Innehållsförteckning för September/October 2021 från Motorcycle Classics

1957 Aermacchi Chimera 175 Motorcycle buyers are notoriously conservative, especially about styling. But the scooter boom of the 1950s led makers to assume that fully-enclosed motorcycles would also sell well. The 1955 Series D Vincent, 1958 Ariel Leader, and 1957 Aermacchi Chimera all attest to the contrary. Practical, yes: desirable …? Underneath the Chimera’s pastel-colored, space-age bodywork was a simple unit-construction 175cc pushrod 4-stroke single with a sturdy roller-bearing bottom end, bevel gears driving the wet clutch, and a 4-speed transmission. And while the Chimera (Dream) created a sensation at the 1956 Milan show and was well received by the motorcycle press, its ingenuity and futuristic styling failed to impress potential buyers. To rescue the project, designer Alfredo Bianchi ditched the bodywork, traded the monoshock rear end for a conventional…

Familiarity breeds contempt goes the saying. And a forced marriage offers plenty of unwelcome familiarity. No surprise, then, that in the 1950s, relations between the two senior stepsiblings of the BSA Group — BSA and Triumph — were distant, competitive and sometimes downright hostile. By 1957, Triumph had been part of the BSA Group for six years. Yet, while Triumph’s Meriden factory near Coventry was just a 10-mile hop from BSA’s Small Heath, Birmingham plant, the two might have been at opposite ends of the galaxy. Each maintained its independence in development, manufacturing, and sales. Any potential sharing opportunities were ignored, downplayed or dismissed. Much of this antipathy was down to the personalities involved. Famously irascible and autocratic, Edward Turner ruled his fiefdom at Meriden with an iron fist. Triumph…

Sometimes while drifting toward sleep, my mind turns to motorcycles, and what next to do with them. I’m probably not alone in this. There’s a cafe racer that needs building, so I envision a shop with the right tools, parts and materials — and unhurried time. There’s also a tour I’d like to take — across the northern plains, borne by the wind. But then, there’s surfing. Ah, that soul sport, where wave energy moves across oceans unseen, only to arise as a ridable wall of water before breaking onshore. I used to surf. A lot. And the dream of finding perfect conditions — tall, glassy waves on a point break with no one else out — is a worthy one. But what about combining both loves — riding and…

The 1988 Ducati 750 Paso I picked up last year is close to being road worthy, and getting it there has provided an interesting education about one of the more controversial models in Ducati’s history. Penned by Massimo Tamburini, the plastic wrapped Paso was a radical styling departure for Ducati — and a marketplace flop. Excepting the failed 350cc and 500cc parallel twins of the late ‘70s, the Paso is probably the most shunned Ducati ever made. I was smitten by Tamburini’s Controlled Air Flow concept when it was unveiled in 1985, and I still am. From its massive rectangular headlight to its trend-setting 16-inch tires, everything about the Paso screams 1980s, apparently part of the appeal for me. Yet as a collectible proposition the Paso occupies an odd no-man’s…

Show of hands: Who among our readers has participated in a track day? Taking it one step further, who among you are actual road racers, participating in sanctioned events? Chances are that all of you with your hands up — and probably more than a few hooligan road riders to boot — have knee pucks on your leathers, and if you’re wondering who invented those now-sacred items that allow racers to take a knee at every turn, you can thank a young man named Kenny Roberts. Okay, KR didn’t actually sit down at a drafting table to sketch out what he needed for protecting his knees when attacking some of the toughest road race courses on the planet. But according to what Roberts told Peter Starr in one American Legends…

Remembering On Any Sunday When I read the On Any Sunday article (March/April 2021), I felt so fortunate to have grown up in those times. I remember the motorcycle that set the path for me and thousands of others: The Yamaha DT1. Motorcycles were freedom and I will ride until my body says no more. That movie truly captures the motorcycling fraternity and I’m so proud to have been a part of it and for so long. I always look forward to your latest issue. Thanks. Jeffry Carruthers/Calgary, Alberta, Canada Jeffry, Thank you for the letter. On Any Sunday inspired so many people to ride. I’m glad you’re still on two wheels. Thanks for reading the magazine. — Ed. Long-term rider First I want to say how much I enjoy…

II’ve been everywhere, manI’ve been everywhere, man‘Cross the deserts bare, manI’ve breathed the mountain air, manOf travel, I’ve had my share, manI’ve been everywhere I’ve Been Everywhere by Geoff Mack Remember this song? If you have indeed been everywhere, someone has been there before you on an Airhead. Air-cooled BMW (“Airhead”) flat twins from the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties have been through Panama’s Darien Gap, explored the Arctic Circle, braved Himalayan passes, survived Middle Eastern deserts, left tracks through African jungles and gone anywhere else you can possibly go on a road going motorcycle. These simple, rugged, comfortable machines have enabled adventurers for years. The story of this particular Airhead, a 750cc 1972 machine, starts in 1976, when Jan Johnson bought it second hand in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she was…

In 1951, then owner Jack Sangster sold Triumph to BSA Group, gaining a seat on the BSA board. Edward Turner continued as Managing Director of Triumph until 1956, when Sangster became Chairman of BSA Group after a boardroom battle, and installed Turner as chief executive of BSA’s automotive division. This was a big responsibility: the automotive division included BSA, Triumph, Sunbeam and Ariel motorcycles; Daimler and Lanchester automobiles; and Carbodies, the company that built the famous black London cabs. In fact, Turner’s first project at the automotive division was designing the Daimler Dart V-8 sports car (changed to SP250 after a name dispute with Dodge). It was rumored at the time that, in police guise, Turner’s SP250 was the only British car fast enough to catch a Triumph 650! In…

Royal Enfield is commemorating its 120th birthday in 2021, and the historic manufacturer born in Redditch, England, but nowadays India-based since 1955, is celebrating that milestone anniversary by launching what is ultimately set to be the single most important pillar in its ever-expanding range of models. That’s because its new-for-2021 Meteor, a back to basics bike powered by an all-new air/oil-cooled 349cc long-stroke single-cylinder engine, essentially represents the platform that will one day replace the world’s largest selling current motorcycle over 250cc, many millions of examples of which were built since its 2008 debut. That’s Royal Enfield’s core model, the OHV Classic 350 and its now defunct Thunderbird cruiser spin-off, of which around 432,000 units were manufactured in India’s last full pre-Covid fiscal year up to April 2019. That made…

Dick “Bugsy” Mann, one of the truly iconic figures in post-World War II American motorcycle sport, passed away on April 27, 2021, aged 86. During a 20-year riding career at AMA Expert level between 1955 and 1974, Dick came to personify the gritty struggle against all odds of a gallant but resourceful underdog — who in true fairy-tale fashion repeatedly ended up coming out on top. Dick Mann was twice U.S. Grand National Champion eight years apart in 1963 and 1971, won two epic Daytona 200-mile road races in successive years in 1970 and 1971, and as a mark of his versatility was the first of only four riders (Kenny Roberts, Bubba Shobert, and Doug Chandler being the others since him) to achieve the Grand Slam of AMA racing by…

Our project for this issue planned itself. Editor Hall picked up this 1988 BMW R100RS late last summer. At some point over the winter, he noticed a spot of fluid on the floor and quickly figured out it wasn’t engine oil, but brake fluid. The front brake master cylinder was weeping fluid and it was dripping into the inside of the fairing, and eventually to the shop floor. Not good. And since seals don’t heal themselves, for this How-To we will be rebuilding the master cylinder on this R100RS, and we thought you, dear reader, would like to see what goes into the fixing, as there are a lot of these Eighties Beemers still on the road, and frankly the process is very similar for most master cylinders. Once we…

9/4 Visit the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine, for the Vintage Motorcycle Festival. The featured marque this year is all Japanese-manufactured motorcycles. On the web at owlshead.org 9/12 Visit the annual Battle of the Brits Motorcycle & Car Show and Swap Meet at Camp Dearborn in Milford, Michigan. This event regularly draws more than 200 bikes and some tasty British cars. Classic British, European and pre-1984 American bikes are invited to be a part of the show. Food and beverages will be available, along with on-site camping. On the web at metrotriumphriders.com 9/12 The Ride for Kids is an annual event that raises funds for children battling the deadliest form of pediatric cancer — brain tumors. This will be the ride’s 37th year and every ride around…

It’s more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow, goes the old saw. The Italian Motorcycle Federation and Motoclub Terni must have agreed, because their efforts are mostly responsible for reviving the legend that is the Motogiro d’Italia. Not that the slow bikes were all that slow. But it was a fatal car crash in another famous contest, the 1957 1,000-mile Mille Miglia, that saw street racing of all kinds — two- and four-wheeled — banned in Italy. When the Motogiro re-emerged it was as a regularity trial, where the objective was to arrive at the right time, not first to the flag. In its glory years from 1953 to 1957, the Motogiro (motorcycle tour) was a multi-day street race around Italy run on motorcycles…

When Jennifer Tremaine learned she’d inherited property from her late Aunt Winnie, she wasn’t quite sure what to do. It wasn’t thousands of dollars, nor was it real estate. The object left behind in the will was a 1954 Sears Allstate Puch 125, which, as it turns out, is a rather rare and unique machine. It wasn’t that Jennifer was a stranger to motorcycles. That’s not why she didn’t know what to do with the bike; there were other reasons, and we’ll get to them soon. Just a farm kid Jennifer is a self-described farm kid from Wisconsin. By the time she was four years old, she’d learned to walk, play hockey, and ride a Honda 50. “I was the youngest of six kids and spent so much time tagging…

Originally a greasy spoon truckers’ café and diner, the Ace Café opened in 1938, and though bombed out in the London Blitz during World War II, it reopened in 1949. The Ace wasn’t elaborately furnished — linoleum on the floor and melamine counter tops, with chairs and tables bolted down, and the solitary tea-stirring spoon chained to the counter. In war-surplus flying boots, jeans and leather jackets — with the omnipresent layer of oily grime — bikers fit in perfectly. The signature music of the late Fifties was rock ‘n’ roll, and the Ace was the best place to hear what was new through the jukebox. Domestic life in Britain was pretty bleak; the economy devastated by war meant a persistent trade deficit that kept food rationing in place until…

Race historians will look at 1974 as a pivotal year in the ranks of 500cc World Championship Grand Prix road racing. For 24 years straight, beginning in 1949 with the FIM’s (Federation Internationale Motocycliste) first World Championship, bikes using 4-stroke power dominated the 500cc class. Then, in 1974, Yamaha’s new OW23, with its inline 4-cylinder 2-stroke engine, won the FIM constructor’s title. The following year the OW23 carried 14-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini — he had never raced a 2-stroke motorcycle before signing with Yamaha — to his 15th and final world title. By 1976 Barry Sheene, riding Suzuki’s RG500 square-4 2-stroke, powered his way to consecutive world titles (1976-1977). The Americans are coming Two-stroke technology had methodically lodged itself into 500cc GP road racing, pushing 4-strokes out of the…

Checking rotors Q: I have a Benelli 750 Sei exactly like the one I had in the 1970s. I am rebuilding it. I bought a second one for spare parts. The front rotors that came with the second bike were new, drilled and look great. Do cast iron rotors that are drilled become fatigued or brittle over time? They were stored between parts books very carefully for many years. Walter Kettler/via email A: The cast iron shouldn’t suffer from storage, but I’d probably have them inspected if they weren’t drilled from the factory. A good machine shop should be able to Magnaflux them for micro cracks and possibly chamfer the holes if needed. Got the blues? Q: Do you know the correct blue color for the 1966 Honda CB160? Thanks.…

Great riding, magnificent scenery, a rich cultural heritage, fantastic dining, a National Military Park featuring a key Civil War battleground, an underground waterfall, the Chattanooga Choo Choo, Moon Pies and more all combine to make this southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia region a marvelous motorcycling destination. The City of Chattanooga is a jewel of the South. A city in decline just a few years ago, enlightened leadership and a beautiful riverfront helped Chattanooga revitalize itself over the last three decades. The city’s two greatest natural resources (its 170,000 inhabitants and the Tennessee River) were key to creating a superb destination with an aquarium, the world-class Hunter Art Museum, jogging and biking trails, and Chattanooga’s pastel blue Walnut Street walking bridge. The Walnut Street Bridge is an old traffic bridge made…