The TOP FIVE Classic 1970s Motorcycles AS VOTED FOR BY YOU

Wobbly Phil recently ran a poll asking viewers to vote for their favourite, fantasy 1970s classic bikes. The results are in!
Here’s the link to the previous video mentioned:
My TOP FIVE Classic 1970s Motorcycles
• My TOP FIVE Classic 19...
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#classicmotorcycles #1970smotorcycles #Suzuki #Yamaha #MotoGuzzi #Laverda #BMW

[@AaaaandAction]

Having recently owned a LeMans 3 let me assure you that it’s the first iteration that people want not the first one you showed. The gorgeous orange with silver frame Jota is a no-brainier but surprised that the 900ss didn’t get an honourable mention.

[@3Phils]

Yes, I totally admit to knowing very little about Guzzis despite having occasionally felt an urge to own one! I know even less about Ducatis but, on reflection, the 900ss should have been included. KZbin only gives you five options when you run a poll, which is why I stuck to the five bikes I at least knew something about. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@brockett]

When the first MG LeMans appeared at the motorcycle show I sat on it and fell in love. It was too expensive for me then. All these years later I sat on one but could not get my feet on the footrests. Old knees ankles and too much belly. Oh! Well. I have be content with my MG V7 850 stone which is just like a brand new old fashioned bike. PS a special mention for the first model Honda 400 Four.

[@3Phils]

I know that feeling all too well! The V7 is a fantastic machine, I had a mate with one and was green with envy! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@davidmacgregor5193]

I've never owned a Jota, in the early 1980's I bought a Laverda 1200 to comute between my home in Halifax and my work in Telford, the big Lav would do the 125 mile journey in 90 minutes, those were the days.

[@3Phils]

They were indeed - no speed cameras! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@zaphodbeeblebrox4574]

On the bikes that you mentioned. I had a Jota 180 in the 70's. It is a fabulous bike that I took, amongst other things, touring around Europe. Today I have a BMW R nineT ... wonderful ... and the bike I like the best, although not a Le Mans , is my Moto Guzzi V7 850 ... full of character and charm.

[@3Phils]

Lots of people have mentioned touring on the Jota. I can’t imagine it was very comfortable, though? And I had a mate with the V7 - I was very jealous! In the end I went for a bit more power and bought the Indian FTR, a superb machine. The R nineT was on my shopping list too, but I’ve never been especially drawn to BMW boxer twins. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@marco-58]

Can't really argue with that. I was in the Royal Signals in the Seventies, and one of 'The White Helmets' display Team had a Jota. He once blasted past me on the A1 South one Friday, on the way home for the weekend. Me on a humble Ducati 250 Mk3. I'll always remember the sight, sound and speed of that Orange Jota as it roared past was awesome.

[@3Phils]

Great story, and thanks for sharing it! I always loved the White Helmets!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I have 9 sheds full of bikes and parts. CX 500 was a great bike of the 70's.

[@user-kq9gq2xq2f]

I've owned a Commando. The nicest bike of the 70's I've ridden was a Benelli 750 SEI. It wasn't fast but was super smooth with a sound track of iconic race bikes.

[@3Phils]

I would have loved a go on a Benelli Sei! Six pots has always been a thing for me, I am strangely attracted to Honda CBXs! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@user-kq9gq2xq2f]

@@3Phils Thanks for sharing your great videos.

[@3Phils]

@user-kq9gq2xq2f Thank you, much appreciated. 😊

[@Free_Ranger_CT110]

Rode my FS1/E to Cadwell as a teen. It hammered with rain during the meeting & as I rode out of the circuit there were several Guzzi LeMans all refusing to start! Ah the Jota, it got my vote. A Jota is a Spanish dance in triple time, smart thinking on Laverda's part. A bike so good it made us forget that Laverda also made combine harvesters & reserved the name 'agricultural' for BMWs...

[@3Phils]

Couldn’t agree more with your comment. There’s a bit of me that would still like to own a Jota, purely because of its legendary status back in the 1970s. But I realise it’s just nostalgia, the reality would almost certainly grind me into the ground!

[@anthonycollingridge970]

Neighbour had a brand new orange Jota back in the day. When cold, first to second gear change sounded like the gearbox was trying to part company with the engine. Was still an awesome sight to see and hear.

[@markblundell9461]

I loved my nota back in the day. Rose tinted glasses made me own another one years later. That clutch was made for arms like Popeye.

[@3Phils]

Ha! I found similar issues with my Trident, like needing six inch thumbs to work any of the switchgear. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@bsimpson6204]

RD350, keep it standard and well maintained and they are very fast and very reliable.

[@wobs5]

I never had a 120 or 180 Jota but always lusted after one. So got an SFC 1000 when they came out and l could afford afford it. Did several long European tours 2 up and the motor never missed a beat. Same couldn't be said of the electrics and once the top yoke nut came (vibrated?) loose which lead to a change of underwear when I managed to stop the bloody thing.

[@3Phils]

Scary! I’ve heard they vibrate a bit! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@TheMickvee]

I had a 120 Jota back in the day. It was a good bike, but far too heavy. I traded it in for a new LeMans V. which did 40,000 miles with no issues. My Jota was fast but very thirsty!

[@3Phils]

Great to hear from an owner! I heard from an acquaintance that his Jota was a bit hard for touring, and I had another friend who had a Le Mans which he loved. Both amazing bikes, neither of which I’ve owned, but I’d definitely love both of them in my ‘stable’ if I won the lottery.

[@mikewho9964]

Great list - as a past z900 owner i can say with certainty the Jota was by far faster - better at corners and simply nothing better .....but the price

[@3Phils]

Despite never having ridden a Jota, that’s exactly what I imagined. Good to hear it from someone with actual experience. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@stormytempest6521]

JOTA ! 3 CYLINDER ENGINE, PERFECTLY BALENCED ENGINE , AND PERFECT STYLING.

[@mattyb7736]

@@stormytempest6521 and a clutch heavier than a truck. Mine was a shocker.

[@trottophone]

I had a Jota 180 back in the 80s. The bike looked and sounded fantastic. However, I didn't think it was so fantastic after a long ride, due to severe vibration and prefer-to-go-straight-ahead handling. Perhaps I would have preferred the later Jota 120, which was supposedly less of a 'man's bike'!

[@3Phils]

My chum with a Jota 180 says the same thing. He wouldn’t trade it for the world though! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@JukeboxGothic]

I've owned all of them except the Suzuki. Even had a GP200 Lambretta (Italian). I currently own a LeMans an RD400 and a nice late MIrage. The Lemans is extremely reliable with proper maintenance and I owned 2 R90s's which were great bikes but the one I miss the most was my 81 Jota. I still have dreams I'm riding it. If I had to have one more bike it would be a spoke wheel Laverda 3C though.

[@3Phils]

You’re clearly a person of taste and discretion! If I had a massive stash of cash I’d love a Jota, but I get the sense that it would be a big, ongoing financial commitment, like the Trident. Only bigger. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@keithnorman3519]

Jota, two hands to work the clutch and the other two to work the throttle, and like riding on a plank.

[@3Phils]

I have an acquaintance who owns one, who says roughly the same thing. Still loves it, though!

[@splodge5714]

Put the '79 Ducati 900SS at number 1 and remove the RD 350 and you'd have my top 5.😊

[@3Phils]

I never knew or even heard of anyone with a 900SS in the 70s, even though it’s clearly a classy machine. That might have been because I wasn’t living in a classy part of the world at the time! 🤣 Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@jackgreen9062]

The 1974 750 Sport Desmo(SS) is in fact The worlds most sought after factory sports bike. The Jota is not even a close second. Look up the relative prices.

[@3Phils]

Can’t disagree there, but there was no Ducati on offer in my poll. Lovely machines, but as I have no personal or even secondhand experience of anything Ducati, I didn’t feel qualified to say anything about them. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@peterturnham5134]

I'm 67 years old riding fast bikes since I was 17. So I rode, rode with or against these bikes. RD350 I can't argue with. Air cooled I would probably pick an RD400 or very early 350. I have a 1980 RD350LC in the garage but that's 1980.. Norton Commando, wonderful but I specialise in Norton Dominators, with a 750cc Cafe racer and a cdoncours 650SS içn the garage, OK they are 1960s bikes. Now where your showing gets interesting is with the Italiens. In that period I rode ba Ducat-i 900 Darmah, but tricked up with twin spot endurance racing fairing, Red Red Red paint. It was quite fast, would hold with my mates 900SS. Very SOOOOTH, tucked down behind the fairing you could do London Marseilles in a day. Mainjtenance a nightmare, I was shimming desmo Cangear to 0° every 5000 miles. You split the cases and there were shims everywhere. Tyhis was a hand built motorcycle Shimmed to perfect-ion. Handled well but a bit long, not as fast to flick as Norton or Yamaha RD. Now how does that compare with Jota or LeMans. I rode both of them, mates bikes. The Laverda, beutiful, I tell you Girls loved it, they dribbled about it. However, so tall. I'm 5 foot 11 this is a very big bike. Going fast B roads my Ducati was so much easier to ride. Probably faster. Guys were winning production races all the' time on Jotas, they were heros, i cant do that. Le Mans... It is low and long like the Ducati, easy to ride. Side my side riding my 900 Ducati v 850 Lemans similar power similar torque similar Sooooth. On a track I think my Ducati had an edge. The shaft drive gearbox was slow, the power delivery a bit more crisp, less engine wobble. However, Gussi maintenance so much simpler if someone offered me...

[@3Phils]

Fascinating insight there, thanks for the comment. I realise Ducati is conspicuous by its absence in my 1970s motorcycle videos, but I’ve never owned one or even known anyone who owned one, so it’s up to good folk like yourself to fill in the gap here in the comments. 🙏

[@grahamsmith2022]

BMW R series, more an appliance than a motorcycle, like a plough although the plough has better looks.

[@3Phils]

🤣

[@brianperry]

l owned a Moto Guzzi 850 LeMans in l think 1978 It was the first incarnation, bikini faring and no Mk number...It is the LeMans. During the same time l had friends who owned Ducati 900 SS bevel drives and Laverda Jotas... BiMotos were also around...if one could afford the price tag!

[@3Phils]

Sadly I was in a weird motorcycling subset of Triumphs and Lambrettas in the 70s. I heard a Jota riding past school once, and that was about it! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@davidmacgregor5193]

The Le Mans 850 first appeared in the showrooms in 1976, the last of the series two were sold in 1978. It was superceded by the Le Mans MkII in 1979.

[@martinvanderwiele5464]

As a five year old kid i rode a little Orange bicyckle,but in my imagination it was a laverda 1000 3cyl,i made a beautifull engine sound myself😂

[@3Phils]

Hehe!

[@andersjrgenolsen6647]

A 1973-1975 aircooled Yamaha RD 350 (with 39HP) to go from 0 to 100 Miles/h in 6 seconds 🤣 Guess you must have been thinking of from 0 to 60 mph ? /or from 0 to 100 Kilometers /h. ?

[@3Phils]

Oops! Thanks for spotting that! 0-100kph in 7 secs or 0-60mph in 5.2 secs. Apologies for getting my knickers in a twist there. 😕

[@winksmt01]

I had a jota back in the 80s. Great sounding bike 180 crank. Sadly got written off.

[@3Phils]

Sorry to hear that. 😢

[@gustavmeyrink_2.0]

Jota v Trident? Jota and it is not close. Why no Ducati 750/900SS or even more exotic 70s dream machines like the MV Agusta 750 and Münch 1200 TTS-E (th most expensive, powerful and fastest production bike of it's day)?

[@3Phils]

Sorry, I was constricted to five choices by the vagaries of KZbin’s polling mechanism. I agree Ducati and MV Agusta could have been in there somewhere, but I restricted myself to bikes I knew something about. I regarded the Munch as too much of a speciality, with only 500 or so made, but I’m making a video on it for release this coming Saturday. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@MrVinnyh]

For me the top two were just dreams in my youth! but could not afford, I now ride a V7 (850 lump of 2019) Moto Guzzi great machine, prob better than the Le Mans in time but basic unlike most of the things that manufactures produce today!

[@3Phils]

I love those V7s! If only my short, fat, hairy legs could sit safely behind those cylinders! But seriously, for me it was a difficult decision between the Z900RS, the V7 and the Indian FTR. I went with the FTR, which is a fantastic machine, but if you watch my vid on it you can probably tell that I find it a little bit lacking in character and heritage. The V7 has those in spades! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@Cobra427Veight]

From the short sound clip , I think the trident sounds better .

[@3Phils]

Me too! But then I’m biased.

[@BikesDrones]

Your viewers have great taste, lusted after all of these bikes when I was young and still do today. Still waiting for my dollop of Cannelloni and chips. As for the BMW R18, my nips are so sore from rubbing my jugs on the tarmac whilst going around corners ❤‍🩹Another classic video filled with classic bikes. Cheers Phil.

[@3Phils]

Thank you - sorry for having a go at the R18! I believe you can get cream from your pharmacy for that painful condition.

[@BikesDrones]

@@3Phils If only my jugs were purty like on a Moto Guzzi i wouldn't need the cream

[@3Phils]

Hehe!

[@andrewoh1663]

Surprised Ducati wasn't on the list

[@3Phils]

Unfortunately KZbin only allows five choices in a poll. Of course, Ducatis are top notch classics but because of being constrained to five and because Ducatis are probably at the ‘exotic’ end, I decided to go for five affordable choices that were commonplace in their day. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@oldoldbikebiker]

Damn. I identify with every word ... except 'Kent'.

[@3Phils]

Hehe! The Costa del Kent in the 1970s was buzzing!

[@samjoentess9168]

Phil Phil Phil Class 👍

[@3Phils]

Most kind, thank you. 😊

[@bananabrooks3836]

No Z900/1000s? very odd.

[@3Phils]

Maybe you missed my previous video, the Z900 was in there. My TOP FIVE Classic 1970s Motorcycles kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXWYZGyEmb2Bba8

[@ianalderton6683]

wot no 900SS ?

[@3Phils]

I know, I know! It’s been remarked upon before, but I could only have five options because that’s the max KZbin allows in a poll. As I’ve hardly ever seen a 900SS in real life, let alone ridden one, I stuck to machines I knew at least something, anything, about! I think they’re great looking bikes and perhaps I’ll have to do a ‘Here’s one I know nothing about’ video to make up for the omission. Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@rustynuts82]

All great bikes! I have my Guzzi for blasting around and my airhead for touring, although the Guzzi can tour too! I’ve ridden a Jota, yeah fast for its day but hefty compared even to a Guzzi. I regret not buying an immaculate RD400 in yellow with All Speeds for £275 back in the day!

[@3Phils]

I’m going to have to put the Guzzi on my bucket list, I think, seeing as so many folk rate them! I’ve also heard the Jota is a bit of a hefty, uncomfortable lump plus I couldn’t afford the upkeep, I suspect. I’ll stick with the Trident, which I can ride all day without needing a trip to the pharmacist afterwards. Thanks for the comment. 😊