled - it’s an authentic “old school” bike rather than a modern copy. The Bonneville is a modern bike with retro features, the Moto Guzzi is a retro bike with modern features.

[WOLFIE-B-UK]

Growing in the 60's in the North East of England and riding, or more often than not pushing, old British singles and twins, give me a modern retro any day. Reliability is priceless!

[fearsomename]

I'm a victim of my own device. I can't go back because I never left. I bought my '67 Bonneville back in '78 for $400.00 had two smaller machines before that. Been riding for 48 years. You can't bend an oak. I really don't want a new bike, but, hey, that's just me.

[markpfeifer]

The thing with motorcycles is that is not just about pure performance. Its about celebrating the mechanical form. Its about the glory of sound, chrome, and gears. Its about SEEING the internal workings of the machine before your eyes. Thats why I love retro bikes.

[zesty]

Modern classics are just awesome. I love my street twin but I also want to get a Royal Enfield lol

[dennismurray]

I rode an old Bonneville from California to South Carolina in 1980, other than the seat feeling smaller every 100 miles, I enjoyed my coast to coast run. You have a great channel, keep up the good work.

[noahwail]

You realy missed out on the Yamaha XS 650. It was one of the very first retros, and still very sourght after. Often retrofitted with a 270 crank, and bored up to 930 cc.

[waspnest]

A very enjoyable, well researched and presented video, as are all your vids. I'm surprised you never mention my beloved Honda CB1100RS, or even the basic CB1100 retros, a homage to the original CB750.

[RossRebbeck]

After losing my right arm in an rtc in the mid 90s I put a Yamaha XS650S alongside a lightweight Harley sidecar (remember the Aermacchi Sprint?) with a heel throttle on the right and a back brake on the left side. Thanks, John T. of Newton Abbot, Devon, England
It went reasonably well, like 80mph downhill with a following wind, but the bores were worn and I never got around to fixing it. To get around the problem of white vans pushing me along in traffic (and they always came close enough to see the filling in my sandwiches) I bought a Beemer. A K100RS to give it its 4 valves/cylinder name, along with a custom frame with cup and ball fittings, and a brand-new, all-metal sidecar from a dealer in Russian motorycles. That was a tight setup and my own retro classic. 😄 Good for a ton "on the track" and elsewhere, she was my pride and joy!

[cavscout]

Rode a ‘72 Honda SL350 from San Antonio, Tx to L.A., Ca in 1978 and as I was just a kid it was nothing but Fun. Riding and sleeping out, living off very small money was nothing out of the ordinary back then. Oh to be young again!

[jdabel]

And don't forget the Kawasaki Zephyrs of the 90s. The 550, 750, 1100. Great bikes with a nice 70s vibe.

[JKaymitBindestrich]

Honda GB500 is such a beautiful bike. I love it!

[owenbruce]

So many great machines, Laverda had a long line of classics, SF750, 3CL 1000, JOTA, MIRAGE and more

[noze_yt]

I think the reason people like modern classics is because they're usually naked. We like to see things naked.

[mattcocky]

Another great video, little brother. My current main squeeze is a 73 CB350. I'll admit I was gonna jump on the cafe racer bandwagon but I found an all original bike with 3500 miles on it for 2500 bucks! I just had to run a can of sea foam through it and ride. Oh and put new tires on it. It has been an amazing reliable bike. People don't realize how cheap they can get the real deal. I also found an all original 80 model CB650 with 2500 miles for 1800 bucks. I totally agree with you. It is so much better to just get the real thing instead of financing a replica.

[SlimTony]

While I do like actual retros more than modern retros, I would much rather ride a modern retro. ABS, EFI and big disk brakes are a wonderful thing.

[mryourfather]

Great video again. When you were talking about British Singles, you mentioned the BSA Goldstar and gave a picture of the BSA Rocket Goldstar, which is a twin! Either way great video as always!

[Soulburn]

Being 70 I've owned many bikes in my life Two being Royal Enfield's One of the old 1956 vintage and a 2017 both demanding great maintenance but my " classic " W800 is proving to be a great machine pulling my sidecar effortlessly for the last 7, 000 miles

[hodaka]

The 1978 Yamaha SR 400/500 is the original Retro and also the original Motard
The later SR 400 is like the ABBA revival revival band, they look virtually identical to the original impersonators

[mkshffr]

Very interesting history.

When you get down to it a lot of folks just are not interested in racing, especially on the street. They just want a practical, maintainable motorcycle that looks like a motorcycle instead of an escapee from a sci-fi or transformers movie.

To my way of thinking the SR400, or even a similar with slightly less displacement, is about perfect for a street bike. Yamaha has since given up on that market but Royal Enfield seems to be making a very credible stab with the Classic 350. Pretty much a bullseye IMO. A little lighter weight might be good but I am picking at nits at that point.