The Unrideables

The 1980s were an undeniable high point in the history of Motorcycle Grand Prix racing. The '70s had been dominated by the battle between Yamaha and Suzuki but in the early '80s Honda came back in a big way, ditching the unworkable NR500 and taking on the other factories with full-on two-stroke monsters. For the rest of the decade Motorcycle Grand Prix racing became a battle for ever more power and speed - even if that came at the expense of handling. Against this backdrop of fearsome rivalry there came on to the world stage some of the most talented riders ever to take to the track. Guys like Randy Mamola, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner and Eddie Lawson took on the task of riding bikes like the NSR500, YZR500 and RGV500. With a ton of raw power on tap the snarling, howling two-strokes took incredible skill and coordination to ride. Whereas modern MotoGP bikes have the very latest electronic rider aids such as traction control in the 1980s it was just man and bike. When it worked the results were incredible but just as often these technological masterpieces could prove themselves to be 'unrideables'.