The Club For Classic Japanese Motorcycles

Motorcycles We Loved in the 1970s Paperback – 9 Jun. 2022

by Phil West (Author)

ASIN/ISBN10: 0750996129

The 1970s was a rich, exciting and, for today’s fifty and sixty-somethings, a formative and nostalgia-rich period of motorcycling in Britain. In bikes it was an era that saw a passing of the baton from British to Japanese manufacturers. Triumph’s Bonneville and Trident plus Norton’s Commando powered into the decade but were quickly overtaken by Honda’s CB750 and Kawasaki’s Z1. Before long Suzuki’s GT750, Yamaha’s XS750, ‘Fizzys’, stroker 250s and more became the bikes of our bedroom walls. In bikesport, cheeky cockney Barry Sheene overtook the old guard of Hailwood and Read, and his Oxford bags and feather cut rivalled those of David Essex. All of this and more is remembered and celebrated in Phil West’s fascinating book.

Motorcycles We Loved in the 1980s Paperback – 29 Oct. 2021

by Phil West (Author)

ASIN/ISBN10: 0750996110

With stunning bikes, technical advancements and pivotal milestones, the 1980s was a vibrant period for motorcycling in Britain. Accelerating sales saw the decade begin with the old, twin-shock Universal Japanese Motorcycles and end with race replicas, fully-faired tourers and screaming strokers. Bike sport grew and had a bigger influence on what was being ridden on the road. Learners became restricted to 125s, and the Paris–Dakar Rally spawned a new class of road-going replicas such as the Africa Twin, the precursors of today’s popular adventure bikes. And on the street, hooligan ‘LC Johnnys’ evolved into Simpson Bandit-wearing ‘streetfighters’ and day-glo-bedecked road racers on GSX-Rs.

Having ridden and written about virtually every new bike since the 1970s, Phil West looks back at fifty motorcycles that were all hugely loved and lusted over during the decade that inspired a generation of bikers.