Top 100 motorcycles@drmoto.com.my


Top 10 or top whatever is usually associated with pop songs however Dr. Moto decides to have a TOP 100 motorcycles. Its not a top 100 of all times or top 100 ever produced. It’s the TOP 100 through the eyes of Dr. Moto. The bikes are based on 1) impact leaving designs 2) favorite of the masses 3) success in sales 4) success in sports 5) quality 6) innovative 7) trend setter in its field 8) idea triggering. Top 100 Motorcycle of Dr. Moto’s choice are not necessarily from personnel experience. Dr. Moto has not included motorcycles produced within the last 10 years as Dr.Moto feels that a period of at least 10 years is required to determine some of the criteria. In this installment we list below motorcycles occupying the 20 to 11 positions. 20. BSA B40 350 The fact that the B40 looked like the C15 250cc was not a surprise as it was based on that bike. It came out as people who liked the 250 was demanding more power from it. Thus the B40 343cc was derived by boring the cylinder from 67mm to 79mm. The B40 produced 20 bhp at 7000 rpm. However BSA made a wrong move by retaining the C15 gearbox and clutch, which was already not up to par for the 250. The bottom end was also incapable of taking the extra power developed. BSA solved it by reducing the compression ratio to 7:1. All these were done to keep the B40 price down. Despite all these, the B40 was a very popular mount for the police and military in almost all commonwealth countries as it can go all day at 50mph (80km/h) without much fuss. And as a proof of its ‘toughness’ many samples of these can still be seen. The military police used the B40 for their tattoo for a long time after BSA closed shop. 19. SUZUKI GT 750 Called the water buffalo by several magazines it was produced between 1971 and 1977. It was developed from the T500 but with an extra cylinder and water cooling. At 550 lbs, it was heavy and the 70 x 64 mm bore and stroke gave 739 cc. Gearbox was a 5 speed unit and it had a funny 3 into 4 exhaust system. This was done to make the bike look symmetrical from the rear. The first model had a thermostat controlled cooling fan and twin leading drum brakes. Subsequent model had twin disc in front and the cooling fan was dropped. This writer had a K model in 1974 and decided to take it to the races at Batu Tiga. The GT proved itself that it was not meant to be raced. Like a bufalo it threw the writer at Lucas Loop while traveling at almost 140km/h. The GT’s tank flew off the bike almost hitting Tan Keng Loke from Singapore on a CB750. Whatever it may be the GT was entirely dependable and great as a touring bike. This writer covered almost every corner of the country with the GT without having as much as to change even the spark plugs. 18. SUZUKI COLLEDA 250 Produced from 1954 till the early sixties the Colleda was the name Suzuki used for their bikes. The ‘S’ logo was used only later by Suzuki. The Colleda was significant as the model design from the first Colleda to the last and then the T.10, showed the design development of Suzuki motorcycles. like that of BSA Bantams to designs that were similar to the Honda CBs. The Colleda was especially significant to Malaysia because it was the first Suzuki model brought back by Goh Guan Hoe from his trip to Japan. Guan Hoe subsequently became the Malaysian and Singapore Distributor for Suzuki Motorcycles. 17. BSA C15 This was BSA’s first four-stroke unit engine and made between 1958 and 1967. It was the choice bike for UK learners who were then limited to 250cc. Popular in our country as used by meter readers and police / military dispatch riders the limit. When the Japanese introduced their 250s, BSA C15 took the back seat as its performance was nothing like the Japanese. Despite its lack of power the C15 (over bored to 500cc) won the world's Motor Cross Championship in 1964 and 1965 with rider Jeff Smith.
16. NORTON COMMANDO 750 Voted 5 years in a row as Motorcycle of the Year by Motorcycle News, the Norton Commando was the last twin produced by Norton. First made in 1967 right through to 1977 the Commando was THE bike to have before the CB 750 Honda came. Only a few Commandos were registered in Malaysia however the police in Singapore had used them for some years. The police models were called Interpol. Big vertical twins were famous for the vibration it created and in order to capture market Norton introduced the Isolastic system whereby the engine, gearbox and swing arm were bolted together and isolated from the frame by special rubber mountings. The Commando went through a couple of changes in the engine department in the early seventies i.e. 850 engines from 750. 15. BSA A10 GOLDEN FLASH Together with the Triumph Speed Twin the A10 dominated the British roads for a long while. Developed from the 500 twin it was launched in 1949. The early model had plunger rear suspension and the engine a semi unit type whereby the the gearbox was bolted to the engine. Though similar to the A7 the cylinder head, rocker box and inlet manifold were new. The frame was the rigid type with a plunger suspension whereby the rear axle rested on the suspension. Thus there is no swingarm. The design was focussed on the requirement then as can be seen by the hinged rear mudguard and the semi unit gearbox. The hinged rear mudguard was to ease rear wheel removal whilst the bolted on gearbox enable the used of a slipper in the primary case for chain tension adjustment. 14. MARUSHO LILAC LS 18 Lilac was amongst more than 50 motorcycle manufacturers competing for theJapanese post WW2 market. Among its products were a V twin 125, a V twin 250, a V twin 300 and a flat twin 500 all shaft driver. Founder/owner Masashi Ito was faced with saturated local market and was forced to look to the US for sales, but he was not prepared strategically. Though his motorcycles were received well he landed into contractual problems and was forced into the court rooms. Ito recovered his losses but did not manage to save his motorcycles. He continued on a small scale producing parts for Honda. Ito passed away a few years back. 13. MOTO GUZZI LEMANS Some swear that the 850 LeMans was the best there is however this writer after having owned a LeMans 1000 for more than 20 years I’d swear that the 1000 LeMans is the best Guzzi ever. It is reliable and can keep up with many modern super bikes anywhere except maybe on a long straight stretch. An owner need not fit aftermarket parts as it all came standard like Lancafroni exhaust, Campagnolo wheels, Brembo brakes and Dell Ortos. The LeMans is fun to ride. The handling is great except while at red lights when the bike will shake left and right but after a while one gets used to it and switching to a four for example you keep looking at the rev meter as you’re not sure if the engine is alive. 12. HONDA CB 750 K.1 The first CB 750 in Malaysia was owned by Rennie Khoo who then raced it in production races. The stock bike gave a few racing bikes like the TR 500 and TZ 350 some fright. Later Rennie upgraded the bike with Yoshimura parts and then the racers became really intimidated. Pops Yoshimura was pleased with Rennie that he sponsored him to take part in the Suzuka Endurance race, the first Malaysian to do that. Rennie proved then that the CB 750 can be made to go fast and real fast that is. However not many samples are available now. Imagine it was priced at about RM6000 then (1974). 11. KAWASAKI Z1B 903 The Kawasaki when undergoing test was disguised as a Honda CB 750 and not many knew about it. When it was finally previewed many were caught by surprise. Not that they doubt Kawasaki’s ability as they were already manufacturing the 650 twin and two stroke triples but they did not expect a 900. The Z1 became an instant hit worldwide. In Malaysia Med-Bumi-Kar Mara was the sole distributor and they had one bike transported around the country to parade it. Malaysians viewed the bike with awe but never bought the bike in large numbers. The engine was bullet proof however a drawback was the whinning sound created by the straight cut gears. This writer lose by a few inches to Tham Bing Kwan on a similar bike in the Malaysia GP production race in 1976. That's the positions from 20 to 11. Visit us again for the final installment of this article where we will list the 10 – 1^st spot.