Back in 1985, after riding a scooter for a few years, I bought my first motorcycle, a Honda Shadow. But a friend who had several years of riding experience bought another new Honda that year, one that seemed pretty daring to me as a novice, a 750 Nighthawk. A few months later on a ride with this friend we switched bikes. The Nighthawk seemed pretty amazing to me, and I was told it was the true "Universal Japanese Motorcycle" that could do most anything. I'll admit that at the time I was really impressed, if a bit intimidated compared to my smallish cruiser. Had I had the money to do so I would have traded in my Shadow for a Nighthawk, but that wasn't my situation. Over the years I have thought about that bike and often thought that if Honda ever made a new version, with modern updates like fuel injection, disc brakes, etc, it would be about the perfect all around bike to own. I haven't seen one on the street in years, and I wonder how much my fond memory is just nostalgia, or was it really as great a motorcycle as I think it was?
Just nostalgia, or were those UJM really as good as I remember them?
vito
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Everything changes , always . Hopefully for the better .
I can say for a fact that my '82 CB750C handled way better than my '72 Kaw 500 H1B .
You'd have had your fill of squiggles on my Kaw 500 . LOL
I would say by the early 1980's (look at the three examples posted up in this thread). All were sharp handling bikes (especially the Nighthawk S) especially given that they were shaft driven - one had to learn how to apply power and when not to apply too much in the curves. Brakes were already fairly powerful twin discs on the front - although they were still using drums in the rear.
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Oh , you poor thing . LOL
Drum in the rear isn't too bad as it helps keep the rear from locking up in the curve or turn . And , the drums can be 'feathered' better than disc in conjunction with the throttle . That , at least in my experience .
I have drum on the rear of all 3 of my bikes . I can lock the wheel on my Simplex at almost any speed . The other two bikes I have set a lot less aggressive .
"Sheldon" 2018 Kawasaki NINJA 650 ABS KRT, "LB" 2023 Kawasaki NINJA 400
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Why are you using the rear brake (let alone locking it up) in turns and curves?
No ABS maybe????
Skidding is an important part of steering for we adept. (Pre-ABS and Traction Control.)
Here we go!
89 bikes since 1961 so I have some opinions but lots of the UJM, Pre-Flood bikes were made sweeter by putting on our Rose colored glasses as we glance back in nostalgia.😁
Sam🤠
Skidding is an important part of steering for we adept.
(Pre-ABS and Traction Control.)Here we go!
89 bikes since 1961 so I have some opinions but lots of the UJM, Pre-Flood bikes were made sweeter by putting on our Rose colored glasses as we glance back in nostalgia.😁
Sam🤠
Yep, Kawasaki triples were known far and wide for poor handling (the exception being the 350/400 S1 triples). The Kawasaki 650 traverse 4 was considered by many to be one of the 1st truly good handling handling larger displacement machines from Kawasaki.
If you're in a hurry to get around the corner, rear brake until you're almost to the apex is pretty much SOP..... then it's power on.Why are you using the rear brake (let alone locking it up) in turns and curves?
On the subject of handling, my old track bike, an RD 350, was one of the best "back in the day"..... but even then, it required some suspension work.
Yes they were. Had a '71 Yam R5 350 in the early-mid '70s and then stepped up just bit to a '76 RD 400 in late '76. Switched to Dunlop K81 tires (Brit front, US rear), fork oil upgrade, and Koni adjustable dampening rear shocks (which were great once I got the dampening right). Added a great looking Italian 'cafe racer' seat that dropped the height down to ~ 29" IIRC (made a huge improvement in handling btw). Also stuffed 2 car coils up under the tank (a common performance mod in the day). Never got around to expansion chambers or carb/head mods tho. That machine was near perfect for it's displacement imo.
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Stunt riderWhy are you using the rear brake (let alone locking it up) in turns and curves?
probably lofts the front wheel coming out of the corner too.... all of them were great back in the day for what was available and then along came brand new bikes and rendered them obsolete.
I had a brand new Silver 1978 Yamaha RD400 and kept it stock unlike most of it's predecessors. I rode it 72 miles round trip to work on Southern California Freeways and it was ideal, though a little Thirsty and the front end was light through the first 2 gears.
Sam🤠
Sam🤠
"Sheldon" 2018 Kawasaki NINJA 650 ABS KRT, "LB" 2023 Kawasaki NINJA 400
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After the braking has been done, even a bit of late braking, but not too late, directional stability, drift, and or slideways, are best achieved with the throttle.
Too much brake, too late, will wash out the front or back, depending which one you are leaning on.
The bikes of the eighties, pretty much did not have the suspension or handling ability, to be very precise.
On my two older bikes, I work through the squiggle first. On bumpy sections they both corner a lot slower, than a more modern better handling bike.
The squiggle, the rear wheel take up, the flexible forks, are all part of the appeal. UK
Too much brake, too late, will wash out the front or back, depending which one you are leaning on.
The bikes of the eighties, pretty much did not have the suspension or handling ability, to be very precise.
On my two older bikes, I work through the squiggle first. On bumpy sections they both corner a lot slower, than a more modern better handling bike.
The squiggle, the rear wheel take up, the flexible forks, are all part of the appeal. UK
Not sure if it's still done that way, given the advances in suspension and tires, but in the late 70s/early 80s when I raced, washing out the front was pretty easy to do, so you held the rear brake longer than the front. That way, you were still decelerating, which helped load the front... that way, all its traction went into steering rather than having to steer as well as brake. It also felt as though the bike was more stable approaching the apex. Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez,as well as the other MotoGP riders don't really discuss the way they ride these days.... don't want your rivals to learn any secrets. I still wonder why some of them hang a leg out as they begin braking and others don't.
Edited to add - watch this at about the 1:30 mark (don't have to watch the whole thing.... unless you want to)
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Lori, it was a survival skill known by those that did. Machines were different back then and you learned to do what it took to survive. Some of us just went down to to the DMV and said we want a motorcycle license and they just stamped an M on our drivers license. That’s how different things were at one time. Those of us that survived is why you have a good job today. We shared what it took to survive for FREE.
I still would like drum brakes in the rear because that’s what I learned to ride with. Well, not now that I got so old I need a tricycle again.
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