Motorcycle Innovations that literally changed EVERYTHING

[@bartmotorcycle]

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[@lairdpenfold]

I think that you missed brakes as one of the 10 innovations going from drum brakes to disc brakes certainly was an improvement and then was again improved by having multiple pistons in the calipers

[@10000Mistakes]

Plus ABS.

[@aaronleverton4221]

Didn't change everything. Plenty of bikes still have rear drum brakes, some even have front drum brakes.

[@lairdpenfold]

@@aaronleverton4221 only because they dont need discs but we are talking about innovations 🙂

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@lairdpenfold Not to be pedantic, but "that literally changed EVERYTHING." On cars and trucks, yeah, absolutely, bikes, not so much. I might be tempted to argue in circles with you that ABS is a larger or more far-reaching innovation than disc brakes (I have thoughts about rider/driver aids).

[@anonym3017]

the big issue with drums is that they can engage at different points in the pedal press. meaning that the car swerves under hard braking. that was never an issue with bikes on account of only having 1 wheel per axle.

[@jfess1911]

I doubt many here really full appreciate the switch to electronic (capacitor discharge) ignition. Setting the points was a pain and had to be re-done fairly often. When I tuned up my mid-70's CB360T it got more power and increased fuel mileage by over 30%. It was amazing that it had run decently beforehand.

[@bsimpson6204]

You’re not kidding; mid 70's two strokes relied on very accurate ignition timing or performance suffered and pistons melted. I fitted some electronic black boxes to stop the points burning on my RD350 and that helped enormously, but full electronic ignition would have been magic.

[@Bata.andrei]

I like my bikes with minimum electronics. I am not opposed to fuel injection as long as it is the "classic" style with no ride by wire, no riding modes and other useless bells an whistles.

[@ricopenguin9023]

Same here

[@udaysingh9_11]

Royal enfield in a nutshell

[@Bata.andrei]

@@udaysingh9_11 or an old Moto Guzzi

[@stevenkelby2169]

Luddite.

[@Bata.andrei]

@@stevenkelby2169 no, I'm not. I am just a dude that fixes this kind of crap for a living, being an automotive sparky.

[@ninjaguysith]

I'm an avionics technician so I'm probably biased, but I love ride by wire. Easy to troubleshoot, zero maintenance, doesn't get dirty, tons of data, saves weight and easy to mod. The only thing I hate is the trend of manufacturers locking you out with software.

[@lordchickenhawk]

Envy your training/knowledge base there mate. And I hate being cut off from my machines like that too. If I can't screw with the works "for better or for worse" then it ain't my machine to begin with. Never accept a manufacturer trying to cuck your relationships with your harem of mo'syckles. EDIT: ....hmmm, now I re-read that... perhaps it explains my fetish for the more petite and older girls. At least I understand what's going on with them. I'd need some serious "reeducation" to handle those highly strung modern tarts you young fellas seem so enamored with...

[@stevenpate6501]

Loved the stock footage of Box Hill, looks like the 80s - just down the road from me, but sadly all average-speed checks now. Still a good bike hangout in the middle of he Surrey hills. Love retro and vintage bikes, and no better place to find out the history of them than from Bart

[@yevrahhipstar3902]

The thumbnail makes me think "Yeah, a seat's a pretty impactful innovation."

[@jamestouchesgrass3410]

That bit about automatic spark advance really makes me appreciate Honda's engineering. Every single vintage OHC Honda I've owned has had a centrifugal spark advancer, which means my '73 CL350 essentially feels like it has Vtech compared to anything the Brits or Americans were offering at the time.

[@astro61362]

My Royal Enfield is the first bike I have owned with fuel injection. I sure don't miss the constant gas smell in my garage that came with carburators!

[@yonniboy1]

IMO monoshock suspension was a massive step forward in handling, I don't know if there had been a monoshock system on road bikes before Yamaha's RD350LC in 1980 (yamaha had it on their TZ racers) but it was certainly the first on mass produced bikes, suddenly the 350LC was able to run rings around other bikes and in production races regularly beat bikes of 3 times its capacity.

[@darrinslack1269]

try a vincent hrd ,japs have invented nothing , ali frame look up moto rumi, mass first disc brake lambretta , rear single suspension mv agusta ,automatic trans a heap load just after ww2 ,

[@stevelawrie9115]

Tyres are a biggy. I have been riding motorcycles since I was 14, I'm now 67. I had a break for about 15 to 20 years and when I came back I bought a new Ducati. I mentioned to my brother that they tyre innovation and many other was incredible, saying, it is amazing that we stayed on the road and he remarked, often we didn't :)

[@fearsomename4517]

The newest motorcycle I've ever owned is a stock '99 Heritage Springer. The rest were vintage, including a stock '57 Panhead, '39 Knucklehead, original paint '49 Triumph, I restored a '50 Triumph Thunderbird, took over five years to complete. Won first place at Mid-Ohio bike show. I like the saying you can't bend an oak.

[@SkittlesBoris]

I've got a Suzuki '76 GT500 two stroke. It has advancements such as front disc brakes and electronic ignition. It also had a separate tank and oil injectors for the two stroke oil. I also had a '73 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. It had the shifter on the right and rear brake on the left, but standard handle bar set up. Clutch left and gas/brake right. Also it was 1 up and 4 down shifting. The shift rod could be switched to either side as I recall, but I left it as I got it.

[@notwocdivad]

You have missed the single most important thing on a motorcycle! THE NUT THAT HOLDS THE HANDLEBARS!!! Nicely done Bart!

[@Siskiyous6]

In 1980 I had a BSA 650 and a Honda 750, there was aftermarket Electronic ignition for the Honda, what a change, I did not even have that in a car or truck before the Honda got it. It was the real ticket to reliability.

[@rustymustard7798]

When i broke my hand a few years back i was using an ebike to commute. I put two brake levers and the twist throttle on the left side and got used to it lol.

[@jamesgrigsby3971]

Windshields, shaft and or belt drive, electronic ignition, fuel injection, better engineered suspension and brake components, as well as rider comfort features like better seats and highway pegs, better gear boxes to get far greater speeds and much more efficiency... I could go on and on but i think those are the most important game changing features that go on most new motorcycles made today compared to those of the past.. the utilitarian style work horse motorcycles like the ROKON with the two wheel drive setup was also a pretty awesome innovation to bikes overall.. they are using a similar setup on some motocross dirtbike setups in certain classes of racing and climbing events too.. motorcycles of all sizes and and from all different eras are fun to ride around on, but they certainly cant hold a candle to the ones of today! Especially not in terms of reliability, efficiency and performance!! Cool video!!! Keep it up!!!

[@lint2023]

Notice the wheel wobble on the sidecar at 11:24!

[@bsimpson6204]

Talking of bike electrics, British bikes had cheap and primitive zener diodes under the headlight to regulate the electrical system. The Honda 750 had a proper mechanical voltage regulator, even my RD350 had a properly regulated electrical system..

[@rondobrondo]

Interesting. I was wondering what the specific difference was

[@senseofstile]

I bought a Chinese bike in 2017. I rode it just about everyday until 2022. 175cc single cylinder OHV. It cost $840 off the showroom floor. That price included; tax, lic, registration, dealer prep, etc. As low cost (cheap?) as that bike was, it still came with electronic ignition.

[@senseofstile]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2jXlaWZet56Y5Y

[@John_Ridley]

At this point electronic ignition is cheaper than trying to do it mechanically

[@biker1581]

you forgot to mention the heated grips 🤣

[@gteefxr3094]

'75 was the year "left-side" shifting became mandatory. Never found it to be a problem switching back and forth.

[@lordchickenhawk]

Got a '68 125 CZ (LH 1 up 3 down w/kickstart lever), a 69' GL175 Honda (LH 1 down 4 up, w/CB gearbox) and a '94 500 Enfield (RH 1 down 3 up w/neutral finder) Don't know which country you're are in but '75 didn't seem to standardise too much here in Aus. I seem to have trouble switching between the Enny and the CZ for some reason... Perhaps I need an American suicide shifter to practice my flexibility.

[@gteefxr3094]

Yeah, it was a US mandate.

[@lordchickenhawk]

@@gteefxr3094 Ah... no wukkas, there yer go. I'm not sure about local regulations since '94, but I notice that all the Ennys sold now seem to have have the LH 1 down, the rest up configuration. Even if it's not a regulatory matter here, we are such a small market on the international stage that we often end up with such standards de facto.

[@gteefxr3094]

👍

[@boring1770]

'Lucas invented darkness' old timers say.. great video!

[@rickfilho3686]

I had a Honda 82 CB 1000 custom , I love it.

[@Mike40M]

One thing not mentioned is foot shifting replacing hand shifting.

[@mattthecat1749]

As with cars: Some electronic gadgets are useful (fuel injection, ABS, etc.). The rest is useless garbage which makes your bike harder to repair and easier for the manufacturer to further the obsolenscence.

[@keinname629]

BRAKES - on the same level of important as the tires!!!

[@lsixty30]

I started learning to ride on a magna v30 and fiddling with an old carb that needed a roll start half the time almost put me off riding until i picked up a fuel injected ninja 250 , night and day difference in convenience and ease of learning

[@shanebutler5787]

The most important innovation in motorcycles to me is the modern helmet

[@larry648]

Yes, a couple of bi,e had EFI, but, BMW introduced ABS and EFI for the masses.

[@derpysean1072]

"Ride by wire" sounds like "Death by electronics".

[@FurryestX]

Wings are beautiful

[@Fee.1]

4:15 Since when can aluminum withstand higher pressure and heat? I don’t think either of those are accurate but happy to learn if I’m wrong

[@one-of-us9939]

I've said it before and I'll say again, your rubber matters most.

[@crippleguy415]

Predator motors need automatic timing advance instead of static fixed timing .

[@d-day4165]

The most important innovation in motorcycling is safety gear.

[@michaelb.42112]

I really enjoy your channel and I am getting the itch to start riding again.

[@rabcspaniel5679]

joe Lucas ('Prince Of Darkness!) Injection is brilliant, esp Ducati's

[@1pfuller]

Full fairings look cool as hell, and naked bikes look unfinished/wrecked. Fight Me.

[@aridragonbeard745]

How do you think the "street fighter" look came to be? 😆

[@williamfischer3990]

My dad owned a classic BMW R50 and I’m sure he would say electric start.

[@bobz1736]

Very interesting sir! I think ride by wire has definitely helped with engine efficiency. Modem bikes get mpg almost double of a few decades ago ... which I'm sure we'll all agree is a good thing. As for the crazy amount of tech on bikes - I personally think most is totally unnecessary and is simply a way of driving up prices and profits. Only on the most extreme, high end, high powered bikes is it doing something genuinely useful and probably saving you from yourself. On most normal motorcycles ABS on the front wheel is probably all you need... which is why my Honda CRF250L is a genuine keeper. IMHO. 🤔

[@hondaryder3779]

Erg educatief, no translation necessary 🇳🇱

[@min_nari]

as someone who switched from the stock tyres (14000+km) to a pair of diablo rosso 3 oh boy... (this is my first impression)

[@650Max]

Ironic that a video about motorcycle innovation and technology has a picture of a Harley as the thumbnail. Is it one of the 2024 range?

[@winfriedwagener3367]

Thank you

[@kubhak]

Wheel is the most important tho

[@Gimpthulhu]

I have no love for the movement toward phone-sized tablet-like instrument displays. I find them aesthetically displeasing and doubt they'll be as durable as their analog countetparts.

[@zefautino]

That surfshit time... I'm never getting it back.

[@Angryeddie14]

The one minute ad?

[@northdetroit7994]

Why do Brits drink warm beer? They have Lucas refrigerators

[@paulomiranda1717]

Honestly I am no fan of fuel injection.I think the biggest improvement was progressive rear suspension ,all else is just evolution.

[@brittennz]

You are wrong about the timing of your old triumph. It wad actually doing advanced ignition nased on the rngine rpm. It was more complicated, but more accurate than todays electronic ignition which has one or two stages of advanced timing.

[@blandrooker6541]

Seats that don't make your ass go numb.

[@danielburgess7785]

The helmet.

[@TheNobbynoonar]

Two wheels, one in front of the other.

[@GrumpyIan]

Don't forget the standardization of how to start the bike... I'm looking at you 1940s Harley Davidson.

[@Bata.andrei]

Kick-starting a bike is a form of art, especially the old bikes where you need to prepare the bike for starting. Usually, in my experience, the number of kicks required to start the bike is directly proportional to the number of spectators watching you start your bike.

[@GrumpyIan]

@@Bata.andrei When I watched this video for some reason I thought of Bikes and Beards video of them trying to get random people to start their WLA.

[@Bata.andrei]

@@GrumpyIan my thoughts exactly.

[@bsimpson6204]

@@Bata.andrei Never did I pray so hard as kick starting my Ducati outside the biker cafe lol

[@dbx1233]

How you failed not to include the transition from square wheels to round wheels is beyond me. Round tires and wheels was a complete game changer in every conceivable metric. Not to mention the physical benefits to the rider. With the advent of round wheels, I could make a several hundred mile road trip in one day, something I would not have attempted with square wheels.

[@leebenson4874]

So glad that my riding days where between 1967 to 2030?? as internal combustion ROCKS!!! Just saying!!

[@bunkie2100]

I love fuel injection and I’m not going back.

[@adv.kumarsanu]

ABS

[@lifeisharditsharderifyoure6822]

2:01 beer holder

[@gfhjkfghj4208]

Bullshit, I rode my K1300R really hard with just a Wunderlich lampmask. Was it as comfy as a S would have been? No, but it was far from unbearable. Just man up, kid. If you want wind protection, ride a bus. Don't turn a bike into one.

[@Legend57.]

This new bikes have and are becoming too complicated with too much electrionics. Other than electronic fuel injection, I could care less about the rest... Why would anyone need TC with multiple settings, ABS with multiple settings, 10 different rider modes, electronic suspension with multiple settings, wheelie control etc. Funny thing is, 99% of people who buy this bikes usually put them in one setting and stick to that where most of them only stick to default rider modes and never go in the sub menus to mess with the difference TC, engine or ABS settings coz its too complicated and lack the feel and experience.

[@jasonl6130]

Is it just me or are motorcycles 40-50 years behind the rest of the auto industry. I get the tradition argument, but if you want a traditional bike, buy a vintage bike.