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Vespa: Fifty and Fabulous

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:35:36 +0000

I got talking to a scooter rider recently. He was new to riding but was very pleased with his little 50-cc scooter. He said the best part was that he filled the gas tank every week for around $2.26 - and to cover the same distance in his car would have cost $14.45. And as a bonus, he was thoroughly enjoying riding.

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Hodaka

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:01:20 +0000

If ever a motorcycle manufacturer was in the right place at the right time it was Hodaka.

Americans in the 60s were discovering off-road riding by the thousands; anything that could be ridden on dirt was (and a few things that couldn't, too!).

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Movies and Motorcycles

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:38:10 +0000

Many motorcycle enthusiasts first became aware of the pleasures of motorcycling from movies. For the last few generations, one viewing of On Any Sunday was all it took to put a competition bike on top of the wish list.

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Sidecar TT Parade Lap

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:48:58 +0000

Racing a sidecar is not easy; racing one around the IOM TT course is downright difficult. Imagine riding a 145 mph vehicle that turns right when you accelerate, left when you brake, and never lands in a straight line if you jump it. All of this happens between hedge banks and walls in the IOM over a 37 mile course.

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Racer Replicas

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:23:39 +0000

Motorcycle riders are different from car owners. A motorcycling friend summed it up well when he said "cars are for transport, bikes are for pleasure." There is another aspect of car and bike ownership that separates us. Most bikers like racing.

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Motorcyclists, Time to Pull Over

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:27:48 +0000

I was listening to Click and Clack (the Tappet Brothers) on Public Radio over the weekend and they were going over a list of times when car drivers should pull over because their car had become unsafe. In a few of their examples I would have hoped the driver had the sense not to go out in the first place, but then. . .

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Updating Motorcycle Electrical Systems

Sun, 05 May 2013 07:44:08 +0000

It's not that long ago that a motorcycle owner would set some time aside to reset the contact points on his or her motorcycle at least once a month. Nor, for that matter, was it all that long ago when a motorcycle owner would periodically have to set the voltage regulator on his machine. And it was a regular job to check the electrolyte solution in a battery before the current maintenance free batteries became readily available.

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Product Safety Recall Notice

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:58:15 +0000

Castrol has issued a product recall notice for some of their 2-stroke oils. The affected items have the following filling batch codes:

Castrol Power 1 Racing 2T -141735, 143802

Castrol Power 1 Scooter 2T - 119990, 147997

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Indian Chief Road Trip

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:20:41 +0000

Taking a classic or vintage motorcycle back to the country where it was made is a special experience. Many owners have taken their Nortons or Triumphs back to the UK, a few have taken their Ducatis back to Italy, but it's rare to have someone in Europe bring their Indian Chief back to the US. But this is what one reader in Germany did.

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Classic Motorcycle Parts, The Key to Buying?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:02:05 +0000

Making an informed decision about buying a particular classic may ultimately come down to the parts availability.

Classic motorcycles are typically older machines (25 years old, or older generally), and as such the parts supply from a manufacturer will be very limited--assuming they are still in business!

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