Motorcycle History | Classic Motorcycles | Antique Motorbikes

Editor’s Letter – July 2024 – Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Don Williams — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 05:46:53 +0000

It never fails. We do a story on some new technological advance, and teeth start gnashing like a 1970s Sachs gearbox. Not all new technologies deserve instant adulation; either the bugs get worked out and we collectively embrace the change, or the latest-and-greatest never quite jells and is quietly dropped. The first legit production motorcycle, […]

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Triumph: Pictorial History of the Great British Marque Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 03:34:55 +0000

It is unlikely you’ll find anyone with greater insight and experience in the pantheon of great British motorcycle brands than author James Robinson. He edited the Mortons Scrapbook Series we reviewed some years ago, which covered AJS and Matchless, Norton, BSA, and Triumph. He is also the Editor of the Mortons-published The Classic Motor Cycle […]

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Harley-Davidson Leaning Trike: Ready For A Comeback?

Gary Ilminen — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 04:27:48 +0000

Harley-Davidson rolled out the new Tri-Glide in 2012, its first non-conversion three-wheel road bike since its Servi-Car was discontinued in 1973. From 2008 to 2012, the Tri-Glide was a Harley-Davidson factory assembly of an aftermarket-developed conversion kit for the two-wheel Ultra Classic. That configuration results in two driven rear wheels and no ability to lean […]

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Honda CB Inline-4 55th Anniversary Retrospective

Don Williams — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 06:07:36 +0000

It was 55 years ago that Honda shocked the world with the 1969 Honda CB750K0. The electric-start inline-four motor featured an overhead cam, four carburetors, four exhaust pipes, sand-cast cases (first year only), and a hydraulic front disc brake—and it was affordable and reliable. The CB750K0 was a revolutionary design that brought motorcycles into the […]

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Hogslayer Reanimated: Dragstalgia 2024 Awaits Revival

Gary Ilminen — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:47:03 +0000

From 1972 to 1975, the Top Fuel class of motorcycle drag racing was turned upside down when Harley-Davidson’s utter domination of the world championship was ended by a radical machine built in Wisconsin. Despite the Dairyland birthplace of Hogslayer, the machine that would capture four consecutive NHRA class titles was not powered by a V-twin. […]

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Centerstand – May 2024 – Commentary: Still Not Saddle Sore

Gary Ilminen — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 02:50:17 +0000

Fifty years ago, I was standing in the showroom of Ave’s Sport Shop in Hurley, Wisconsin. I was goggle-eyed over the new Honda motorcycles that were being filtered into the display area, alongside the 1973 model Ski-Doo snowmobiles left over from the winter’s inventory. Like the other cash-poor gawkers, I lingered long by the mighty […]

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A Brief History of MotoGP: 1949 to The Valentino Rossi Era

Dean Adams — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 07:00:06 +0000

Somehow, I ended up in the same corner of the Castrol Honda Superbike hospitality tent as MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi and his friends while attending a World Superbike race at Misano, near Rimini and Riccione, on Italy’s Adriatic Coast. I sat a few tables away and watched as Rossi’s party chatted and ate prosciutto, […]

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1957 Mondial 250 Bialbero Auction: Grand Prix, The Quail Winner

Don Williams — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:56:05 +0000

Winner of the Best of Show at the 2017 The Quail Motorcycling Gathering, this 1957 Mondial 250 Bialbero grand prix road racer is up for auction at Mecum Auctions’ 33rd Annual Vintage & Antique Motorcycle Auction Las Vegas runs January 24-27, 2024, at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. It is a published motorcycle, […]

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2024 The Quail Motorcycle Gathering Date Set, and The Quail Ride

Staff — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:55:02 +0000

The 2024 dates of The Quail motorsports events at Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, Calif., are set, and that includes The Quail Motorcycle Gathering. The four-event schedule starts with The Quail Ride on Friday, May 3, 2024. It is an opportunity for people attending The Quail Motorcycle Gathering to get out on their […]

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Motorcycle Engine-Powered Snowmobiles Go To War [History]

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:49:53 +0000

Harley, Indian or Excelsior: Which Motorcycle Engine Powered the First Snowmobiles to Go to War? The October 31, 1943, issue of the British Edition of Yank, the Army Weekly, includes a feature article, “Arctic Adventure.” The title image of the piece is a black-and-white shot of a G.I. on a “motor sled” on the Greenland […]

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Superbike – An Illustrated Early History Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 21:17:16 +0000

There was a time when high-performance motorcycles ridden by top professional racers who could push them to the ragged edge looked like street bikes we mere mortals could buy off the showroom floor. At a glance, you could almost mistake one for the other. On closer examination, the differences would become evident. Superbike — An […]

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2024 MV Agusta Superveloce 98 Edizione Limitata First Look

Don Williams — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 05:25:43 +0000

Eighty years ago, MV Agusta built its first motorcycle engine amid World War II—a 98cc single with a two-speed transmission. However, before any motorcycles could be produced, the Allies occupied Italy and halted production. However, when WWII concluded, MV Agusta was able to build the M.V. 98, which was painted burgundy. The M.V. 98 inspires […]

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T.C. Christenson, 1943-2023 [4-Time Drag Racing Champion]

Gary Ilminen — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 07:41:34 +0000

Thomas “T.C.” Christenson died on September 21, 2023. He was born on February 1, 1943. Christenson’s long career in the motorcycle industry included running Sunset Motors in Kenosha, Wisc., for 54 years. In that time, he took Norton from being known as a great road bike brand to the top of the motorcycle drag racing […]

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American Honda Collection Hall Opens: Cars, Bikes & Coffee Soon

Don Williams — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 01:44:47 +0000

For many years, American Honda has had an impressive museum off-site from its headquarters in Torrance, California. Now, Honda has taken motorcycles, automobiles, power equipment, and more from its museum and opened the American Honda Collection Hall, just off the American Honda headquarters lobby. The good news for fans of motorcycle history is that the […]

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Ride Free – A Memoir by Willie G. Davidson Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 08:06:29 +0000

The word “iconic” is a word I tend to try to avoid because it is so overused in current journalism that it has lost much of its meaning. This, however, is an exception. Now in his 90th year, Willie G. Davidson is a truly iconic figure in the motorcycle world. He has done a lot […]

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2023 Wisconsin Moto Guzzi Riders Rally Coverage [39th Edition]

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 06:00:35 +0000

The 2023 Wisconsin Moto Guzzi Riders Rally was held at Legion Park in Wonewoc. Formed in 1982 to bring the Dairy State’s Moto Guzzi riders together, the Wisconsin Moto Guzzi Riders share technical tips on the storied Italian motorcycles, as well as hold rides and enjoy good times together. Annually, the WMGR holds a rally […]

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2023 British Biker Cooperative Rally and Show Coverage

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 02:19:48 +0000

The Milwaukee-based British Biker Cooperative celebrated the return of BSA to the motorcycle world at its 2023 British Biker Cooperative Rally and Show—the 42nd annual edition—held at the Eagle Cave Resort in Blue River, Wisconsin. The British Biker Cooperative’s mantra of “Long live the Limey” got a boost with the introduction of the new generation […]

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Yamaha Racing Heritage Club Mugello Ride [TZ350 Celebration]

Staff — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:13:06 +0000

Founded last year, the Yamaha Racing Heritage Club has already established itself as a major vintage motorcycle organization. The club took to Mugello Circuit last month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the TZ350 production racer—a highly successful liquid-cooled, two-stroke twin based on Jarno Saarinen’s YZ634 GP bike. Teaming up with the Yamaha Racing Experience, […]

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Burt Munro Inducted Into Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame

Staff — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 09:41:26 +0000

Forty-five years after his death, Burt Munro continues to burn brightly in the minds of motorcyclists around the globe. The famed Indian-mounted Bonneville Speed Trials racer from New Zealand has been inducted into North Dakota’s Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame. Munro was immortalized in the 2005 docudrama, The World’s Fastest Indian, where he was […]

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Dairyland Double-Dip: 2023 Spring Slimey Crud Run, Museum Stop

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 06:37:18 +0000

Any warm, sunny weekend here in the upper Midwest is a good time to get some serious ride time; add a ride with old friends, a tour of the now re-opened Midwest Microcar Museum and Vintage Cycle Room, plus a monster turnout for the spring edition of the Slimey Crud Motorcycle Gang Café Racer Run, […]

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TITLE: Honda’s Takeo Fujisawa Enters Automotive Hall of Fame

Staff — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 09:14:34 +0000

When most of us think of Honda’s founding, we think of the Japanese juggernaut’s namesake—Soichiro Honda. However, there was another essential ingredient in the Honda recipe, and one that changed motorcycling in America—Takeo Fujisawa. Recognizing Fujisawa’s contribution to motoring, he has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit. Fujisawa was a salesman […]

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BMW Celebrates 1-Millionth Boxer GS and Teases R 1300 GS

Don Williams — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 06:31:52 +0000

The BMW GS line started in 1980 with the R 80 G/S powered by an air-cooled 50-horsepower boxer motor with two-valve heads. Now, 43 years later, the one-millionth boxer-powered BMW GS motorcycle has rolled off the German production line; however, the milestone Triple Black Style R 1250 GS features liquid cooling, a four-valve head, a […]

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Ultimate Collector Motorcycles Book Review [Riders Library]

Gary Ilminen — Sun, 21 May 2023 05:46:30 +0000

Masterpiece. Stunning. Superb. Roll out the superlatives; they all apply to Ultimate Collector Motorcycles by Charlotte & Peter Fiell, as it is the ne plus ultra of classic motorcycle literature. There is little this magnificent two-volume set does not offer the serious motorcyclist, collector, aficionado, broker, trader, builder, designer, restorer, historian, or expert. Of the […]

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Elvis’s Final Motorcycle To Be Auctioned [1976 Harley-Davidson]

Don Williams — Sat, 13 May 2023 04:04:42 +0000

Rock ’n’ roll icon Elvis Presley was also an avid motorcyclist. He owned many motorcycles over the years; however, there was only one final bike that Elvis bought—a 1976 Harley-Davidson FLH Bicentennial. Mecum Auctions will be putting this historic motorcycle under the gavel at Dana Mecum’s 36th Original Spring Classic (aka Indy 2023) at Indiana […]

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Cycle Magazine 1953 Retrospective: A Look Back 70 Years

Gary Ilminen — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 05:00:27 +0000

In 1953, Cycle magazine touted its 1000-mile road test of the latest 350cc single-cylinder swinging-arm Velocette on the front cover, complete with a leggy movie-star model. The rear swingarm with adjustable shock mounting angle was a new thing for Velocette that year, so the company took the opportunity to coordinate a full-page advertisement with the […]

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