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So what does the future hold for the UJM? It doesn't look good. Increasing noise and emissions regulations worldwide have caused many manufacturers to end production of air-cooled and carbureted bikes. The Nighthawk 750 was dropped after 2003. The ZR7s ended the same year. As of this date, the last two holdouts of 4-cylinder, air-cooled, carbureted bikes, the Suzuki Bandit 1200 and the Katana 600 and 750, have both been dropped in favor of water-cooled and fuel-injected versions. In other countries, where the "naked" UJM standard continued it's dominance into the 21st century, the fate of bikes like the Yamaha XJR1300 or the Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 are written off the wall. If they have not been dropped, they will be. They simply can't be made to comply with the new rules (economically, anyway.)
But then again, that's to be expected. After all, nothing lasts forever. The UJM was the king of high-performance motorcycles for 15 years, from 1969 to 1984. From 1985 to 2007, another 22 years, the UJM soldiered on in various guises. Unless there is some kind of "retro bike" fad, it's unlikely that we'll see the UJM return. Motorcycles have become too specialized, too nich-oriented for the kind of broad-spectrum appeal that the UJM had.
But all is not lost for those of us who love UJMs. After all, the muscle-car era ended in 1973, and there are still a lot of them on the road. UJMs were nothing if not rugged. My own 25-year-old Spectre and my brother's 23-year-old ZN700 are testimony to that. Neither one has ever been a garage queen and they're both still running strong. And there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see a UJM riding on the streets somewhere. They're not as common as they used to be, true, but they're still far from rare. As time goes on, I hope they will start acquiring an aura of respectability and even cult status. It's happened to lesser vehicles, so there's no reason to believe it won't happen to UJMs.
Well, that's about all I have for this page. I hope you enjoyed reading about why I like UJM cruisers, and UJMs in general. As I stated above, I would love to hear from other knowledgeable people on this subject, and of course if you have any corrections to the info I've put in this, please do send it to me so I can correct the page. I would love for this page to become a point of exchange for UJM cruiser fans, both past and present.
Martin Albright October 4, 2007