Fastest Bike by Year?

I've been riding bikes, on and off (no pun intended), since the
Johnson adminstration (Lyndon, not Andrew). It seems like nearly
every year there's some really hot new bike that sets a new record as
the fastest production bike ever made, like manufacturers compete with
each other to build a bike that's the hottest you can buy. Examples
are the Kawasaki 500 two-stroke 3-cyl. back in the late 60s, the BMW
R90S, Honda Magna 1100, and today I guess it's the Hayabusa.

I just wonder if anywhere there's a website that tracks these
superbikes by year, perhaps even with quarter-mile stats. Anyone
know?

 

The Norton Commando deposed the Mach III in '70 or '71 with an
advertised 1/4 mile time of 12.4 secs, but Kawasaki came back with the
vile handling Mach IV and twins were never a contender again.
Eventually, even Kawi's triple triggers fell to the inevitable, the
Z1, and it was inline fours from then on. I don't recall Beemer
boxers or Honda's V4's ever being fastest gun in the West. Are you
maybe talking top speed?

nb

 

No I seem to remember the Magna 1100 was hyped as the fastest in the
1/4 mile when it came out back in the early '80s (and also a 'stealth
dragster' since it could easily be confused with the Magna 750).
Maybe it really was hype. And some years earlier (maybe before the
Kaw triples) it was the R90S. The R90S is still a very desireable
bike. Good ones go for a lot more than your run-of-the-mill airhead.

I read about the Vincent Black Shadow too, back around the early 50s,
advertised as 'the fastest motorcycle in the world'. 57 horsepower!
Woo hoo!

ISTR reading somewhere that the Triumph Bonneville and maybe even the
Harley Sportster have places in this progression, back in the days
before the Honda 750-4 changed everything forever.

But I could be wrong about any of these; they could be misheard
history or simply someone's opinions or wishful thinking. That's why
I really wanted to see a canonical list, just so I can spout off with
authority in the parking lot at Alices.

 

No, you're way off base. The R90S didn't hit the scene till '76 and
boxers have *NEVER* been noted for acceleration, except for passing
speed roll-ons. I sure don't remember the Magna 1100 being any kind
of a missile. You must remember Honda, even to this day, does not
tune for max performance. They always go for a balance of very good
performance and reliability. This always leaves a *LOT* of potential
to be wrung out by the uber-tweakers.

I can't give a whole list, but I was a devout drag racing fan back in
the day. I've seen a Commando do 12.4 (after many tries) at the
track. All the two strokes of the day (late 60's) were awesome. My
brother had a 350 Avenger that would usually pull any stock Limey twin
('cept the Commando), Sporty, or Z28. After he added cut rotary
valves, it was no contest. Another sleeper was the stripped down Suzy
Titan 500 twin, a veritable slug till one pulled all the sheet metal
and added expansion chambers and changed the gearing. Then, look out!

The Mach IV's were flat out scary, in more ways than one. I was a
wrench at the time and I rode more than a few. My roomie had one and
I rode it to work occasionally in exchange for free wrench time. The
prob w/ IV's was the frame. It was like riding a damn rubber band. I
consider myself lucky to have survived a couple small S turns at speed
without being tossed. The other problem was what I called the Trigger
Syndrome. I must have top-ended a dozen Mach whatever's with less
than 5K miles on them. This was because none of the owners could
resist pulling the trigger before fully breaking in the engine. But,
like I said, when the Z1 hit the scene, the slate was wiped clean and
a new era began.

nb

 

Hmmm. Another myth bites the dust. Now that you mention it, it wasn't
in the 60s. I couldn't have been thinking of the R69S, could I? No,
probably not.

See? It's good you corrected me. I would have made a fool of myself.
(I mean an even bigger fool).

I'm just remembering what I heard people say at the time. That's why
I wanted a reliable canonical document.

I loved the sound of the Titan 500. I know the Commando was a really
hot bike in its day. I'm guessing none of the two-strokes were very
reliable or long-lived.

I rode a Mach III once, just up and down the block. I had trouble
keeping the front wheel on the ground. Also it seemed like the power
band was really steep so a big rush of power would come on all at once
and suddenly you'd be riding uphill on a level street. It scared me
too, but I'd only been riding bikes then for a year or two.

LOL! That's what that bike was for!

I remember those days, it seemed like all the fastest bikes were
Kawasakis for a while there.

 

I was just in high school when the very first Japanese bikes hit our
shores. How we perceive these brands today is radically different
from the early days.

Back then, Honda's were da bomb. The Honda 305 Superhawk and 250
Scrambler *RULED*. Early Yamaha's were infinitely reliable and
practical, if unexciting, the total antithesis of what they were to
eventually become. The first Suzi's were pure crap! ...the bike most
likely to fall apart before you reached the end of the block. This,
again, a total reversal of the reliable ...and fast... machinery they
eventually evolved into. Kawi's didn't even make a real appearance
till the late 60's, the first serious offering being an almost exact
copy of a clunky old BSA A10. But, the early 250 and 350 two-stroke
twins were a whole new ball game, smokin' fast in a way no one had
ever experienced, a preview of things to come.

By then, Yamaha and Suzy were excellent at keeping up, but Kawasaki
continued to set the pace for bike riders everywhere. But, it was
Honda and Yamaha in the early 70's that finally gave notice to the
motocycling world that the Japanese were the new world order. Dick
"the Mann" rode a Honda 750 to victory at Daytona in 1970 and in 1972
Don Emde rode a Yammy *350* two-stroke for the big win. HELLO!!
....300 and 50 cee cee's against a field of 750's!!. Whoa!! Crazy
times back then.

nb ...the only thing better than great memories is great mammaries!