The race tail or motorcycle tail is a functional feature of a Grand Prix

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...

 motorcycle located behind the motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 seat. It is designed to maintain a smooth flow of air from the rider over the motorcycle's rear.

Origin

The origin of the race tail can be traced at least as far back to the early 1950s with Manx Norton and the Italian motorcycle manufacturers Lambretta

Lambretta

Lambretta can refer to:* Lambretta, a petrol-powered scooter made by Innocenti* Lambretta , a clothing brand* Lambretta , a Swedish rock band* The Lambrettas, a British mod revival band...

, Ducati, Mondial

Mondial (motorcycle manufacturer)

FB-Mondial was a motorcycle manufacturer from Milan, Italy between 1948 and 1979, known for its Grand Prix motorcycle racing successes during the 1950s. Prior to World War II, it manufactured delivery tricycles...

, and Moto Morini

Moto Morini

Moto Morini is an Italian maker of motorcycles. It was founded by Alfonso Morini in Bologna, in 1937.Earlier, Morini had also manufactured motorcycles together with Mario Mazzetti under the name MM...

. Honda took 5 riders to the 1959 Isle of Man TT

Isle of Man TT

The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...

 using their newly constructed RC142 with a race tail. It was designed to smooth airflow and also provided a stop for the rider's buttocks.

Production

The 1958 Moto Morini 175 Tresette may have been the first production racing motorcycle with a race tail. In 1972, Kawasaki was the first manufacturer of street motorcycles to begin wide use of a race tail on a large scale with their Kawasaki H2 Mach IV

Kawasaki H2 Mach IV

The Kawasaki H2 Mach IV was a 750 cc 3-cylinder two-stroke production motorcycle manufactured by the Kawasaki. The H2 was a Kawasaki triple sold from 1972 through 1975....

, Kawasaki S2 Mach II

Kawasaki S2 Mach II

The Kawasaki Mach II was a Kawasaki standard motorcycle, made from 1972 through 1973.-History:The Mach II was a direct result of the widespread success of the Kawasaki H1 Mach III 500 cc introduced in 1969. The Mach II's engine was a 3-cylinder two-stroke with an engine displacement of...

, and Kawasaki S1 Mach I

Kawasaki S1 Mach I

The Kawasaki Mach I was a Kawasaki motorcycle made 1972 through 1975.-History:The Mach I was a direct result of the widespread success of the Kawasaki H1 Mach III 500 cc introduced in 1969 The Mach I's engine was a 3-cylinder two-stroke with a engine displacement of 249 cc which...

 for housing the tail light assembly. Kawasaki went as far as adding the tail to the 1972-1975 Kawasaki G5 100cc and 1973-1975 Kawasaki F11 enduro-styled bike for styling only.

Other manufacturers began adding race tails with the 1976 Suzuki GS series

Suzuki GS series

The Suzuki GS series is a line of motorcycles featuring air-cooled parallel-twin and Inline four engines with two or four valves per cylinder. The GS-range of models are considered to be examples of Universal Japanese motorcycles. The range of motorcycles in the series had engine displacements...

, 1978 Yamaha RD400, and the 1978 Suzuki GT250 X7

Suzuki GT series

The Suzuki GT series of motorcycles was introduced to the world in the fall of 1971 as 1972 model year motorcycles. The final MY of production was 1977 although some markets continued to receive the GT380 to the end of the 1980 MY...

, Suzuki RG250, and R250 E

Suzuki RG250

The Suzuki RG250 was a two cylinder, 250cc two-stroke road motorcycle. First released in 1978 with the rg125 and rg250 to replace the popular gt125 and gt185. The Rg250 was a completely new bike when compare to the gt series....

. In 1997, Honda introduced its Honda Dream AC15 with race tail, a street legal

Street legal

Street legal or road legal refers to a vehicle such as an automobile, motorcycle, or light truck that is equipped and licensed for use on public roads...

 recreation of the 1962 Honda CR110 racer.

Evolution

Since the late 1980s, the race tail became elongated and sharper in design. It appeared on the Kawasaki GPX-250

Kawasaki Ninja 250R

The Kawasaki Ninja 250R is a motorcycle originally introduced by Kawasaki in 1983. As the marque's entry-level sport bike,...

 still as somewhat squared but became more aerodynamic by the 4th generation. The Honda CBR series

Honda CBR series

The Honda CBR models are a series of sport bikes several of which are marketed as race replicas, having the suffix RR after the engine size designation. With the exception of the single cylinder CBR125 and CBR150, all CBR motorbikes have inline engines...

 of high performance sport bikes incorporating the tail light and supported the turn indicators.

Race tails became quite commonplace on motorcycles from GP racers to street legal sport bikes and have housed tail lights, hidden sections of exhaust as in the 2010 Honda Interceptor

Honda Interceptor

Honda has produced a number of different motorcycles with the Interceptor name.More information is available under the model designation:*VF750F and VF500F*VF1000*VFR800*VTR250...

.