Motorcycles We Loved in the 1970s

by West, Phil

• ISBN13: 9780750996129
• ISBN10: 0750996129
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2022-10-01
• Publisher: The History Press

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Phil West has been a journalist since 1987. He has written for many magazines, including MCN, Bike, RiDE, Practical Sportsbikes, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure. Throughout his career he has ridden and written about virtually every motorcycle since 1970, visited and met key figures at all major manufacturers and interviewed figures from Barry Sheene to Charley Boorman. He has held a number of editor roles on Bike, Motorcycle News, Performance Bikes and MCN, and created and launched Bike Buyer and Biking Times. He has also written several books on motorcycles and lives in Peterborough.