Universal Japanese motorcycle

The term Universal Japanese Motorcycle, or UJM, refers to the wave of similar motorcycles produced, beginning in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, by all four of the big Japanese manufacturers (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha), when they began replicating each other's designs in quick succession, resulting a remarkable homogeneity of form, function and quality in the market, leading Cycle Magazine to coin the acronym in 1976 to describe the new phenomenon: ::"In the hard world of commerce, achievers get imitated and the imitators get imitated. There is developing, after all, a kind of Universal Japanese Motorcycle.... conceived in sameness, executed with precision, and produced by the thousands." cite web | url= http://www.pipeline.com/~randyo/700S%20cycle%20mag%20article.htm| title= Honda Nighthawk 700S | work= Cycle Magazine]

The term is neutral (neither complimentary nor pejorative), merely highlighting these bikes' strong similarity to each other. The bikes clustered around the following feature set:

* Standard Seating Position
* Air-cooled, transverse-mounted inline 4 cylinder or twin cylinder engine.
* Individual carburetors for each cylinder.
* Telescoping front fork.
* Dual-cradle steel ("featherbed-style") frame.
* Integrated engine and gearbox.
* Front disk brake.

A prominent example of the classic UJM is the 1969 Honda CB750, which clearly became a template for subsequent designs from the other three Japanese manufacturers. Unlike other UJM's, however, the Honda achieved prominence by introducing a compelling feature set (including performance) at an unprecedented price and quality.

Classic UJM's

*Honda: CB750, CB350, CB400, CB550, CB650, CB900, CB1000, Nighthawk 650, Nighthawk 750
*Kawasaki: KZ900, KZ1000, KZ750, KZ650, KZ500/KZ550, Zephyr 550, Zephyr 750, Zephyr 1100
*Suzuki: GS series (1976-1983): GS750, GS650, GS550, GS850, GS1000, GS1100; GT series (1972-1977): GT380, GT550, GT750
*Yamaha: XS1100, XJ1100, XJ650, XJ750, XJ900

Explanation of the Phenomenon

Although Japanese export manufacturing is not generally considered to have been stylistically or technologically innovative at the time, its ability to copy and subsequently rapidly improve upon its competitors' offerings in areas such as reliability and cost-effectiveness was first-rate. In producing the UJM, all four motorcycle manufacturers were responding to the rapidly-expanding motorcycle market in a very short period, each reacting quickly to the products of its domestic and foreign competitors without efforts to evolve or innovate the form factor, with the result that a remarkably homogeneous group of products emerged.

Broadening of the Term

The term UJM as originally coined specifically applies to the standard-riding-position, air-cooled two- or four-cylinder models issued by the Japanese makers primarily in the seventies. However, there have been later groups of Japanese bikes that also emerged more or less at the same time evidently due to the same phenomenon that gave rise to the UJM. For example, Japanese cruisers (based on standard-configuration bikes but with lower seat, higher handlebars, and forward-mounted foot pegs-- all generally emulating Harley-Davidson's traditional offerings) such as the Honda Custom series, Kawasaki LTD series and the Yamaha Maxim series, all strongly resemble each other, as do the series of sport models (characterized by lower, more aggressive riding positions, partial- or full-body fairings, stiffer suspensions and an emphasis on higher-performance engines) represented by bikes such as the Honda SS series, Kawasaki GPz series and Suzuki Katana series.

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/ujmrider/index.html Vintage Rice, A Tribute to the Universal Japanese Motorcycle]

References