BikeStormer

For the purposes of speed, as opposed to purely protecting the rider and engine from the elements, the late 80’s witnessed the first real boom in the popularity of fully faired machines with the arrival of the first generation of contemporary sportsbikes and it was during this period an entirely new breed of machine made it’s debut.

It was no mere coincidence the streetfighter was born. Virtually every seasoned sportsbike owner has been witnessed to the sickening sight of ones pride and joy lying injured in the road following a prang with some prick in a Proton. Indeed, it only needed to fall over and one was looking at a bill for literally hundreds just to replace the damaged cowling when previously it was a few quid for a new lever and an hour in the garage with some rubbing compound and paint, now it was a remortgage and a coronary… but it didn’t have to be this way.

Custom bikes have been around for years, the ‘chopper’, supposedly called because one ‘chopped’ bits off it to increase performance became ultimate oxymoron precisely because that was the opposite of what was happening. The streetfighter really is the ultimate chopper as bits of the bike were literally chopped off and replaced to make them more physically aggressive and dynamic, dropped racing handlebars were replaced with motocross type straight bars, the passenger rests and seat were removed and blanked over, anything surplus to the bare essence of power, style and attitude was compromised.

But just pulling off a fairing can reveal some unpleasant truths, there are grubby coloured wires everywhere, strange bits of plastic, alien mountings, a spider, probably. Like the car engine, it’s not been designed to be seen so doesn’t look as pretty as the pre-faired machines of yesteryear. There are notable exceptions however. Arguably the most successful streetfighter of all time is the Suzuki GSX-R largely because the engine is very easy on the eye and lends itself very well to being stripped. As the popularity of streetbikes increased components were manufactured to facilitate the transformation, tiny indicators, over sized wheel rims bolt on goodies of every colour and shape became available. Personalising your beast had never been so simple.

Of course it was long before the motorcycle industry caught on the phenomenon. One of the earliest production made streetfighters was the Ducati Monster, it gave birth to a brand new generation of motorcycle, the naked sportsbike. Within a few years all of the major bike manufacturers had naked in it’s repertoire and today they’re more popular than ever boasting bigger engines, better chassis and bristling with more aggression than Mike Tyson made out of drop forged steel.
In my opinion the most beautiful of the naked sportsbikes is Triumphs immensely successful Speed Triple. The ‘naked’ pioneer, The Ducati Monster, in my opinion, doesn’t quite work because the engine block isn’t as tidy on the eye as the former. I think we can forgive Ducati, however, their 1098 is one of the most gorgeous bikes ever but as it’s faired that is another story…

Back to the Speed Triple, I was unable to resist its charms, reader I married him! I mean, bought one*ahem*.

Jamie Dwelly