Kawasaki H2: Maligned triple is a true classic
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 99 – first published in 2022. Story: Peter Laverty • Photos: OBA archives. Many regarded the 750cc H2 as merely an abrogation of the hair-raising H1 500, but […]
Castrol Six Hour Race
Yamaha XS750: Timid triple
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 86 – first published in 2020. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Michael Andrews, OBA archives. Yamaha itself could hardly imagine the success enjoyed by the three-cylinder 850cc engine […]
Honda VF750FD: Time for a change
By the late ‘seventies, Honda’s venerable across-the-frame four was looking a bit tired, at least in marketing terms. Inside the world’s biggest producer of motorcycles, it was time for a change. A V change. Leaving […]
Honda CB500: Petite four
Story and photos: Jim Scaysbrook Straddle a Honda CB750 today and it seems like a nice compact package, certainly not overly large by current standards. Yet when it was released in 1969, the media applied […]
Honda Gold Wing: A wing and a prayer
Story and photos Jim Scaysbrook The longest running motorcycle ever to come out of Japan made its public bow in 1974, and over 40 years later is still going strong, at least in name. Ever […]
Suzuki GSX1100: Four-valve flyer
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Sue Scaysbrook “The fastest standard motorcycle in the world”. That’s not a bad opener in any sales pitch, and it came at a time when motorcycling was all about speed, power […]
Yamaha FZ750: Five valve wonder
Story and photos: Jim Scaysbrook • Historical photos: John Ford The Yamaha FZ750 broke new ground when it was released in 1985, and remains one of the most innovative designs of an era full of […]
Honda CB900F: Twin cam classic
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: John Fretten, Jim Scaysbrook, Rob Lewis From virtually owning the big bike market from 1969 to 1972, Honda steadily divested itself of the crown as the ‘seventies rolled by. Initially under […]
1972 Ducati 750 GT: Another beauty from Bologna
It seems everyone was building 750s in the early ‘seventies, but few were as pretty as this one. Story and photos: Jim Scaysbrook • Original photos: Michael Andrews and Jeff Nield. By the time Fabio Taglioni’s […]
Peggy Hyde: Rebel with a cause
Unfazed by reputations, officialdom, or rules, Peggy Hyde showed that gender is no limiting factor in motorcycle racing. Talk to Peggy Hyde today and it is immediately evident that little has changed in her approach […]
