Slow Burn - the Growth of Superbikes & Superbike Racing 1970 to 1988

Bob Guntrip discovered that motorcycles could send shivers down his back while he was still in short pants, and has never really recovered. After more than 30 years editing and contributing to sports magazines on three continents, he knows his love for motorcycle racing is total and irreversible. He has on occasion sought cures in science journalism, lesser forms of sport and even interior design; each has lasted no longer than the first bark of an Italian V-twin or howl of a Japanese four to pass his office window. In 2015 Bob tried writing bikes out of his system with his book ‘Racing Line’: his follow up book ‘Slow Burn’ was the inevitable result.

A history of superbikes and superbike racing from 1970 to 1988 [covering] new engine technologies, the introduction of new frame designs, the biggest names and racing stars if the era and the tracks and the major events they competed in. - British Dealer News. You do not need to be a pure racing fan to get something from this book ... whatever your interest - be it road or race - it is well worth a read - Ian Kerr. Written most engagingly and enthusiastically, hardly a stone is left unturned of the Superbike racing era of the 1970s and 1980s, its glory years in almost every respect. - Iain P W Robertson - Freelance. a great read to pass your lockdown weeks away. - BSN (BikeSport News). "Slow Burn: The Growth of Superbikes and Superbike Racing 1970 to 1988" by Bob Guntrip is a unique and impressively informative sports history. - Midwest Book Review.a very good book about a dramatic period of racing - Mark Holman - Freelance. well worth a read - Heavy Duty Magazine. Guntrip covers the fascinating backstory, the uncommon technical details, the politics and maneuvering that happened off the track as well as on. - Ultimate MotorCycling

• Introduction: this isn't the future but you can see it from here1 Rising sonAs the 1970s dawned, the four-stroke seemed likely to disappear from international open-class racing altogether; but not before a final flourish - in a new class - led by Britain's last ailing giants2 Green on blueBrazen, brash, irritating to the ear and very fast, the first big-bore two-strokes began to appear in 1972 and Paul Smart was right there when it mattered3 Tomorrow, the worldYamaha's trim, purposeful motorcycles have formed the backbone of racing for half a century; but there was never a time that emphasised their potential quite like the mid-1970s4 Kenny Back in the Florida sunshine for Daytona '76, Yamaha unveiled four new projectiles that got everyone talking and helped to define Kenny Roberts' career. And then there were those BMWs 5 Pushing on an open door Finally, F750 had its world championship for 1977 - but it came too late to be much more than a one-make, one-model competition. Little wonder the alternatives were gaining ground 6 Warriors for the working dayIf Honda's CB750 wasn't immediately the stuff racing careers were built on, Kawasaki's Z1 and the Suzuki GS1000 were a different proposition - and just the thing for harassing two-strokes7 Long-distance confirmationWhile Yamaha did as it pleased in the dying years of F750, other marques began to see possibilities in the European zest for endurance racing, Honda prominent among them8 Formula oneProblem: the TT is stripped of its world championship status after 1976. Solution: the TT stages its own world championship, and offers one path to cheaper racing9 Welcome to the jungleAt Ontario in 1973, it was called Superbike Production. Soon it would become AMA Superbike and routinely offer some of the world's tightest racing - just ask Eddie, Freddie and Wes10 All changeAnother decade, another recession: 1000cc motorcycles are too powerful and too thirsty, so Wayne Rainey and Joey Dunlop showed how to make the right impression with a 750 11 Honda enters, Honda...The progress of the world's biggest bike maker through the 1980s paralleled the evolution of Superbike racing itself: uncertain beginnings, growing strength - and a very grand finale 12 All together nowAs TT-F1 grew stronger, the Superbike World Championship assumed shape and substance; and there could only be one winner