Ayup everyone.
First I want to give a big shout out not only to my loyal subscribers who have stuck with me through thick and thin, but to all riders and pillions everywhere, whatever you ride. Together we make the world a more exciting place.
Whatever our differences, we are all universally bikers after all.
I thank everyone for all the support you have given me too, and I do feel truly blessed with the fantastic community of subscribers who have helped build the channel into what it is.
Today I am going to look at 5 of the many amazing motorcycles that get forgotten too easily. Some were maybe overshadowed by their bigger brothers while others were unappreciated or just ahead of their time.
They all offered something special, and are all now in that grey area between being worthless old junk and highly collectible. Most importantly they were all truly great motorcycles in their own way.
Going back to the original format I will start from the more obvious choices and work towards the one I think you might be more surprised by.
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Anyway, lets get on with it.
BMW F650GS Dakar
First today we have the trusty old BMW F650GS Dakar. It was a mainstay of the BMW range from 2000 to 2007. The Rotax 650cc single was a great old engine and the Dakar styling and off road ergonomics made it a great bike for anything. It was fun in the twisties, great for green lanes, gave a commanding riding position in the city and even was even at home on highway rides.
It replaced the earlier Funduro as the entry model into the BMW range and it was a cheap bike when first made, especially for BMW.
No it didn’t have the power and kudos of its bigger brothers, but it was a great bike. It was a lot easier to pick up when it inevitably tipped over in the mud too.
Compared to the likes of the KLR650 and DR650 it was positively refined, but it did still retain that big single character.
This was much more of a mile munching thumper than the others and although not fast, it would handle highways with ease, but it was back roads that were its home turf.
It began to lure newly training riders into the BMW brand, but it lured a fair few of the old faithful GS owners away from their bigger bikes too. It made more gnarly lanes more passable for the average rider.
They weren’t an enduro bike, but they were far easier to lug through the mud than any of the bigger GS’s.
The single cylinder GS is one of those bikes that although basic, does what it does very well. As such, it has built up quite a loyal fan base worldwide.
It might not set your world on fire, but it will do everything you ask of it, and makes for a great hack for winter or summer.
It is easily be serviced at home too, saving you a big lump of cash on bills.
It may be old and a bit dated but so am I, and just like me it is happy to just plod along all day and get on with its task at hand.
Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat
Now everyone thinks of the R6 when they think of fast Yamaha 600’s, but in between the FZR600 and the R6 came the fantastic Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat.
The thundercat was built before the R6 and despite what you may see and hear was certainly not just a detuned version of the R6, it came first remember. It was was the st FZR600 Genesis hadepping stone between the FZR600 and the R6.
The FZR was a stunning bike, but it was a very focussed sports bike. Honda had had incredible success with the CBR600 which I talk about in the Bargain Bikes of the 90s video linked above https://youtu.be/ZBbf0xF7TbU and Yamaha decided to make the FZR platform a little more user friendly.
The tech from the race bikes was trickling down and the chassis was the next generation of the already successful Deltabox frame, and the engine, well the FZR engine had been gradually pushed up from 90HP until it reached 99HP in the final models, but the Thundercat broke the 100HP barrier, at least on paper. How much of that extra power was created in the marketing department is a different question, but the engine was a peach.
Producing as much power as any of the competition, the Yamaha had a trick up its sleeve and the torque hit much lower in the rev range. More torque created a full 2000rpm lower in the rev range than the Honda CBR600 meant it was just easier to ride fast. It had more grunt and would pull out of corners better than any of its competitors.
It retained its place in the Yamaha line up for many years, even after the R6 was released, because it was so good.
For every situation except on the track the Thundercat was just as good as the later R6. It was more capable than most riders would ever be and a plush seat and 19 litre tank meant it was just easier to live with.
When most sports bikes were heading for the nearest fuel stop the Thundercat would thunder on and the comfortable riding position with such a well designed fairing meant the cockpit was always a happy place to be.
Fully adjustable suspension meant it could be dialled in for track use but it was equally at home on the highways, but its spiritual home was the fast twisty curves.
When it comes to versatile sports-touring motorcycles, the Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat is damn-near perfect. It had a fast, reliable engine, good suspension, great brakes, and the ability to carry two people plus kit for a two week holiday.
In my opinion at the time its only real competition was the legendary Honda VFR750, which comes up in a few of my videos.
It really was that good. But for whatever reason it never really got the acclaim it should have.
Maybe it was the name that connected it to a kids cartoon that made people take it less seriously than its competitors, who knows.
Once the R6 arrived it was always overshadowed in the press by its more track focussed brother, but on the roads the Thundercat was just nicer to ride.
And that’s coming from someone who thinks in many ways that the Yamaha R6 is the best 600cc sports bike ever built.
So that should give you an idea of how good this bike really was.
Suzuki DR350
Our next bike takes us into the dirt, and for a certain group of the riders of the world the good old DR350 will never be forgotten.
The antics of Austin Vince and the Mondo Enduro crew were legendary among the early days of Adventure Riding as we call it now.
Without their idea, there would unlikely have been a long way up or down, and for those of you that don’t know, they did it first and without assistance, and its a scream to watch so go and check it out.
The DR350 doesn’t go fast, will never be quickest around a corner and wont impress most of the guys at the local coffee shop, but they are unstoppable.
Bearings, seals, nuts and bolts are all pretty standard sizes so you can pick them up anywhere, and few bikes make it so easy to keep them going.
Wherever you are in the world, there will be someone capable of fixing a DR350 even if you cant. They will run of terrible fuel through deserts, dust, rocks and rivers and still come back for more.
The simple air cooled single cylinder lump is reliable, and easy to fix. They are as strong and dependable as a donkey, and just a bit faster.
They will never break any records but with minimal maintenance, a teaspoon of oil and a simple tool kit they will put up with forgetfulness and just keep chugging along, regardless of what you throw at them.
Often overshadowed by their bigger brother the now fabled dirt pig, the 350 was just lighter and easier to pick up than the 650. the air cooled 350cc lump had a strong bottom end too, so they would just tractor you up the silliest climbs and carry a ton of luggage. They just did it slower.
They gave you the chance to watch the scenery as that familiar chug pushed you along to the next destination, wherever that might be.
For that, the DR350 is hard to beat.
I guess the Royal Enfield Himalayan 411 would be the closest modern equivalent. They just made things very easy for the average rider.
Yamaha TRX850
Next we have the Yamaha TRX 850. I featured its older brother the TDM in the first of the Bombproof Bikes videos linked above https://youtu.be/WikCG7WxPy8 , The TDM was a great bike, but it was a big old beast, and heavy.
Yamaha decided to wrap the newly updated 270 degree crank version of the Genesis twin engine in a lightweight trellis frame like the Ducati’s, and so the TRX850 was born.
The lightweight chassis made the TRX into a scalpel of a bike with fast but stable handling, and it became another classic example of how Yamaha have created some bikes that do just perform better than all the specs might seem to predict.
It handled like a 600 supersport bike but had more grunt. It might not have the top end of the superbikes, but they had to catch you before the end of the straight. Because the TRX could take off out of corners like a raging Rhino.
The smooth, linear power of that 850cc Genesis Twin engine, came in hard and fast, but lower down the rev range than the four cylinder bikes. It had a punch out of the corners which few bikes could match at the time.
Some people will tell you a twin cylinder bike will never be truly sporty, but the TRX is proof that statement is just ridiculous. The TRX was pure sports bike from top to bottom. It was easy to ride too, although getting the very best from them could take time for someone who was used to riding a 4 pot bike.
Short shift and use the torque of the engine and it rewards you with a surge that will make you smile time after time. Push it hard into corners and it will hold its line and give you a great launchpad to push on into the next corner.
The TRX might not have the charisma of a Ducati Monster, but it will keep you grinning from ear to ear long after every ride.
In some ways I think the closest modern comparison would maybe be the Aprilia Falco which I also talked about in the bargain bikes of the 90s video linked in the description, but the TRX carved a niche all of its own.
More to the point, and yes I know they are different kinds of bike, but why is a 30 year old Yamaha more powerful and lighter than today’s Tenere 700?
Even the pared down minimal form of the MT07 only shaves a few pounds off the old TRX’s weight and I know which I would rather have.
Finishing off today we have a bike some of you may never have heard of.
Mz Mastiff 660
If ever a bike was ahead of its time, that bike was the MZ Mastiff. The Mastiff sat between the MZ Scorpion I featured in the Cult Motorcycles video, and its more off road focussed brother the Baghira.
This was a lightweight ADV bike that kept the road performance of the Scorpion and added the off road durability people have been crying out for ever since.
The 660cc Minarelli engine that Yamaha made famous in the Tenere was strong and reliable. It had bags of bottom end but it revved well for a big single. It was a more reliable and refined engine than many big singles, so it won on many counts as a power plant.
Acerbis plastics, a WP rear shock, Marzocchi forks, braided hoses and big twin headlamps that actually worked really well, set it apart from most bikes of the day. It was small enough to make it light and nimble but big enough to take 2 people and strong enough to pull them.
It was just put together really well and is as tough as old boots..
Geometry was sharp but forgiving and the chassis would hold ridiculous lean angles. Helped of course by the fantastic ground clearance.
I would argue that as an all purpose adventure sport motorcycle the Mastiff was as good as anything ever made, but the company was on its knees and they just didn’t have the distribution or marketing clout of the big 4 Japanese companies, so the Mastiff, along with the Scorpion, Baghira and their big brother the 1000S faded into History with the bankruptcy of the company.
Sorry for ending on a bit of a sad not but I guess thats how it is sometimes.
Thanks for watching and as always I look forward to hearing your comments.
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Ride Free everyone.