Characteristics And History Of Naked Bike Motorcycles

There are a lot of kinds of motorcycles that are designed for road travel. One of the most popular is the naked bike motorcycle.

As its name implies, naked bikes are road motorcycles without fairings. That means that their non essential parts are removed, stripping them down to their fundamental parts.

Naked bike motorcycles emphasize functionality and ergonomics rather than looks, aerodynamic properties or exaggerated riding positions.

Today’s top-of-the-line naked bike motorcycles have 1000 cc engines. This makes them comparable to the fastest middleweight supersport class bikes.

Naked bike motorcycles started out in the 1950’s and 1960’s as café racers. These are motorcycles that were stripped down for riding and racing to the many café’s that were established along highways. They were quite popular in Europe.

The bikes were fast and powerful. But because of the high speed and powerful acceleration of the motorcycles, together with the unstable suspension and frames at that time, motorcycle crashes were common.

During a crash, the fairings were heavily damaged. Since fairings were quite costly, many riders decided to get rid of them. This resulted in a class of motorcycles called streetfighters.

Observant Japanese manufacturers saw the potential of the new bikes and decided to produce company manufactured streetfighters.

The result was the first production naked bike motorcycle, the Honda Hawk GT NT 650. After the motorcycle was introduced, other companies then produced their own models.

Another offshoot of the basic naked bike motorcycle is the muscle bike. This is a souped-up naked bike with a larger engine displacement.

Originating in Japan, muscle bikes have a huge amount of torque, a broad power spectrum, lower gears and an upright seating position.

Unlike new motorcycles with fuel injection systems, computer management and monoshock suspension system, muscle bikes use traditional carburetors and double rear shocks.  In effect, they look like bikes of Japanese standard during the 1970’s and 80’s.

Muscle bikes may lack the advanced technology of modern bikes. However, they are considered fun to ride because of their large, powerful engines.

These engines allow riders to easily perform wheelies, or standing on the rear wheel. The Kawasaki ZRX 1200, the Yamaha XJ 1300 and the Suzuki GSK 1400 are perfect examples of muscle bikes.

Naked bike motorcycles are popular in Europe due to their tough, bare bones look. They are not as popular in the United States due to tough competition against sportbikes and cruisers.