Classic motorcycle photos

[ST404]

I thought the Harley style of riding was more akin to leaning back with high rise bars. Or is that just the image portrayed by the media 😁

[Richard230]

I thought the Harley style of riding was more akin to leaning back with high rise bars. Or is that just the image portrayed by the media 

Most of the "cruiser-style" (not the touring-style) H-D riders seem to prefer the "clam-shell" riding position. No windshield, high bars, feet forward, butt back and minimal suspension travel. Just great for your posture and spine. Plus, the riding position does nothing to decrease wind resistance or to keep bugs out of your armpits. The big windshield, moderately high bars and armchair-position seating is common with the touring models and seems to work very well for that type of rider.

[Richard230]

There were some very interesting motorcycles at the 49er Rally this year. They included a 1913 Indian single, a couple of really neat owner-modified, plunger-frame, air heads, a couple of classic early 1950's air heads and a very well-done hopped-up, 1200cc VW-engine, fuel-injected, BMW conversion. Photos attached.

[ST404]

The blue beamer is lovely

[TheMeteor]

I went right to the photos and was confused by the cream colored one.... then read you what posted. Pretty wild.

[Richard230]

Today we have a nice, clean, bitza Beezer.

[Richard230]

More photos from yesterday and today. Check out the finish on the fuel tanks on the BMW slash-two and the Triumph.

[Will]

Some of the bikes at the VMCC meet at Seathwaite in Cumbria.


















Photos now reinstated

[Will]

And here's another 6 of the best.

[Richard230]

It is hard to figure out what category to place this "motorcycle/moped" under. Attached are photos of a 2015 "Indian" that I saw at the Chief Joseph Rally last Saturday. It uses a Chinese-made engine (I think it is 125cc) with a bunch of stuff (like the overhead atmospheric intake valve), oil tank and other odds and ends that are all fake, just tacked on and made to look old. The bike is apparently produced by some random fabricator/artist and is designed to look like an old 1900's Indian single that has been around for many years. I give the fabricator a pat on the back for his efforts, however I am not too sure what Polaris would think about his use of their trademarked Indian name.

[Richard230]

Today Alice's Restaurant was pretty crowded, but there wasn't anything "classic" while I was there. However, there was a Genuine scooter with a cute and very well behaved dog on the running board that I thought made for a good photo. Also, there was an Asian girl that was riding a pink motorcycle with butterfly stickers and sparklers on her bike. Not the sort of thing I see every day. Photos attached.

[Richard230]

The motorcycle that parked next to my Royal Enfield 500 B5 Bullet today was much more interesting and rare than most that I have seen at Alice's Restaurant lately. It was a 1950 Indian 500cc Warrior twin. The last gasp by a dieing motorcycle company. Interesting seat design. I guess the owner was attracted to a modern bike first designed a couple of years after his. Photos attached.

[Richard230]

1965 Honda 305 Dream, H-D side car rig and a Sportster-powered dirt-bike ??? Shades of Then Came Bronson.

[Richard230]

A little of this and a little of that today. The Yamaha 180 was a $300 barn-find.

[Will]

Here's a different BMW spotted last night at our Classic Bike Night meet.

[Richard230]

I don't quite know what to say about that "custom" BMW, Bill. It is different.

[Roadpizza]

let me help you out then…..

that is one freakishly ugly bike!

[Richard230]

Today I saw a BMW "bitsa" in the form of a 1972 Toaster Tank powered by a 1977 R75/7 engine.

And you can never get enough of the Boss Hoss. No doubt three wheels on a Boss Hoss are better than two.

And my son-in-law showed up on my old 1986 Honda VFR700FII. He is getting closer to 100K miles and it still keeps ticking. No problems at all other than the usual Honda VR and stator failures.

[Will]

Here's a photo of of an emerging classic BMW.

[Will]

I should have also mentioned .................................................. that I bought it !!

[Richard230]

I should have also mentioned .................................................. that I bought it !!

My daughter has one of those. It is a German 1981 model with a kick starter and silver wheels. She has about 120,000 km on the bike so far. It is a lot different than the ones imported into the U.S. (I had a 1982 model.) Her bike pulls like a tractor and seems to be happy just chugging along at 2000 rpm. High rpm power is not its strong-point.

Here is a second photo of her bike that I took last weekend. While riding with her I discovered that her LS was pretty much tapped out at 70 mph. I had a 1982 LS and it was much faster. Her bike seems to be in good condition and otherwise runs well. It just acts like it has tractor-like cam shafts.

[Richard230]

Today was Trailer-(a H-D tradition )-Your-1938-Harleys-Day, put a for sale sign on them and hope for the best. The little one was going for $15,000 and the big one for $25,000. Too rich for my blood.

[TheMeteor]

Headed out today to the Modern Classics Ride-In at Martin Moto (Boyertown, PA). Here are some highlights:



On the ride home , I experienced a fueling issue on the SV. As I sat on the guardrails contemplating my next steps I also saw this:



The angels were with me because it was holding air... though my relatively unworn PR3 may be trashed. Oh..... and the fueling issue was that I had none (fuel). It appears the low fuel sensor toasted and thus no warning light. Again, the angels were with me. Out nowhere, the NJ DOT Roadside Assistance truck appeared. Gave me some free gas and on my way... carefully with the tire. Thank you, NJ DOT and Statefarm - who underwrites the service. Lifesavers!

[DWS]

I new I shouldn't have dumped my old bike down the tip (waste dump) ...

[Richard230]

Now here is something different.....

And it is not a Wizzer.

[TheMeteor]

Not sure if this is the proper thread to post this, but how cool would it be to see 9 Brittens in one spot?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=917236601645725

[Will]

On the theme of classic bikes, here's a few pictures of bikes taken over the last couple of days at two vintage meetings in Cumbria. One meeting was of the VMCC at Torver and the other at a meeting of the LE Velocette Club.

[Roadpizza]

This all goes to show that if you hang around long enough, you become a valuable classic.

[Carlos Fandango]

Look at that wiring, what could possibly go wrong!!!!

[Richard230]

Here are some interesting modified H-D motorcycles.

[Richard230]

Speaking of "classic motorcycles" (and riding apparel), I came across this photo of me posing on my 1964 Honda CB305 Super Hawk before my first big motorcycle trip. Also attached are a couple of photos taken during that trip that I took with a couple of friends. One was riding (to the best of my recollection) a 1962 CB305 and the other a 1963 Honda 250 Dream.

[Carlos Fandango]

Fantastic photos Richard, they were the days!!!

[Richard230]

Today at Alice's Restaurant was a neat looking M-G V7 Racer. No doubt it will be a collectible classic some day.

[Richard230]

This was posted on the Royal Enfield forum. Apparently this is Royal Enfield's latest model. As you can see it is very efficient at carrying passengers.

[Richard230]

"Oh look at that doggy in the Ural".

[Richard230]

Honda CBX bling.

[Carlos Fandango]

Honda CBX bling.

Lovely

[Richard230]

Here is a short video that shows an old fart riding an even older Megola. What it doesn't show is how the rider gets started and how he stops (like when he blows through a Stop sign).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Cq49IDfOc

[Will]

Thanks for posting Richard. If you follow through the videos to the 2012 Concours D'Elegance clip from Pebble Beach there's some nice BMW's and a very special Hildebrand & Wolfmuller of 1894 vintage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRbiphwTkqw

[coffee]

Look at that wiring, what could possibly go wrong!!!!

I remember yonks ago being followed by a cop on an L.E. and hadn't passed my test yet ( I don't know whether I was 15or16,but anyway) I decided to try and get away from him on my Zundapp Bella scooter (you wouldn't believe how fast I thought that was ) I decided to go past a cafe where all the bikers at the time hung out and show them how to burn off plod on his crappy Velo,this cafe was just before a bend in the road and I still remember hearing the footboards scraping along the road before mounting the pavement and ending up in the pub car park as plod sat on his bike nodding at me and some of the bikers walking down the road.I wish the ground could have swallowed me up.

[Richard230]

Here are three videos regarding some interesting and unusual old bikes.

A 1915 Militaire. Check out the front wheel steering design and the training wheels during the last half of the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_MBrEaSbpY

This 1897 Leon Bollee trike has a fun "hot tube" ignition system and a nice heavy flywheel to keep things going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l681_yu7Yvs

Finally we have a one-off Art Deco front-wheel drive German motorcycle from the mid-1930: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4ffSiEUdI

[Richard230]

There are some nice photos of old motorcycle and scooters in this article about the reopening of the Petersen Automotive Museum:

http://www.motorcycle.com/features/h...reopening.html

[Richard230]

The sun came out this morning, the roads were dry, the air warm for a February and people dragged their motorcycles from the garage and aired them out. Photos attached.

[Richard230]

Check out this airhead with a barbecue grill luggage rack. Note the appropriate flames coming out of the Roundel.

[TelemarkTumalo]

I think this started out as an R80S, and I dig the interpretation.

[notacop]

A feller from the Dallas Ft Worth area had a BBQ on his side car. He cooked dinner on the way to the camp ground.
That one above has the /2 frame and looks like continental tires. Interesting but I'd rather have almost any modern bike for better handling.
Friend of mine has a 77 R100 that has most all of the period cafe racer parts to be complete.He just doesn't have the round tuit to finish the project.

[Richard230]

It has been a while since I have seen an MuZ 500, but I saw one at Alice's Restaurant today. I can't recall the name of the model, but it looks pretty nice for the short period that it was sold. Unfortunately, their distribution network in the U.S. was kind of spotty and I think the company was too.

[TheMeteor]

I found the MuZ bikes interesting ...sport singles. Almost bought a very clean MuZ Scorpion or sale locally a few years ago at a nice price.

[Futterman]

These photos were taken around 1965-66 in central Virginia, USA. The people in the photo were my parents' friends and they came to visit when I was about 3 or 4 years old. I believe the motorcycle is a Yamaha YM1 305. I scanned these images from color slides.





Trying to imagine what would happen to the parents in this day and age of the nanny state...putting a small child between them on a motorcycle.

[Richard230]

The Yamaha 305 was said to be a well performing bike in a period Cycle World test of that model. That review convinced me to buy a 1969 Yamaha YR2-C scrambler. I enjoyed riding that bike and liked its looks, except for the fact that it felt like riding a fat horse due to the high pipes that ran along either side (and did nothing for its off-road performance, I might add).

In more classic bike news: I found a couple of photos of this interesting art-deco Henderson 4. I imagine that it's turning radius was not all that good and perhaps cooling might have been an issue too. It sure would make a great museum display, though.