retro-rr-blog

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Retro-RR is the brand new motorcycle magazine done properly! 132 high-quality pages celebrating the golden age of superbikes. If it was raced or ridden in the 80s and 90s you’ll find it here. Subscriptions and pre-orders now available at Retro-RR.com

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Our 916 is done. This makes us very happy! Retro-rr.com

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Retro-RR is the brand new motorcycle magazine done properly! 132 high-quality pages celebrating the golden age of superbikes. If it was raced or ridden in the 80s and 90s you’ll find it here. Subscriptions and pre-orders now available at Retro-RR.com

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Still loving the original!

The glory days are never too far away. #Z900RSCAFE #TheLegendReturns

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What's all this about then?

So what is Retro-RR?

What you are looking at here, on your screen, is a bit of a chance.

A gamble. An idea that wouldn’t quit buzzing around, that demanded exploring. And I can safely say it is all Mark Hawwa’s fault. Well, him and my wife in reasonably equal measure. With a bit of help from John, and Tony, and Merry Michau and Dutch. Miss Amy Shore isn’t entirely blameless either. You see, these people are motivators, enablers and facilitators. They all have my utmost admiration and awe for their ability to get off their ass and make stuff happen.  And they inspired (and in some cases instructed) me to get off mine and make this happen.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend most of my career working with bikes, most recently for one of the best known and coolest motorcycle brands in the world. And as I have travelled around, riding new bikes from pretty much every genre* I couldn’t help but notice all of these older sportsbikes around. Really cool old sportsbikes. Really cool old sportsbikes that don’t cost a lot of money these days. The bikes I really wanted to buy in my early 20s but simply couldn’t afford to purchase, or to insure.

And then Mark Hawwa bought a GSXR1100 Slingshot and put a picture of it up on Instagram. I’ve known Mark for three years now. He’s equal part lunatic, legend, lover and hero. He’s one of the most prolific and motivated ideas monkeys I know of, with an irrestible and infectious energy level. He’s also the founder of the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, a global phenomenon that to date has raised over $6M USD to support research into men’s health. When the picture of the GSXR popped up I just knew I had to have one.

I’m blessed with pretty much zero willpower so within a couple of months the blue and white GSXR1100L that you see at the top of the page was safely nestled in my garage. I posted a pic on Facebook and my friends instantly went crazy for it. Whenever it was parked up it would draw a crowd and I received about four offers to buy it in the first month. Sadly/not sadly I had to accept one of those offers. Because owning the GSXR lead me to realise that these old sportbikes, the ones I lusted after in my youth, offer an incredible opportunity.

The cool ones are still cool.

And fast.

And most of all cheap.

I figured I can’t be the only one out there who thinks this. So it might be cool to have a place where fans of such bikes can share pics, or drool over shoots, or be inspired to re-ignite an old riding passion. The biggest danger this project offers to you, the reader, is that eBay – and a host of fast, accessible performance machines - is only a click away. Go on, I dare you. Hit eBay and play the “if I had £2k” game. Or whatever currency applies.

 Just don’t blame me when you click buy it now. Blame Mark Hawwa.

   *apart from dirt bikes – I get hurt when I try to ride dirt bikes

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Round and round - Tony's obsession

I have something to admit……I have an obsession. Calm down, not like that. It’s motorcycle-related, honest. But it’s not just bikes.  If you are reading this, you are already afflicted by that disease.  No, I’m talking about something more specific.

Just like the rest of the Retro-RR crew I’ve always had a fascination with all manner of two-wheeled machines, but when it comes to sports bikes there’s a styling trait that has always attracted me.

Dual Headlights.

To be specific - dual, round headlights.

I couldn’t tell you why they stand out more for me. I don’t know what it is about them. Maybe it’s the anthropomorphism they bring to a bike, but more likely it’s the nostalgia of the period from which these machines came. The hot spot for this ‘look’ was the decade from the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s. This, in my humble opinion is when some of the best-looking sports bikes were created. The bikes that have always resonated with me as the epitome of the breed. Rounded and voluptuous lines mixed with angular (but not boxy) designs. It’s hard to beat a well proportioned bike from this era, particularly when its got two beady eyes whose stare bores into the rear view mirror of the vehicle in front!

Its was the Suzuki GSX-R750 which first grabbed my attention. Launched in 1985 it was I guess the first ‘modern’ race replica. A bike built with one thing, and one thing only in mind. Performance. A true racetrack pedigree for the street,  and it was those dual headlamps that drew me in.  (Unfortunately they weren’t the only big beautiful eyes that got me in trouble, but that’s a story for another time). Suzuki followed up with its bigger sibling, the GSX-R1100, the following year and thankfully kept the looks almost identical. 

The twin headlamp race replica game got pushed up several notches in 1988 when Honda unleashed the RC30 with a race-bred V4 engine, lightweight aluminum frame and single-sided swing arm. This homologation special became an instant classic and if you want one now, you’ve got to reach deep into your pockets.

Notable successors that pushed my ‘particular’ buttons included the Kawasaki ZXR750, Bimota YB6 and Yamaha FZR1000.  Sadly moving into the 90’s the FZR switched to a single headlamp, however bikes like the Triumph Daytona 1200 stuck with the twin set up.

Then, just as my married life started, the bike that really did it for me hit the streets, the Honda CBR900RR. Those iconic eyes where still there, and combined with the perforated fairing and stunning paint finish it was love at first sight.

Sadly, this beautiful machine has never seen the inside of any of my garages, and although I haven’t run the idea past my significant other I think the launch of Retro-RR is the perfect excuse to rectify that situation.

Watch this space.

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Lovely old FZR6.

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It might be a scruffy 916, but it is a 916. And that can’t be a bad thing. Stay tuned as we tidy it up and then ride the hell out of it...

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Kevin Schwantz Suzuki, Wayne Rainey Yamaha and  Mick Doohan Honda

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Clean, crisp, classic profile.

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Honda racing gold.

Photo by Amy Shore for Retro-RR

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Classic stance

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Michael Dunlop’s F1 Suzuki.  Look at the welds. Look. At. The. Welds!  Photo by Amy Shore for Retro-RR

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Suzuki GR1000 anyone? Shot by Merry Michau for Retro-RR

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the view from above … John Kocinski, Castrol HRC-Honda RC45, 1997 Italian World Superbike round, Monza Kocinski raced his V4 Honda to a 1st place & a 2nd place that weekend it was the consistency that brought him the title that year, he only retired once in 24 races agains Fogarty who had 5 DNF’s all year

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Still looks stunning!

1996 Yamaha YZF750R

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