He Writes:
I am really enjoying the diversity of moto's on your site.
Please find attached a couple of my 78' 900GTS Ducati, thanks and keep up the non- conformity.
A non-conformist huh? Thanks. I like that.
|
|
|---|
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Reader Ride. A Blue Jewel of a Ducati GTS900
Edward Hessel of Louisville, KY sends in this beautiful (and beautifully photographed) bike.
He Writes:
I am really enjoying the diversity of moto's on your site.
Please find attached a couple of my 78' 900GTS Ducati, thanks and keep up the non- conformity.
A non-conformist huh? Thanks. I like that.
He Writes:
I am really enjoying the diversity of moto's on your site.
Please find attached a couple of my 78' 900GTS Ducati, thanks and keep up the non- conformity.
A non-conformist huh? Thanks. I like that.
Leif Persson 's 500 KTM
.
In 1978 Leif Persson began his work at the Husqvarna Factory in the R&D Department.
He was part of the design team for the Husqvarna 390 and 420 Automatics as well as
the Husqvarna 430 and 488.
He became the Swedish 500cc Champion in 1980 riding a Husqvarna 420 that had been modified for him at the Husqvarna Development Department.
This 1988 KTM 500 was Leif's last factory ride. The inner motor cases on this bike are sand cast, the cylinder ported and the suspension has been re-worked to Leif's
specifications. He placed 17th in the 500cc World Championships. Eric Geboers won
the Championship that year aboard a factory Honda.
.
In 1978 Leif Persson began his work at the Husqvarna Factory in the R&D Department.He was part of the design team for the Husqvarna 390 and 420 Automatics as well as
the Husqvarna 430 and 488.
He became the Swedish 500cc Champion in 1980 riding a Husqvarna 420 that had been modified for him at the Husqvarna Development Department.
This 1988 KTM 500 was Leif's last factory ride. The inner motor cases on this bike are sand cast, the cylinder ported and the suspension has been re-worked to Leif'sspecifications. He placed 17th in the 500cc World Championships. Eric Geboers won
the Championship that year aboard a factory Honda.
.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Very "Unusual" Triumph Street Tracker / Fighter / Whatever?
I keep looking at this bike and wondering why I kinda sorta like it. It's a very strange mix that that has me scratching my head.
Peter Lenz, Teen Motorcycle Racer, Dies at Indy
Peter Lenz, 13, was killed yesterday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after his motorcycle crashed and he was hit by another racer. Here's an excerpt by Jonathan Welsh of the Wall Street Journal:
Read more.
"The death of 13-year-old motorcycle racer Peter Lenz yesterday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway raises the question: How young is too young for kids participating in inherently dangerous motorsports? It is also sure to fuel debate over how motorsports sanctioning groups balance risk and entertainment when putting together programs (like Sunday’s races) that combine amateur and professional events." -- Jonathan Welsh
Read more.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
By Request... The Jay Springsteen Harley Racebike
Had a request from the previous post to see more of the #9 harley in the background. I know I've posted this bike before but I don't get tired of looking at it.
By the way, the Google Search feature and the "word-cloud" really does work pretty well
By the way, the Google Search feature and the "word-cloud" really does work pretty well
The Sunday Movie
.
Throughout the 50's, the Catalina Grand Prix was one of the premier motorcycle races in the U.S. Once a year boats loaded with bikes crossed the channel to the small island off the California coast. Triumphs, Matchlesses, and BSA's took on the 10 mile course that ran through city streets, up into the hills, and through a golf course before heading back into Avalon to streets lined with screaming fans. This event made its mark in history and produced many stars. The Catalina Grand Prix glory days were way too short but oh so sweet.
.
Catalina Grand Prix Motorcycle Races
Throughout the 50's, the Catalina Grand Prix was one of the premier motorcycle races in the U.S. Once a year boats loaded with bikes crossed the channel to the small island off the California coast. Triumphs, Matchlesses, and BSA's took on the 10 mile course that ran through city streets, up into the hills, and through a golf course before heading back into Avalon to streets lined with screaming fans. This event made its mark in history and produced many stars. The Catalina Grand Prix glory days were way too short but oh so sweet.
.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Random Vintage Honda Racebike From Daytona last March
There's a lot of these I'm yet to post... at least I don't "think" I've posted this one yet...
Coast-to-Coast on a 95-Year-Old Harley
This story caught my eye. It tells of a coast-to-coast antique motorcycle race, the Motorcycle Cannonball Run, to start September 10, 2010 from Kitty Hawk, NC and end in Santa Monica, CA. One rider plans to ride a 1911 Harley-Davidson Silent Grey Fellow all the way. Here's an excerpt from an article appearing in the Simi Valley Acorn written by Angela Randazzo"
Read the complete article.
"While the antique motorcycle’s thrust pales in comparison to today’s street bikes capable of speeds in excess of 200 mph, Simi Valley resident Paul Watts, the proud owner of an 11F, is hoping the 95-year-old bike is capable of carrying him across the country." -- Angela Randazzo
Read the complete article.
Are You Being Discriminated Against?
Have you had the police single you out for a traffic stop? Are you a tiny minority as a motorcycle rider in your city? See what happened to one lady rider in New York City. Here's an excerpt from an article by Honey Berk in AOL Autos:
Read the complete article to see what's going on across the country.
"Even more alarming are reports of the NYPD conducting allegedly unconstitutional motorcycle-only checkpoints, and regularly ticketing riders based upon incorrect interpretation of motor vehicle regulations. One of the most telling cases is that of Karen Perrine, a graphic designer from Staten Island, who was ticketed in October 2005 for riding her motorcycle in the high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Armed with the knowledge that federal law permits motorcyclists to ride in HOV lanes on federally funded roadways, Perrine decided to fight the ticket in court with the assistance of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA)." -- Honey Berk
Read the complete article to see what's going on across the country.
Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Ken
Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Ken with his 2009 Triumph Speedmaster. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Bob's Badass Bonneville...
Basic Bonneville turned street tracker with Honda Wheels and seriously upgraded suspension. I've seen Bob ride this bike and she goes as good as she looks. The bike's been on here before but this is a better and more recent picture from last May's Riding Into History where he was volunteering.
Blalock, vintage motorcycle
.
By Bill Walsh
Special to the Rappahannock News
If all goes according to plan, Bill Blalock will finally get to ride a motorcycle he owned for many years without ever having cranked up the engine.
That motorcycle is one of about 80 entered in this fall’s Motorcycle Cannonball, a 17-day race from Kitty Hawk, N.C., to Santa Monica, Cal.
Blalock with the restored bike.
Blalock bought the badly neglected 1913 Excelsior in 1952 from the Washington, D.C. family of its one-time owner. That owner, a part-time racing enthusiast, had been living in a nursing home for a few years, and the bike had sat in the basement, neglected, for a number of years, Blalock said.
“[A sister] really didn’t know what it was worth and didn’t really want any money,” Blalock recalled of the purchase, and he can’t remember what he paid for it.
“It was sitting in a basement, and had been sitting there long enough that the rear stand was almost rotted off,” he said. “It was a mess.”
Blalock, founder of Blalock Cycle Co., originally in Silver Spring, Md., before its 1984 move to its present location at 170 Lee Highway in Warrenton, took it back to his shop.
“I got married in ’55, and we had a child in ’56,” Blalock recalled. “I had taken it apart and it was sitting around in boxes,” and with a demanding business and a growing family, he didn’t have much time to work on it.
His original plan was to restore the bike and ride it.
“Usually, there are a lot of parts missing,” in a project like this, Blalock said.
“I had to re-make the rear stand. The pedals were completely worn out, but you just unscrew those, just like a bicycle. I replaced the chain with Diamond chain, which is still in business today; I was able to get the same chains that were on there. The seat . . . I was able to restore the leather on it. The gas tank had pinholes all through it, but there is a chemical that you put in as a liquid and it dries and becomes a plastic-like material... read more
.
By Bill Walsh
Special to the Rappahannock News
If all goes according to plan, Bill Blalock will finally get to ride a motorcycle he owned for many years without ever having cranked up the engine.
That motorcycle is one of about 80 entered in this fall’s Motorcycle Cannonball, a 17-day race from Kitty Hawk, N.C., to Santa Monica, Cal.
Blalock with the restored bike.Blalock bought the badly neglected 1913 Excelsior in 1952 from the Washington, D.C. family of its one-time owner. That owner, a part-time racing enthusiast, had been living in a nursing home for a few years, and the bike had sat in the basement, neglected, for a number of years, Blalock said.
“[A sister] really didn’t know what it was worth and didn’t really want any money,” Blalock recalled of the purchase, and he can’t remember what he paid for it.
“It was sitting in a basement, and had been sitting there long enough that the rear stand was almost rotted off,” he said. “It was a mess.”
Blalock, founder of Blalock Cycle Co., originally in Silver Spring, Md., before its 1984 move to its present location at 170 Lee Highway in Warrenton, took it back to his shop.
“I got married in ’55, and we had a child in ’56,” Blalock recalled. “I had taken it apart and it was sitting around in boxes,” and with a demanding business and a growing family, he didn’t have much time to work on it.
His original plan was to restore the bike and ride it.
“Usually, there are a lot of parts missing,” in a project like this, Blalock said.
“I had to re-make the rear stand. The pedals were completely worn out, but you just unscrew those, just like a bicycle. I replaced the chain with Diamond chain, which is still in business today; I was able to get the same chains that were on there. The seat . . . I was able to restore the leather on it. The gas tank had pinholes all through it, but there is a chemical that you put in as a liquid and it dries and becomes a plastic-like material... read more
.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
2nd UPDATE: Suddenly Street Legal! BWM Cafe / Former Racer.
Second Update. Thanks once again to our very knowledgeable commentators (thanks Tony) I have been informed that this is a creation of Ritmo Sereno (maybe I should try reading the decals on the bikes). A seriously drool-worthy Japanese base builder of custom European machines. Here is a direct link to one of the bikes below. I can't help you with the translation but the pictures speak for themselves.
Update: A clarification. As was pointed out in the comments I think it's possible that this is the same bike but not really likely. They are similar enough to make for an interesting blog entry but probably different rides. Probably the same builder. That or they knew (of) each other.
Now it's a racebike....
Add lights and remove the pan and now it's a Cafe... or is it the other way around. Stunning bike(s) either way.
Update: A clarification. As was pointed out in the comments I think it's possible that this is the same bike but not really likely. They are similar enough to make for an interesting blog entry but probably different rides. Probably the same builder. That or they knew (of) each other.
Now it's a racebike....
Add lights and remove the pan and now it's a Cafe... or is it the other way around. Stunning bike(s) either way.
Carey Loftin
.
Arguably Hollywood's greatest ever stunt rider/driver, Carey Loftin's amazing stunt skills were utilized in hundreds of Hollywood productions over a period of 50 years. Loftin began his stunt career as a member of a traveling motorcycle stunt show in the early 1930s when he was 19.
William Carey Loftin was born on January 31, 1914 in Blountstown, Florida. The son of a preacher, Carey grew up Alabama and Mississippi. He went to high school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He began riding when he was 10 when he borrowed an old strap-drive Excelsior from a local blacksmith and proceeded to plow up a farm field with his face. In spite of such discouragement, the young Loftin continued to ride whenever he could get his hands on a machine.
The first motorcycle he owned was an antique 37-cubic-inch Indian single-cylinder that cost him the grand sum of $10.
“It was just about worth $10,” Loftin said in a 1953 interview with Cycle magazine. “There was a gutless wonder if you ever saw one. It was humiliating. Every cycle in town ran away from it, but it made a mechanic out of me.”
The piston in Loftin’s old Indian was so loose that it rattled around in the barrel and finally cracked. It was the luckiest thing that could have happened. Carey didn’t have the money to buy a new piston so he went to a junkyard to find an old car piston that looked like it would fit. When he installed it he found the car piston too tall. With youthful ingenuity he promptly filed the top off and ended up with a domed piston.
When he reassembled the bike he found the motor was unbelievably strong. His little hand-ground piston turned his clinker Indian into a bike that was so fast no one in town could catch it.
An athletic kid, Carey wasn’t content to merely ride his motorcycle. He learned to do acrobatic stunts while riding. He impressed his friends with his antics and continually pushed himself to do more difficult stunts.
In 1933, a motorcycle stunt showman named Skip Fordyce brought his barnstorming show to Hattiesburg. After Fordyce performed, one of the onlookers blurted out, “I can do anything you can do.” Fordyce looked over his shoulder and saw a long, lean, hungry looking boy who, at first glance, didn’t look like anything special. It was Loftin.
“Show me,” Skip said. With that Loftin disappeared. Skip continued talking with the crowd of onlookers, thinking he had called the kid’s bluff. Suddenly the kid roared back onto the field on his ancient cycle. Skip found himself watching a very solid performance as the kid reeled off a series of side stands and seat stands. Then the kid began bouncing on the seat, his feet landing in a different position with every jump. Then he bounced around and rode backwards. Then he turned the bike around and headed back toward the crowd. Skip could sense that this was to be the grand finale so he watched carefully. Suddenly the kid began jumping up and down on the seat and then unexpectedly he launched himself in the air, his body doing a complete flip and landing with his feet on the ground behind the speeding bike and holding on to the rear seat with his hands. He was steering the bike with his feet by digging in one shoe or the other. As the cycle neared Skip and the crowd on onlookers, the kid snapped forward, popped up over the rear wheel and onto the seat before coming to a perfect stop.
Fordyce hired the kid on the spot.
Loftin rode for various stunt shows in the 1930s, supporting himself during the Depression. During off times, he supplemented his income by working as a motorcycle mechanic.
“In one stunt act I was a flop man,” Loftin recalled. “The show advertised that showgoers would get to see a rider jump off a motorcycle going 60 miles per hour. If it wasn’t going at least 60 mph they were guaranteed to get their money back.”
After a stint in the Marine Corps, Loftin moved to Los Angeles in the late 1930s and took a job as a mechanic. He quickly broke into movie stunt work. Loftin's expertise with motor vehicles, including cars, trucks and motorcycles, gave him the chance to contribute his skills to numerous films from the late 1930s until he retired in the early 1990s... Read more at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
.
Arguably Hollywood's greatest ever stunt rider/driver, Carey Loftin's amazing stunt skills were utilized in hundreds of Hollywood productions over a period of 50 years. Loftin began his stunt career as a member of a traveling motorcycle stunt show in the early 1930s when he was 19.
William Carey Loftin was born on January 31, 1914 in Blountstown, Florida. The son of a preacher, Carey grew up Alabama and Mississippi. He went to high school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He began riding when he was 10 when he borrowed an old strap-drive Excelsior from a local blacksmith and proceeded to plow up a farm field with his face. In spite of such discouragement, the young Loftin continued to ride whenever he could get his hands on a machine.
The first motorcycle he owned was an antique 37-cubic-inch Indian single-cylinder that cost him the grand sum of $10.
“It was just about worth $10,” Loftin said in a 1953 interview with Cycle magazine. “There was a gutless wonder if you ever saw one. It was humiliating. Every cycle in town ran away from it, but it made a mechanic out of me.”
The piston in Loftin’s old Indian was so loose that it rattled around in the barrel and finally cracked. It was the luckiest thing that could have happened. Carey didn’t have the money to buy a new piston so he went to a junkyard to find an old car piston that looked like it would fit. When he installed it he found the car piston too tall. With youthful ingenuity he promptly filed the top off and ended up with a domed piston.
When he reassembled the bike he found the motor was unbelievably strong. His little hand-ground piston turned his clinker Indian into a bike that was so fast no one in town could catch it.
An athletic kid, Carey wasn’t content to merely ride his motorcycle. He learned to do acrobatic stunts while riding. He impressed his friends with his antics and continually pushed himself to do more difficult stunts.
In 1933, a motorcycle stunt showman named Skip Fordyce brought his barnstorming show to Hattiesburg. After Fordyce performed, one of the onlookers blurted out, “I can do anything you can do.” Fordyce looked over his shoulder and saw a long, lean, hungry looking boy who, at first glance, didn’t look like anything special. It was Loftin.
“Show me,” Skip said. With that Loftin disappeared. Skip continued talking with the crowd of onlookers, thinking he had called the kid’s bluff. Suddenly the kid roared back onto the field on his ancient cycle. Skip found himself watching a very solid performance as the kid reeled off a series of side stands and seat stands. Then the kid began bouncing on the seat, his feet landing in a different position with every jump. Then he bounced around and rode backwards. Then he turned the bike around and headed back toward the crowd. Skip could sense that this was to be the grand finale so he watched carefully. Suddenly the kid began jumping up and down on the seat and then unexpectedly he launched himself in the air, his body doing a complete flip and landing with his feet on the ground behind the speeding bike and holding on to the rear seat with his hands. He was steering the bike with his feet by digging in one shoe or the other. As the cycle neared Skip and the crowd on onlookers, the kid snapped forward, popped up over the rear wheel and onto the seat before coming to a perfect stop.
Fordyce hired the kid on the spot.
Loftin rode for various stunt shows in the 1930s, supporting himself during the Depression. During off times, he supplemented his income by working as a motorcycle mechanic.
“In one stunt act I was a flop man,” Loftin recalled. “The show advertised that showgoers would get to see a rider jump off a motorcycle going 60 miles per hour. If it wasn’t going at least 60 mph they were guaranteed to get their money back.”
After a stint in the Marine Corps, Loftin moved to Los Angeles in the late 1930s and took a job as a mechanic. He quickly broke into movie stunt work. Loftin's expertise with motor vehicles, including cars, trucks and motorcycles, gave him the chance to contribute his skills to numerous films from the late 1930s until he retired in the early 1990s... Read more at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
NOT Sold in the U.S. Bikes We Don't "Get" Here in The U.S.
Over on Motorcycle Daily there's a good blurb today about a beautifully equipped Euro only V-Strom 650. The story covers the usual storyline about Americans and their love of cruisers etc... etc...
The sad fact of the matter is that we don't get them here because we really don't "get" them.
Damm Shame. Missing out on some great bikes that would do very well in Americas wide open spaces.
Exhibit "A":
The sad fact of the matter is that we don't get them here because we really don't "get" them.
Damm Shame. Missing out on some great bikes that would do very well in Americas wide open spaces.
Exhibit "A":
Gordon Osmundson Photographs'
.
If you are a vintage aircraft lover you must go there and visit this fabulous page of Gordon Osmundson this photographer is great and knows how to shoot the best from those fabulous classic planes
RAF Mustang, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 2000
Open Cockpit, P51d, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 2000
Mustang #3, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 1999
P51d, Planes of Fame, Chino, California, 1999
1735 Horsepower, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 1999
all pictures copyrighted Gordon Osmundson
Cars, trains and, well, planes. It sounds simple enough, but while the photography of, first trains, and then automobiles came to me as the natural outgrowth of my interest in and experience with those subjects, the photography of aircraft came from a different source. Having photos of cars and trains, I began having art consultants ask me if I had anything on airplanes, but unfortunately at that time, I did not.
.
If you are a vintage aircraft lover you must go there and visit this fabulous page of Gordon Osmundson this photographer is great and knows how to shoot the best from those fabulous classic planes
RAF Mustang, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 2000Open Cockpit, P51d, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 2000Mustang #3, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 1999P51d, Planes of Fame, Chino, California, 19991735 Horsepower, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, 1999all pictures copyrighted Gordon Osmundson
Cars, trains and, well, planes. It sounds simple enough, but while the photography of, first trains, and then automobiles came to me as the natural outgrowth of my interest in and experience with those subjects, the photography of aircraft came from a different source. Having photos of cars and trains, I began having art consultants ask me if I had anything on airplanes, but unfortunately at that time, I did not.
.
Beautifully Sculpted Bodywork on this "Espresso" Honda Cafe..
From the Toronto Mods Vs Rockers... Thanks Jim...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sweet Little Benelli With Engine Pics
A true work of art but it's engines like this that make me glad I'm into 2-strokes. LOL.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Festival of Jurby
.
By: John Gregory via : www.isleofman.com
Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts and families are expected to descend on Jurby Airfield this Sunday (August 29) for the Festival of Jurby.
Last year marked the inaugural festival which attracted more than 8,000 visitors and featured vintage motorcycles and other vehicles as well as attractions for all the family. It was the biggest single spectator attraction of the year.
This year the organisers are predicting in excess of 10,000 people attending the festival and have completely revamped the event to cope with the huge numbers.
It has been organised by the Isle of Man Vintage Motorcycle Club.
Secretary of the club Tony East said: "We were completely overwhelmed by the number of people last year."We thought we might attract a couple of thousand visitors if we were lucky, but we totally under-estimated how popular the event would be."
The events committee of the VMCC Isle of Man came up with the idea of holding a gathering similar to the well established VMCC Festival of 1,000 Bikes held annually at Mallory Park.
Tony added: "We were well organised and we had lots of exhibitors and an enthusiastic group of people at VMCC who worked hard and who believed in the festival, but the number of people who arrived was just amazing... Read more
.
By: John Gregory via : www.isleofman.com
Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts and families are expected to descend on Jurby Airfield this Sunday (August 29) for the Festival of Jurby.
Last year marked the inaugural festival which attracted more than 8,000 visitors and featured vintage motorcycles and other vehicles as well as attractions for all the family. It was the biggest single spectator attraction of the year.
This year the organisers are predicting in excess of 10,000 people attending the festival and have completely revamped the event to cope with the huge numbers.
It has been organised by the Isle of Man Vintage Motorcycle Club.Secretary of the club Tony East said: "We were completely overwhelmed by the number of people last year."We thought we might attract a couple of thousand visitors if we were lucky, but we totally under-estimated how popular the event would be."
The events committee of the VMCC Isle of Man came up with the idea of holding a gathering similar to the well established VMCC Festival of 1,000 Bikes held annually at Mallory Park.
Tony added: "We were well organised and we had lots of exhibitors and an enthusiastic group of people at VMCC who worked hard and who believed in the festival, but the number of people who arrived was just amazing... Read morefollow the Link http://www.mgpfestival.com/
.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Go and Pay Chalopy a Visit!
Chalopy has been knocking it out of the park lately and he has one post in particular that is LOADED with great vintage pictures!!
This is a very small taste
This is a very small taste
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
