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Universal motorcycle
GUIDO discovers the universal motorcycle is alive and well…
It was at some point while scooting through the traffic that it occurred to me: the universal motorcycle is back with a vengeance, despite the constant specialising indulged in by manufacturers over the years. The feeling from the saddle was all too familiar – enough power, decent brakes, reasonable if not great suspension, and generally friendly, capable manners. Does this sound familiar?
If you’ve been riding for a while, it should. The big four Japanese makers reinvented the concept so successfully over the 1960s through to the 1980s that the term Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) started off as a compliment and – because they were so dominant in the market – became a pejorative term.
People began demanding more focused machinery with that elusive quality ineptly called ‘character’. Some with a classic riding background derided UJMs as being too much like a two-wheeled car (mostly, I suspect, because they were reliable) and only for the limp-wristed. Certainly not for Real Men.
Gee, did we get that wrong…The manufacturers listened and we ended up with all sorts of entertaining but often dysfunctional kit, sometimes perfectly suited to an environment in which we weren’t riding. Want an example? Okay, how many of you own a racetrack? Or how many of you really have the skills to punt a screaming 200-plus kilo lump of so-called off-road bike up a snotty sand track without dying multiple emotional deaths along the way?
Don’t get me wrong – I own an exercise in ridiculous, namely Hannibal the 200-plus-many horses Hayabusa, which I just can’t bring myself to sell, despite a couple of attempts. And something big and orange like a KTM Adventure would be welcome in my shed, any day. But they’re machines conceived around the talents of Mick Doohan, or the late and great Gaston Rahier.
Which isn’t to say that UJMs can’t perform. One of the quintessential examples of the breed, Yamaha’s mighty first-generation XJ900, came third in the Castrol Six-Hour production race one year against much more fancied machinery. It was beaten by a CB1100R endurance race replica and an RZ500 grand prix replica.
For 90 per cent of my riding, just give me something that makes the journey fun. Like a UJM. Now here’s the weird part: the bike which brought all this universal experience rushing back was British. Does that make it a UBM? It is, of all things, a Triumph Scrambler, listed by the maker as a modern classic.
It’s really a UBM and all the better for it. While some of the styling cues hark back to dirt bikes of old – before the world discovered real trail bikes – it is as much an off-roader as I am a jockey.
The Triumph is not the best performer on a spec chart. Its numbers are modest. However the package is wrapped up as a user-friendly motorcycle that goes about its job with tons of enthusiasm. I’ve got one as a long-term demo and the rightful owners will have to fight me to get it back.
Don’t for a moment think that Britain is the only culprit here. The Japanese big four have their own interpretations, and one which got my attention recently was the new Suzuki Bandit 1250. It claims a ‘mere’ 96 horses, but a torque curve that would do a lumpy V-eight proud. I’d like that one in the shed, too.
Not everyone is with me on this. A treasured colleague, who heard about the recent adoption of the Scrambler, offered, “Give it to me and I’ll turn it into a pukka rally/raid bike. Y’know, more horses, 21-inch front wheel, big suspension…” I countered, “So why don’t we just get a dirt bike?” He looked unhappy and a little deflated.
Though I’ve also been guilty of modifying motorcycles to within an inch of their lives, for once I just want to leave it (perhaps briefly) alone and enjoy it. Long live the UJM, or UBM, or whatever – it works.
You’re always welcome to get in touch via the palatial Motorcycle Trader offices at locked bag 12, Oakleigh 3166; Or on the wire at guy.allen@traderclassifieds.com.au.
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