Motorcycle Classics

Specialized, niche motorcycles are a relatively new thing in our world. Take the Triumph brand, for example. Up through the 1960s, the product line included basic street bikes in a few levels of performance and trim, and some off-road machines, like the TT Special for dirt track racing, 650s and 500s in high pipe form for scrambles and enduros. The machines’ equipment was described, but you could participate in any form of street riding or racing with any model Triumph made. Not much direction as to how you would use the bike was in the brochure terminology. Today, our egos are played, I think, as we select between machines defined in Triumph and other brands’ promotional literature as touring, superbike, street fighter, dual sport, enduro, motocross, and… adventure touring. So,…

Back to the 350s The May/June and July/August 2024 issues hit my heart strings. The story of Neil Rodrigues’ Honda CB750F Super Sport took me back to my first big bike, an orange ’75 CB750F that I purchased new after college. It was a comfortable cruising bike while getting 50mpg. After some super-tuning it ran the ¼ mile in the 13.20s in stock trim with the muffler. Removing the muffler netted a 12.91 et @101mph at Milan Dragway just south of Ann Arbor. I sold this bike in ’79 when I purchased the new DOHC 750F SS. The Honda CB350 K4 story in the May/June issue is where I am now, back to the 350s. My first bike is my current ’71 CB350 K3 that I’ve had since buying it…

Where did all the sport touring bikes go? What was once the go-to category for two-wheeled rapid transit has effectively disappeared, somewhere between boulevard baggers and adventure bikes. Which is a shame, because the STs offered much of the performance of a sportbike with a more relaxed riding position, often with matching factory luggage. Both big adventure bikes and baggers look more comfortable, but flout the first rule of motorcycle ergonomics: body weight distributed among feet, butt, and hands. Sure, the Barcalounger chair on your winne-biko will be well padded and comfy; but only masochists can endure today’s fashionable riding stance of hands up in the air and feet forward. In more than 100,000 miles of riding, including numerous test bikes, Sport-Touring or standard motorcycles are always my preferred option.…

The 19th Barber Vintage Festival was held October 11–13, 2024 and was much more than a bike show or a rally. It fully deserved the title “festival,” a word derived from festus, the Latin word for feast: a gathering focused on a common interest during which participants celebrate and socialize. It’s the largest vintage motorcycle festival in the U.S., and like the best feasts, it offers multiple courses with the menu getting more extensive and tastier every year. Grand Marshal Kenny Roberts Sr. Kenny Roberts Sr. (“King Kenny”), America’s most famous and successful motorcycle racer, was selected to be the Grand Marshal for the 2024 Festival in recognition of his many accomplishments and contributions to motorcycle racing. There’s no one more deserving of the recognition. After establishing his dominance on…

On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Luxembourg was occupied that same day. European civilians, who had been on edge for months since the invasion of Poland, scrambled. Many did their best to flee. Others, deciding or forced by circumstances to stay put, hid their valuables. Someone in Denmark sank a good-sized yacht in a cold freshwater lake. Theo DeBoer, a Dutch chemical engineer, took his trusty Vincent Comet apart and buried it in his garden. The Comet story begins DeBoer had purchased the 499cc machine in 1935 from the Dutch Vincent dealer, Henk Heiman. It was one of the first Vincents sold in Europe. DeBoer may have become interested in the machine due to its innovative design, which was quite different from most motorcycles…

There is no denying Triumph designer Edward Turner’s talent for creating a pretty motorcycle. The lines, the shapes, the mixture of finishes, including polished alloy, chrome, and paint all coalesced to create a stunning stock product. In the early 1950s, perhaps one of the prettiest was the Triumph 6T, or Thunderbird. As beautiful as the factory machines might have been, it didn’t take long for owners to begin customizing their motorcycles. In the U.S., aftermarket and accessory companies, such as Bates, Flanders, MCM, Superior, and Webco, began manufacturing parts to help enthusiasts personalize not only British-built models from the likes of BSA, Norton, and Triumph but also American-made machines, and later, Japanese bikes. Aftermarket parts redefine motorcycle styling In our collecting and restoring world with a focus on “stock” motorcycles,…