Two-wheel impact on the past four decades

Tourers ... Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor boosted the adventure craze. Photo Gallery

Forty years ago, Honda shocked the world at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show with the launch of the CB750, the motorcycle that changed the world.

At about the same time, the first issue of twowheels, the magazine of Australian motorcycling, hit the news stands.

Honda is still making headlines with its motorcycles and twowheels is still at the cutting edge of worldwide motorcycle media. To celebrate twowheels' 40th anniversary issue, here are some of the most influential motorcycles of the past 40 years.

1968 Honda CB750

The first really accessible superbike. Evolutionary concepts at the time included hydraulic disc brakes, four cylinders and four exhaust pipes, eye-popping performance and, a first for motorcycling, an electric start.

1980 Ducati SL500 Pantah

Faced with financial ruin, Ducati developed an engine that used toothed-belt cam drive in place of the costly bevel-drive gear system. This move, devastating to the faithful at the time, allowed Ducati to keep its trademark desmo valve gear, increase production, decrease problems, dominate Superbike racing and get Australian Casey Stoner to the podium in MotoGP.

1981 BMW R 80 G/S

Anyone with a TV and a passing interest in motorcycling will have seen Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor in the Long Way Round and the Long Way Down. Their exploits both reflect and have fuelled a growing interest in adventure touring. The R 1200 GS is all the rage now, but it all started with an odd-looking R 80 G/S.

1983 Drysdale DRYVTECH 2

Not all of the most influential motorcycles ever made it to production. Here's a case in point. Australian designer and engineer Ian Drysdale built a hydraulic two-wheel drive bike. It satisfied his curiosity but never went much further at the time. Some 15 years later, however, it was proved to have been the precursor of Yamaha's 2Trac, a hydraulic two-wheel drive dirtbike that was put into production (and a 1000cc sportsbike variant that wasn't, yet).

1985 Suzuki GSX-R750

With a racing class capacity of 750cc, manufacturers were keen to sell on Monday what they raced on Sunday. Suzuki rewrote the rules with the 1985 GSX-R750. It combined the trinity of motorcycling — power, light weight and handling — into a machine that became the modern sportsbike template.

1986-1995 Britten

Built as an all-consuming passion by Kiwi developer John Britten, the bike gave heart and a sense of heroism to backyard builders everywhere. It was not about profit or production; it was about passion. And about making simply the best motorcycle he could possibly make, no matter what it took.

1994 Ducati 916

The best combination of form and function in four decades and the pinnacle of motorcycle design in many books. Designed by Italian guru Massimo Tamburini, the 916 became the Ferrari of motorcycling and an ambassador for the company that crossed boundaries from the racetrack to the Guggenheim museum.

2000 Harley-Davidson Softail

You can't talk about motorcycling without at least one mention of the Harley-Davidson range. Our selection for the most influential Harley in the past four decades has to be the bike that combined the rigid, hard-tail style, with modern suspension. Built in homage to the 1980-81 WideGlide, the Softail is the bike that launched the Harley clone (or Metric cruiser) phenomenon, from Honda VT750 to Yamaha XV1900 Roadliner.

2001 Honda GL1800 Goldwing

Nothing exceeds like excess and the 'wing is a call of the road for nomads like no other. With a six-stacker CD, rider/passenger intercom and CB radio, plus heated hand-grips and seats, SatNav, electronically adjustable suspension and air vents the 'wing is the last word in luxury touring, down to the lit vanity mirror.

The future

Here's a tip for tomorrow's list. Yamaha is about to release the new VMax, based on the fire-breathing VMax 1200cc V-four of 1995, with only 150 due to arrive in Australia.