John Froude’s 1982 AMA replica, built as an homage to the 1982 Freddie Spencer Daytona bike. Street legal, it currently runs a tuned CB1100R engine.Photo courtesy John Froude
AMA fan
I am sitting here in our London, England, motorcycle dealership reading the November/December 2016 issue of Motorcycle Classics. I have become a convert to the rag. The format was unusual at first but easy to like. I guess being in that “certain age” bracket is a guaranteed shoo-in to the content that always has something for everyone. But this issue personally delivers in bucket loads! There are (over on this side of the pond) still a huge number of good people who look upon the early 1980s AMA Superbikes with fondness and awe in equal measure. They were cartoon Superbikes on steroids with a superhero in the saddle. More of this please!
Condensing the AMA fans down a wee bit, there are some of us here who keep these legends alive by building homages to these hot rods. We have Klinzman Racecrafters Kawis, Moriwaki KZs, Lawson and Rainey reps, too.
I personally have a deep love of the 1982 Honda CB750Fs as raced by Pietri, Wise, Baldwin and Freddie Spencer. Shown is my personal AMA replica. Freddie actually rode the bike at Donington Park in 2012 and gave me some very gracious feedback and some nice words about the ride. — John Froude/via email
