Why Bother With a Special?

Back in the day, the Japanese made really fast engines but their chassis’ handled like pigs on rollerskates. The likes of Sweary Bob and Stuart Tiller, plus the Harris brothers, made a name for themselves modifying these bad handling chassis’ to make them go around corners. They gained such a reputation that Spondon Engineering and Harris Performance were born.

Back then, people bought their products to improve the handling of standard bikes that were available and thus, a scene was born. The main aim was to better what was available, you could now build the bike you wanted, not just buy what the factories made available and many weird and wonderful machines were put together. Clubs emerged and like minded people compared and collaborated to make some fantastical machines.

However, by the late ‘80’s the Japanese factories were figuring out how to make chassis’ that could handle the power of their engines, the bikes began to handle really well and the chances of improving on what was being produced were getting slimmer and slimmer. It would appear to sound the Death Nell for ‘Special frames’, what would the point be in buying one?

Thankfully the scene had become less about the performance aspect and more about individuality, people now built them because they wanted to be different, they didn’t want to be in with the GSXR/ ZX / Panigale/ S1000RR herd, where everything looks the same. So thankfully, Specials are still a desirable thing and even though the Spondons Eng and Harris Perf are no more, special building is still very much alive and kicking.