They Called Them Superbikes...

Check out that anti-dive set up Udo used on that bike! :eek1

That lack of wobble is the one really major benefit of having gotten the Zephyr rather than modifying an old bike. It's solid to start, just needing fork springs/fluid and shock rework/replacement. Then it's just old school fun on the street.

Ahhhh Westwood! Spent too much time there in my post, post-secondary edumication days! I still have my '84 GPz 750 out in the garage, slumbering under a cover waiting to be ridden again. It went around that track back in the late '80s very nicley as I recall!

I still have the original pages carefully cutout from the magazine sitting in a file case.

OK - They;re not "Superbikes" but at the time, they were the closest we could get! I've also had the old GPz as well as a KZ550...those bikes were everywhere when I was a teenager.

Here was my '82 GPZ.




In the early 90's I bought a 550 Zephy for the nostalgia, and made a small project out of it...It turned-out well after binning the round headlight for square one, adding a fairing, and getting rid of all the chrome bits, rear fender and stuff. Kerker header, K&N Filter & jetting helped, and radial tires make a difference in the handling...obligatory Lawson stripes for the lengend!...



Fun fun!

We now return to the original subject matter......

This was from my attempt at Superbike racing back in 1981



1981 CB750F bored/ stroked to 1025cc the max limit then. Pre some of
the factory goodies. (dry sump & close ratio trans)


19" Morris wheel, Brembo brakes, 13" brake rotors (full floating)
Goodyear slicks. I figured if I wasn't fast enough, least I could brake later!!


This was with the dry sump kit installed. You had to fabricate your
own oil tank and no plans provided. This is where I learned about
fluid dynamics!! It held 8qts. We joked it was a total loss system,
just like my ignition!! 34mm Kehin carbs. Oil cooler not on the bike
in this shot due to crack in the inlet fitting.


Bassini pipe, 18" Morris wheel, notice the rear suspension upper mounts
moved forward. the rear frame was cut and raised up about 4" higher
than stock. Pic from just before I sold it. Out of ALL the bikes I've
owned, this is the only one I wish I still had.


Inside the cases, Crower rods, pistons from RC engineering, Crane cams,
Manley valves, springs and shim under bucket. Paying for most of this
out of my pocket the dry clutch kit was just a little to pricey for me.

Yeah - Sorry about the minir hijack...

To make amends...this is still my fave of 'em all




Still I'm pretty sure my Zephyr could kick your CBF's butt....






.

This guy has an awesome collection of old superbikes, my favorite is this ex-Shwantz GS700ES, probably because I had one as my second bike. I love the look of these bikes, one of the last old school tube framed superbikes before the GSXR's and such took over.

http://vintagesuperbike.com/photos/sbIOwn.html

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=244174

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328831&highlight=superbike

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7yExch1P5mbqG6XE01ZFIg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_eegLO9BByLo/SSND1uY6HLI/AAAAAAAADo0/qXsS1rKUe4E/s800/twoo.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/funhouse750/MotorcyclesII?feat=embedwebsite">Motorcycles II</a></td></tr></table>

I owned/restored a couple of these old bikes and have a lot of photos in my picasa site below........details about McLaughlin's bike in the links above.....Bruce

I love this thread!! Keep 'em coming.........

Here's another bike I had the opportunity to race. It was heavy and
fast. And you better be pointing straight when you turned up the wick!!
1977 Honda CB750F, displacing about 1000cc. Thats a magneto next
to my right knee.



Other riders that raced it in the day where John Fuchs, Rich Chambers
& Dan Chivington

I rode that bike at Willow Springs in 1986 when I was at Cycle Guide. What a hoot. It sounded like WWII on wheels. I swooped then-editor Jim Miller in one corner and he said later the blast from the megaphone nearly blew him off the track.

But the thing I remember most about the bike was Marc Cook and I pushing it about 50 miles up and down the alley behind the magazine trying to get it started the day before the track test. We eventually discovered--entirely by accident--that whoever wired the toggle kill switch had wired it backwards, so "on" was "off." Good times...

I restored and saved a couple but never had the skill/nerve to put them on the track -- the thought of a second restoration also keeps one on the safe side of the pit wall.....Bruce

Those old airhead racers inspired a load of imitations. When I worked for a shop we built a few ourselves. Some were raced. The one I built just traveled, commuted, did trackdays and for a while there was my mount for working bicycle races.
I remember test riding the oilhead 1100S, I came away thinking it would be good if it were lighter and had better brakes.

Work clothes:


Playtime:


I miss that bike.

My 950 NCR Ducati superbike from '85-'86 era

Easy able to run with the fours of the time and was super fast until it goes bang, which was often, had a habit of eating valves & pistons

Some nice stuff in here.

C'mon guys, this is a SUPERBIKE RACING THREAD.
Get your streetbikes out of here. There are threads for those too.

Show us some more Fred.

Instead of the rumored new VFR, which promises to out-needless-tech any motorcycle currently made by BMW.

Love them funky mirror lenses.