I restored a 1952 Vincent black shadow in the 70s.It had a few tweaks and mods and I did get 140 mph registered on it's original speedo. How accurate that is is another story. It didn't handle really well and I never repeated that speed again. I sold the bike soon after as my parents suggested that it was not the best bike for a young woman to ride. I should have kept it knowing what it is worth now though. Regards, Laurajane from New Zealand

I've got a 20 year old Kawasaki zx9r which claims to be the first production bike to crack the quarter mile in under 9 seconds, roughly means 0 to 140 in 9 secs.Still touches 170 mph but not recently on account of points on my licence.

We all wanted a Jota when were teenagers. I still do 50 years later. They’re £15k ish Oh well, I’ll have to get a Yamaha RD350 instead.

The legend that was Vincent. Thats what happens when a Australian and a Englishman have a beer together

A couple of years ago I had a 1986 Kawasaki Concours (GTR) 1000 touring bike, based on the water cooled GPZ engines and making about 100-110HP it was already fast, but VERY heavy. I stripped it down into a street fighter removing the fairings, luggage, a little bit of rear subframe, the just plain absurdly large stock mufflers, etc. Acceleration went from fast to actually a little bit terrifying. Great bike that I wish I never sold

I remember reading the review of the Kawasaki GPZ900 back in the 80's. I think it was in BIKE magazine and as I read it the journalist gave a great impression of just how fast it was. He talked of it decimating sports cars and mashing other motorcycles on the road. It was a 155mph bike which seemed crazy at the time and the guy reviewing it heaped praise upon it. He was truly gobsmacked. Good memories!

Fun fact- The Curtiss V-8 motorcycle was hitting speeds of over 136 miles per hour back in 1907, a record that went unsurpassed by any other motorcycle for 23 years.

I remember reading an article written by a staff writer on a motorcycle magazine, about how he finally got a chance to take a sport bike up to an incredible speed they were capable of. It was a racetrack in France with a straightway several miles long. He got the bike up to about 180. He found it terrifying, hated it, and promised himself he'd never do it again. He felt like he was taunting death. And "motorcycles" was what this guy did.

I'm surprised that Scott didn't feature in the pre-1920 period as in the days when clubmen would ride their road bikes to meetings, race, then ride home, many race organisers banned riders on Scotts from competing because no one would race against them as the Scott watercooled 2 stroke twins were too fast and had an unfair advantage.

In the 1970s I had a Kawasaki H2 Triple, 2 stroke, 750cc. I don't know what the top speed was but in a straight line I was never beaten by anything.

I owned a Kawasaki 900 Z1B in 1975. Did a little work which included a Jardin exhaust 4:2, Koni's, an oil cooler and rejetted the carbs. I took it to Ontario Speedway's public back road which was a straight line stretch just under two miles and top speed was a tad over 130 mph. These days doesn't sound like much but it was a blast.

Back in the early 70's my dad gave up riding to devote more time to his MG collection. For whatever reason he collected English bikes exclusively. In his collection were the usual bunch and a few off brands. He had a very low mileage, mint condition Vincent Black Shadow that he wanted me to have. I declined citing it was one ugly bike and I wouldn't be caught dead on it. He put the bike up for sale and sold it for $825.00 to a high school friend. I've been kicking myself in the ass ever since.

I remember during/after the Gas Crisis of the 70s guys I knew in Detroit sold off their muscle cars and bought a clunker 4 wheeler and a Z1 Kaw. They could still race on Telegraph Rd and beat everything on 4 wheels while getting 40+ mpg around town. It was a no-brainer.

For the 1960s, the 1969 Norton Commando 'S' was the first production motorcycle with quarter mile times in the 12's, as recorded in the motorcycle magazine road tests of the day, things happened very fast AFTER that as the 750 Honda 4 was ushering in the "modern motorcycle age". I still have Cycle and Cycle World magazines of that period with the road tests. The Nortons were geared a bit low with a 19 tooth counter sprocket but could pull 125 with a 21 "toother". It was an awesome time to be a young man in love with motorcycles (I was 23 in 1970). I feel that the Norton Commando was the greatest (over all performance wise) of the old school bikes, coming on the scene the same year as the 750 Honda 4 did, closing out one era while the Honda opened up the new one. The "performance wars" among the Big 4 in Japan for the next decade and a half were VERY SIMILAR to the "car wars" between the American Big 3 from 1955 on to the end of the 60s. It was a very cool time to be a young gear head.

I had a 1979 KZ1300 6 cylinder 'A" model no faring (Canadian model) which would go over 150 MPH. A big boys bike (seat height at 32 inches). You could get it to 9000 RPM in 5th. A very special bike. Weight was around 750 lbs., 3 - 2 barrel Makunes, no emissions on the Canadian model. I'm well retired but in some ways still miss it. Have a great picture on the wall.

I can personally verify that the 1977 KZ1000 (the successor to the 900 Z1) would surpass 145 MPH on a straightaway with over half a throttle left. I chickened out then and backed off. Yes, I know, that's only what my speedometer read and not professionally clocked. I can tell you with accuracy though, that my speedometer was correct at 100 MPH, as clocked by the cop who ticketed me later the same month.

1973 Kawasaki Z1-900......got it up to 140 mph one time......at 140, the front wheel was bouncing all over the place. Once was enough for me. Great bike...lots of memories.

I had a sandcast early Honda CB750. I got that bad boy up to just under 130 once. Still walking this earth. That was 50 years ago.

My first ride on a motorcycle was a Black shadow as a youngster a pillion with my future BIL. Scared the crap out of me. I still ride to this day.

The Vincent's are so beautiful. I had never heard of them until I watched another of your videos a few days ago.

I bought a new Suzuki GS1100EZ in 1982. Top speed was right at 142 by the tach in high gear. This was the big dog in drag racing circles at the time, with Vance & Hines leading the way. I never drag raced mine on a track, but I knew a couple guys who were dipping there modded street 1100's into the very low 10's riding to & from the track as daily riders. The 1325 big bore kit was very popular.

THE VINCENT WAS THE BEST IN LOOKS AND POWER AND STILL IS .

A 1951 Vincent Black Lightning took the land speed record (for a series production bike) with 141.5 mph in 1952. I don't think it ever achieved 150 on a 2 way timed stretch. For anybody that doesn't know the song, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson is brilliant.

I think a more realistic performance or speed to consider is how quickly a bike can get to 100 or whatever number you want to fill the blanks with and then how quickly the bike can get back to "0" again, Remember, a bike must be very close to stopped after going like hell for the driver/rider to get safely off the thing.

I was in the bike biz back in the day. Can confirm, the turn of the century was legit bonkers. Everything just got huge. The ZX10, 1100xx were suddenly pase'. The Busa, the battleship-sized Valkyrie, the ZX12, the "now even bigger" Busa, the ZX14, the already ginormous Goldwing went to 1800, Kawasaki busted out a tank-like 2liter Vulcan (I could barely push that bastard)... It was completely nuts.

I knew a guy who had a cousin who knew a guy who went 100 mph on a Honda 50, or something like that.

Great video-I love the honest enthusiasm and commentary.

My step dad had a Laverda Jota back in the 70's. That thing had power for days . Left me and my triumph for dead.

My Kawasaki 1973 Z1 900 (the very first model and the best looking) absolutely was so much quicker in all respects even top speed than the Laverda 1000 that a friend of mine owned proven on a race track many times.

Got a 42 yo Yamaha xs1100 that still does 140mph and keeps up with newer cbr1000's until they hit 6th gear...😅😆😉👍

That Vincent Black Lightning looks absolutely spectacular! 😳

There was a motorcyle shop on my way to school (1969) with a Brough Superior on display in the corner window. I often stopped to look at it. Big old beast it was.

at 62, I've owned 27 bikes. My favorites were, the 1969 Kawasaki 500 triple 2 stroke, it was supposed to be the quickest bike available With the shittiest brakes known to man, also nicknamed, "The Death Machine" until my next bike, the 1970 750 Kawasaki 2 stroke triple due to raising the 750's compression ratio, it would make your eyelids roll back into the sockets forcing you to slow down as you could no longer see. Next was a 1974 Suzuki 2 stroke triple, the "Water Buffalo, first water-cooled 2 strokes made., only weighed about 8,000 pounds! I live in Texas and remember when it would get really hot, I couldn't use the kickstand as it would embed itself into the asphalt, and then it would be stuck. The fastest I had was my 1976 Husquavarna CR 430 motocrosser, and last was my 1974 RD 350 with aftermarket Vance and Hines expansion chambers. It wheelied under power in every gear. Currently, ride a 1982 Kawasaki KZ 650/4 and at my age, all I can handle. Other favorites were my 1972 Hodaka Combat Wombat, my Honda Elsinore CR 500,, (see the "Death Machine") my 1974 Yz 125, and finally, my 1978 Suzuki RM 460 that doubled as a trench digger with all that torque. Back when bikes were Bikes! ( my Husquavarna came with 3 counter sprockets for different tracks, with the highest ratio it hit an honest to God 105mph and quickly at that!)

For the 80’s I was definitely not expecting a bimota. Honda claimed the 1983 honda magna v65 had a top speed of 139mph. Many riders. Including myself, have taken them to 170, with the fastest completely stock speed trapped at 173mph. Making a muscle cruiser, faster then a 80’s super sport.. just throwing that out there.

Another great video ! Keep them coming Bart !!

that first bike is sooo cool. I bet its worth millions now. I have a yzf 1000, 1987 that does 190mph. It was voted the bike of the decade

Yes at 67 years old, my 1973 Norton Commando is actually quite fast at 150 + but too fast for my age now a days still sits inside my home.

The Bimotas weren't "based on" any Japanese bike. They used the engine but the bikes were their own work.

something else about the vincents were they were the first bike to experiment with the cantilever monoshock system something that didnt really catch on until the 80s.

Would be interesting to see a similar comparison of the Quickest motorcycles 0 to 60 mph. In 1969 I had a Kawasaki Mach III H1 500cc 3 cylinder. It would do the 1/4 mile in the high 12 seconds. As far as I know that was the quickest production vehicle 2 or 4 wheels in '69.

150mph on 1940-1960 motorcycle tire technology is terrifying!!! Been riding for 43 years and continue to be impressed by how far tires have progressed- and keep progressing. The "race" tires of the 80's are awful by comparison to the touring tires you can buy, today.

The eighties brought some great bikes for those wishing to run really fast. Rev-happy V4 engines combined with stiff aluminium frames brought us bikes that not only went fast straight ahead but also in corners.

I met someone who had a black lightening, but it was red, anyway I looked it over one day and something I noticed was the attention to detailing in the manufacture of it, considering how old it was it looked like a modern day reproduction of an old bike, the finish on simple things like nuts and bolts, elongated nuts with amazing smooth finishes, It was a work of art, mind, all good bikes are,

The engineering aspects on the Vincents are way cool when you take a close look.

The 1939 Rudge Ulster was road tested at 106mph with a 500 cc 4 valve single. It was the first Rudge with fully enclosed valve gear. The one I bought for 20 pounds in 1960 still did 106 as claimed.

No Triumph Bonneville hit 120 unless it was the special built Thruxton which had not much reliabillity because of it's state of tune. The standard Bonneville would go between 112 and 115, sorry.

As a Del McCoury fan, the only one of these I would have guessed... The Vincent Black Lightning.

Had a 1974 Kawasaki Z-1. It relined at 9,000 rpm. While going down a Nevada freeway, at 8,000 rpm, I hit 140 mph with 1,000 rpm to go. Did not push it any faster as the suspension was getting shaky.

1988 Kawasaki ZX-10 Tomcat holds the Guinness Book of Records for top speed @ 168 mph.

Can you imagine going 150 on that Vincent? You'd feel like you were going into orbit! Myself, I'm glad I didn't ever have the money to buy a really fast bike when I was younger. I'm not smart now but I was really dumb then and I'd have ended up in bits on a highway somewhere. I'm older now, and my DR650 moves plenty fast for me.

Loved the old bikes, not heard or seen anyone talk about a Vincent bikes in ages,.. bought back some memories.. During the late 70’s/80’ when I was a young kid, a guy my mum was dating was a vintage drag bike racer / builder / mechanic, our garden shed was always full of old Vincent bikes and parts and the smell of machined metal. He and his mates used Vincent engines with custom stretched frames etc. We spent many weekends at Santa Pod, where the main UK drag bike/car scene was blowing-up in the UK. There walking around the pits, I was surrounded by all these crazily fast vehicles, even a jet engined car that was so fast you couldn’t see it go past but boy you could hear it! But it was the Vincent based bikes for me, doing run after run on the drag strip, firey burnouts and fat blokes in race leathers swilling warm beers between runs. Even back then to a kid it seemed a wild place. Now in hindsight it’s some great memories and being around all that awesome mayhem basically instilled in me a healthy appreciation of all things mechanical 2 or 4 wheels!

The Vincent is the king… what a rocket ship. My Dad used to rave about them.

If you never rode the first wave of Hayabusa when it came out......it was complete insanity. A slew of first time riders went out and got one.....and.....they're they sat lol.

My stone stock Kwacker 900 CC, Z-1 one of the first two imported into Germany by the American PX, would go >142 MPH, at least according to the electric eye Speed Traps on the Hockenheim Ring. But it was not as quick as my H-2, 750 CC two stroke, triple which was faster/quicker out of the woods and the Z-1 did not handle or break as well! But the 900's 8-10 MPH advantage out to the Ost Curve and back meant that none of that mattered. As to the Laverda Jota and Norton Commando neither one stood a chance against either Kwacker!

Don’t have to tell you how crazy long that black lightning held that top speed! Good video

My father considered his Manx Norton about the fastest of it's era, he said the Vincent could get up and go but was out of it's element through the winding roads of Cumbria and the English Lake District, the Manx was a T.T. bike not a cruiser.

Damn. I always thought the Vincent Black Lightning was one of the best looking motorcycles ever. I didn't know its legendary speed history. Haven't been on a bike in years, but I still remember the thrill. Subscribed. Cheers from sunny Vienna, Scott

My 1971 Kawasaki H1 hit 127 mph more than once (a lot more 😁). It had clip-on bars, which probably helped with drag, and I also changed the gearing to be best for top speed (don't recall the tooth counts after all these decades, but do recall I put the HP peak right at 127-128 in top gear). My uncle had a 1972 Z1, first model year, with a set of headers and some carb work that would hit 135 (he never topped it out, but I was immortal back then, so opened it up at every opportunity).

In 1948 , to do 150mph all you needed was Bonneville salt-flats , a modified Vincent Black Shadow , a pair of Bermuda shorts , sand-shoes and no other clothes , goggles and a helmet like they used in the 30's , oh , and a maniac called Rollie Free lying along the bike . Awesome . and that is a proper use of the word . No other make of bike can come close to these legendary machines for the cachet they have . During WW2 the Australian engineering genius Phil Irving designed a new high-performance engine . There is a story about single cylinder drawings resting upon each other at , what is it , 50 degrees? revealing a new V-twin layout .Voila ! A motorcycle which rewrote the performance book and in the end was without peer .They are still beautiful to gaze upon .The old engineering adage of " If it looks right ,it is right" . was born out in these magnificent machines .

In 1986 Honda made the fastest production bike with the V65 Magna. I owned one and one day I tried to open it right up, but without a windscreen, I simply couldn't. But I did have it's odometer flashing at 288kph and still had throttle left, but I was going so fast, it was pushing me off the back of the bike! Scared my backsides contents out of me! I only did that once... with that bike! In 1987 the Ninja came out and Kawasaki's Ninja only got faster in '88 and '89 as well. I still wonder how I ever managed to survive those crazy speed obsession years. But talk about FUN!! WOOHOO BABY!! :)))🤪

10:45 You're right, we haven't found the evasive Harley Davidson species conquer the local sport bike species! 😝

In 1979 I bought a new stock Susuki GS 1000 L and still have it today. The top speed according to the guages was 133 mph. I ran it there alot.

Nobody's made a film about the Black Lightning, but Richard Thompson wrote one of his best songs about it: Oh, says Red Molly to James "That's a fine motorbike. A girl could feel special on any such like" Says James to Red Molly "My hat's off to you It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952. And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme" And he pulled her on behind And down to Boxhill, they did ride Oh, says James to Red Molly "Here's a ring for your right hand But I'll tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man. For I've fought with the law since I was seventeen, I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine. Now I'm 21 years, I might make 22 And I don't mind dying, but for the love of you. And if fate should break my stride Then I'll give you my Vincent to ride" "Come down, come down, Red Molly" called Sergeant McRae "For they've taken young James Adie for armed robbery. Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside. Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside" When she came to the hospital, there wasn't much left He was running out of road, he was running out of breath But he smiled to see her cry He said "I'll give you my Vincent to ride" Says James "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl. Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won't do, Ahh, they don't have a soul like a Vincent 52" Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys Said "I've got no further use for these. I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome, Swooping down from heaven to carry me home" And he gave her one last kiss and died And he gave her his Vincent to ride.

I watched a guy restore a very rare, 1947 Vincent Black Knight. He also built a Dunstall Norton 750. On which he added a roots type blower. The Vincent was fully enclosed in fiberglass, had a huge front fender. + a Mono shock frame.

My cousin had a mostly restored 40's Black Shadow back in the 70's. Yes it was insanely fast, but the lack of a frame made it handle like it was double-jointed. Most stuff works better when new and I don't know how good the restoration was. Maybe fresh ones were ride-able. My experience was that the wisdom of the day was right about those things. They would and still will kill you.

One of the most frightening things I have ever seen is a few laps of the TT course on an electric bike, somehow it’s more scary if it’s almost silent !

My brother had a stock 1978 KZ 1000 that ran 156mph. It was advertised as the fastest production motorcycle of its time.

The fastest bike for me in 1977 with a few modifications like a larger 17 two sprocket in the front velocity stacks fourth over jets in the carburetor and exhaust pipes cut off midway underneath the engine with chrome extensions breathing fire right on the ground was a 1977Z 900 165 mile an hour top speed. It was bad to the bone.😅 was estimated to have 120 hp to the back wheel.😊

I had a '99 Hayabusa for 3 years. Wow, when you gas it, it bends the world. Exhausting (and illegal) to ride fast but a brilliant bike. Lifting the front approaching 150mph in 3rd gear (out of 6). Who cares if it is ugly - that's only a problem for the people looking at you! Had to put on a fresh back tyre every month during the summer.

The Vincent Black Lighting set the World Land Speed record for Motorcycles at Bonneville Salt Flats in 1954 at 154 mph.

For further insight into the Vicent company's mindset, can I suggest Phil Irving's book Tuning For Speed. If you own an older motorcycle that you would like to see perform a little better, then the book is still relevant.

I've seen a Brough superior run at a hill climb event, insanely cool bike. Made some really big advancements in motorcycle technology

As an Indian it’s hard to imagine that twin cylinder engines predated suspension 😅 until RE 650 twins a multi cylinder motorcycle is the rarest thing an Indian would ever see

Excellent doc. Notice no Harley's mentioned .Not surprising since in spite of their large cc'ss one of the slowest (and crap) bikes ever made

I was surprised to see that you missed Kawasaki Z1. Come'n. After the introduction of Honda CB750, the mortorcycles were dominated by Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha.

Hugely entertaining! Thanks for posting!

I've own a number of bikes but my favorite was the Ducati 916. For looks speed and handling it was hard to beat! I got it up to about 160 mph once, fast enough for me. Scariest bike I ever rode was a GS1100 with an MTS kit in it. Once I whacked the throttle open in fourth gear. At 85mph the front end jumped into the air and I wasn't able to get it back down till an indicate 130mph. It didn't turn or brake well but it sure launched! Loved this video. The energy is contagious. Subscribed!

'79 Honda CBX was the gold standard of the 70's quarter mile and top speed

Surprised the GPZ900R, CBR900R and GPZ1100 didn't make it onto the list as it was but done by the decade we missed them.

I have seen Vincent Black shadows racing in vintage events at Amaroo track in Sydney.

I'm guessing you would need balls of steel to take that Superior with no bite drum brakes and no grip skinny tyres to speeds of 100kmph, let alone 100Mph.

I had a slew of bikes from 74 on and one I supercharged....now that one scared me a little. My last bike certainly wasn't the fastest in stock form but had my 100% attention whenever I rode it and that was a Triumph Rocket3 . Severely detuned in stock form but could easily bring the front end up in 1st gear and sometimes the tire would break loose on a hard 1-2 shift. Not bad for a 800# bike. I had a mild stage 1 on it always dreamt of going full monkey with a Carpenter race mod but my guardian angel was getting tired and I knew it couldn't keep up.

You overlooked the 79 Yamaha XS11. I had one back in the day and could do the quarter in low 11's every time @ 137mph. That was one wicked 2 wheel rocket.

I put over 100,000 miles on a ‘78 Kawasaki Z1-R. Manufacturer’s top speed was rated at 135, but I was over 140 more times than I could count, and saw 150 on the speedometer. Smooth as silk all the way past the 8500 rpm redline. Also rode over 69 miles with no hands on that bike. Smooth.

Great video for me torque is the key if you think about it how often do bikes ever get to use all their horsepower or ever get to top speed? You’ve really got some beautiful machines on this list. Thanks for sharing. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Nice video. Great looking olde bike!! Failing to mention the Kawasaki 750 turbo, 900 ninja, ZX10 and ZX11 is bit a crazy. These bikes hit the market like a sledgehammer. They sent every body back to the drawing boards for years!! There would be no Hayabusa without the ZX11 crushing everybody for 5 years!! I had the 84 900 ninja and I currently have a 92 ZX11.

I'm happy with my 81 GSL1000L. Fast enough to get you in trouble and is beautiful! Every time I gat on it, It's like putting on your favorite pair of shoes, just feels amazing! The GS1000 was the fastest production bike in 81. Winning the super bike championship in 79 and 80, with a Daytona win under Wes Cooley.

"1952 Vincent Black Lightning" - one of the best, if not the best, motorcycle song ever. I like the Del McCoury Band cover of this song.

I'm happy the 1999 Hayabusa was mentioned. I still own an early, non-speed limited, 2000 Hayabusa that I purchased new. The fastest I've had it was 165 mph and it was still pulling hard. No way I would test its top speed. With a chip, Hayabusas have been known to go over 200 mph. At 150 mph the Hayabusa was so stable I felt like I was going about 80-90 mph.

Who wants lame electric when we still have the glory and sound of the combustion!!

The Vincent design was so good , that John Britten , a NZ based Engineer , built two (only) purpose built Race Motorcycles . Vincent design done in Carbon Fibre . The Hand Made Engines were the Main part of the Chassis as well . Carbon Brakes , Girder type front-end , cantilever rear-end . They were UNBEATABLE 1000cc Superbikes and Endurance Racers .

A story. Whilst on a diving holiday in Egypt back in 2008 my gf and I met another British couple. Me and the other bloke got chatting and found a mutual interest in Italian bikes. I had a little Ducati 916 and a Benelli 900 Tre. He owned a MV Agusta F4 312R. Following the holiday I got a call from him, saying could I help him out by picking up his F4 from Moto Forza Italia based at Silverstone circuit and ride it back to London. He'd just had the 4 pipes de-baffled and the ECU remapped accordingly. But he was suffering from a bad back, so I 'reluctantly' offered to help. We drove there in his 5lt Merc ( lots of money this guy), And was told it was even faster now than stock. The very nice man asked me to 'not hold back' on the ride back down the M1 motorway as he wanted to hear his bike. Never in my life and probably never again will I go so fast. I could't watch the speedo as my eyes felt like I was in a warp drive. i saw 160 then 170mph but shit was moving so fast I couldn't see much more. But I did open her up completely. The bloke said he tried to keep up in his Merc hitting 155mph+ and I disappeared into the distance like a bullet. So, although it wasn't mine, I got a rare chance to ride undoubtedly the fastest MV and possibly the fastest bike in the UK at the time. This was of course before the M1 had 'average speed cameras' fitted every couple of miles. He did say with a tear in his eye, that it sounded like a jet fighter when I opened her up.

I had a '78 Yamaha XS1100 and it was pretty damn fast.

I SUGGEST EVERYONE READ THE BOOK: "Big Sid's Vincatti". It's an amazing true story of a man who grew up building and racing Ducatis and Vincent's and then at around age 70 if I remember correct he built his dream: The Vincent Engine in a Ducati frame- perfection. It also has an underlying theme in it about broken/repaired family's. Couldn't recomend more ❤️🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏾🙏🏿

1970 Kawasaki Mach lll 500 stock did 140 mph in the quarter mile in factory testing

Wow ! The Black Lighting! 150mph in late 40 's ? WOW !

Slaters of Leicester were the Jota dealers. Couple of mates had them and I'm sure they were capable of 140. The amount of torque was ridiculous and the engine notes sent shivers down my spine.

I had a 1977 Honda GL1000 (bored to 1100) It got front vibrations at 141 mph, but was not even close to the red-line. It was modded, gears, suspension, straight pipes, ignition, ++, so it doesn't count. If I had taken it to top speed, I guess it would have been 155-160 mph. Death-trap cafe-racer.

Great video. Love those Broughs and Vincent’s.

The cyclone was one of my inspiration to my boardtrack racer bike design. Its look aestethic in design and the power. Its still competitive to challenge the new biker for racing.