Innholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2019 i Motorcycle Classics

Ready to race? Ad man Shane Powers is nearing the finish line, or more accurately, the starting line. His “Sea Beast” Honda CB350 will soon be finished, as he prepares to take the AHRMA Roadracing School beginning on Friday, June 28, as AHRMA racing comes to Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas. The engine runs, the suspension is hung, and bodywork is in process. A belly pan is being built, and soon it will be safety-wired and ready to race! Follow along at MotorcycleClassics.com/AHRMA-CB350-Part-5…

Rider: Dave DeBaene, Moline, Illinois Age: 66 Occupation: Manufacturing engineer, John Deere (retired) Rides: 1938 NSU 501 OSL Dave’s story: "I have been a motorcycle enthusiast since I was 12. I started with a scooter my oldest brother found for me. I raced amateur flat track for four years before I married. My first race bike was a Hodaka Super Rat. I also raced a Bultaco 175 Sherpa, and 250 and 350 Pursangs. After having kids I quit riding until my daughter graduated from college (2001). I then purchased a 1975 Harley-Davidson FLH project bike. Just before retirement I built a Honda FT street tracker, and then a 1980 Honda CB750 café racer. I started motorcycle restoration with a 1972 Bultaco Pursang. Since then I have restored seven more bikes,…

1978-1981 Yamaha XS Eleven In our time of incremental enhancements and “bold new graphics,” it’s difficult now to appreciate the rate of technical innovation in the 1970s with each manufacturer trying to leap-frog the competition. But while Honda and Suzuki had 4-valve heads by the end of the decade, Yamaha stuck with two until the FJ1100 of 1984. Instead, the tuning-fork guys used Yamaha’s Induction Control System (YICS) featuring “polyspheric” combustion chambers. The XS Eleven was for a while the fastest, most powerful, largest displacement DOHC four on the market. It was also king of the quarter-mile in 1978, when Cycle World recorded under 11.8 seconds. It was in the twisties that the wheels — almost literally — came off. Wrote Cycle magazine, “We could turn it. …We could stop…

About three years ago, Kim Williams was with a group of friends at the late, lamented British Clubman’s Show, which up until 2018 was a much-looked-forward-to event in San Jose, California. Kim is a master welder and likes to ride and rebuild motorcycles in his spare time, which is limited due to the number of people with broken frames and hard luck stories who flock to his door. One of the features of the Clubman show was a sale corral. “Have you seen the Blue Star?” asked Dan Bockmeyer, friend of Kim and a Britbike stalwart. Dan Smith, the restorer and owner of this prewar classic, had come down from British Columbia to sell this BSA. Kim figured Bockmeyer would buy the bike, but later he saw Smith wandering around…

Peter’s relationship with Ducati tuning legend Reno Leoni started in 1980s Battle of the Twins racing and continues today with restoration of parts of his collection. “We felt like Ducati orphans,” Peter says of his early years of racing Ducatis. After Ducati importer Berliner closed in 1984, Reno, the technician it had brought over from Italy in the 1960s, was on his own. An indication of the seriousness of Ducati’s situation was brought home to Peter in April 1985. “I went to the Ducati factory and bought a new 1985 Mike Hailwood replica,” he recalls. “Mr. Valentini, the export manager who helped me, said I would be the last person to buy a Ducati directly because the factory had just been sold to the Cagiva group. I still own the…

If you’re seeking balance in the universe, consider Don Emde’s 1972 Daytona 200 win. His ride aboard a privately entered Yamaha TR3 is considered a major upset in Daytona history. Facing an army of factory-prepped 750cc bikes capable of speeds in excess of 170mph on Daytona’s steep banking, Emde’s little Yamaha 350 was good for about 160. And that speed split proved the difference between victory and defeat — in favor of Emde. The events that led to Emde winning that race easily could be turned into a Hollywood screenplay, the opening scene taking place at Ontario Motor Speedway’s garages after the final 1971 race. The camera zooms in on Danny Macias, coordinator for the Triumph/BSA factory race team, as he confidently talks to his young brood of riders, Emde…

Courteous and correct, yet clearly fired by an inner passion for doing whatever in life he chooses to accomplish to the best of his ability, George W. Barber is the man we all dream of becoming. The 70-something Alabama businessman has made a success out of everything he’s done in life: In 1970, Barber took over the family dairy business, Barber Dairies, founded by his father in the 1930s. After selling the dairy in 1998, he’s since branched out into real estate and played a key role in Birmingham, Alabama’s resurgence as one of the principal medical cities in the U.S. He’s also driven development of the massive Barber Marina on Alabama’s Gulf Shores — but best of all he’s created the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, housing what is unarguably…

Yamaha RT1 fork tubes Q: Hello, Mr. Fellenstein! My name is Tom, and I am a motorbike addict. (There — that’s out of the way!) I have acquired — for really short money — an early ’70s Yamaha RT1 and it’s almost all there, too! I literally got it out of an old barn and it needs a wee bit of polish and suchlike. Most of the parts are still available, although pistons are a bit thin on the ground. My question concerns the fork tubes. They are, of course, pitted. I’ve looked around on the ’net and in the mags and so forth, but I can’t seem to find anyone who replates these things in the U.S. I can get replicas or a set from Frank’s, but these are $400-plus…

Tecate, home to the cerveza company of the same name, is a gritty industrial town, but scratch the surface and you’ll find a grand destination and a good jumping-off point for further Baja exploration. On the U.S. side, Tecate is not much more than the U.S. Customs and Immigration station; on the Mexican side, Tecate (pop. 102,000) is a much larger and far more intriguing place. Founded in 1892, Tecate’s history reaches back 12,000 years when the region was settled by the Kumeyaay Native Americans who still inhabit the area. Getting to Tecate is a beautiful ride in itself. California SR 94 twistiliciously winds its way through the mountains just north of the border. Roughly 25 miles east of where 94 originates near San Diego, take a right on 2-mile-long…

Many bike makers produced stand-out models that became synonymous with the brand. BSA had the Gold Star; Triumph, the Bonneville; Moto Guzzi, the Le Mans. For Italian builder Laverda it was a 1,000cc DOHC triple that, at its launch in 1976, was the fastest production motorcycle then available and became a legend in its own time: the Jota. Through the 1970s, increasingly stringent noise and pollution regulations (especially in the U.S.) meant Laverda’s raucous 1,000cc triple required more restrictive intake and exhaust as well as softer cams and lower compression. Laverda’s challenge was to maintain its performance edge — which it did in the time-honored fashion of increasing engine size. So the Laverda 1200 of 1978 was a made-in-Italy solution on to a made-in-America problem. All Laverda triples up to…

Prepping for Pennsylvania Plans are coming together as we get ready for our biggest and most exciting event of the year, our 4th Annual Motorcycle Classics Ride ’Em, Don’t Hide ’Em Getaway at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, Aug. 9-11, 2019. Friday night we’ll kick the event off with a welcome reception and dinner. After breakfast together Saturday at the resort’s Slopeside restaurant, we’ll gear up and head out for the Saturday ride. Routes are still being planned through the highlands, but we aim to head south this year toward the quaint historic town of Oakland, Maryland, where we’ll take a break for lunch and a chance to check out the museums, shops and more. Then we’ll saddle back up for a nice afternoon ride back to…

In the smash documentary, Free Solo, about climber Alex Honnold, researchers performed an MRI on Honnold’s brain to see how his hippocampus alighted when Alex viewed stressful imagery. The minimal activation revealed why he might free climb Yosemite’s 3,600-foot vertical El Capitan alone, and without ropes: Some people just need more stimulus to feel fully alive. Coupled with nostalgia for the golden era of motorsports, this surely drives many vintage racers — car and motorcycle alike. Myself included. There’s no comparing a 1970s Porsche 911 and a modern Carrera, or a solid-axle Corvette and a C7. They carry the same nameplates, but are worlds apart in character and capability. The same is true with vintage motocross bikes and their modern fuel-injected counterparts; the former often derived from period street bikes,…

1964 Ducati 250 Mach 1 Restored by Henry Hogben, of Ontario, Canada. The Mach 1 was an important model that many Sixties journalists compared to Britain’s iconic Gold Star single. Peter also owns two other Ducati singles restored by Hogben. “A really incredible effort for someone with only one arm,” Peter says. 1985 Ducati 750 F1 Peter bought this new-in-the-crate from a dealer in 1985. It has never been started. The F1 model marked a turning point for Ducati. It was the first production model to use a Verlicchi frame, a monoshock rear suspension and floating disc brakes. It was also hugely expensive. 1964 Ducati 50cc prototype Berliner Motor Corp. (the U.S. importer for Ducati and Moto Guzzi) were sent this portable motorcycle for evaluation. Complete with lights and a…

I’ve always thought Royal Enfield singles were beautiful motorcycles, and the idea of a resurrected and modernized Enfield 650 twin was mesmerizing. I love riding in Baja (see MC’s Destinations from November/December 2008, November/December 2013 and July/August 2019), and with the above in mind, I contacted Royal Enfield North America with a proposal: Lend us two motorcycles and my good buddy Joe Gresh and I would take them through Baja and write about the experience. Enfield was on board in a heartbeat. Our plan was for a seven-day, 1,300 mile trip from southern California to Tecate (170 miles), Tecate to San Quintin through the wine country (180 miles), San Quintin through the Valle de los Cirios to Guerrero Negro (264 miles), a day in Guerrero Negro to see the whales,…

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is housed in the 880-acre Barber Motorsports Park outside Birmingham, Alabama, and contains the private collection of historic motorcycles, plus Lotus and Porsche cars. Assembled over the past 30 years by former milk baron George Barber, the museum was officially recognized in 2014 by Guinness World Records as the largest motorcycle museum in the world. Although Barber’s collection was opened to the public in 1995 at its original location in downtown Birmingham — in a building which formerly housed Barber Dairies’ milk delivery trucks — the museum reopened in September 2003 in a purpose-built complex outside the city, alongside its own racetrack. This imaginatively designed structure, with a central elevator and Guggenheim-type spiral display layout, houses a growing collection of over 1,500 motorcycles — around…

What: Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, and the roads to and from this magnificent destination. How to Get There: Take I-15 or I-5 to I-8, pick up California SR 94 and turn south on SR 188. Best Kept Secret: Unquestionably, the exquisite dining experiences in Tecate (see above). Avoid: Forgetting your passport (if you want to get back into the Estados Unidos), returning to the U.S. with more than one bottle of wine (the U.S. limit) and entering Mexico without insurance (we recommend bajabound.com). More Photos: exhaustnotes.us/blo More Info: visitmexico.com/en/main-destinations/baja-california/tecate…

Speed Moto 13 LED projector headlight with brackets If you need a replacement headlight and are considering something with modern looks, this may be the device for you. Available bracket size options range from 32mm to 58mm with some split sizes. At 10-30 volts and 75 watts, this fixture was made with old “lazy” charging systems in mind. The housing is made of cast aluminum, and the lights will net you 4,000 lumens, quite brighter than average car headlights. $149.95. More info: speedmotoco.com Hot Shot rotor from Rick’s Motorsport Electrics Looking for an OEM part that’s been discontinued? Us, too. If you are restoring a Honda CB 350/360 and need a new alternator rotor, you can stop looking (it’s always in the last place you look, ain’t it?). Rick’s Motorsport Electrics in…

Unusual CB350 I’m a longtime reader and subscriber of your magazine, and I am excited to write to you regarding an old motorcycle I recently fixed up. My son and I like recently bought a 1968 Honda CB350 from a local estate sale. However, it’s not a normal CB350, and we were told from the previous owner’s brother that it’s a police model that he had imported from the U.K. Unfortunately, being that we bought it from an estate sale, we didn’t get any documentation with the bike. The bike had been sitting for years, but was complete and in decent shape. We cleaned it up and performed all of the maintenance the bike needed. We want to keep the bike as original as possible, even if that means leaving…

In all our hunting, we found just two Mirages that have come up on the market. Finished in maroon, a rare factory color, this 1200 TS Mirage was offered for sale back in 2018 at the Bonhams Las Vegas motorcycle auction. It had a pre-sale estimate of $14,000-$18,000, which may explain why it went unsold. Believed to be a two-owner machine, it was offered in unrestored condition. Manufactured in September 1981 as a 1982 model, the bike was built to U.S. specifications and featured an 80mph speedometer. It showed just less than 11,000 miles and was presented in “close to ‘like new’ cosmetic condition.” Another Mirage, but not a TS, sold at the 2019 Mecum Las Vegas auction, for $5,500. Labeled (incorrectly) as a 1983 model, it wore a non-stock…

Do you love motorcycles enough to share every waking moment with them? One man does. From the outside it’s a typical American ranch-style house: single-story, three bedrooms and a double garage in a suburb of Washington, D.C. But walk inside and any similarities to a conventional house soon end. The floors may be polished wood and the wall panelling complemented with sleek furniture, but that’s not what catches your eye. It’s the sight of nearly 30 motorcycles that have taken up residence in every room. Where to begin Let’s start in the kitchen. Sharing space with the coffee maker, refrigerator and dishwasher are a 1972 Ducati 750 GT, a 1957 Gilera 175 and a 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650. Move along to the adjoining main room and you’ll get a quick…

Relatively speaking, it’s easy to restore a motorcycle when it’s already complete. Wheels, gas tank, saddle, engine and transmission and all of the ancillary components that make up the machine can be photographed and documented before disassembly, then cleaned, repaired, painted and plated and put back together again. That’s just too simple for some. Others prefer to hunt for the parts and pieces to build up a complete machine, scouring deep in the bottom of dusty boxes at swap meets and constantly scanning eBay and other online sources for the last elusive shafts and gears. Then there are those such as Paul Woelbing of Franklin, Wisconsin, who would choose to piece together, part by part, a rare 1936 Harley-Davidson EL, a model introduced mid-year in the Motor Company’s production run,…

Ducati celebrated its 90th anniversary as a company in 2016, releasing a commemorative book and updating its museum. An arguably more important milestone (at least to readers of this magazine) happens in July 2019 — the 70th anniversary of the first complete motorcycle to roll out of the Borgo Panigale factory: The Ducati 60. An abridged version of the genesis of these bikes follows — thanks to the works of Ian Falloon and information from Bruno Ducati written in a forward to Ducati: 50 Golden Years by Luigi Bianchi and Marco Masetti. More resources came from the book Il Cucciolo, un Gigante by Giuliano Musi, photos of a “CCC” owned by Alan Moseley, and Ducati’s historical information (a large part of which seems to have been deleted from its website).…

The Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket III were among the first production motorcycles fitted with an oil cooler. Due to the extra cost, no thermostat was fitted. For long, fast runs, that probably never mattered. But as these bikes have become used more for pleasure than utility, shorter, slower rides are more the norm. Because of that, the oil often doesn’t reach high enough temperature to boil out the condensation that occurs when the motor is warming up. It also takes longer for the motor to warm up with the oil constantly circulating through the cooler. Neither of these factors are good for the long-term life of the oil or the engine. Fortunately oil thermostats are in widespread use in the trucking industry as regulators for transmission coolers. Also, triple…

Arai VX-Pro4 This family-owned Japanese company has handcrafted premium helmets for car racers and motorcyclists for decades. Their latest offroad lid is the VX-Pro4. Purposefully devoid of fancy aero aids or edgy shapes, the VX-Pro4’s smooth, organic shape reduces the chance of the helmet snagging on the ground in a crash, thus reducing the chance of imparting rotational forces to the brain. Using a single multi-density EPS inner liner, instead of dual concentric inner liners of some competitors, keeps helmet exterior dimensions smaller, further reducing torque transfer in a fall. The shell is hand laid-up with proprietary fiber belts, which are designed like a car unibody to channel impact loads most beneficially. As usual for Arai helmets, comfort is simply top-notch. $610 to $750. More info: araiamericas.com —John L. Stein Maxima…

7/5 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days returns to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, July 5-7, 2019. Enjoy the AMA Vintage Road Racing Grand Championships along with motocross, hare scrambles, trials and flat track racing. The event includes America’s largest motorcycle swap meet, the Wall of Death, bike shows, stunt shows, demo rides, seminars and more. More info: amavintagemotorcycledays.com 8/9 Join the editors of Motorcycle Classics for the 4th Annual Ride ’Em, Don’t Hide ’Em Getaway, Aug. 9-11. We’ll enjoy a relaxed weekend of riding and sightseeing in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania and stay at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, meeting up Friday and riding through the weekend. More info: MotorcycleClassics.com/PA2019 8/30 Back for its 14th year, join in the fun at the Bonneville Vintage GP, Aug. 30-Sept. 1, at the…