Sommaire pour July/August 2024 de Motorcycle Classics

Myrtle Beach is the definition of a modern classic. New resorts and developments continue to dot the area, adding the latest attractions and amenities, but Myrtle Beach never forgets the past. If you know where to look, American nostalgia can be found around every corner. Cruise through the 14 communities and 60 miles of The Beach for a blast from our common past. 1 HUNTINGTON BEACH STATE PARK MURRELLS INLET The Myrtle Beach area is home to two state parks. At Huntington Beach State Park, you can camp, hike, fish, go birding and even explore the one-of-a-kind Atalaya Castle. 2 DEAD DOG SALOON MURRELLS INLET Ride out to Murrells Inlet - a smaller coastal community boasting a MarshWalk with big fun and even bigger flavors - to enjoy nights full of cold…

Until 1938, the two most popular motorcycle engine formats were the single and V-twin. Not surprisingly, singles dominated the smaller capacity class up to around 500cc, and V-twins above that. Why V-twins? Adding another piston in-line with the first and sharing the crankshaft seemed like the simpler engineering solution. Then came Edward Turner’s big idea: the 360-degree parallel twin, which was essentially two singles side-by-side on a common crankcase. Cylinder barrels and heads could be siamesed, thus reducing costs. Turner’s genius was in making the Speed Twin look like a sporty twin-port single, so as not to appear too radical, and to use a 360-degree firing sequence for a regular exhaust beat, so it “sounded right.” And that was a critical decision. Throughout their life of 50 years, all production…

When pioneering engineers were hard at work in the nascent motorcycle industry at the turn of the last century, single-cylinder and then twin-cylinder engines reigned supreme. However, some early builders had devised multi-cylinder platforms. Take British engineer Colonel Capel Holden; he developed a water-cooled opposed 4-cylinder engine around 1894. Meanwhile, fellow British designer Charles Binks, perhaps better known for his carburetors, designed an inline-four in 1903 that was branded as an Evart-Hall. Quantity production never ensued and the Binks machine lasted until 1905. Then there was FN, or Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre of Belgium, and its 4-cylinder model. Arms to wheels First introduced to the public in 1905, FN’s Four wasn’t the earliest example of a multi-cylinder machine, but the company does have the distinction of marketing the first…

The Commando hit the road in 1968, and this is one of the first. How did the press rate it? Although the London Earls Court Show bikes were finished in silver paint with an orange seat, by the time the first Commandos began trickling off the production line the following April, they had been toned down and looked much the better for it. Black was back in fashion for the seat, frame, forks and cylinder barrels. Those green plastic discs had disappeared from the sides of the gas tank, however the clocks still featured the motif. There were now much larger silver discs with the words “Norton Villiers” and the traditional Norton curly “N” logo for the tank and top of the fiberglass seat unit. The side panels remained silver,…

Superbike: An Early Illustrated History is a 192-page book, composed of black-and-white photos by seasoned racing photographer John Owens and copy by longtime technical writer Kevin Cameron, is a fascinating glimpse into the formative years of AMA Superbike racing. This is due to three reasons. First, the visually stunning reproduction and printing of Owens’ photography of the period. According to Editor Matthew Miles, likewise a motoindustry publishing veteran, Owens stayed at the Connecticut printing facility for three days while the book was on press to ensure reproduction met his standards of excellence. It does. Rarely might anything but a premium art book match the production quality of Superbike: An Illustrated Early History. The second reason is the choice of photography and the way in which the images were created in…

By the time these pages reach you, I hope you’ve fired up your bikes and had more than a few memorable rides to celebrate the warmer days of summer. Here in the Midwest, I’m grateful for the experiences that go hand in hand with the sun and heat. Shows, swap meets, racing events and gatherings of all sizes bring opportunities to shine that chrome and connect with other like-minded enthusiasts and collectors. If you’re looking for a bucket list collection of events, look no further than AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. VMD’s 3-day schedule is packed and quickly approaching. The annual event takes place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, on July 26-28, 2024. The tentative seminar schedule includes moto-celebrities, experts and topics such as: Brian O’Shea (Mr. AMA Superbike),…

“Lack of vibration is just what you need for extended periods in the saddle.” 1975-76 Yamaha XS500B In many ways, Yamaha’s XS500B looked to the future (eight valves and a balance shaft), while the CB500T’s simpler 2-valve architecture was anchored in the past. Cycle World called them “practically identical.” And superficially, their performance might suggest that: but under their alloy engine cases, they were quite different. Double overhead cams, yes. But the Yamaha had four valves per cylinder (better breathing and reduced valvetrain inertia allowing higher revs). In terms of engine vibration, the XS was “infinitely superior” thanks to its Omni-phase balance shaft: “Lack of vibration is just what you need for extended periods in the saddle,” wrote CW. What the XS did have were lots of chains and sprockets:…

Roses are red, violets are blue and 99% of post-war Vincents were black with gold striping. Of the more than 11,000 Series B, C, and D Black Shadows, Black Lightnings, Rapides, Comets and Meteors built, the only exceptions were about 120 Vincents painted in Chinese Red and 30 (or so) high-performance single-cylinder Grey Flash models produced in, you guessed it, grey. The ultra-rare White Shadows (only 15 were produced) were not painted white — they were Black Shadows with unpainted engine and gearboxes, and they looked like Rapides. There were reportedly a handful of Vincents painted in Egyptian Blue at the factory for display at bike shows or as custom builds during the period when Vincents were being distributed in the U.S. by the Indian Sales Co. Information about these…

Fifty years ago, 1974 saw a momentous transition in 500GP racing, marking the last time a 4-stroke, meaning MV Agusta (courtesy of the late Phil Read), would ever win a World Championship title until the 2002 advent of MotoGP. His erstwhile teammate Giacomo Agostini’s shocking switch to Yamaha and the 2-stroke camp for that season would only yield Ago the 350cc world crown to start with. In 1975 it would be mission accomplished for him and Yamaha in the more prestigious larger-capacity class, too. 1974 also saw a landmark debut race victory for a Yamaha 2-stroke at the Isle of Man Senior TT — then still a part of the 500cc Grand Prix race calendar — when Phil Carpenter on his oversize TZ351 won a rain-drenched race. It had actually…

One of the great things about old bikes is that they’re typically pretty simple to work on. Tune-ups are generally fairly simple, with fresh spark plugs cheap insurance against poor running. And depending on your bike — especially if it’s an old 2-stroke — you might actually need to replace your spark plugs quite regularly. That brings us to our present little How-To; repairing stripped spark plug threads. Given the relative ease of replacing spark plugs, many owners are willing to give the job a try. But simple or not, like any project things can go wrong, usually because we get in a hurry. Getting in a rush installing plugs can easily lead to cross-threading a plug, resulting in stripped or severely damaged threads in the cylinder head. When that…

7/12 Find your next bike, part or accessory at the 5th annual WNY Motorcycle Days Swap Meet July 12-14. Hosted by Champion Powersports, the event will take place at 5010 route 446, Cuba, New York. Spaces are $25 for the weekend if you are looking to clean out your garage. All bikes are welcome. Primitive camping is available as well as food and facilities. Contact Tim Blarr at (716) 968-6067 or find the swap meet on Facebook. 7/19 Head to California for the AHRMA Classic Motofest of Monterey, July 19-21. Enjoy road racing at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, along with a swap meet, bike show, cycle corral and other family friendly activities. More info: ahrma.org 7/19 Check out the 43rd Annual British Bike Cooperative Ride-In Motorcycle Show at Eagle Cave Resort in Blue…

Highway 80 is an east-to-west highway that extends from San Francisco to New Jersey. In California, it is often crowded with semi-trucks, and exists as a way to get somewhere, no fun intended. If where you are trying to get to is California’s Gold Country, and you are going west, you leave Highway 80 at Truckee, a few miles from the Nevada border, and turn north on Highway 89, a scenic and welcome relief after a stint of dodging trucks. South on 89 will take you to Lake Tahoe, which is pretty, but can be crawling with tourists, especially on weekends. If you are coming east, you pass Sacramento and look for the Highway 49 sign in Auburn. Both north and south on 49 are lightly traveled and wooded, with…

A mildly curious bike, this 900 Ducati GTS, as it was never fully appreciated by sport-riding Americans, who were lusting after Japanese multis in the late 1970s. With some reason, as it wasn’t really all new (just an improved 860), with no real change in the engine. But as an all-around touring machine it did garner a number of repeatable quotes. One that I can’t find now said something like this: The 900 GTS is a better choice than a Harley for any touring rider who likes big V-twins. Should we choose to ignore the fact that the Duke was powered by an overhead cam V-twin of 90 degrees (actually an L-twin), while the Harley was a OHV V-twin of 45 degrees. No figures on how many Milwaukee fans switched…

My approach to bike ownership has been anything but calculated. More like completely spontaneous. When I bought my 1988 Ducati Paso, a flawed masterpiece if ever there was one, I wasn’t looking for one, it found me. The same goes for the pair of BMWs in the garage, a 1973 R75/5 (candidate for best bike ever made) and a 1995 K75 (the perfect appliance) and my 1983 Laverda RGS (1980s grand touring at its best). Like just about every bike I’ve owned, they happened to show themselves at the right moment, i.e., a moment when I actually had money. I’ve been lucky. I’ve had some great bikes that I’ve enjoyed pouring energy (and yes, money) into and riding hard, even if I sold one later to fund the next item…

At just a little over 4,000 square miles (95 miles from north to south and 80 miles from east to west), Hawaii is the youngest and largest of the seven Hawaiian Islands. Five volcanoes formed the Big Island (as Hawaii is known) and one, the Kilauea volcano, is still active. It’s a bit of a walk to get to the Kilauea volcano crater once you enter Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but the walk in is flat and worth the effort because it leads to the Kilauea crater’s edge. There’s hissing steam, black rock, burnt surfaces, lava flowing and a hint at what this planet is all about (you can even see red lava emerging from beneath the tectonic plate underlying Hawaii). Numerous underwater mountains and the Hawaiian Islands were formed…