Motorcycles We Loved in the 1970s

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.