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19-428: Source: Motorcycle.com The term " Universal Japanese Motorcycle ", or UJM , was coined in the mid-1970s by Cycle Magazine to describe a proliferation of similar Japanese standard motorcycles that became commonplace following Honda's 1969 introduction of its successful CB750 . The CB750 became a rough template for subsequent designs from all three of the other major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. In 2011,

38-627: A Cycle magazine review of the Kawasaki Z650 . The term "universal" arose from the fact that during the 1970s, the Japanese "big four" ( Honda , Kawasaki , Suzuki , and Yamaha ) all produced very similar designs. The UJM was a general-purpose road bike, and the style went into decline in the early to mid 1980s with the segmentation of the market and the development of niche products, such as sport , dual-sport , touring , sport touring , café racers , and cruisers . Honda sold about 400,000 CB750s, and

57-473: A standard riding position, front disc brake , conventional tubular frame and telescopic front forks and twin-shock rear suspension . The engine was typically an inline four cylinder air cooled four-stroke transverse engine , with a carburetor for each cylinder, and single, or double, overhead camshafts . The unit construction engine was mated to a five or six speed manual transmission , and had an electric starter. Cycle (magazine) Cycle

76-525: A web site, produced before the majority of the world was aware the Internet existed." Regular long-time contributors to Cycle included Kevin Cameron ("TDC"), Ed Hertfelder ("The Duct Tapes"), Jim Greening ("Pipeline"), and Michael Shuter ("Downhill Straight"). Art Directors: Eberhard Luethke, Cheh Nam Low, Paul Halesworth, Tom Saputo, and Barbara Goss. Many of Cycle' s former writers and contributors still work in

95-569: The Honda CB1100 , Honda SCL500 , Suzuki TU250X , Suzuki GD110 , the Kawasaki W800 and the Yamaha SR400 . The UJM had an advanced design and an excellent specification compared to contemporary European and American competition. The press described it as cheap, reliable, easy to ride, manufactured with precision, and with a reputation for excellence. Technical specifications typically included

114-726: The Suzuki GS750 and by the Yamaha XS Eleven in 1978. These manufacturers all produced smaller versions of the same UJM formula, including, for example, the Honda CB500 of 1971. By 1979 Harley-Davidson 's big bike sales were down 90%. The first Japanese vehicle manufacturing plant in America opened in 1975 to produce the UJM Kawasaki KZ400 . Until then the bikes had been imported from Japan. The term UJM appeared as early as 1976 in

133-524: The British and American models that then dominated the market, it had better performance and reliability, was better equipped, and yet was much cheaper. It revolutionized the industry both in America and abroad, and sales in America immediately overtook those of big bikes from established brands like BSA and Triumph . The CB750's first Japanese competitor was the Kawasaki Z1 in 1972. It was followed in 1976 by

152-549: The New York Times said lightning struck for Honda "with the 1969 CB 750, whose use of an inline 4-cylinder engine came to define the Universal Japanese Motorcycle." The UJM template featured a four-cylinder engine, standard riding position, carburetor for each cylinder, unit construction engine, disc front brake, conventional tubular cradle frame and telescopic front forks and twin-shock rear suspension . As

171-425: The editorial excellence associated with his predecessors. Hachette Filipacchi closed Cycle in the early 1990s, much to the chagrin of its many fans. In the early 1990s, Anderson, Jennings, and Kevin Cameron (and others) founded "Wheelbase," a pioneering on-line subscription-based electronic magazine for motorcycle and car enthusiasts. Dean Adams of Superbike Planet.com described it as "essentially what we know now as

190-517: The magazine to focus on its other magazine, Cycle World . During the Ziff-Davis years, Cycle was known for editorial integrity, technical expertise, and humor. Editors-in-chief were Gordon Jennings (1966-1969), Cook Neilson (1969-1979), and Phil Schilling (1979-1988). P. Thomas Sargent was publisher. Jennings, a self-educated engineer and journalist, worked on and off as a technical and contributing editor for two decades after his editorship. He

209-462: The major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, Honda , Kawasaki , Suzuki , and Yamaha , began replicating each other's designs, the UJM's created a homogeneity of form, function and quality. UJMs included such prominent models as the Honda CB500 , the Kawasaki Z1 , and the Suzuki GS750 . Such machines had massive sales, and UJMs continued to be produced for more than a decade. In 1976, Cycle described

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228-641: The model run ended in 2003 with the Nighthawk . There have been several market revivals led by increased demand for simplified standard general purpose, or naked bikes and has led Japanese manufacturers to introduce modern interpretations of the UJM; first in the early 1990s with the Honda CB750 RC42 and CB1000 , Suzuki GS1100G and VX800 , the Kawasaki Zephyr Series , and Yamaha continuing to sell its SR Series . Recently, revival efforts have included

247-537: The new phenomenon, saying: In the 2010 book, Sport Bikes, Hans Hetrick wrote that: Subsequently, in the 1980s and 1990s, the Japanese manufacturers diversified their ranges, producing faired sportsbikes , race-replicas, dual-sport bikes and musclebikes . A defining example of the type, the Honda CB750 , was introduced in 1969 with an engine based on technology Honda had developed in Grand Prix racing. Compared to

266-807: Was an American motorcycling enthusiast magazine, published from the early 1950s through the early 1990s. During its heyday, in the 1970s and 1980s, it had a circulation of more than 500,000 and was headquartered in Westlake Village , California, near the canyon roads of the Santa Monica Mountains , where Cycle' s editors frequently road tested and photographed test bikes. Cycle was founded by Robert E. Petersen of Trend Inc. and Petersen Publishing, which also published Hot Rod and Motor Trend magazines. Petersen sold Cycle to Floyd Clymer in July 1953. In an anniversary issue of Cycle , his editorial approach

285-409: Was beloved among Cycle readers—known for his acerbic wit, his technical know-how, his easy-to-understand project and "basic" articles, and his 1973 Two-Stroke Tuner's Handbook , which is still highly sought after by tuners. He was also editor-in-chief of Car and Driver Magazine , another Ziff-Davis publication, from 1970-1971. Neilson, popular for his irreverent, entertaining, and insightful writing,

304-545: Was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2006. Schilling, who worked for Cycle for nearly 20 years, is best known for his exceptional race-tuning expertise and for connecting his readers to the heart of the motorcycling experience. In 1974, during a short sabbatical from the magazine, he wrote The Motorcycle World (RidgePress/ Random House , 1974), one of the first general-interest books about motorcycles and motorcycle racing, still in demand today. Schilling

323-505: Was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011. At the end of 1988, Hachette Filipacchi moved Cycle from Westlake Village to Newport Beach , California, to the same offices that housed Cycle World . At that time, the two magazines were consolidated under one publisher and advertising staff. Steve Anderson, previously with Cycle World , became editor-in-chief. Anderson, an engineer himself, maintained Cycle' s technical focus and

342-476: Was promoted to editor in 1969, at the age of 26. He is credited with making the magazine successful through the 1970s and popularizing the comparison test format. In addition to being a journalist, he was also a successful motorcycle racer, best known for a much celebrated 1977 Daytona Superbike win on a Phil Schilling-tuned Ducati 750 Supersport nicknamed "Old Blue" and "the California Hot Rod." Neilson

361-551: Was summed up as, "[He] never met a motorcycle he didn't like. Clymer owned Cycle until 1966, when he sold the publication to the New York-based publishing company Ziff-Davis Publications, which owned it through the mid-1980s. CBS , which also owned Cycle' s main competitor, Cycle World , purchased Cycle in 1985; Diamandis Communications owned both magazines for a short time in 1988. In April of that year both were sold to Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. The company folded

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