Yogurt cup (motorcycle)

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In the jargon of the scene, yoghurt tubs were a rather derogatory term for fully faired sports motorcycles from Japan in the mid to late 1980s.

Word origin and concept formation

Until the early 1980s, most motorcycles approved for road use were not fully disguised. In racing, this was not unknown because of the better aerodynamics. Even before the Second World War, record machines were provided with such panels. After the war, the competition machines MV Agusta 500 six-cylinder 1958 or the Honda RC166 of world champion Mike Hailwood in the class up to 250 cm³ in 1967 had streamlined fairings.

For many motorcyclists, however, the aesthetics of their machine played an important role. Parts such as the frame or engine should serve as eye-catchers. For the owner, they are more than just technical components. The full fairing of the first series motorcycles, used for the first time in series by the leading Japanese manufacturers in motorcycle construction, led to the term yoghurt cup around 1985: The full fairing encloses the relevant "content" of the motorcycle - i.e. engine, frame, etc. - like the said cup its contents yoghurt . Why, of all things, the packaging for the yoghurt was used as the name giver cannot be definitively clarified. If necessary, a certain aversion to the emerging organic movement played a role in the choice of words, which clichéd only fed on muesli and yoghurt and was critical of individual traffic, so that the yoghurt cup was chosen as the appropriate description.

Historical development

The Honda CBR 1000 F (SC 21) and the Honda CBR 600 F (PC 19) from 1986 were among the first motorcycles to be referred to as yoghurt cups in the scene and in trade magazines. Honda was the industry leader a few years earlier lagged behind its Japanese competitors in terms of performance, such as the Kawasaki GPZ 900 R. The development team around chief designer Minoru Morioka saw the use of aerodynamic panels as the only way out - without completely redeveloping engines and machines - in order to reconnect. Due to the lower CW value , the Hondas were again on the same level in terms of top speed as the stronger competitors in terms of performance. Although the machines were excellent to drive, they were initially rejected because of their appearance and were ridiculed. It was also criticized that even minor accidents caused a lot of damage to the plastic cover. The advantage was only slowly recognized. Since around the mid-1990s, full fairings on sports machines have become more and more common. In addition, the designers went other ways in terms of aesthetics. The panels were visually more appealing. Nevertheless, the term has survived.

Image series

  • A fully faired racing machine from MV Agusta from 1969, motorcycles with street legal approval were usually not faired at the time

  • Fully enclosed cc 250-racer Honda RC166 , with Mike Hailwood on 1967 250 cc World Champion was

  • A typical sports motorcycle of the 1980s was the Yamaha XJ900 from 1983 - all components are clearly visible and not covered

  • A CBR 600 F (PC23) from 1989; the full fairing is used for aerodynamics but prevents the engine and frame from being seen

  • CBR 1000 F (SC21), which is considered to be one of the first yoghurt pots, it is easy to see that the paneling covers almost all parts of the machine

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Yogurt cups. www.sprachnudel.de, May 13, 2013, accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  2. ^ Günther Cremer: Die Subkultur der Rocker Centaurus Verlagsgesellschaft, ISBN 3-89085-645-4 , p. 124f.
  3. ↑ Where does the term yogurt tub for Japanese come from? www.motorradfrage.net, September 16, 2009, accessed March 9, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Kultbike Honda CBR 600 F. Motorrad, February 4, 2016, accessed on March 12, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Plastic welding technology. winni-scheibe.com, accessed on March 12, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Fire and flame for the Fireblade. (No longer available online.) Stuttgarter Nachrichten, April 1, 2010, archived from the original on March 13, 2017 ; accessed on March 12, 2017 .