Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2024 i Motorcycle Classics

Happy (almost) spring and welcome to the March/April issue. I hope the weather is warming in your neck of the woods, and that your bikes are serviced and ready to get out and enjoy the better temps. The bike I’m most looking forward to getting out of my garage on the first nice day is my 1973 BMW R75/5. I’ve been messing about with it the last few weeks, replacing a few gaskets in the intake system that were old and dry. It was time to replace the battery, flush the fuel tank, and fill it with new gas. I also changed the oil in the engine and gearbox and lubed all of the cables. It was nice to give the bike a good once-over, checking on all the normal…

1985-1989 Cagiva Elefant 650 The Elefant used Ducati’s desmo 2-valve, air cooled L-twin engine breathing through two Dell’Orto PHF36 pumpers. Ignition was Bosch electronic. A full cradle frame of square-section tubes hung from a tubular spine that formed a plenum for the carbs, fed from an airbox under the seat. The box-section alloy swingarm worked a three-way adjustable Ohlins shock with Cagiva’s “Soft Damp” rising rate linkage and a Marzocchi 41.7mm front fork, giving 8 and 9 inches of travel respectively. Wheels were Akront alloy, 17-inch rear and 21-inch front, and brakes were Brembo with a four-piston caliper, 10.2 inch front disc and 9.4 inch disc at the rear. “The Elefant loves to run in wide-open spaces,” wrote Cycle, “across the desert, down fast sweeping fire roads. The desmo engine…

Race bikes are the Rodney Dangerfields of motorcycles. They get no respect. Like greyhounds and thoroughbreds, they’re groomed for one purpose — to win races. And when they no longer perform to expectations, those raging and aging champions are put to pasture. Or, in the case of the former race bike featured here — a 1972 Yamaha R5 roadster that lived its glory days competing in the 410cc Modified Production Class — it was silently and unceremoniously rolled into a storage container where it sat for years, dutifully awaiting a third life. This R5 was raced by my older brother, Alan Gingerelli, in Southern California’s American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM) and Continental Motorcycle Club (CMC) road races from late 1976 through 1978. The bike was prepped and tuned by our…

Although marred by their clumsy styling, the 1969-1970 Rocket 3 and Trident were highly competitive in performance and were the fastest production machines you could buy at that time. But Craig Vetter wasn’t the only one working on the Triples’ appearance. In 1971, the Trident appeared with a conventional Bonneville-shaped gas tank and seat, while the Rocket 3 acquired BSA’s new frame color of Dove Gray, topped off with a chrome peanut tank. Both models got the Group rubber-mounted instruments, turn signals, wire headlight mounts, and conical hub brakes. Gone were the bread box gas tank and ray-gun mufflers. And while the Hurricane’s styling worked for the U.S. market, it didn’t go down so well at home. The 1971 R3 and Trident models clearly echoed the styling of the 1971…

OK the answers may seem obvious, but … why is the Vespa Museum in Pontedera near Pisa? And the Ducati Museum in Borgo Panigale, Bologna? The Moto Guzzi museum in Mandello del Lario? And for that matter, the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee? Of course, it’s where those motorcycles were and still are made! But until 2017, the repository for all things Laverda was in the town of Lisse about halfway between Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands — close to 1,000 miles from the Company’s birthplace, home and manufacturing base in Breganze in the province of Vicenza, Italy. Curator and passionate guardian of his collection from 2006 to 2017 was Dutchman Cor Dees. Sadly, Cor fell ill that year causing concern as to what might happen to the collection. To…

My first brush with a Laverda came in 1984, winding through a eucalyptus grove on Shoreline Highway north of San Francisco heading for Point Reyes Station on a Sunday Morning Ride, piloting my Norton Commando behind a then-new Laverda RGS 1000. I was only vaguely aware of the brand, having never seen a Laverda in the flesh, much less the exotic RGS. With its sculpted fairing incorporating an automotive-style fuel filler flap, and a solo saddle with a removable tail fairing for two-up riding, it was like nothing else on the road. Although it looked almost futuristic to me, in reality the RGS was out of date when new. Launched in 1982 and powered by a 120-degree, 2-valve-per-cylinder 981cc air-cooled twin cam triple, it lacked the technical panache of the…

The opening scene to the 1967 movie classic The Graduate said it all. To set the stage, the main character, Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman), is approached at his college graduation party by a long-time friend of the family, Mr. McGuire (Robert Brooke), who gave advice to the new grad. McGuire’s pitch? In a word, “Plastics.” The future, he chided, rested in all things plastic. From cash (i.e., credit cards) to kitchen utensils to lawn chairs to scale model racing motorcycles to — wait, what? Scale model racing motorcycles? Who really cares about them? Especially plastic scale model motorcycles. Well, back in 1967 many Cycle World magazine readers cared about them. The June 1967 issue even featured an article about model kit maker Protar’s lineup featuring 1/9th-scale replicas of…

Honda 90s memories Reading the article in the January/February 2024 issue by Dain Gingerelli (Lost in the 90s) regarding his experiences with the Honda Super 90 motor-cycle brought back many memories of my early two-wheel experiences. My buddy, Karl, received a new Super 90 for Christmas, I believe in 1965. Of course, he was the envy of all of us still puttering around on homemade mini bikes with worn out Clinton lawn mower engines. Naturally, after all of us having a crack at it, it was collectively decided that as great as it was, we could make it better. Having predominately agrarian backgrounds, and parents largely ignorant of our intents, we budding shade tree mechanics and would-be engineers undertook modifications, both internal and external to the machine. There were a…

It’s not easy keeping the largest and best vintage motorcycle festival in the U.S. fresh and exciting year after year. Somehow the staff at the Barber Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Alabama, continues to raise the bar each time. The 18th edition of the Festival took place October 6-8, 2023, and while some traditional aspects remained as in previous years, there were several new attractions as well. Foundational attractions include the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, which houses the world’s largest collection of motorcycles (more than 1,600 machines), motorcycle racing sanctioned by the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA), a swap meet with hundreds of vendors, the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (VJMC) exhibition area, Norton Hill, the Fan Zone, demo rides from multiple manufacturers, stunt shows, parade laps, technical seminars, and discussions…

Staring at images of this 1937 Gnome-Rhone AX2 800, it’s easy to get lost in the myriad details of its design. The relative age apparent on many of its components only adds to the allure — what stories could this machine tell? Unfortunately, this Gnome-Rhone’s backstory is lost to history, but Jim Balestrieri of Wisconsin’s Throttlestop Museum is certainly familiar with its most recent past. Always on the lookout for motor-cycles to add to Throttlestop’s growing collection of diverse machines, in early 2021 Jim found the AX2 800 offered for sale by Yesterdays Antique Motorcycles in the Netherlands (yesterdays.nl). “I’m fascinated by motorcycles with a military connection, and Gnome-Rhone is just one more company with that background,” Jim explains. “And I like larger, more robust bikes, and the AX2 is…

Aside from the Hurricane, Vetter is probably best known for his range of aftermarket motorcycle fairings including the Phantom and the Windjammer. Phantoms were introduced in 1966 in various designs to suit a selection of motorcycles. The Windjammer replaced the Phantom in 1971 with a unique design intended to fit all motorcycles. Over the next eight years, 400,000 Windjammers were produced in six variations. Just as iconic as the Hurricane is the Vetter Mystery Ship of 1980. Only 10 were built, each identified by a “racing” number printed on the fairing (see Motorcycle Classics, July/August 2021). The connection: more efficient aerodynamics and reduced drag for better fuel economy, epitomizing Vetter’s personal philosophy of “doing more with less.” Vetter also organized a fuel-mileage challenge between 1980 and 1985. The goal was…

Depending on who’s counting, there’s so far been anywhere between 1,082 and 1,221 different makes comprising the vast panoply of the British motorcycle industry down the years since 1896, when Humber unveiled what’s recognized today as the first genuinely practical motorcycle ever built in Great Britain. That’s probably more than any other country can so far pride itself on, and from A&A to Zephyr this array of brands ranges from BSA, at one time the largest volume manufacturer in the world, to an expanse of etceteras, each of whose precarious existence often lasted just a couple of years before being snuffed out by a combination of market forces and a lack of financial resources, coupled occasionally with sheer bad luck. But in between those two extremes there’s any number of…

Triple digit temperatures and near zero humidity make for a challenging motorcycle ride, but such conditions are perfect for storing aircraft. Our military does so on Tucson’s Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Today’s security environment no longer permits tours on the airbase, but the adjacent Pima Air and Space Museum offers an even better overview of our aviation history. No matter what your interest (early military aircraft, World War II, nose art, weapons, helicopters, trainers and more), this museum has it. Comprised of several large hangars and an immense outdoor display area, Pima is the biggest nongovernment aviation museum in the U.S. Pima has more than 425 aircraft and 125,000 aviation artifacts. Entering the museum through Hangar 1, the immediate perception is one of expansiveness and aviation. Exhibits range from an…

In 2007, the trail south from San Felipe to Coco’s Corner was a part of the Baja 1000 course: a rough, rutted, rocky track interspersed with treacherous stretches of deep soft sand. Steering in the sand was pointless: I was just a passenger. I can’t now remember who was passing whom, but there was a coming together. My R100GSPD ended up on its side, but the Transalp I hit stayed upright. Neither was there any damage to the Transalp’s plastic bodywork, crash bars taking the brunt. When we got to Mike’s Sky Rancho, the credulity of the dirt-bike mounted Baja regulars was seriously stretched: “You rode that — up here?” And what was a motorcycle described by Cycle Guide as “intended to reside primarily on the street” doing in the…

The Vincent Black Shadow and the Brough Superior SS100 are two of the world’s most iconic motorcycles — and the most expensive. But not all owners are investors. Some ride their bikes hard, and are even happy to let someone else throw a leg over their pride and joy. Peter Sprot is a Vincent man, with a touring Rapide and a Black Shadow in his garage alongside a tatty Comet and a mud-plugger AJS. He restored his Rapide from a rusty wreck and then rode it to Greece for the sun-shine and to the Arctic Circle, just for the hell of it. He’s tweaked and tuned his Shadow so that it delivers awesome performance with tractability. And we’ve often swapped bikes so that I could enjoy his Shadow while he…

On April 14, 1972, the last BSA motorcycles to be built at the once mighty Small Heath factory in Birmingham, England, were completed: 11 Rocket 3s and seven B50SS Gold Stars. From then on, “BSAs” would be badged as Triumphs, and built by new owners Norton-Villiers-Triumph. That should have meant the end of the production line for BSA’s Rocket 3. Though surprisingly, it reappeared in 1973 disguised in outlandish new livery, and with a Triumph badge. It was also given an appropriately attention-grabbing name: Hurricane. Essentially, underneath the Hurricane’s swooping, Craig Vetter-designed bodywork was a BSA Rocket 3 with its three cylinders canted forward (unlike the Triumph Trident’s upright arrangement). The drivetrain went into a mildly modified Rocket 3 chassis with a Ceriani-style fork and the NVT-Group conical hub brakes…

In motorcycling, the product term “scrambler” has long been a marketing tactic, albeit an exciting one. “Scrambling” exploded in Europe after World War II, when few — if any — off-road or dirt-specific models even existed. Instead, daring and determined riders raced stripped-down BSA and Matchless, AJS and Triumph production bikes across natural terrain courses in the country-side. With the machines roaring and clawing for grip while their clinging riders bucked above them, it’s no wonder “scrambles” became the accepted term for this scrappy new form of racing. Soon scrambles morphed into motocross, invading America in the mid-1960s as marques like CZ, Greeves and Husqvarna literally set the pace with purpose-built race bikes. Thus, for the first time, a division between the original street-based “scramblers” and bespoke “motocross” machines formed,…

3/1 This year marks the 82nd Anniversary of Daytona Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Florida, taking place March 1-10. The 54th running of Daytona Supercross is set for Saturday, March 2. The 82nd running of the Daytona 200, hosted by MotoAmerica, home of Superbike and North America’s premier motorcycle road race series, takes place March 7-9. In addition to the Daytona 200, the MotoAmerica weekend at Daytona will be the opening round of the 2024 MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Championship, Twins Cup Championship, and Mission Super Hooligan National Championship. This will mark the third time these three classes will race on the high banks of the superspeedway. For more info, schedules and specific locations of activities visit officialbikeweek.com 4/19 Get ready for the 24th Annual Riding Into History Motorcycle Concours…

MIMI AND MOTO’S MAGICAL METEORS: FIRST GEAR Mimi and Moto’s Magical Meteors is a chapter book for children ages 6 and up about two monkeys who become fascinated with motorcycles after a magical meteor made of motorcycles crashes into Earth. The monkeys, a cat, and a dog meet two gorillas in a car with plans for the meteor. The story revolves around the four friends embarking on a high-speed adventure to protect the meteor from the gorillas. The book aims to engage children who love motorcycles with its fun and exciting content while introducing them to a magical world focused on them. #12229 $14.99 Members: $13.99 Best Seller! BACKROADS OF ROUTE 66 This wonderfully illustrated, up-to-date guide to the natural, cultural, and historical gems hidden just off the legendary Route…