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The term "Universal Japanese Motorcycle", or UJM, was coined in the mid-1970s by Cycle Magazine to describe a proliferation of similar Japanese standard motorcycles that became commonplace following Honda's 1969 introduction of its successful CB750. The CB750 became a rough template for subsequent designs from all three of the other major ...
The 1980 Kawasaki Z1000H was the first mass-produced fuel-injected motorcycle in the world and also Kawasaki's first fuel injected motorcycle. It was based on the KZ1000A3/A4 Mk.II frame and body work, with a unique black/gold/white colour scheme and gold mag wheels . [4] There were only 1000 examples of the Z1000H made for the global market.
Rear swing arm stored in plastic bushings (needle roller bearings from the end of 1980) Ground clearance 150 mm (5.9 in) Foot peg height 355 mm (14.0 in) Hydraulically damped telescopic fork at the front (35 mm (1.4 in)) with 160 mm (6.3 in) travel; 2 hydraulically damped spring struts at the rear, springs adjustable in 5 positions
The Yamaha XS Eleven motorcycle, also called XS 1100 and XS 1.1, is a Japanese standard produced from late 1977 (MY1978) to 1983, powered by an air-cooled 1,101 cc (67.2 cu in) 4-stroke, DOHC inline four-cylinder engine mounted transversely in a duplex cradle frame with swingarm rear suspension, shaft drive, and telescopic forks.
The 50 per cent tariff was the reason behind the glut of de-stroked 650 cc and 700 cc Japanese motorcycles sold in the US in the mid-1980s - unique to the U.S. - and is also the reason the GSX-R debuted in the U.S. a full year later than the rest of the world. It was available as the naked GS 700E and as the GS 700ES with bikini fairing.
That year, Harley-Davidson, fearful of the inroads in the US market made by the Virago and other new Japanese cruiser-style motorcycles, pushed for a tariff on imported bikes over 700 cc. [1] [2] Yamaha replaced the 750 cc engine with a 699 cc version to avoid the tariff, while the 920 cc engine grew to 981 cc (XV1000), and later 1063 cc (XV1100).
Then branched out to different variations in the mid-1970s with the V50p (to replace the V50) and V75 and then in the late 1970s added the V80. In early 1980, Yamaha discontinued the V70, V75, V90 and the original V80 models and introduced two new models, the V50M and the V80M. Thus reducing the number of models to two.
The first GSX-R of 1984 was a breakthrough model and the closest that any Japanese manufacturer had yet come to building a "race bike with lights". Throughout the 1970s the big four Japanese manufacturers had built bikes with a similar architecture: steel double loop frames, air-cooled transverse fours with either SOHC or DOHC configurations.