Tabla de contenidos para May/June 2024 en Motorcycle Classics

1958-65 Lambretta 125 LI Series 1-3 The first Lambretta, the Model A, was built around a fan-cooled, 2-stroke engine driving a 3-speed transmission by shaft to the rear wheel. Changes during this time were mostly cosmetic, culminating with the Model LD of 1951-58, which hid most of the workings behind distinctive molded side panels. Major reengineering in the late 1950s introduced the Series 1 model LI 125 and 150cc, and the TV 175cc. The shaft final drive and torsion bar rear suspension were abandoned, replaced by a fully enclosed chain and coil spring, with the engine mounted horizontally. A fourth gear was added and bodywork became sleeker. A further revision for 1959 moved the headlight from the legshields to a neat handlebar cowling, so the headlight followed the scooter’s front…

In March of 1954, just six years after Mr. Soichiro Honda launched Honda Motor Company, the proud owner made a bold proclamation to his employees and to the world. He also directed his words at the motorcycle Grand Prix racing community, which resided on the other side of the planet from Honda’s home base in Hamamatsu, Japan. The message? Mr. Honda’s company would compete at the 1955 Isle of Man TT, the toughest road race on the FIM’s Grand Prix World Championship calendar. The racing fraternity in Europe, home for the top (if not all) Grand Prix teams that competed at the Isle of Man and other road race tracks, barely shrugged at the news. Say again — Honda who? Okay, we’ll say it again: Honda Motor Company, and only…

John Denver had it right: “Almost Heaven, West Virginia.” Hold that thought and let the music play in your mind as you read this issue’s Destinations. I think I found the best place in America for motorcycling. If you like twisties, impressive views, points of interest and good food, Moundsville, West Virginia (and the roads around Moundsville) is where you want to be. Moundsville is named after the huge mound that dominates the town. It was in the 1800s when the family who owned the land wondered if it was an ancient burial mound (there were several such mounds in the area). The Native Americans who lived, and then disappeared, in this region were named the Adena. The mounds predate Christ. There’s an interesting museum next to the mound. The…

XS750 improvement mods Thanks for the article on the XS750. I bought one new in early 1978 as the improved SP version came out in preference to the ubiquitous Honda, Le Mans 1, BMW etc. offerings at the time, and in preference to the XS1100, which we [South Africa] seemed to have gotten a year earlier than the U.S. The 1100 was just too heavy for my 75kg weight and it had horrible handling in the twisty stuff. I still have my XS750 and it remained my favorite street bike in my collection until the Guzzi V85TT appeared a few years back. There were two things I didn’t like on the new XS750. The second-gear-issue, which I had fixed under recall by the agents, but also the rear shock absorbers…

Alice’s Restaurant, Full Throttle Saloon, Ace Cafe London … these destinations are required visiting for followers of biker culture. Alice’s Restaurant (the song and movie notwithstanding) is in Woodside, California, at the junction of La Honda Road and Skyline Boulevard; the Full Throttle is famously in Sturgis, South Dakota; and while there is an Ace Cafe in Orlando, Florida, the original stands where it first opened in 1938 as a 24/7 diner and truck stop. The Ace’s history is widely known and well recorded in places like its own website (london.acecafe.com/history), in Mick Duckworth’s book Ace Times and in general motorcycle media. It’s a story I’ve followed with interest over the years, growing up as I did less than 10 miles from the Ace. But it was off limits to…

Dennis Poore watched with relish as Associated Motor Cycles began imploding under a mountain of debt. In 1960, AMC, the giant conglomerate that included Matchless, AJS, Norton, Francis-Barnett and James, had turned a profit of £219,000 but a year later the books revealed a massive £350,000 loss ($980,000, over $10 million today). Villiers Engineering, which manufactured engines in Wolverhampton for small motorcycles like the James and Fanny-B, was also on the ropes. The auto racer The boss of Manganese Bronze Holdings, Roger Dennistoun Poore, was not your average company chairman. He earned a Master’s degree in engineering at King’s College, Cambridge, where he began by making his own pillar drill vice from scratch. Then he made a 4-inch bench vice, even pouring the molten metal for the castings. And very…

Can a classic British bike be durable, reliable and oil tight? Rick Fisher believes if they’re built right, they’ll work right, so to prove the point, he took his freshly restored 1960 Matchless G12 on a 3,000 mile ride around British Columbia and Alberta. The only failure was a broken brake return spring, easily replaced with a donor part from a Suzuki. Not unreasonable after 60 years! Then again, the Matchless motorcycle was generally reckoned to be better than the rest. Harry and Charlie Collier built their first motorcycle in 1899 by attaching a home-built engine to the front wheel of a Matchless bicycle, one of many manufactured by their father’s company, Henry Collier & Sons of Plumstead, London. Reputation for quality Both brothers were keen cyclists but soon transferred…

Imagine that you could attend only one of three events this summer: The Republican Party National Convention (July 15), the Democrat Convention (August 19) or the Summer Olympics (July 26) in France. Which would you select? Those that replied, “AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days!” are our kind of people, because this year’s gathering at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Buckeye State celebrates the AMA’s 100th Anniversary. That’s quite a landmark for an organization that took about a quarter of a century to form itself. We motorcycle people might be slow on the take, but we’re persistent. The American Motorcyclist Association’s life journey began shortly before the start of the 20th Century when motorized bicycles grew popular. By 1901, Indian, Royal Enfield and Triumph had launched variations of their first motorcycles,…

What does an engineering and manufacturing company do when it loses its biggest customers in short order? That’s what happened to Italian engineers Piaggio, Innocenti and Rumi in 1945. Piaggio had been supplying military aircraft to the Italian Air Force. Innocenti was a seamless steel tube and scaffold manufacturer based in Milan suburb Lambrate. And Rumi used its aluminum foundry to build miniature submarines and torpedoes for the Italian navy. After WWII, the demand for these items from the military evaporated, of course, leaving many Italian manufacturers in a similar situation. But the ricostruzione of the late ’40s stimulated the market for cheap, economical powered basic transportation. Piaggio used its aircraft experience to design the Vespa (English: wasp), using a 98cc 2-stroke engine, likely a starter unit from one of…

I can remember when I became interested in motorcycles. My brother Steve told me the story of the legendary “Black Shadow.” I was about 12 years old. I never forgot it. It would be many years before I saw one. I made my living as a motorcycle mechanic from 1974 on, and I have always been an enthusiast. Having opened my own shop, Full Throttle Powersports in Chestertown, Maryland, I spend my days servicing motorcycles. Sometimes, I indulged myself with my own project. One day, a patron had a 1982 Yamaha 920 Virago that had been rusting away in a barn. Rather than sending it to the local junk yard, they decided to donate the XV to my shop. At first, I was not sure what would become of the…

1950’s West Germany was a nation in flux. It struggled with the aid of a $1.39 billion handout from the U.S. via the Marshall Plan (equivalent to $24 billion today) to recover from the internal depredations of warfare brought about by Adolf Hitler’s psychotic delusions of grandeur. Thanks to the hard-working determination of its populace, the astute leadership of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, and, especially, his Minister of Economics, Ludwig Erhard, West Germany rebounded from devastation to economic dominance in Western Europe in little over a decade, via the so-called Wirtschaftswunder, aka the Economic Miracle. Before this, just as in war-ravaged Italy and bombed-out Britain, post-war West Germany initially saw a significant hunger for cheap personal transportation. This meant a huge demand for whatever motorcycles could be produced by an industry…

Motorcycle Classics wants to know about classic motorcycle shows, swap meets, road runs and more. Send details of upcoming events at least three months in advance to cstoner@motorcycleclassics.com 5/10 Possum Vintage Motorcycle Gathering, a swap meet and show for all makes of vintage bikes, will be held again at the Sevier County fairgrounds in Sevierville, Tennessee. Bikes and parts at least 25 years or older are welcome. On site camping is available with numerous hotels and restaurants nearby along with some of the best motorcycling roads in the Smokies. Awards will be presented at the Concours d’Possum bike show on Saturday the 11th to include Top 20, People’s Choice and Best of Show. Visit Facebook at “The Possum Motorcycle Gathering” or call Pat at (865)774-7099. 5/17 Head to the 56th…