IN DETAIL:
When the Japanese factories withdrew from Grand Prix racing in the late 1960s, and the FIM restricted the number of cylinders and gearbox speeds for the smaller classes, it changed the sport completely.
In place of exotic factory bikes, ‘production’ race bikes filled smaller GP classes. The 350 and 500 grids were mostly ageing British and Italian singles with only MV fielding factory bikes. During the 1970s, factory and factory-supported teams started to appear with production or limited-production race bikes.
Historically the Japanese had always focused on
