A matter of perspective - time and machine

[desertrefugee]

I was messing with my old GL1000 this weekend and happened to look over at the Valkyrie and I think I had a religious experience.   Maybe it was the IPA.  Anyway, the perspective made me want to ponder it a bit.

The Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have done us all a huge favor.   Technological evolution, I think, is more apparent in motorcycle engineering than just about anywhere - and the Japanese have shown us the way.    

Harley Davidson (and the many v-twin makers of old - American and Italian) started out with a good idea.  The early vertical twins (think all the Brits) joined in and those technologies rolled along for 50 years.  Pretty much unchanged.  I suppose we can't exclude the BMW design - which also is very old and saw very little in the way of real evolution for a half century itself.

Japan was silent to the world of motorcycles.    Until after WWII.   Honda, in the span of a few decades, quickly progressed from tiny singles and then more and more sophisticated twins to the world class inline fours and ... horizonal fours.    From the GL1000 to the GL1500 - and 1800.

I mean, look what they've done with the inline four.  The CB750 set the world on its ear.  It and its descendants (and competitors) have seen more refinement since 1969 than (in my opinion) the V-Twin has seen in a hundred years.   Yamaha's R1 in 2009 introduced "cross plane" technology or "big bang" firing order to the I4.  If you've never heard one, you're missing out.  Who knew a straight four could  sound like that??

Anyway, this was my epiphany.  My IPA moment. For a split second, I felt the timeline of that evolution in my veins.  I have been lucky to have "come of age" during motorcycles golden years.  (70's until now).   I've enjoyed a bunch of them.  But, dagnabit, there's not enough time (or money) to enjoy them all.

I'll give it a shot.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I love my Valkyrie too  (and I didn't even drink yet) 

[Hook#3287]

Great looking naked wing

Where did you get the seat and fairing?

I need both.

[John Schmidt]

Great looking naked wing

Where did you get the seat and fairing?

I need both.

Yeah, me too. Actually thinking of a springer seat....maybe. Good looking old four, wish mine were done. 

[LTD]

Most of us on here probably 90 percent of us would never had rode a motorcycle if it weren't for the Japanese.  I remember the good old days Triumphs, Nortons, and Bsa all sucked, unreliable parts would fly off the bikes, the lucas electrics would do dark anytime anyplace. Vibration that would tingle your whole body.  I had a 70s Harley electra glide that had massive vibration these newer Harley riders don't have a clue how the Harleys have progressed they make a pretty good bike these days. The good old days in motorcycling well they blew what can I say.  But your right, right now is the golden age of motorcycling there are so many great bikes around you really cant go wrong with just about any of them. And oh by the way the new Triumphs pretty dang good bikes I would have one.

[desertrefugee]

Great looking naked wing

Where did you get the seat and fairing?

I need both.

Thanks for the compliments, guys.  That old wing gets more attention than any bike I ever had, I think!   (Go figure.)  I ride the thing more than the Valkyrie around town.  If I'm headed too far, well...the Valk gets the nod.

Anyway, the seat is called the "Darkwing".  Very little persuasion was required to  integrate it to the bike.  I got it from the Florida guy who developed it:

http://www.hotwingglass.com/seats/dark-wing.shtml

The fairing is a cheap Viper made by Emgo.  They're available all over the place.