Street fighter

This article describes the motorcycle design, for further meanings see Street Fighter , for the former English rock and NWoBHM band, see Streetfighter (band) .

Streetfighter at CUSTOMBIKE 2005

Honda
CBR 900 RR Stalker at CUSTOMBIKE 2005

Buell XB Hellbender

Suzuki Bandit at Fighterama 2005

"Classic" street fighter based on a Suzuki GSX-R 1100

Elaborate street fighter based on a Kawasaki Z1300

Honda Fireblade CBR 900 rr SC33 Bj. 1996

Streetfighter is a name for a converted superbike without fairing. Streetfighters differ from standard fairing-free motorcycles in that they are heavily motorized and their appearance should be particularly aggressive.

Mark

There are a wide variety of custom vehicles available. In addition, some manufacturers now offer motorcycles that are stylistically based on Streetfighter.

So-called athletes or super athletes are usually used as the basis for the conversions . Vehicles with repairable accident damage are often used , but sometimes new vehicles are also used in which the intact paneling is removed for the conversion. The aim of the street fighter scene is to build and drive an individual motorcycle from various parts. Characteristic are a shortened, mostly steeply upwardly directed rear ("hump") without a pillion seat as well as the removal of existing full fairings in connection with mostly wide handlebars instead of the clip-on handlebars common on sports motorcycles.

In addition, the usual conversions such as modifications to the rear swing arm, widened rims, unusual headlight covers, other indicators and taillights are just as typical. Unusual paintwork with airbrush elements or covers with imitation fur , as well as matching anodized aluminum parts on the engine , screws and rims, among other things , are used at street fighters. The replacement of the standard telescopic fork with an upside-down fork , reinforced brakes and motors and the relocation of parts of the exhaust system under the rear are further changes in street fighters.

As is usual in the custom area, motorcycles are also built on frames produced in small series. The rest of the necessary technology comes from series-produced motorcycles or from accessory providers. Changes to the engine are possible with the aim of increasing performance using turbochargers , compressors , N ₂ O ( laughing gas ), increased displacement or sport camshafts.

history

The origins lie in Great Britain in the late 1980s, where fallen super sports car riders started not repairing damaged full fairings, but instead completely removing them from the motorcycle. The same was true of worn or defective bench seats / rear paneling and / or stub handlebars that were replaced inexpensively with used parts (including other makes) or accessories.

The name Streetfighter (literally: "street fighter") was created in the early 1990s by the editor and editor Steven Myatt of the British special interest publisher for motorcycle titles "Myatt McFarlane plc". This not only gave the first special edition "Streetfighters" of the 1983 magazine "Back Street Heroes" in 1991, but also this new type of motorcycle. The scene grew and the Streetfighters developed into an independent title with regular publication.

In 1993 the German journalist Marcus Broix launched the first German edition of Streetfighters for Myatt McFarlane plc. Since then, a scene has developed in Germany that is now considered the largest in the world. As a result of a separation from the British, Broix and his publisher "cockroach Media GmbH" published the first issue of Fighters in 1999, Streetfighter disappeared from the German market a short time later, and in 2013 the English parent magazine was reduced to a supplement to Back Street Heroes. The term fighter is now a synonym for street fighters worldwide.

Streetfighter movement

Optical elements that originally came from the streetfighter scene can now also be found in various series motorcycles (various Buell Lightning models such as the XB12S and the XB9S , Triumph Speed ​​Triple , Kawasaki Z1000 , Yamaha FZ1 , KTM Super Duke , Aprilia Tuono , KTM 990 Super Duke , BMW K 1300 R , Ducati Monster , Suzuki B-King , Ducati Streetfighter , MZ 1000 SF (Street Fighter) ).

The scene itself is defined by streetfighter meetings as well as clubs . The meetings are often associated with vehicle exhibitions and stunt - shows . A typical feature is the so-called burn plate in the middle of the field, on which burn-outs are often carried out, in which the rear tire of the stationary motorcycle spins until it bursts.

Years ago the German streetfighter scene became the largest in terms of quantity in the world. Streetfighter or fighter has established itself as a fixed motorcycle category, the terminology has been adopted in the parlance of the mainstream press, and motorcycle manufacturers use the term, sometimes misleading or not in the actual sense of the word, as a marketing tool.

Since 1996 there have been own Streetfighter Meetings, early events were the Hesa ​​Parties, the Showfighter Meetings or the Streetfighters (later Fighters) Custom & Trade Shows. From 2000 the number and number of participants at the meetings grew, today the number of events has soared that they have a more regional character and the number of visitors has accordingly downregulated.

In 2001 the Fighters Magazin organized the first pure streetfighter fair in Rheinberg, the Fighterama. Over the years this has developed into the leading international trade fair for the scene as well as for the conversion of street fighters and sports motorcycles and also offered cultural items such as stunt and dragster shows or a huge party with live gigs and miss elections. Other trade fair organizers - including almost all major regional trade fairs or customizing trade fairs such as the Custom Bike & Streetfighter trade fair in Nuremberg or the Custom Bike in Bad Salzuflen - were happy to take advantage of the Fighterama's fairways and added the Streetfighter theme to their events .

Name problems in Germany

After the German retail chain Detlev Louis had the designation "Streetfighter" protected as a brand for motorcycles and parts, as well as taking legal action against the companies active in the scene for trademark infringements , the term may only be used in a commercial context for the so-called clothing and accessory products (helmets, gloves, T-shirts, jackets, pants, rear silencers, etc.) of the brand owner can be used.

The scene is still called Streetfighter scene or Fighter scene, in this regard, their motorcycles are still referred to as "Streetfighter" or "Streetfighter conversion / Fighter conversion". This is also uncritical as long as the term is not used in business contexts, e.g. For example, in a (private) used vehicle advertisement for a motorcycle that its owner calls a Streetfighter, or in a public invitation (posters, website of a motorcycle club, etc.: "To all Streetfighter") to a biker weekend with a participation fee or paid drinks.

literature

• Frank Allmann: Streetfighters: Extreme Motorcycles . Moby Dick Verlag, 2001 (2nd edition, 135 pages), ISBN 3-89595-170-6 , 978-3-89595-170-1.

Web links

• Official website of Steven Myatt
• Back Street Hereos Magazine website
• Fighters Magazine website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Frank Allmann: Streetfighters: Extreme Motorcycles . Moby Dick Verlag, 2001 (2nd edition, 135 pages), ISBN 3-89595-170-6 . . Retrieved April 29, 2012.
2. ↑ Peter A. Schmitt: Technical Dictionary Technology and Applied Sciences, German - English, Volume 1 . Langenscheidt Fachverlag, 2004 (2258 pages), ISBN 386117233X . Explanation of terms on page 1758: " Streetfighter m <kfz> (motorcycle with particularly aggressive styling) * streetfighter". Retrieved April 29, 2012.
3. ↑ Michael Wallis: Hogs on 66: Best Feed and Hangouts for Road Trips on Route 66 . Council Oak Books, 2004, ISBN 9781571781406 . Explanation of terms on page 175: Streetfighter - Also known as a 'hooligan' cycle, this is a sports-bike stripped of all superfluous bodywork. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
4. ↑ Matt Doeden: Choppers . Lerner Publications, 2007, ISBN 9780822572886 . Explanation of terms on page 46: Streetfighter: a type of superbike customized for maximum speed and performance. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
5. ↑ Biography of Steven Myatt (EN) ( Memento from September 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ ^{a b c} MAGAZINE PUBLISHING , Publishing History Myatt McFarlane plc., At stevenmyatt.com, accessed April 29, 2012.
7. ↑ Back Street Hereo's website . Retrieved April 29, 2012.
8. ↑ Fighters Magazine Imprint ( Memento from April 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved April 29, 2012.
9. ^ Website of the Fighters Magazin. ( Memento of May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved April 29, 2012.
10. ^ A reluctant announcement. Streetfighters UK. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
11. ↑ Axel Koenigsbeck: Yamaha: all models from 1955 to today: motorcycles, scooters, 125s, 50s; Special: racing, motocross . Delius Klasing, 01/01/2004 (416 pages), ISBN 3768857042 . Entry on page 134: "BT 1100 Bulldog as an alternative to cruiser and streetfighter mode"
12. ↑ Comparative test Power-Naked-Bikes 2012 - Streetfighter by KTM, Aprilia, MV Agusta and Triumph , on motorradonline.de, accessed on 2020-02-14
13. ↑ Driving report Kawasaki Z 1000SX - "Streetfighter im Tourendress" , on .handelsblatt.com, accessed on February 14, 2020
14. ^ First, still active trademark application at the German Patent and Trademark Office on January 10, 1990, registration number RN = 1166298 ( trademark register information at the DPMA ); Louis has considerably expanded the list of goods and services protected as Streetfighter with follow-up registrations.